Now that the dust has settled after the NFL Draft and NFL fans have finished their exodus from Pittsburgh, we can take a step back and examine which players benefited or suffered from their team’s selections. From a top-down perspective, it is easy to select situations that warrant consideration from a fantasy football standpoint. Teams that spent large amounts of draft capital on the running back, wide receiver, or tight end position clearly felt that they were lacking talent (or depth) in those spots, and existing players will be forced to compete for snaps, targets, and touches. Teams that bypassed adding at those positions were comfortable with the situations that they had in place; therefore, existing players stand to benefit from a security viewpoint.
That aside, several situations caught my attention: teams I expected to add players that didn’t, or those I thought were all set in certain positions that added talent regardless. Here are a few of the more notable examples that I feel Fantasy managers should remember, as we hurdle closer towards draft season.
Risers & Fallers Post-NFL Draft (2026 Fantasy Football)
Quarterbacks
Riser: Cam Ward (QB – TEN)
All things considered, Ward had a fairly successful rookie season, finishing with over 3,100 passing yards and a 15:7 TD:INT ratio over 17 starts. Towards the end of the year, he finished with a real flurry, passing for multiple touchdowns in four of his five final starts, appearing more confident as a pocket passer.
To aid his development during his sophomore season, Tennessee invested heavily along the offensive side of the ball during the draft, selecting Ohio State wideout Carnell Tate with the fourth overall selection, and later adding Penn State star running back Nicholas Singleton. Tate will immediately assume the alpha “X” role and should be heavily featured as Ward’s main target right from Week 1. A true threat capable of working both underneath and downfield, scouts have praised Tate’s efficiency with the ball in his hands and his versatility of being able to line up all over the field. Singleton will be a major receiving threat out of the backfield at Ward’s disposal, capable of generating chunk plays with the ball in his hands. Though Singleton will initially slide in as the RB3 in Tennessee, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him compete for a larger role as the season progresses.
During free agency, the Titans signed wideout Wan’Dale Robinson to a four-year, $78 million deal and added depth along the offensive line, inking center Austin Schlottman and guard Cordell Volson. Additionally, the team completely revamped its coaching staff, hiring Robert Salah as its new head coach, and former New York Giants Brian Daboll and Carmen Bricillo as its offensive coordinator and offensive line coaches. All represent major upgrades that will benefit Ward’s continued growth.
Faller: Jordan Love (QB – GB)
Listing Love as a faller isn’t a knock on his talent, more of an indictment on Green Bay for failing to add any weapons or talent on the offensive side of the ball. Across 15 games last season, Love passed for 3,381 yards (13th most in the league) and threw 23 touchdowns (14th most) while battling through a myriad of injuries. Green Bay’s offensive line did Love few favors, allowing one of the highest pressure rates on drop-backs in the NFL, allowing Love precious little time to throw before being under duress. His athleticism allowed him to occasionally extend plays with his legs, but he routinely paid the price for it.
Rather than opting to shore up the offensive line or bring in depth at wideout, the team instead spent four of its six selections on defense, adding only a backup center in the fifth round. Clearly operating under a “run it back” mentality, the Packers will continue to rely upon Josh Jacobs in the backfield to generate yards on early downs, before peppering tight end Tucker Kraft and wideout Jayden Reed with targets to move the chains.
The team is taking a calculated risk by assuming that Kraft and Reed will be back to full health and remain injury-free all season long, and by banking on a drastic improvement from Matthew Golden, who was drafted 25th overall in 2025. Golden was a total non-factor last season, catching just 29 passes for 361 yards in 14 games. Developing a rapport with Love in the offseason and featuring him in the passing game would be a solid starting point for Green Bay, rather than forcing targets to tertiary options like Bo Melton or Skyy Moore.
It is evident that Green Bay is comfortable with their talent on offense, but I was hoping that they would bring in a capable RB2 or TE2, either in free agency or the draft.
Running Backs
Riser: David Montgomery (RB – HOU)
Montgomery was traded by Detroit to Houston in early March and will finally be allowed to emerge from the shadows behind Jahmyr Gibbs as the undisputed workhorse for a new team. With veteran Joe Mixon no longer in the Texans’ plans and Woody Marks being shifted into more of a passing-down role, Montgomery will slide into early-down and goal-line opportunities on a team that appears to be committed to the running game.
With major questions about C.J. Stroud’s long-term future with the team following a horrific 2025 campaign, it is clear the Texans’ offensive mantra for 2026 is to run the ball and pound opponents into submission.
Houston re-signed offensive guard Ed Ingram to a multi-year contract, and then inked Wyatt Teller in free agency, before drafting Texas Tech mauler Keylan Rutledge with the 26th overall pick. Their presence opens up plenty of holes for Montgomery to run through, and my early-season “bold” prediction for Monty is a new career-high in both carries and rushing touchdowns. I’m happy to invest in his shares whenever provided the opportunity this upcoming draft season.
Faller: Zach Charbonnet (RB – SEA)
For a short window in time, Charbonnet appeared to be set for a surge in dynasty value, following the departure of running mate Kenneth Walker to Kansas City in the offseason. The hope was that Seattle would allow Charbonnet an opportunity for three-down work, once he was fully recovered from his torn ACL that he sustained in the Seahawks’ divisional round win over San Francisco last postseason. Not so much.
Instead, Seattle used their first-round selection on Notre Dame’s Jardarian Price, a 5’11, 203 lb. thumper who has a very similar aggressive running style to Charbonnet. Comfortable running through defenders between the tackles or around them on the edge, Price presents serious competition for Charbonnet to overcome. The “best case” scenario is that after Charbonnet returns mid-season from his recovery, and is eased into action as a rotational piece alongside Emanuel Wilson and George Holani. The biggest issue I have with that picture? Holani and Wilson are superior receiving threats out of the backfield, and Price has enough talent to simply usurp Charbonnet altogether.
Having been around fantasy football long enough, one thing is for certain – it takes running backs more than one season to fully recover from a torn ACL. The clock is already ticking on Charbonnet’s career.
Wide Receiver
Riser: D.J. Moore (WR – BUF)
There were alternative options that I could have chosen here, but did anyone really see a bigger bump in value this season than Moore? All receiving options on the Las Vegas Raiders or New York Jets saw a surge in value due to improvements at the quarterback position. Individual players like Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave will receive less defensive attention thanks to running mates being drafted. Yet all of that pales in comparison to the situation that Moore left in Chicago and his new status as the alpha option in Buffalo.
Due to the rise of Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, and Luther Burden, Moore saw a significant decrease in targets last year, finishing with just 50 receptions for 682 yards, both figures represent the lowest totals of his career. Visibly frustrated and angry with how things played out, Moore showed little effort when on the field, and his poor attitude was evident for anyone watching Bears games. Sensing that there was plenty left in the tank, Buffalo dealt a second-round selection to Chicago in exchange for Moore and a fifth-round pick in early March.
Despite being in the league since 2018, Moore is still just 29 years old and enters the season as the clear favorite to lead the Bills in targets, ahead of Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid. Fellow wideouts Josh Palmer and Keon Coleman don’t scare me at all, and rookie Skyler Bell will take time to develop, no matter what sort of hype he receives from the Bills’ front office. Moore makes for a solid upside play this season.
Faller: Malik Nabers (WR – NYG)
Yep, you read that correctly – and this is coming from a Giants fan! Make no mistake – when healthy, Nabers remains a top-flight receiving option who will strongly benefit from the strides that New York has made offensively last year. Jaxon Dart appears to be an ascending star, Nabers of leading Big Blue back into the playoffs, as new head coach John Harbaugh steers the ship.
So, why the negativity?
First, Nabers recovery status from his torn ACL has been murky at best from New York beat reporters and the coaching staff. The most recent updates we are working with came from Harbaugh back in early April, stating that Nabers “won’t be on the field until the team is into training camp and closer to the start of the season”. This news, while not unexpected or bad per se (no setbacks have been reported), has him likely opening up camp on the PUP list, with the hope that he doesn’t miss regular season games.
Is Nabers someone who needs a full slate of preseason games under his belt to improve? No, not necessarily. But it certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Recovery from ACL tears is more of an exact science, thankfully. Straight-line speed is typically the first thing which is fully returned, followed by lateral or “quick twitch” movement – something Nabers relies upon to create separation, rather than purely being more physical than the defender. I anticipate that we won’t see him back to 100 percent health until later in the season.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Giants’ offensive philosophy is also shifting. Harbaugh is bringing in a ground-and-pound mentality, stocking the pantry with physical players who will outmuscle you at all levels of the field. Isaiah Likely came over from Baltimore and will see a large chunk of the short-yardage targets that Wan’Dale Robinson vacated. New York traded UP in the draft to acquire Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields, a 6’4, 220 lb wideout who many feel is just scratching the surface of his abilities. Fullback Patrick Ricard was also brought over from Baltimore to open holes for Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy, and the offensive line is majorly improved after they re-signed RT Jermaine Eluemunor and took Miami’s Francis Mauigoa with the 10th overall pick.
Expect this offense to be a lot less finesse and much more violent. Words that don’t benefit Nabers.
Tight Ends
Riser: Dallas Goedert (TE – PHI)
This is the second time that I’ve mentioned Goedert in one of my articles this offseason, and it likely won’t be the last time I hype him up before draft season comes along.
Goedert finished as the overall TE4 last season, despite playing in just 15 games. He saw the second-highest number of targets for his career (82), resulting in new career-highs in receptions (60) and touchdowns (11). Slight regression in touchdown receptions is expected (his prior high was just five, in 2019), but I believe that the volume is legitimate – especially if A.J. Brown ends up being traded to New England, as is widely expected.
Goedert’s production skyrocketed over the last few seasons when either Brown or DeVonta Smith was hurt, and it is clear that quarterback Jalen Hurts has a strong rapport with Goedert, especially in the red zone. Even after Philadelphia drafted Makai Lemon with the 20th overall selection, Goedert represents the only “big-bodied” option that can out-muscle cornerbacks and safeties in short-yardage areas for the Eagles.
Factoring in his familiarity with the offense and stable situation, I feel it is criminal that Goedert is ranked TE15 on boards. I’d happily select him over others within his tier, such as Oronde Gadsden II or Dalton Kincaid.
Faller: Harold Fannin Jr. (TE – CLE)
Fannin had a stellar rookie campaign in 2025, securing 72 receptions for 731 yards and six touchdowns, as the top threat on an otherwise dismal Cleveland Browns team. Yet despite his otherworldly numbers last year, I’m listing him as a “faller” option, due to the decisions that Cleveland made during the draft.
Bereft at talent at the wide receiver position last season, the Browns selected Texas A&M speedster KC Concepcion with the 24th overall selection, and then spent their early second-round choice on Denzel Boston, a physical wideout from Washington who excels at contested catches and gives Deshaun Watson (or perhaps Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel?) another huge target in the red zone.
Concepcion and Boston will rotate with Jerry Jeudy, Isaiah Bond, and Cedric Tillman for a fantastic core at wideout, and I’d be remiss to not include running backs Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson as adept receivers as well.
Simply put, Fannin (and to a lesser extent, Jeudy) will have a lot of competition for targets whenever Cleveland decides to throw the ball in 2026. That factor, coupled with what Watson looked like under center the last time he took the field in 2024 gives me plenty of red flags here.
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