The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books. Our rankings for your rooking fantasy football drafts, both single quarterback and superflex/tight end premium, are locked and loaded. We also updated our overall dynasty rankings to incorporate the rookies in there as well for any startups you might have. So our evaluation of these rookies is all up and in the books for the long term in dynasty leagues.

But what about the short term? How do we handle these rookies in our early best ball drafts and, eventually, our redraft leagues? In dynasty, talent eventually wins out, but in any given year, OPPORTUNITY is king. So, because we have a lot of sickos here at Fantasy Alarm who have already started best ball drafts, we’ve updated our 2026 Best Ball Cheat Sheet with the rookies included. And, in this article, we’re going to lay out a few names that we love targeting in early drafts over on FFPC so far.

2026 Rookie NFL Draft Targets In Best Ball

If you want to get started on best ball and take advantage of these rookie ADPs, go over to MyFFPC.com and join their Best Ball Tournament with a $400K grand prize. If you’ve never played over there before, use promo code ALARM, and they will give you $25 when you deposit $35 or more!

 

 

 

Jeremiyah Love, RB, Arizona Cardinals

You have to have SOME exposure. It’s as simple as that. Same thought process with Ashton Jeanty last year, really. Running backs drafted this high in the NFL draft have an insane hit rate both for their career and their first season. Even Jeanty last year and Trent Richardson as a rookie put up 1,300+ yards. We can talk about how the Cardinals have new coaching and are making changes, but the bottom line is that this guy could be special. I would advise drafting some now while he currently goes mid-second round over on FFPC because I only see that going up, not down. 

Jadarian Price, RB, Seattle Seahawks

We’re a little less bullish on Price, but he’s got a few things going for him here. Number one is that he’s a bit of a mystery box because he was behind Love at Notre Dame, and, in best ball, mystery boxes are our friend. Second, he got the draft capital when pretty much no other rookie running back did. Third, he got the landing spot in Seattle with Kenneth Walker gone and Zach Charbonnet coming back from injury. And fourth, and finally, he’s not prohibitively expensive (yet) as the RB28 off the board. 

KC Concepcion, WR, Cleveland Browns

We will draft any of Carnell Tate (WR29), Makai Lemon (WR36), and Jordy Tyson (WR39) if they slide. Tyson is especially appealing as the third of that group. But rookies are generally steamed up in best ball, given some of the “league winners” of the past few years. The thing about best ball is we often draft based on dynasty rankings, but those are factoring in career - we only care about this year. And KC Concepcion could easily be the top target for the Browns this year and possibly the highest scoring rookie WR. Harold Fannin did fine last year when it was a complete mess, and we’re quietly willing to draft Deshaun Watson with a very late pick. So Concepcion at WR49 makes a lot of sense to us.

 

 

 

Kenyon Sadiq, TE, New York Jets

We already know that our main focus in best ball is ceiling. Well, we’re sitting here looking at one of the most athletic tight ends ever. He went in the first round to a team where, after Garrett Wilson, the target pecking order is not settled. And, as the tweet below shows, Frank Reich actually has some notable “big slot” tight ends on his resume with seriously high-end fantasy seasons. He even got a TE4 season out of Eric Ebron. Despite it being TE premium, Sadiq actually goes TE18 on FFPC while he’s being drafted close to the TE1 range on other platforms. 

Kaytron Allen, RB, Washington Commanders

Everyone was fired up about the opportunity that Jacory Croskey-Merritt had last year. Sure, he was a 7th-round pick. But he had very little competition in front of him, with Chris Rodriguez and Austin Ekeler. Now, most of those guys are gone, so the incumbent players are the 7th round Croskey-Merritt, then a couple of pass-down backs on cheap one-year deals in Rachaad White, Jerome Ford, and Jeremy McNichols. Doesn’t the sixth-round pick, Kaytron Allen, here have as easy a path as anyone to carve out some work? He also shared a backfield with Nick Singleton at Penn State, so we don’t know what he’s truly capable of in a bigger role. He’s worth a shot at his 16th round ADP. 

Antonio Williams, WR, Washington Commanders

I’m a Chig Okonkwo fan. That’s been made clear. But I’m also a reasonable one. Which means I understand that he is not some insurmountable issue in terms of the target pecking order in Washington. Terry McLaurin is the top target, but he’s also not someone like CeeDee Lamb, Ja'Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, etc., who commands 180, even 150 targets. In his big year with Jayden Daniels in 2024, he got 117 in 17 games. So there is room for someone to step into that slot/flanker role vacated by Deebo Samuel and get targets right away - and that someone could be rookie Antonio Williams. He’s coming off the board in round 18, meaning he can be had with one of your last couple of picks. 

Zachariah Branch, WR, Atlanta Falcons

I’ll readily admit that I was nervous for Zachariah Branch. Not only was he undersized, but in college, he was more of a “pure slot” guy than a well-rounded, every-down wide receiver. Those guys can have a hard time carving out a meaningful role at the next level, especially right away. But Branch happened to land on a team that has a big split end in Drake London, a tight end in Kyle Pitts, and no one else that really does what he does. He can operate as the slot/flanker in the short to intermediate area and possibly give you a little production right away.