Every fantasy football draft is a little different, but some players show up in nearly every one of ours no matter the format, the league size, or where the pick falls. These are the names that keep making our teams, round after round, mock after mock. Below is the full list of fantasy football draft targets we're prioritizing in 2026, broken down by position, plus the rookies and late-round fliers rounding out our cheat sheet. Check out our full 2026 Fantasy Football Draft Guide for even more, and pair this list with our fantasy football rankings, our fantasy football sleepers breakdown, and our rookie rankings as you build your board this summer.

What Makes a Draft-Day Target?

A draft-day target is different from a sleeper or a value play, even though the three overlap often. A sleeper is a player almost nobody is talking about. A value is a player whose price undersells his production ceiling. A true draft-day target is simpler than either of those. It's a player we want on our roster in basically every draft we sit down for, regardless of exactly where he goes.

That usually means one of three things is true: the player has a clear, secure role in his offense, he plays with a quarterback or scheme that maximizes his opportunity, or his fantasy football values are still catching up to a situation that changed for the better this offseason. When we build our fantasy football rankings each summer, these are the names we circle first, then build the rest of the board around.

 

 

 

Quarterbacks We're Drafting Everywhere

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Herbert finished 2025 as the QB9 in points per game while adding a career-high 498 rushing yards, and that was with a battered offensive line in front of him. The Chargers fired Greg Roman, hired Mike McDaniel, and are getting Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt back healthy at tackle. They also added tight end David Njoku to a receiving corps that already includes Omarion Hampton, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, and Tre Harris. A quarterback with real rushing equity who is also getting a cleaner pocket and a deeper receiving room is a QB1 we're happy to draft in almost every league.

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Prescott finished 2025 as the overall QB6, completing 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,552 yards and 32 total touchdowns while leading the NFL in completions. He's finished as a top-eight fantasy quarterback in each of his last four healthy seasons, and he still gets to throw to CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Jake Ferguson. Dallas' defense should be improved in 2026, which could shave a few pass attempts off his workload, but Prescott going in the eighth or ninth round is one of the cleanest value plays at the position. We're drafting him in nearly every one-quarterback league we sit in.

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Nix has finished as a top-seven fantasy quarterback in each of his first two NFL seasons, powered by a rushing floor that has produced 786 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground across 34 career starts. He fractured his ankle late in the playoffs and had a follow-up procedure in the spring, but he's on track for a full-go training camp and Week 1. The Broncos traded for Jaylen Waddle this offseason, giving Nix a legitimate difference-making target to go with Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin. A low-end QB1 with rushing upside in Round 9 is exactly the profile we want on our roster.

Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings

Murray's time in Arizona ended after a foot injury limited him to five games in 2025, but his fresh start in Minnesota puts him in one of the best spots of his career. He steps into an offense with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jauan Jennings at receiver, and he'll be coached by Kevin O'Connell. Murray is expected to be under center for Week 1 as the favorite over J.J. McCarthy. When healthy across his career, Murray has posted finishes as high as QB3 and QB4, and getting that kind of dual-threat ceiling in the double-digit rounds makes him one of our favorite draft-day targets in any format that starts more than one quarterback.

Running Backs We're Drafting Everywhere

Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders

Jeanty's rookie season looked disappointing on the surface, but he ranked first among qualifying backs in opportunity share and topped 1,300 total yards despite playing behind the worst offensive infrastructure in football. New head coach Klint Kubiak runs a scheme that called runs on roughly half of his snaps in Seattle, and he's been vocal about feeding his best player. The Raiders also handed the keys to rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, which should only add stability to an offense that can now build around its two best young players. Jeanty at the back of Round 1 is a value we're taking in every draft.

Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers

Hampton averaged 15.1 PPR points per game with a 4.4 yards-per-carry mark before a fractured ankle ended his rookie season early. New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has a track record of funneling targets to his lead running back, ranking top-seven in target share to the position in each of his last three seasons as a play-caller, and Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt are both projected to be healthy for a full season at tackle. He's squarely in the low-end RB1-to-top-five conversation, and we're drafting him as a locked-in Round 2 pick everywhere.

David Montgomery, Houston Texans

Montgomery was traded from Detroit to Houston this offseason and steps into the clear lead-back role in a Texans backfield that also features rookie Woody Marks. He scored double-digit rushing touchdowns in four straight seasons and remains one of the league's most reliable red-zone producers, having handled well over 60 percent of the Lions' carries inside the five-yard line last season. The Texans upgraded their offensive line and showed signs of leaning into the run game late in 2025. This is a workhorse role at a discounted price, and we're targeting Montgomery as a strong RB2 in the middle rounds of every draft.

Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers

Warren set career highs across the board last season, including 211 carries, 958 rushing yards, and eight total touchdowns, while ranking top-ten among backs in missed tackle rate and yards after contact per attempt. The Steelers added Rico Dowdle in free agency, which adds some risk to the picture, but Dowdle has never handled a true bellcow workload, and Warren has outperformed his ADP in three of his four NFL seasons. He's a safe bet to return value as a No. 3 running back with real PPR upside, and we're comfortable drafting him in Round 6 or 7 in nearly every league.

Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings

Mason led the Vikings in rushing with 758 yards last season and scored eight rushing touchdowns while soaking up 36 red zone touches. Aaron Jones is still ahead of him on the depth chart, but Jones is entering his age-32 season and has missed at least five games in two of the last three years. If Jones misses any time, Mason profiles as a plug-and-play RB2 with legitimate goal-line equity, and even in a timeshare, he's a strong handcuff and touchdown-dependent flex. We're drafting Mason as a high-value bench stash in nearly every league we're in.

 

 

 

Wide Receivers We're Drafting Everywhere

Nico Collins, Houston Texans

Collins has now put together three straight top-ten fantasy seasons at wide receiver, posting a 71-catch, 1,117-yard, six-touchdown season in 2025 despite battling injuries and inconsistent quarterback play from C.J. Stroud. He remains Houston's unquestioned WR1 and just agreed to a restructured contract that guarantees his salary for the next two seasons, cementing his long-term role. Even in a run-first offense, Collins is a low-end WR1 with top-five upside if Stroud takes even a modest step forward, and he's a player we're drafting in every single league regardless of format.

Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

Wilson's 2025 season was wiped out by a knee injury that limited him to seven games, but before he went down, he was commanding an elite 30 percent target share despite some of the worst quarterback play in the league. Geno Smith arriving in New York is a real, if unspectacular, upgrade at quarterback, and Wilson remains the unquestioned centerpiece of the Jets passing attack even with rookies Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq in the building. At his Round 4 price, Wilson is a receiver with real WR1 upside for the cost of a No. 2 option, and we're drafting him everywhere.

Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears

Odunze ranked as a top-three wide receiver through the first month of last season before a foot injury sapped his effectiveness and cost him the final five games. The Bears traded DJ Moore this offseason and lost slot receiver Olamide Zaccheaus in free agency, leaving Odunze as the most established veteran in Chicago's receiver room. Another year of rapport with Caleb Williams under second-year head coach Ben Johnson gives Odunze real positive regression upside, and this post-hype breakout candidate is a name we keep landing in the middle rounds of every mock and every live draft.

Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars

Washington's finish to the 2025 season was one of the best-kept secrets in fantasy football. Over his final four games, including the playoffs, he caught 26 passes for 454 yards and racked up 22.2 half-PPR points per game, leading the Jaguars in targets, receptions, and receiving yards down the stretch. Target competition from Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter is real, but head coach Liam Coen has praised Washington's slot role all offseason. He's one of the best fantasy football sleepers on the board, and we're drafting him in Round 8 of just about every league.

Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts

Downs led all Colts wide receivers and tight ends with a 24 percent target share in 2025 and ranked 20th among all receivers in average separation score, all while playing a part-time route-running role. With Michael Pittman traded to Pittsburgh, the Colts have already indicated they plan to use Downs more frequently outside instead of limiting him to the slot. Early training camp reports have him standing out as Daniel Jones's favorite target. A career-high snap share and target total are both in play, making Downs one of the better values in the middle rounds of every draft we're building.

Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers

Coker turned into one of the best undrafted success stories of 2025, catching 33 passes for 394 yards and three touchdowns in just 11 games while averaging an impressive 9.2 yards per target. He passed Xavier Legette on the depth chart as the season progressed and capped it off with a 134-yard playoff performance against the Rams. Coker enters 2026 as the favorite for Carolina's No. 2 receiver job behind Tetairoa McMillan, and if he can stay healthy for a full season, he has real WR3-with-upside value in a Panthers passing game that's trending in the right direction.

Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns

Jeudy's 2025 season in Cleveland was a disappointment, with just 50 catches for 602 yards and two touchdowns despite playing all 17 games as the nominal No. 1 receiver. The Browns added rookies KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston this offseason, which only muddies the target picture further. But Jeudy is still just two years removed from a 90-catch, 1,229-yard, four-touchdown season, and his current ADP has fallen into the double-digit rounds. This is a cheap, low-cost dart throw rather than a core roster piece, but at his current price, Jeudy is worth the flier in deeper leagues.

Tight Ends We're Drafting Everywhere

Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts

Warren's rookie season was a TE10 finish in points per game with 76 catches for 817 yards, but the underlying numbers say he was performing like a top-four tight end before Daniel Jones went down with a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 14. The Colts traded away Michael Pittman this offseason and made no significant additions at wide receiver, which only clears more targets for Warren heading into his second season. Getting top-three positional upside in Round 5 is a value we're drafting in every league at the tight end position.

Isaiah Likely, New York Giants

Likely spent four seasons stuck behind Mark Andrews in Baltimore, but he signed a three-year, $40 million deal with the Giants this offseason to reunite with head coach John Harbaugh. Over his four years with the Ravens, Likely caught 135 of 194 targets for 1,568 yards and 15 touchdowns, and he now has a chance to be Jaxson Dart's top receiving tight end with almost no target competition at the position. Reports out of spring workouts already point to a quick rapport between Likely and Dart. This is a low-end TE1 with real breakout upside, and we're drafting him in nearly every league we're in.

Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys

Ferguson finished as the TE8 in fantasy points in two of his last three seasons, most recently posting a career-high 82 receptions for 600 yards and eight touchdowns. He paced as the fantasy TE1 through the first seven weeks of last season while CeeDee Lamb was sidelined with a high ankle sprain, showing exactly what his ceiling looks like if either Lamb or George Pickens misses time. Even at full health around him, Ferguson's six targets per game floor is enough to justify a pick in Round 10 or 11, and he's one of the safer, more repeatable tight end picks on our board.

Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders

Okonkwo posted a career-high 560 receiving yards on 56 catches for the Titans last season despite playing with some of the league's worst quarterback situations for four straight years. He signed with the Commanders this offseason and inherits a starting tight end role with a legitimate franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels, replacing a departed Zach Ertz, who turned in a TE8 finish in this same offense in 2024. Washington's receiver room beyond Terry McLaurin remains unproven, which opens a real path for Okonkwo to become a secondary target earner. He's an easy TE2 stash with legitimate weekly TE1 spike upside in every league.

 

 

 

Rookies We're Targeting

Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks drafted Price in the first round out of Notre Dame, and with Kenneth Walker gone to Kansas City in free agency and Zach Charbonnet recovering from a torn ACL, the runway to a lead-back role is wide open. Price has a realistic path to 275 or more touches as a rookie in an offense that should once again lean on the ground game to set up play action for Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He's one of the highest-upside rookie backs in this class, and we're targeting him aggressively as a potential fantasy breakout in his first pro season.

Carnell Tate, Tennessee Titans

Tate was the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, going to the Titans after Ohio State's latest run of first-round wide receiver production. He joins a Tennessee passing game that just added Wan'Dale Robinson in free agency and now has quarterback Cam Ward throwing to a much-improved receiving corps in Year 2 under offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Tate's route-running polish, ball skills, and strong draft capital give him a legitimate path to early target volume, and we like his rookie-year outlook in a Titans passing attack that finally has real weapons around its young quarterback.

Kenyon Sadiq, New York Jets

Sadiq is one of the most explosive athletes at the tight end position in this class, running a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at 247 pounds at the combine, and the Jets took him in the first round to pair with Garrett Wilson and fellow rookie Omar Cooper Jr. The target competition in New York is real, and Sadiq's per-route production in college lagged behind his eye-popping measurables. But traits like his don't come around often at tight end, and if he earns even a modest route share as a rookie, he has legitimate weekly upside as a boom-or-bust dynasty and redraft stash.

Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders

Mendoza went first overall to the Raiders after winning the Heisman Trophy and leading Indiana to a perfect 16-0 season and a national championship. He now steps into a Las Vegas offense that also features Ashton Jeanty in the backfield, giving the Raiders two potential foundational pieces to build around under new head coach Klint Kubiak. Mendoza isn't a rushing threat on the level of recent rookie fantasy stars, but he flashed real mobility in the biggest moments of his college career. He's a late-round dart throw in one-quarterback leagues and a much stronger consideration in Superflex and two-quarterback formats.

Late-Round Draft Targets

These are the names we're circling in the final third of every draft, the picks that cost almost nothing but carry real fantasy football values if their situation breaks right.

 

 

 

Final 2026 Fantasy Football Draft-Day Target List

If you only remember one list from this entire guide, make it this one. These eleven players represent our highest-conviction fantasy football draft targets across every round, and they're the names we're building our 2026 rosters around.

  • Ashton Jeanty – buy-low RB1 upside at the back of Round 1
  • Justin Herbert – a cleaner pocket and a deeper receiving room make him a QB1 in Round 7
  • Kyler Murray – a fresh start in Minnesota with elite receiving weapons
  • Omarion Hampton – a clear three-down role in a scheme built to feed running backs
  • Tyjae Spears – cheap PPR insurance in a backfield that could open up
  • Nico Collins – a three-time top-ten fantasy receiver locked in as Houston's WR1
  • Rome Odunze – the clearest path to targets he's had in his career after DJ Moore's trade
  • Josh Downs – an expanded route share now that Michael Pittman is gone
  • Wan'Dale Robinson – a near lock for 130-plus targets reunited with Brian Daboll
  • Tyler Warren – top-three tight end upside in Round 5
  • Chig Okonkwo – the best quarterback situation of his career at a TE2 price