0:00Six darkhorse league winning candidates for fantasy football in 2026. I'm Theo Greminger, RotoWire lead fantasy analyst, and we're talking about league
0:09winners.
0:15And we're not talking about the players at the very top of the ADP list right now. I'm not going to sit here and tell
0:22you that Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Ja'Marr Chase, and Puka Nacua are set to smash this season. You know that, I know
0:30that, and we're not wasting time here.
0:32We're looking to win fantasy football leagues. But when you can identify players that go several rounds behind them and get first-round type production,
0:43that's cheat code in fantasy football.
0:46And finding league winners at that range of the draft happens every single year.
0:52We go back to last season, Jaxon Smith-Njigba crushed fantasy football leagues out of the third round in every single format.
1:00There were people actually fading JSN last year.
1:04You were able to get JSN inside of the third round, and even when he rose up at the end of the summer, he was still
1:11going at that. Go back the year before, and it was a bunch of rookies. The rookies all put up big numbers, namely
1:19Brock Bowers finishing as the tight end one overall. You were drafting him around tight end 12. You also had Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. putting up
1:28huge numbers as rookie wide receivers.
1:30Go back even further.
1:33Go to 2022, Josh Jacobs was being drafted in the sixth round, finished as a top-three scorer at the running back position. Go to 2021, Cooper Kupp, wide
1:43receiver one overall season out of the third and fourth round, wasn't even the first drafted wide receiver on his team.
1:512020, Stefon Diggs' first year in Buffalo. The list goes on. All of these players provided first-round type production at a much cheaper cost. And
2:02if we can hit on these players in 2026, we are going to crush our fantasy leagues. Talking about six of them, and
2:09I've got one for each and every position. And we're going to start off at the running back position with Breece Hall. We don't have to go back very far
2:16to see when Breece Hall was crushing fantasy football leagues. We've seen it in multiple seasons.
2:22He's had a rough go in terms of offensive environment in New York as as of late. And now we're seeing the ADP
2:29reflecting that. Last year, Breece Hall had a lot of really, really high-profile moments and some signal that he's set to
2:39have a really strong season in 2026.
2:42Hall is in a fantastic place age-wise, just turned 25 years old, and was just paid a big contract, 3 years, $43
2:52million to continue his career in New York.
2:55Last year, we saw Hall have his first 1,000-yard season as a pro.
3:01He had eight runs that went for over 20 yards.
3:05And he had 17 that went for over 15 yards, displaying the big-play ability and explosiveness that some people were worried about in 2024.
3:16The Jets' offensive line is looking better and better. We've seen them make improvements on the offensive line in multiple draft classes. And then we just
3:25saw Joe Tippmann extended, so their guard, 25-year-old guard, extended.
3:31You've got guys like Alijah Vera-Tucker entering year two. The offensive line is going to be in much better shape. Now, there's people out there saying, "I
3:39don't trust Geno Smith." But look at some of the quarterback play that Breece Hall has had to play with in previous
3:45seasons of his career. Geno Smith is going to be a stabilizing force on that offense, and his skill set should match
3:53up very well with Breece Hall and his ability to receive passes as a check-down receiver. Right now, we're looking at the supporting cast for
4:02Breece Hall as well, and the supporting cast for Breece Hall is really the best that we've ever seen at any point in his career. We've seen
4:09Breece Hall play with Garrett Wilson in multiple seasons, and that will continue. Garrett Wilson also extended.
4:17Garrett Wilson also looks poised to have a high-profile usage season. But when you look at the investments that New York has made over the last two seasons,
4:26trading for Adonai Mitchell last year at the trade deadline when they moved Sauce Gardner and they got Adonai Mitchell back, Adonai Mitchell flashing last
4:33year, then New York also drafted Mason Taylor last year, uh had a disappointing rookie year, some injury issues.
4:42Then this year, they draft Omar Cooper Jr. out of Indiana, and they draft Kanyon Sadeeq uh out of Oregon. So, you
4:49get multiple tight ends with first or second-round draft capital, Sadeeq bringing his game-breaking speed, and then you've got wide receiver improvements, quarterback improvements,
4:59and the offensive line should be improved. When we look at Breece Hall's history as a receiver, we only have to go back to 2023 to see him catching 76
5:09passes. He had 57 catches in 2024. And now you're able to get Breece Hall in a range where it's an easy click in all
5:17formats. Breece Hall is a third-round pick. Years for many years we're having to use first-round draft capital on Breece Hall. Now you're able to get him
5:26inside a round three. A lot of this is reflective on Some people don't want to draft Jets, and other people might be
5:32looking for something new instead of a name like Breece Hall. If the receiving work goes back to the 57-ish catches a season, then Breece Hall is a
5:42smash value inside a round three. If it somehow kicks up to the 65 range uh that we saw like in that 2023 season, then
5:51Breece Hall could end up being the league winner at the running back position. The Jets don't have to be a top 10 offense for this to happen. If
6:00the Jets are middle of the pack offensively, Breece Hall is set to smash. You're able to get him at 36 overall in NFFC drafts right now at that
6:093-4 turn, and he's an early third round pick in FFPC formats and on Underdog.
6:14Breece Hall is a very easy click and could be a league winner. Running backs are also super expensive this year. Hall
6:21is like the dividing line that when you start to enter potential dead zone running back territory. Guys that could be potential landmines to you. So,
6:31Breece Hall gives you that flexibility to go ahead and draft a wide receiver in the first or second round, and then
6:37still get your edge at running back, too, if you use a one of those other first round or second round picks on a running back.
6:44Or Breece Hall allows you to start out your build with a modified hero RB start with Hall as your RB1. He's going to
6:52have a very good season. Let's pivot over to the wide receiver position, and let's talk about Emeka Egbuka.
7:00Egbuka started off last season on a massive hot streak.
7:05Averaged over 20 points per game over the first 5 weeks of the season. Then he started getting banged up, and he played
7:11through it, and the production regressed as the season moved along. But, a mental exercise is if we could flip Emeka Egbuka's scoring production from the
7:22beginning of the season to the end of the season, and let's say he ended the regular season with 5 weeks of that sort
7:29of production, then his ADP would be through the roof. But, because it happened early in the year, you're able to get Egbuka at this discount. I'm able
7:37to get Egbuka in the fourth round in some formats. He's a three-four turn pick in FFPC. He's going 39 overall in
7:46Underdog Best Ball. And then in the wide receiver heavy NFFC formats, he's a late late second rounder. Sounds a lot like
7:54another former Ohio State Buckeye, Jackson Smith-Njigba. And when we look at Emeka Egbuka, the pedigree for him is outstanding. All-time leading receiver
8:04in Ohio State history. Had 205 catches in his time in Columbus.
8:09And last year as a rookie, had a 23.6% target share and 127 targets. Now you've got Zach Robinson coming over as the new
8:20offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay. And he has been very clear that Emeka Egbuka is going to be playing the Z receiver
8:27role, where he is going to be moved around the offense and find advantageous matchups even if defenses are keying in on him.
8:36Egbuka has the versatility to thrive in this scheme and crush his ADP. We could be talking about 17 or 18 points per
8:45game and Egbuka being viewed as the breakout year two wide receiver in football this year. Then you look at what happened this offseason. Tampa Bay
8:55loses Mike Evans. They lose their long-time wide receiver one and it feels like a changing of the guard with Egbuka. Chris Godwin will return this
9:04year, but he's an older player. And Egbuka's target competition at wide receiver after that, third round pick Trey Palmer, year three player Jalen McMillan, Tez
9:14Johnson, a seventh round pick last year, and then Cade Otton returning at tight end. There's no reason Emeka Egbuka cannot be a 145 to 160 target player
9:26this year. Oh, and Baker Mayfield, he's going for a contract. You're going to see Baker Mayfield slinging it this year in a contract year for him when he's
9:35trying to get paid the bag. Egbuka not only will be the leader of this passing game, but Aemeka Eggbuker can be the
9:41offensive focal point for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season. He is an easy pick right now. You're able to get him
9:48as a low-end wide receiver two in almost every single format. Let's stay at the wide receiver position and let's go with
9:56another wideout in Chris Olave. Now, Olave is going to cost you a little bit more than Eggbuker. Olave is going to be
10:03a third-round type pick in FFPC and on Underdog. And for good reason. Olave last year was awesome. He had a career
10:11season in the first year of Kellen Moore in New Orleans. Kellen Moore told us all off-season long that he was going to
10:18going to use Chris Olave in a major way and everything would revolve around Chris Olave and he delivered. Olave was an awesome pick last year in fantasy
10:27football. He had 100 catches, which was fifth most among all wide receivers. He was seventh in receiving yards among wideouts and he was tied for sixth in
10:37touchdown grabs with nine.
10:39There's four seasons in a row here in fantasy football. When we talk about the number of targets and the number of
10:46catches, Chris Olave last year, 150 plus targets and again, 100 catches. Why are those things important? Because leading the NFL in targets and leading the NFL
10:58in catches has been one of the biggest drivers for wide receiver one overall production in fantasy football. We've seen four straight seasons in a row
11:07where the wide receiver one has led the league in catches and led the league in targets. So, why not Chris Olave this
11:14year? You talk about his target share.
11:1829% target share last year for Olave.
11:21Fantastic stuff. And in games with Tyler Shuck last year, eight games where Tyler Shuck started last year, Chris Olave averaged 18.8
11:31points per game.
11:32Now, Tyler Hill, the vibes are fantastic out of New Orleans. The The beat reporters, the coaches, they're all saying the right things that Taysom Hill
11:39is going to take a big step forward. And this offense as a whole with Kellen Moore is going to be fantasy football
11:45friendly. Now, Jordan Addison was drafted this year by the Saints. And Jordan Addison is really, really good.
11:53But it's more of a complimentary piece to Chris Olave and more of a player that should help the overall offense get
12:00better than a player who is a threat to Chris Olave's total targets. I think Jordan Addison is a good bet if healthy
12:07to go north of 100 targets as a rookie.
12:10And he's a player you should be targeting a little bit later in your drafts. But Chris Olave is going to thrive as the wide receiver one this
12:17year. When you look at his ADP price tag, it feels like you're drafting him as at his floor. And in the past,
12:24Olave's had concussion issues, but there was no problems with it last year. So, Chris Olave back at practice, the blood clot thing, the all the beat reporters
12:34and the team says is completely under control. Chris Olave could be in position to have his best season as a pro and it feels like I'm drafting him
12:43at his floor. He is an absolute target magnet. One more wide receiver to discuss, it's DeVonta Smith.
12:50And as soon as the A.J. Brown trade rumors started, we all heard Philly beat reporters saying, "It's easy. It's DeVonta Smith. DeVonta
12:59Smith is going to step right in as the wide receiver one. This is a player that we think could handle Jaxon Smith-Njigba
13:06like usage. And the JSN type role is a role that DeVonta Smith, if they chose to use him in that way, is talented
13:14enough to handle.
13:15And the splits without A.J. Brown in the over the last three seasons for DeVonta Smith have been absolutely terrific.
13:22He's averaged nine targets per game and 16.2 points per game in games without A.J. Brown.
13:29Now, A.J. Brown is a New England Patriot. And it's time for DeVonta Smith to have the best season he's ever had as
13:36a pro.
13:37He's a veteran, but he's 27 years old and there's still plenty of room for him to run. You're talking about a player
13:43who was a top 10 pick, unbelievable uh production, excuse me, first round pick, unbelievable production out of Alabama. Just ridiculous what he was
13:53able to do there. The most successful wide receiver season under Nick Saban ever at Alabama was DeVonta Smith. And
14:02DeVonta Smith capped off his season by winning the Heisman Trophy in 2020. He had a nearly 1,900 receiving yard, 23
14:13touchdown season that year in 2020. And as a pro, he's been a really good player. There's been multiple seasons in DeVonta Smith's career where you've been
14:22very excited to have him, and we've said that was a really good season for DeVonta Smith. He's had a number of very
14:28good seasons, but he hasn't had that one season that stands out above all, and and was like the focal point season of
14:36his career. He could be staring at that in 2026 with A.J. Brown now a New England Patriot. And when we look at
14:43what the offense in Philly's going to look like this year, Shane Steichen taking over as the OC, this Eagles offense is changing and could look a lot
14:52better this year.
14:53Dallas Goedert also could benefit from the loss of A.J. Brown, but you're talking about Dallas Goedert, a player who's in his 30s, and the most targets
15:00he ever had in a season was 87. He's a capped target player. Mekhi Lemon, the rookie wide receiver, very promising, but you're talking about a rookie wide
15:10receiver.
15:11DeVonta Smith could easily step into the A.J. Brown role, and the A.J. Brown role has been outstanding for fantasy football. A.J. Brown has had at least a
15:2027% target share for multiple seasons in a row and he's been had a a top-five first read rate to go along with a 35%
15:30air yard share for multiple seasons in a row. DeVonta Smith's numbers could look exactly the same as the wide receiver one in Philly.
15:39And there's a chance that he could put up a 17-18 point per game season and I'm able to get him at the 3-4 turn on both
15:48Underdog and FFPC right now.
15:51Smith is set to have his best season as a pro. He makes a a lot of sense structurally in drafts right now and
15:58with the upside that he presents, it's going to be a great year for DeVonta Smith in that offense.
16:05Let's pivot over to the tight end position and let's talk about Cole Kmet.
16:08Kmet has to be the guy this year. Cole Kmet has to be the guy this year.
16:11There's some other promising tight ends out there. Like we could make a case for Tyler Warren. Tyler Warren's also in a
16:17really good spot this year, the number one target in Indianapolis. But when it comes to Cole Kmet, Kmet's on another level in terms of what
16:26the fantasy upside should be this year.
16:29We've had multiple seasons in a row where the tight end one overall in fantasy was not the tight end one off
16:36the board. Now, I think Brock Bowers is going to smash this year and Trey McBride, even if there is a little bit
16:40of regression this year with guys like potentially Carson Beck starting a number of games behind center, McBride is still McBride. He's still a absolute
16:49monster. But if a tight end not named Brock Bowers and not named Trey McBride finishes as the tight end one overall
16:55this year, my bet is going to be Cole Kmet. Kmet has Kmet has a chance to put up an absolute monster season in Chicago.
17:04And we got a taste at the end of last season when Cole Kmet went nuts towards the end of the year.
17:11He dominated down the stretch.
17:1310 plus targets and 20 plus PPR points per game in three straight games down the stretch including an eight catch 137-yard
17:23performance and a touchdown in the playoffs win over the Green Bay Packers.
17:28Loveland did this as a 21-year-old rookie.
17:31He had nine catches of 20 plus yards.
17:35It This was outstanding, especially considering the slow start that he had to start out the year. Loveland was fourth in air yards among all tight ends
17:45and third in deep targets among all tight ends. So, you're talking about a player that's going to get high-value looks in the passing game and the
17:54ability to put up double-digit targets at a position where very few players are able to get double-digit weekly targets, namely guys like Bowers, guys like
18:05McBride, and in the past, guys like Travis Kelce. So, Loveland is going to be a big-time target earner. He's older this year, first-round pedigree last
18:15year, and let's talk about him at Michigan.
18:18Colston Loveland was on a pretty poor Michigan offense that struggled in the passing game, but Loveland dominated the usage, had a outstanding season when
18:28Michigan won the national title game, was the second leading receiver, almost the leading receiver on the national title team, and then the following year
18:36at Michigan, he led them in all categories, targets, receptions, receiving yards, and then was drafted in the first round by the Bears and was
18:45fast-tracked towards the towards the end of the season. You're going to see Loveland pick up where he left off last year, and the ADP price is right for
18:53Loveland to not only be the best pick among all tight ends, but potentially a dark horse league winner among all positions. You can get him right now at
19:0444 overall in NFFC 350 dollar entry leagues, and you're able to get him at 46 overall on Underdog. Now, Loveland costs a lot more in tight end premium
19:15formats, but he's still worth a click in those formats as well. Loveland is in great shape this year to smash. And when you
19:23look at Chicago's offense as a whole, you're talking about Ben Johnson year two. We all saw the trajectory Detroit had when Johnson was there as OC. The
19:32offense got better and better and better as as the years moved along and smashed.
19:38We also saw Caleb Williams last year take a massive step forward at the quarterback position in his second year as a pro. Now you've got Caleb Williams
19:46entering year three.
19:48You've an offensive line that used to be a problem for Chicago and now is going to be a problem for opponents because
19:55that Chicago offensive line should be a top 10 unit. And Colston Loveland looks set to have a monster year. When you
20:03talk about the target competition, it's certainly there.
20:06Luther Burden has a chance to break through. Rome Odunze has a chance for a strong season. Got some foot issues right now, but the team doesn't seem
20:13overly concerned about him. But between Burden and Odunze, those two could cannibalize one another. Now, one of them could end up leading the team in
20:20targets, but Loveland is a great bet to be a top two target on this offense and I think ultimately leads the team in
20:29total targets this year. When you talk about how to identify tight end values in fantasy football, one of the easiest ways to do so is find
20:37really good tight ends that are projected to be the number one or number two target in their passing game. I think Colston Loveland checks off all
20:44those boxes. Talk about coach speak. Ben Johnson says great things about Colston Loveland any chance he gets, and we know the chemistry be between him and Caleb
20:54Williams should be way better this season. Colston Loveland might be the best pick you can make at the tight end position right now in fantasy football
21:02with tight end one overall upside.
21:05Talking about the quarterback position, we're going to go a little bit of a post type sleeper because last season at this
21:11time, everyone wanted to draft Jayden Daniels. Jayden Daniels steamed up in dynasty, steamed up in best ball, and he certainly steamed up in redraft. And why
21:21wouldn't he? Jayden Daniels had a fantastic rookie season. Washington made it all the way to the NFC Championship game. Daniels was an unbelievable player
21:31and he just dominated in terms of fantasy football value. Jayden Daniels was available right around the QB 12 spot, ended up finishing as the QB5
21:42overall, averaged 21 and 1/2 points per game as a rookie.
21:46And the production he had as a passer, outstanding. Nearly 3,600 passing yards and and 25 passing touchdowns. Those numbers should trend up this year. But
21:57what made Jayden Daniels special from the fantasy football department was 891 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. Just an electric electric
22:07player with the ball in his hands.
22:09You're talking about a player with a 4-5 40-yard dash time. Like Daniels is lightning in a bottle.
22:16Put up fantastic numbers as a runner and that should continue this year. Daniels is fully healthy right now and Washington made the switch at offensive
22:25coordinator and the vibes with David Blough are outstanding. A young offensive coordinator, history of with the Detroit Lions. David Blough was in
22:33the organization last year and the team moved off of Cliff Kingsbury to go with Blough. And Blough is going to put
22:39Jayden Daniels behind center a lot more.
22:42And the vibes are great there in Washington. Beat reporters seem to be very into the offense right now and you look at the the moves that Washington
22:49has made. Terry McLaurin's back. Daniels gets his his wide receiver that set the Commanders record, franchise record for the most touchdown catches of any
22:59Washington Commander/Redskin all time during 2024 Jayden Daniels rookie year.
23:06McLaurin's back this year and Blau is going to feature him. Then you look at Antonio Williams drafted in the third round this year out of Clemson. Chig
23:14Okonkwo signed as a free agent tied at tight end position. And then they bring in Rashad White at the running back
23:19position who played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State and gives Washington a really strong receiver out of the backfield. Rashad White has had three
23:30seasons in his career with at least 50 receptions out of the backfield.
23:34Provides a nice check down value to Jayden Daniels. Talk about the offensive adjustments where David Blau is going to line Jayden Daniels up behind center a
23:43lot more. There's a chance that he's going to thrive in play action in this scheme and he's still such a threat on
23:50all sorts of running attempts including around the goal line where there's a chance that Jayden Daniels is going to lead all quarterbacks in rushing yards
24:00this year and in rushing touchdowns this year.
24:03Then you talk about the ADP value for Jayden Daniels and you might say Theo, I see him going off the board as the QB5
24:09in some of these formats. But the difference is quarterback is pushed down this year. So the opportunity cost of players you're losing out on is much
24:18lower than in years past when you're attacking like a QB5 overall. Then you look at like the ADP difference between a Jayden Daniels and a Josh Allen.
24:27Jayden Daniels is going 50 spots behind Josh Allen in FFPC drafts and about 35 plus spots behind him in NFFC. Immense
24:37potential for Jayden Daniels. Feels like a post type sleeper. We were calling him an MVP candidate last year and we were
24:44talking about him as a potential fantasy football league winner last year. We might have been a year too early. Year three Jayden Daniels should be special.
24:52I'm Theo Gramminger. For more videos like this and more content like this, make sure you hit that subscribe button and hit the like button. RotoWire is
25:00your home for sharp fantasy football analysis that's going to help you crush your leagues this year. And if you want access to my rankings, my articles, my
25:08dynasty content, and more, make sure you subscribe over at rotowire.com, use the code Theo15, and get 15% off any
25:18RotoWire sub. We'll see you soon.
