Re-Ranking This Year's Top 10 Rookies and Their 2026 Fantasy Football Outlooks

January 22, 2026

John's 2026 fantasy football outlooks for this year's top 10 rookies. He re-ranks the rookie class and digs into the risers and fallers for 2026 and beyond.

The 2025 NFL Draft rookie class wasn't quite the stellar group we got from 2024. That class had Ladd McConkey, Brian Thomas Jr., Malik Nabers, Jayden Daniels, Bucky Irving, and Brock Bowers, though. Even RB Isaac Guerendo had some huge games.

But that's not to say there weren't good players in this year's draft. 2024 was more of an outlier, and this year's class lined up with the norm better. Still, it's worth looking back at their performances in 2025 and seeing how the top-10 first-year players should be re-ranked.

This will include analysis of them as players moving forward, as well as taking into account the hardships they faced in Year 1. Not all players are dropped into ideal situations, though it's important for those to improve if they want to reach their potential. So let's dive into a re-ranking of the 2025 rookie class for fantasy football!

10. Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Egbuka's dynasty value skyrocketed after his first few games with the Bucs. But a massive regression hit later in the season. He ran hot on touchdowns early in the year but scored zero in his last eight contests. His high target volume also plummeted late in the season.

Tampa Bay will likely have WR Chris Godwin Jr. healthy next season. If WR Mike Evans also returns, Egbuka might not get the target volume he had this season, as both Evans and Godwin dealt with multiple injuries. The rookie's 10 games with just single-digit PPR fantasy points sank many fantasy teams' chances at the playoffs.

9. Tyler Warren, TE, Indianapolis Colts

Early in the season, Warren was crushing it and shot up in dynasty rankings. It was believed he'd be a sure-fire elite TE and possibly top-2 at his position for multiple years. But despite maintaining good target volume, he cooled off heavily toward the end of the season.

Though this was largely due to the injury to his starting quarterback, Daniel Jones (Achilles), Warren never had more than 20 PPR points in any of his contests. He's in a stacked room of offensive playmakers, so he doesn't get elite target volume. That's unlikely to change for a while. He's a great player, though.

8. TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England Patriots

The per-game upside Henderson has is huge, but he'll need a workhorse RB1 role to move up these rankings. Whether that happens is questionable. Once RB Rhamondre Stevenson's contract is up, he'll likely be gone, but New England could bring in another power back.

Henderson is an elite athlete, but he's not a bruiser with good power and contact balance. He's also not a top-tier route-runner. His value will heavily depend on his role moving forward, but he could lack the consistency of the players ahead of him

7. RJ Harvey*, RB, Denver Broncos

The asterisk is here because this value assumes the Broncos don't bring in competition for him and decide to make him a workhorse back. Whether that happens is up for debate. But in this offense, he was excellent for fantasy after RB J.K. Dobbins (foot) got hurt and was placed on injured reserve.

Harvey has work to do as an inside runner, but Broncos head coach Sean Payton's schemes are dynamite for a potential RB1 with a large role, and Payton is likely to remain in Denver for a long time. The team also has a great offensive line and a QB who's played well most of the time.

6. Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears

In Bears head coach Ben Johnson's offense, Burden could explode in Year 2 or Year 3 thanks to his elite abilities after the catch. He was the most efficient pass-catcher in Chicago in most advanced metrics, and flashed unique play-making ability for a WR with the ball in his hands.

The problem is mostly the target competition. With WRs DJ Moore and Rome Odunze and tight end Colston Loveland all vying for looks in the passing game in a low-volume passing offense, Burden might never see the target volume he needs to be a consistently great fantasy receiver. He'll need to keep up his top-tier efficiency to return value.

Luther Burden vs. 49ers pic.twitter.com/1OKD3G2xJz

— Dave (@davebfr) December 29, 2025

5. Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears

A shoulder injury limited Loveland's participation early in the season. He needed more time to come online. But he's absolutely shone as of late, and is already looking like an elite mismatch weapon. He's big, tall, fast, great after the catch, and an obscenely good route-runner for his size.

Colston Loveland is 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, and 21 years old, and is already routing up corners like this?

This offseason might be your only realistic chance to go and get him in dynasty. Trade for him now before the hype goes nuclear after a strong playoff game. pic.twitter.com/AnujWZFmmV

— Dan Fornek ↗️ (@fornekdf) January 7, 2026

He can win against all types of coverage with his fluidity and physicality, and has a truly obscene catch radius that helps him catch passes from the oft-inaccurate quarterback Caleb Williams. The fledgling NFL TE is also just 21 years old. He has a long and productive career ahead of him.

4. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers

McMillan might never reach his full potential with the Panthers. They're stuck with a low-volume passing quarterback in Bryce Young, who rarely manages to eclipse 300 yards passing. They might need more talent at pass-catcher, too.

McMillan and undrafted free-agent signee Jalen Coker are the only pass-catchers in Carolina that can consistently play well when healthy. Coker has outshone the rookie on some occasions, though -- T-Mac's role is awesome, as he's consistently and heavily targeted, though.

I have my All-Rookie team coming out tomorrow so I'm watching back Tetairoa McMillan and man. He'd still be my OROY > Shough.

Reminds me so much of Courtland Sutton. Better route runner than given credit for. Vice hands. Super comfortable through contact. Three-level threat. pic.twitter.com/GuxFsNRU55

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) December 29, 2025

We should see him improve his game in Year 2. Young is the concern, though, not him. If the Panthers add another good receiver, it could strain the already-low passing volume too thin for our liking and limit T-Mac's upside.

3. Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants

Unfortunately, Skattebo suffered a season-ending ankle injury just as it looked like his fledgling career was taking off. But he was absolute dynamite in tandem with quarterback Jaxson Dart. Skattebo's three-touchdown, 31.0 PPR fantasy point game against the Philadelphia Eagles was the capstone of his rookie year.

From Week 2 onward, he scored double-digit PPR fantasy points in all his contests until he got injured. The offense will likely largely run through him, WR Malik Nabers (knee), and Dart once Nabers and Skattebo are healthy,  and Dart has elevated the offense. There should be plenty of opportunities for rushing scores.

The only drives we saw Jaxson Dart, Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo on the field at the same time

This is gonna be so fun to watch over a whole season pic.twitter.com/bNeeTeOViQ

— evin (@EvinKnowsBall) December 5, 2025

A fully healthy Giants offense with a good offensive coaching staff has the potential to be top-10 in the NFL. Top-10 offenses with workhorse running backs that catch passes tend to make those backs among the elite players at their position in fantasy.

2. Omarion Hampton, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Hampton has the potential to be an elite fantasy running back for the next seven or so years in the NFL. It's hard to understate the value of that. He didn't quite flash the contact balance and overall playmaking prowess that the No. 1 player on this list showed, but that won't preclude him from being a fantasy star.

The Chargers' offense should take steps forward next season. They suffered from a decimated offensive line due to injuries and a poor offensive coordinator. OC Greg Roman was fired. They should be healthy along the OL in 2026, and their offense overall is stacked with playmakers.

Just something special about these runs that get Omarion Hampton out in space. pic.twitter.com/E1x2e7s7qY

— Steven Haglund (@StevenIHaglund) December 16, 2025

Hampton has the ideal size and durability to go with elite athleticism. He's capable of breaking off long touchdown runs thanks to his 4.47 speed in the 40-yard dash and is very powerful. He's also a great accelerator, so he can exploit gaps in the defense well, and he's good at playing through contact.

He can carry defenders with him, staying upright as multiple try to bring him down. The presence of backup RB Kimani Vidal shouldn't affect his value much -- he'll likely slot back into his clear backup role. Hampton will be fully healthy in 2026 and likely be a workhorse back.

1. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

There isn't any reason to bump Jeanty off his spot on this list, though you could make an argument for Hampton had he stayed healthy all season. Jeanty made the best of a horrible situation in Las Vegas, and his long-term value is still fantastic.

The Raiders need to make a lot of improvements, and they can start by making good coaching hires and bolstering the offensive line.

Honorable Mention: Quinshon Judkins, RB, Cleveland Browns

Judkins had a handful of nice games as the workhorse back, getting heavy rushing volume and scoring seven total rushing touchdowns. But in the legendary words of WR JuJu Smith-Schuster that reflected those said by Browns fans for decades, "The Browns are the Browns".

Judkins had a hard time succeeding on such a poor offense, though he did have some good games when he faced poor defenses. Cleveland has a ton of work to do to improve their offensive roster, but with quarterback Shedeur Sanders likely to lead the offense in 2026, I wouldn't hold my breath.

The new litmus test for #Browns fans is their response to how Quinshon Judkins has struggled of late

If you believe the lack of production behind this offensive line is his fault-you truly don't know ball pic.twitter.com/du16vxPgSs

— Mac🦬 (@tha_buffalo) December 17, 2025

Judkins doesn't have much pass-catching upside. His fellow rookie RB Dylan Sampson handled most of the receiving duties in the backfield. So Judkins was, and will continue to be, enormously susceptible to game script and the quality of defenses faced for his fantasy production.

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