Fantasy Football League-Winners: 5 Late-Round Draft Targets (2026)

July 2, 2026

Matt's fantasy football late-round draft targets for 2026. Players with league winning upside to draft later, including Aaron Jones Sr., Gunnar Helm, and more.

Often, fantasy managers put too much emphasis on hitting in the first couple of rounds of their fantasy drafts. While it is important to avoid early-round busts, it’s nearly impossible to be crowned a champion without a little late-round help.

With June now behind us, all 32 teams will begin their training camps in July, with rookies reporting in mid-July and veterans shortly after. For the most part, average draft positions (ADP) are set, with very little market movement between now and the start of camp.

With that in mind, let’s dig a little deeper into the most recent ADPs to identify players with upside that many are currently overlooking. Here are five players who offer fantasy managers the greatest return on their fantasy investments after Round 10.

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Aaron Jones Sr., RB, Minnesota Vikings

ADP 122 (RB39)

Just like the offseason heading into the 2025 campaign, it’s still uncertain as to how this backfield dynamic will play out once the Vikings hit the field in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers.

When looking at the current ADP, Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason are ranked one after another, which also suggests you could lock up the Vikings backfield with picks at the end of the 10th round and early in the 11th round, locking in your RB3 and RB4 with RB2 upside similar to that of Javonte Williams a season ago.

Sitting at the draft table last August, the selection of Williams did not sit well with fantasy managers, much like the thought of Jones and Mason right now. Of the two backs, Jones feels like the safer of the two options, especially if Kyler Murray wins the quarterback competition between him and J.J. McCarthy. With Murray under center, Minnesota’s offense could be much better. 

Aaron Jones has the Vikings up early!

📺: #DETvsMIN on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/nadSyDNR5B

— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024

Jones was plagued by injuries in 2025, playing only 12 games. Yet diving into the numbers, Jones still averaged 4.2 yards per carry and was responsible for 42.9% of the Vikings' carries inside the five when he was healthy. Jones also had 28 receptions in those 12 contests, proving he can be an even bigger part of your fantasy lineups with his receiving upside.

Over Jones’ last two healthy seasons (2022 and 2024), Jones churned out 2,259 rushing yards on 468 attempts, which works out to 4.82 yards per carry. Not only did Jones top 1,000 yards on the ground in each of those seasons, but he also had more than 50 receptions and averaged more than 400 receiving yards.

If Jones can repeat a 1,100-yard rushing season with 50 receptions and 400 receiving yards with five touchdowns, that works out to 230 fantasy points and an RB15 finish.

Gunnar Helm, TE, Tennessee Titans

ADP 192 (TE26)

Historically speaking, the tight end position has been a fantasy nightmare year in and year out. Looking back on the top-12 fantasy tight ends from last season, we have some outliers such as Juwan Johnson, Hunter Henry, and Dalton Schultz, with AJ Barner finishing right outside the top-12 mark. 

Last season, Chig Okonkwo averaged a modest 7.3 fantasy points per game, but he also led the Titans in receptions (59) and receiving yards (560). Under the radar, Gunnar Helm wasn’t too far behind the leaders, catching 44 of the 55 intended passes that went in his direction for 357 receiving yards.

Helm had three weeks in which he finished as a TE1 last season, putting up double-digit fantasy production against the Colts, Seahawks, and 49ers during a seven-game stretch between Week 8 and Week 15. He earned an 12.8% target share and 17.1% of the Titans' receiving market share over these seven contests. 

Heading into 2026, if you add Okonkwo's 79 vacated targets to Helm's previous total, he's a tight end with the opportunity to see 130 or more targets this season. Only Trey McBride saw more than 130 targets last season, with only eight tight ends topping 100 targets.

Targets are far from guaranteed, considering the additions of Carnell Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson, but a much-improved offense, along with Cam Ward entering year two, offers plenty of optimism for a tight end who is the perfect complement to one you draft several rounds earlier. 

Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seattle Seahawks

ADP 161 (RB50)

Zach Charbonnet’s decline in ADP is tied directly to the late-season ACL injury he suffered, which cost the Seahawks back his opportunity to play in the postseason and ultimately had him watching from the sidelines as his teammates hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.

2nd TD for Zach Charbonnet!

HOUvsSEA on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/T4rIirFnLK

— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2025

Patient fantasy managers have an opportunity to get a running back with league-winning potential in the 14th round. While the ACL injury and the selection of running back Jadarian Price in the first round of this past April’s draft are serious red flags, Charbonnet is far from a fade, especially considering his 6.5% touchdown rate, which led all running backs last season.

Seattle is poised to make a deep playoff run, so they would likely prefer to use multiple backs throughout the regular season to ensure the run game is ready to roll in January and February. While Price is young, he has also never been entrusted as a workhorse back, never surpassing 120 rushing attempts in any of his three collegiate seasons.

Any manager considering adding Charbonnet should expect a significant drop in efficiency once he returns, as the average recovery time for an ACL tear is roughly 10 months, and Week 1 of the NFL season would be only eight months since surgery (February 20, 2026).

As a 14th-round selection, the risk is baked into the ADP as it allows fantasy managers to already roster three or more running backs. Last season, Charbonnet was a clear thorn in the side of Kenneth Walker III.

While Walker was clearly the better back of the two, it was Charbonnet who had his number called on the goal line, scoring 12 rushing touchdowns and earning 66.7% of the Seattle carries inside the five-yard line, the eighth-highest share among running backs.

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Zachariah Branch, WR, Atlanta Falcons

ADP 195 (WR73)

When you look across the league, several rookies find themselves in a favorable position on their team's current depth chart. One that has been gaining more and more attention throughout rookie camp and into training camp is Falcons wide receiver Zachariah Branch.

During Branch's junior season, the former Georgia Bulldog caught 81 passes in 14 games, resulting in 811 receiving yards, 10 yards per reception, and six touchdowns, with much of that production coming on screen passes. Regardless of who is under center in Atlanta, the short passing game will be a factor.

What we know about the Falcons' offensive scheme, with Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Rees calling the shots, is that Atlanta is poised to run heavy 12 personnel (one running back with two tight ends). After Drake London, the wide receiver options are Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus, neither of whom possesses the electric speed and yards after the catch ability that Branch offers.

Branch will have plays specifically designed to get the ball into his hands, and with much of the attention being on London, Kyle Pitts Sr., and Bijan Robinson, there will be plenty of open field for Branch when the ball is in his hands.

Like most rookie receivers, patience will be key, and most managers will want to drop Branch after a couple of weeks for the shiniest new toy on the waiver wire. However, caution should be exercised, as most impact rookies start to take off around Week 10 after they have been dropped and picked up by someone else in your league.

Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Atlanta Falcons

ADP 199 (QB31)

Let’s stick with the Atlanta Falcons here. Back in May, coach Stefanski said that accuracy is the most important trait for a quarterback. In 14 career contests, Michael Penix Jr. has completed 166 of 276 passes (59.6%). Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa has completed 68% of the 2,221 passing attempts over his six-year career, leading Stefanski to reference Tagovailoa's accuracy as an innate, God-given ability.

We know Tagovailoa can be fantasy-relevant, finishing as QB13 in 2024 and averaging 17.3 fantasy points per game after a QB9 finish in 2023. While Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were instrumental in that success, London, Pitts, Robinson, and Branch offer plenty of potential for Tagovailoa to once again flirt with QB1 upside should he win the battle over Penix.

Tyreek Hill. 80 yards for a TD!

📺: #JAXvsMIA on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/fNSbBgqRVI

— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024

Going back to the 2024 campaign, only Joe Burrow (82.2%) had a more impressive catchable throw rate than Tagovailoa's 82.0%. While Tagovailoa takes a lot of heat for some of his decisions under center, his 26 deep passing touchdowns are tied with Lamar Jackson for the eighth-most since 2022.

With the scheme the Falcons want to run, expect a lot of play-action that should lead to shots down the field, as teams must stack the box to stop Robinson, which should lend itself to one-on-one coverage without safety help more often than not.

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