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Dan Fornek's five league-winning rookie fantasy football draft picks for 2026. Players include Jeremiyah Love, Carnell Tate, Makai Lemon, and more.
Over the last few seasons, we have seen rookies enter the NFL and make an immediate impact for fantasy football. The 2025 class was no exception. That group provided fantasy managers with a top-15 quarterback (Jaxson Dart), six top-30 running backs (Cam Skattebo, Omarion Hampton, Ashton Jeanty, Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, and RJ Harvey), a top-25 wide receiver (Tetairoa McMillan), and three impact tight ends (Harold Fannin Jr., Tyler Warren, and Colston Loveland).
The 2026 NFL Draft is not that. However, even if the class lacks high-end talent, there are still plenty of talented players who can carve out roles in 2026 to have a fantasy impact. There are even some players who, through a combination of talent and opportunity, could have league-winning upside in Year 1.
This article will discuss five rookies who enter the 2026 season with league-winning potential. Let’s dive in.
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Jeremiyah Love, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Most of the predraft process in 2026 focused on figuring out exactly how high Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love would be drafted. At various times, the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, and Washington Commanders were all touted as realistic landing spots. None of those teams got the chance to draft him once he was taken third overall by the Arizona Cardinals.
Love is one of the rare running back prospects who is justifiably worth a top-3 pick. He proved to be one of the most dynamic weapons in college football over the last two seasons, racking up 362 carries for 2,497 yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground while adding 55 receptions for 517 yards and five touchdowns through the air.
Among running backs with at least 55 carries, he ranked 15th in breakaway run rate (52.9%) and 19th in yards after contact per attempt (4.50).
Watch how Jeremiyah Love's hesitation/head fake impacts 23 on USC's defense.
He goes from scraping over for a 1v1 in the hole to ducking inside to cheat the cutback, which allows the LG/C combo to get an angle to come off and seal the second level.
That's some Football IQ. pic.twitter.com/BF7JU5ggZj
— Dan Fornek ↗️ (@fornekdf) March 10, 2026
The Cardinals aren’t expected to be a good team in 2026, which should mean plenty of negative game scripts for Love to make a mark in the passing attack. That, combined with his ability to break explosive runs, helps offset the lack of touchdown potential if the offense ends up being bad.
Carnell Tate, WR, Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans have worked hard to overhaul their roster this offseason after a poor showing in 2025. While the most impactful moves have been on the defensive side of the ball, the team has also invested in its offense.
The Titans prioritized signing veteran slot receiver Wan'Dale Robinson in free agency, but the most important move to help second-year quarterback Cam Ward was investing the fourth overall pick in Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate.
Tate could never be a WR1 in Ohio State’s loaded wide receiver room, but he was still productive operating as a complement to players like Emeka Egbuka in 2024 and Jeremiah Smith the last two seasons. He averaged 51.5 receptions, 804.0 receiving yards, and 6.5 touchdowns in the last two years.
The former five-star prospect will now have an opportunity to prove he can earn targets as the focal point of opposing defenses in the passing attack. Tate is an excellent route runner with sure hands who consistently shows the ability to take the top off defenses despite average speed (4.53 40-yard dash). Tate was also one of the most dominant contested-catch receivers in college football.
YOU CANNOT COVER CARNELL TATE.
TOUCHDOWN BUCKEYES 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WznkZRNToC
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 18, 2025
Cam Ward turned a corner from Weeks 11 to 17 of his rookie season. During that stretch, he completed 62% of his passes with 10 touchdowns and one interception while averaging 34.6 pass attempts per game. That’s even more impressive considering his top receiving threats were all fourth-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft (Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike, and Gunnar Helm).
Those three rookies return in 2026 along with veteran free agent Wan'Dale Robinson. However, Tate should have no problem establishing himself as the focal point of the Titans’ passing offense quickly, given his pedigree as a top-5 pick.
Makai Lemon, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles trading veteran wide receiver A.J. Brown after the June 1 deadline was one of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL. Once the move officially happened, it cleared the way for rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon to have a potentially high-volume role as a rookie.
Lemon was one of the best wide receivers in college football in 2025. In his final season at the University of Southern California, Lemon caught 79 of 108 targets for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns. He ranked fifth in the nation in receiving yards while averaging over 3.0 yards per route run against both man and zone coverages.
Makai Lemon you are insane 🤯 #GoodFor6
📺 NBC
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) October 12, 2025
There are legitimate questions around whether Lemon is more than a slot player in the NFL, given his lack of size (5-foot-11, 192 pounds) and lack of speed (4.58 40-yard dash).
However, Lemon will have plenty of opportunity to assert himself as the secondary target to DeVonta Smith early in his career. That could be a valuable role for fantasy in new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s passing attack.
Antonio Williams, WR, Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders needed to address the talent surrounding Jayden Daniels in the passing attack this offseason. However, the team went through free agency and the draft, making a splash signing to complement Terry McLaurin.
Arguably, the most meaningful addition the Commanders have made thus far is 2026 third-round wide receiver Antonio Williams out of Clemson.
A soft tissue injury early in the season limited Williams’ production in his final season (55 receptions for 604 yards and four touchdowns), but there were still flashes of the explosive weapon who had 75 receptions for 904 yards and 11 touchdowns (plus seven carries for 101 yards and a touchdown) in 2024.
Williams has already been praised by offensive coordinator David Blough, who has suggested that the rookie will be given opportunities as both a slot and outside receiver. Given the lack of target competition in Washington, the rookie has an excellent chance to finish second on the team in targets.
The Commanders could still add a veteran like Brandon Aiyuk or Stefon Diggs, but those players carry their own questions. Williams is poised to have a big role in his first season, even if the Commanders choose to add more talent to a poor pass-catching corps as of today.
Jadarian Price, RB, Seattle Seahawks
Jadarian Price never held a lead-back role at Notre Dame thanks to the presence of Jeremiyah Love. However, that didn’t stop the Seattle Seahawks from using their first-round pick on the rookie running back in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Even if the total production profile for Price is lacking, the stuff he did accomplish is impressive. Over his final two seasons at Notre Dame, he racked up 233 carries for 1,420 yards and 18 touchdowns while adding 10 receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
Among running backs with at least 55 attempts, Price ranked 40th in yards after contact per attempt (3.92) and 30th in 10+ yard runs (24). That’s even more impressive considering he was 164th in snaps (128) and 120th in rushing attempts (113) among all college running backs in 2025.
There are legitimate questions about his role as a pass-catcher given his limited production, but those concerns are somewhat mitigated by a perfect landing spot in the NFL. The Seahawks let Kenneth Walker III leave in free agency this offseason.
Fellow running mate Zach Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL in the NFL playoffs and will miss most of the 2026 season. That leaves Price, returning contributor George Holani (28 career touches), and one-year free-agent signing Emanuel Wilson (272 career touches) as the backfield in 2026.
This backfield will surely be a committee unit next season. But Price will be an important (and quite possibly the most used) part of that committee. Holani will almost certainly handle pass-catching duties, but if Price can maintain his explosive playmaking ability in the NFL, he should be able to carve out a nice fantasy role in a Seattle offense that should score points in 2026.
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