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Who should I draft for fantasy football in 2026? Fantasy football outlooks for Ashton Jeanty, Saquon Barkley, Chase Brown, James Cook III, Ladd McConkey, Omarion Hampton, Jonathan Taylor, Emeka Egbuka, DeVonta Smith.
Who Should I Draft? Use this tool to assist you with some common 2026 fantasy football draft decisions regarding players like Ashton Jeanty, Saquon Barkley, Chase Brown, James Cook III, Ladd McConkey, Omarion Hampton, Jonathan Taylor, Emeka Egbuka, DeVonta Smith. We are here to help make these calls and build winning teams in 2026. Draft your optimal fantasy football teams for 2026 with our Who Should I Draft? tool. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to draft... all free!
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Fantasy Football Draft Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider drafting in 2026:
Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty produced mixed results week over week in 2025, but he ultimately finished his rookie campaign as the overall RB11 in PPR leagues with 975 rushing yards, 55 catches, 346 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns. That was on par with his draft capital in redraft leagues, and we'd expect him to make a significant jump in 2026, especially after the Raiders' offseason focused on improving the offense. Most notably, the Raiders brought in quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza.
At the very least, Cousins offers a veteran presence to limit turnovers, deliver passes, and hand the ball off a ton. That bodes well for Jeanty, who is running behind an improved offensive line that now features Tyler Linderbaum and Spencer Burford. Meanwhile, Jeanty should also benefit from playing with Mendoza once he ends up taking over for Cousins. Mendoza is a high-upside quarterback with impressive passing skills and the ability to run a dynamic offense.
Jeanty stands to benefit both as a ball-carrier and a receiver, giving him upside in all fantasy formats. As long as he stays healthy in Year 2, we would expect Jeanty to finish even higher than last year's rank as RB11. At the moment, he has an ADP of 11.2, which makes him the fifth running back off the board in redraft leagues.
Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton showed flashes of high upside at times during his rookie season but was unable to fully match preseason expectations. Hampton began the season operating as the "1B" in the offense alongside Najee Harris, but after Harris suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 3, Hampton was set up for a heavy workload. Unfortunately, a fractured ankle kept the former North Carolina standout on the shelf for eight straight weeks.
However, when on the field, Hampton was quite effective, averaging 15.1 PPR points per game over his first nine NFL contests with a solid 4.4 YPC. He punched in five scores, with four of them coming on the ground, and was a reliable option in the passing game, drawing 3.9 targets per game. Hampton showed promising underlying metrics, averaging 3.1 yards after contact despite playing behind a Chargers offensive line that was battling several injuries to key contributors.
In the offseason, the Chargers added some depth to the backfield with Keaton Mitchell joining Kimani Vidal as the No. 2 and No. 3 options behind the former 22nd overall pick. However, the key factor driving a potential breakout season is the addition of new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. Even though his time in Miami did not end on a high note, he spearheaded the Miami offense in 2022 and 2023, which finished in the top six in yards and at least the top 11 in total points.
This improved play-calling and scheme should help this offense reach a new level in 2026 after averaging a modest 21.6 points per game last fall. While Mitchell and Vidal could occasionally draw opportunities away from Hampton, the 23-year-old projects to see a large workload in one of the game's top offensive units. He is a prime breakout pick going off the boards at pick 17 on Sleeper, making him a low-end RB1 with potential league-winning upside.
Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey failed to build on his 1,149-yard, seven-touchdown rookie season in 2025, but the offensive changes taking place around him could make him a tremendous value entering year three. Under former offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the Chargers deployed three or more wide receivers on over 80% of their dropbacks, creating a crowded target environment that prevented any pass catcher from reaching 800 receiving yards.
New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel arrives from Miami, bringing with him 2025's third-most-utilized fullback, Alec Ingold. Los Angeles also aggressively pursued and signed tight end Charlie Kolar in free agency and later added David Njoku, strongly hinting at a shift toward more heavy personnel packages and two-receiver sets. With veteran Keenan Allen no longer on the roster, McConkey is positioned to claim one of those starting roles, and his skill set mirrors many of the traits that allowed Jaylen Waddle to thrive under McDaniel in Miami.
Unlike Waddle, he ran fewer than 10% of his routes out of two-receiver sets last season. A shift toward heavier formations could dramatically increase that number and raise his route volume and target share in an offense that should see massive improvements under a more creative playcaller and with a healthier offensive line. Valued as RotoBaller's WR20, McConkey has a realistic path back to a WR1 finish at a discounted WR2 price.
Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown was in danger of falling into bust territory after a slow start to the 2025 season. Brown ended the 2024 campaign on a high note, averaging an elite 20.9 PPR points per game over his last eight games, which pushed him into high-end RB2 territory in 2025 drafts. However, over his first seven games, Brown totaled a low 9.8 PPR points per game and averaged just 3.6 YPC. Despite the slow start, Brown would go on to average a much higher 21.2 PPR points per game with 4.8 YPC over his last 10 contests of the campaign to finish the 2025 season as the overall RB7.
Much of his early-season struggles were attributed to the absence of Joe Burrow, as the entire offense took a step back without their conductor on the field. Even though Burrow will always carry a high injury risk, when on the field, this Cincinnati offense is among the league's best and can support many high-end fantasy assets.
Fortunately for the 26-year-old, the Bengals did not make any major additions to the running back room as veteran Samaje Perine is still slated to operate as his No. 2. With a healthy Burrow and a clear path to a three-down role, Brown has the upside to surpass his RB6 mark from the previous campaign and provide managers with immense value at his current Sleeper ADP of 22 (RB12).
Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka enters 2026 as a breakout candidate after flashing high-end upside as a rookie. The 2025 first-round pick played 17 games and started 13, catching 63 of 127 targets for 938 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 14.9 yards per reception.
He opened the season hot with 25 catches for 445 yards and five scores through five games before a Week 6 hamstring injury slowed his momentum. Egbuka did not miss a game, but his production dipped after the injury, which still carries some risk to his rising draft cost.
Mike Evans' departure to San Francisco creates room for more targets, and new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson gives Tampa Bay a fresh setup with Baker Mayfield back under center. Still, target competition remains with Chris Godwin Jr., Jalen McMillan, Cade Otton, and third-round rookie Ted Hurst III. Egbuka is being drafted around 40th to 47th overall as the WR20 on Sleeper, while RotoBaller ranks him as the WR23. The breakout case is real, but that price already bakes in a sizable Year 2 leap.
Who Should I Draft - Fantasy Football Tool
Read more about the Who Should I Draft tool here:
2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Ashton Jeanty, Saquon Barkley, Chase Brown, James Cook III, Ladd McConkey, Omarion Hampton, Jonathan Taylor, Emeka Egbuka, DeVonta Smith. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football drafts.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? You may have noticed our Who Should I Draft? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your 2026 fantasy football drafts. You'll see NFL player tiles with bye weeks, stats and projections, ADPs, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research, and update it constantly throughout the preseason. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players that are ranked.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Draft Searches. Curious to see some tough draft decisions for 2026? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Draft? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for Ashton Jeanty, Saquon Barkley, Chase Brown, James Cook III, Ladd McConkey, Omarion Hampton, Jonathan Taylor, Emeka Egbuka, DeVonta Smith:
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