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Who should I draft for fantasy football in 2026? Fantasy football outlooks for Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Cam Ward, Patrick Mahomes, Bryce Young, Sam Darnold, Jacoby Brissett, Aaron Rodgers, Geno Smith.
Who Should I Draft? Use this tool to assist you with some common 2026 fantasy football draft decisions regarding players like Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Cam Ward, Patrick Mahomes, Bryce Young, Sam Darnold, Jacoby Brissett, Aaron Rodgers, and Geno 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:
Geno Smith, New York Jets
The New York Jets acquired quarterback Geno Smith from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick. Smith will return to the team that drafted him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. The 35-year-old signed a two-year, $75 million contract an offseason ago to be the Raiders' starting QB. The veteran struggled behind a shaky o-line and threw a league-high 17 interceptions last year. Las Vegas cleaned house during the offseason by firing head coach Pete Carroll and dealing Smith to the Jets.
The Jets didn't bring in any real competition for Smith at quarterback; the job is his for at least this year. New York is banking on the veteran to return to his glory days in Seattle. Smith will have star wide receiver Garrett Wilson catching passes, and drafted tight end Kenyon Sadiq (16th) and wide receiver Omar Cooper (30th) in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Running back Breece Hall is also returning after signing a three-year, $45 million extension with the Jets this offseason.
The o-line is solid, but outside of Hall, Wilson, Sadiq, and Cooper, the Jets lack offensive weapons. Smith did run into some trouble this offseason.
According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, Smith is being investigated in relation to an incident in June in which a woman accused him of battery. No charges have been filed yet, and the case is pending investigation. If Smith is not disciplined or suspended, he is QB31 in the latest RotoBaller rankings and is mainly an option in superflex leagues.
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young had his best season yet, throwing for the most yards and touchdowns while going 8-8 after a combined 6-22 record in his first two years. The problem for us, and Carolina, is that the bar was set quite low, so new highs meant only 3,011 yards and 23 TDs en route to a QB19 finish. Also, 2024's willingness to scramble in the red zone that led to six rush TDs gave way to a more modest 54-216-2 line in '25.
He has the athleticism to punish defenses who don't keep him contained, but Dave Canales is not designing around it. If anything, Canales looks to have engineered things around Young's limits. The two games we saw him pushed beyond 35 pass attempts led to 776 yards and six TDs (at ARI, at ATL), but eight games yielded 25 or fewer attempts. Even last year, Young's 6.4 intended air yards per attempt was near the bottom of the leaderboard.
Perhaps this will change with Year 2 Tetairoa McMillan and a full, healthy season from Jalen Coker. But the majority of what we've seen has fantasy managers tepidly picking him as the QB26 near pick 160 by late June, which mirrors his RotoBaller ranking. He's only a 2QB/Superflex option for now.
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee) suffered a torn ACL/LCL in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers, ending his season. Before the injury, Mahomes was set to bounce back in fantasy from a mediocre 2024 by throwing for 3,587 yards and a 22:11 TD:INT ratio while rushing for a career-high 422 yards and five scores in 14 games. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Chiefs and Mahomes are both "leaning into this Week 1 possibility" that he'll be ready to go for the first Monday night game of the 2026 season against the Denver Broncos.
The Chiefs added Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker, and wide receivers Rashee Rice (knee), Xavier Worthy, and tight end Travis Kelce are all returning. However, Rice is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery but is expected to be ready for training camp. Mahomes will see a decline in rushing yards this upcoming season with the injury on top of the addition of Walker. Fantasy managers should monitor his status throughout training camp, but all signs point to Mahomes being ready for Week 1.
RotoBaller projects the 30-year-old to accumulate 287 fantasy points and throw for 29 touchdowns, while ranking him QB13 heading into upcoming fantasy football drafts. Mahomes might not be projected to finish as a top-10 fantasy quarterback, but there is no reason to doubt Mahomes as a borderline QB1/high-end QB2 in 2026 given his very successful past.
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was limited to nine games in 2025 thanks to a shoulder injury and a persistent case of turf toe. He finished the year with 2,167 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Over half of Purdy's season-long fantasy production came in Weeks 15 through 17, when he averaged 298 passing yards per game, threw for 11 touchdowns to two interceptions, and ran in two additional scores. In his other six games, Purdy was held to 200 passing yards or fewer four times and averaged 13.6 fantasy points per game.
Question marks surround the state of Purdy's pass-catching corps entering 2026. Jauan Jennings left via free agency, Brandon Aiyuk's discord with the 49ers drags on, and George Kittle's (Achilles) availability for the start of the season in question. Key offseason acquisition Mike Evans also missed nine games due to injury last year, has a history of hamstring issues, and will be 33 at the start of the season.
Purdy targeted Christian McCaffrey more than anyone in 2025, and that may be the case again in 2026, which limits Purdy's yardage potential. Purdy is the QB11 in RotoBaller's current rankings, but not much separates him from the other quarterbacks in his tier, which includes Jaxson Dart, Patrick Mahomes (knee), and Matthew Stafford. Fantasy managers who wait to draft a quarterback might want to pass over Purdy for one with a clearer path to success in 2026.
Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett came out of nowhere to gunsling his way into fantasy glory, standing as the QB7 between Weeks 6-17 despite a 1-11 record on the gridiron. The opportunity to play arose after Kyler Murray suffered a mid-foot sprain in Week 5 that ultimately shut him down for the season. Thrust into the spotlight, Brissett's 12 total starts led to 3,366 yards and a 23:8 TD:INT ratio, adding 37 rushes for 166 yards and one TD in that timeframe.
While the volume cooled a bit during the fantasy playoffs, Brissett would attempt at least 40 passes in six consecutive games to force his way atop fantasy ranks by pure volume. He showed rapport with Trey McBride and Michael Wilson as Marvin Harrison Jr. and the entire running back corps dealt with injuries. The fears that last season was a perfect storm against Brissett's middling track record, along with the contract uncertainty, has resulted in an early QB30 ADP (197). We are a bit more bullish at QB27, happily targeting the ceiling seen roughly 20 picks ahead of that.
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 - Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Cam Ward, Patrick Mahomes, Bryce Young, Sam Darnold, Jacoby Brissett, Aaron Rodgers, Geno 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 Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Cam Ward, Patrick Mahomes, Bryce Young, Sam Darnold, Jacoby Brissett, Aaron Rodgers, Geno Smith:
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