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Who should I draft for fantasy football in 2026? Fantasy football outlooks for Saquon Barkley, James Cook III, Ladd McConkey, Jonathan Taylor, Chris Olave, Chase Brown, DeVonta Smith, D'Andre Swift, Ashton Jeanty, Derrick Henry.
Who Should I Draft? Use this tool to assist you with some common 2026 fantasy football draft decisions regarding players like Saquon Barkley, James Cook III, Ladd McConkey, Jonathan Taylor, Chris Olave, Chase Brown, DeVonta Smith, D'Andre Swift, Ashton Jeanty, and Derrick Henry. 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:
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was one of the top running backs in fantasy football most of last season after rushing for 1,356 yards on 247 attempts with 16 touchdowns across 13 games. He added 35 catches for 304 receiving yards and two scores. The 27-year-old was on the verge of a career-year until quarterback Daniel Jones (Achilles) suffered a season-ending right Achilles tear in Week 14 against the Jaguars. Once Jones went down, Taylor ended with just 229 rushing yards and two scores while averaging just 3.0 yards per carry in his last four games.
His fantasy value relies a lot on whether or not Jones is fully healthy. Jones is progressing well in his recovery from a torn Achilles and is expected to be ready for Week 1. The Colts are confident Jones will be ready and have awarded him a two-year extension during the offseason. Most of the key pieces of the Colts offense are returning, as wide receivers Alec Pierce (re-signed) and Josh Downs, and tight end Tyler Warren, are back in 2026.
With Jones under center again, Taylor is set for another huge season. He currently has an ADP of seventh overall on Sleeper as the third RB off the draft board, which aligns perfectly with RotoBaller's overall ranking of seven. He was one of the safer picks in the back end of the first round of upcoming fantasy football drafts as long as Jones is deemed ready for Week 1.
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 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).
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.
DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith is poised to enjoy a career season in 2026 following the departure of A.J. Brown. Throughout his career, Smith has operated as the primary No. 2 option in a run-heavy offense, with Brown seeing the majority of the targets from Jalen Hurts. However, with Brown now in New England, Smith is slated to operate as the clear WR1 in this offense, with first-round rookie Makai Lemon slated to slide in as the No. 2 option.
Despite often sharing targets with Brown, Smith has still been very productive for fantasy, finishing as the overall WR20 in PPR scoring last season and the WR27 the year prior. In 2025, Smith saw 113 targets and brought in 77 of them for 1,008 yards and four touchdowns.
Even though his touchdown total was the lowest of his career, this was Smith's second-highest target total of his career and third time over his last four seasons in which he exceeded the 1,000-yard mark in a season. The former Alabama standout has remained an elite option for Hurts downfield, as he has brought in at least 14 receptions of 20+ yards in each of his five NFL seasons and at least four passes for 40+ yards in three of his last four.
Given that Brown saw 121 targets in 2025, Smith could be in store for a career-high in usage, even with Lemon joining the offense and the team re-signing tight end Dallas Goedert. Even if Hurts and the Eagles lean on their rushing attack (11th-most rushing attempts in 2025), his high projected target share makes him worthy of a selection at his current Sleeper ADP of 49.0 (WR23). Managers should expect his ADP to continue to steadily climb over the summer, especially with Lemon dealing with a hamstring injury.
Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
Coming off a Super Bowl win and 2K rushing yards in 2024, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley had a solid but unspectacular campaign last year. Barkley rushed for 1,140 yards on 240 rushing attempts and seven touchdowns while catching 33 passes for 278 yards and two scores in 16 games. The 29-year-old didn't show signs of slowing down, with a positive run percentage of 75.7% and a 19.3% broken-tackle percentage.
The Eagles' offense struggled for most of last season as quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver A.J. Brown couldn't get on the same page, injuries to the offensive line, and the loss of then-OC Kellen Moore caused Philadelphia's offense to take a step back. In a laundry list of offseason moves, the Eagles traded Brown to the Patriots, drafted USC wide receiver Makai Lemon in the first round, and hired Sean Mannion as their new OC.
The Eagles will center their offense behind Barkley again in 2026, but could get backup running back Tank Bigsby more involved, as he was efficient spelling Barkley by averaging 5.9 yards per carry. RotoBaller is projecting Barkley with 1,632 rushing yards on 305 attempts with 12 touchdowns while catching 40 passes in 2026. While the Eagles have shaken things up this year on offense, Barkley should be among the leaders in the NFL in touches and rushing attempts per game, making him a borderline first-round pick in upcoming fantasy football drafts.
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 - Saquon Barkley, James Cook III, Ladd McConkey, Jonathan Taylor, Chris Olave, Chase Brown, DeVonta Smith, D'Andre Swift, Ashton Jeanty, Derrick Henry. 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 Saquon Barkley, James Cook III, Ladd McConkey, Jonathan Taylor, Chris Olave, Chase Brown, DeVonta Smith, D'Andre Swift, Ashton Jeanty, Derrick Henry:
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