March 26, 2026
After years of underperforming his draft pedigree as the No. 4 overall selection in 2021, Atlanta Falcons tight end
Kyle Pitts Sr. showed signs of a mid-career breakout in 2025. Across 17 games, the 25-year-old hauled in 88 receptions for 928 yards and five touchdowns on 118 targets. The Falcons placed the franchise tag on Pitts Sr. earlier this offseason, meaning he will be back in Atlanta in 2026, barring a trade. It's worth noting that Pitts Sr.'s best stretch of production came late in the 2025 season with veteran quarterback
Kirk Cousins under center and star Falcons wideout
Drake London battling a knee injury. Cousins is no longer with the team, and London should be back to full health in 2026. The Falcons will rely on the quarterback combination of
Michael Penix Jr. (knee) and
Tua Tagovailoa, creating an unstable offensive environment around Pitts Sr. While Pitts Sr.'s 2025 production makes him an intriguing high-upside fantasy option, his profile still carries significant risk entering 2026.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 26, 2026
Houston Texans tight end
Dalton Schultz re-established himself as a viable PPR streamer in 2025, finishing the year with 82 receptions for 777 yards and three touchdowns on 106 targets across 17 games. Schultz's 106 targets represented a career high, and he averaged nearly two more catches per game in 2025 than he did in 2024. However, Schultz averaged fewer than 10 yards per reception in 2025 and has never averaged more than 7.8 yards per target in any of his eight NFL seasons. The 29-year-old's production in 2025 was also buoyed by the absence of fellow Texans tight end
Cade Stover, who missed eight games with a foot injury. While Schultz should still be Houston's lead pass-catching tight end in 2026, a fully healthy season from Stover could lead to an incremental decline in targets for Schultz. Given Schultz's lack of explosiveness, he is heavily reliant on target volume for fantasy production. Schultz's stable production floor gives him some value as a depth option for fantasy managers, but his upside remains limited heading into 2026.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 26, 2026
Los Angeles Chargers running back
Kimani Vidal played a surprisingly prominent role in his team's offense in 2025, recording 779 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns on 171 touches across 13 games (10 starts). After opening the year on the practice squad in Los Angeles, Vidal was thrust into a starting role after Chargers' backs
Omarion Hampton and
Najee Harris (Achilles) were both forced onto Injured Reserve, Hampton by an ankle injury and Harris with a torn Achilles tendon. However, Vidal's role with the Chargers could be significantly diminished in 2026. Hampton should enter training camp fully healthy and profiles as the team's clear lead back. Los Angeles also signed former Baltimore Ravens running back
Keaton Mitchell to a two-year contract in free agency, which could signify that Mitchell has the edge on Vidal for the team's RB2 role. Vidal could still be worth rostering in deep dynasty formats as a depth piece, but his stock is fading given his murky playing time outlook in Los Angeles.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 26, 2026
New Orleans Saints tight end
Juwan Johnson broke through with the best year of his career in 2025, recording 77 receptions for 889 yards and three touchdowns on 102 targets across 17 games. Johnson fully emerged as the Saints' TE1, playing at least 70% of his team's offensive snaps in 14 out of 17 contests. While New Orleans added veteran tight end
Noah Fant in free agency, Johnson should remain firmly atop the team's depth chart in 2026. In addition, the outlook for the Saints' pass game and offense in general is looking up after the team's strong close to the 2025 season with then-rookie quarterback
Tyler Shough under center. Johnson finished second on the team in targets behind only star wideout
Chris Olave in 2025, and the Saints have yet to add any significant competition for targets this offseason. Johnson's long-term fantasy upside is limited as he enters his age-30 season, but he profiles as a solid streaming option at tight end with a safe production floor.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 26, 2026
A third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Houston Texans wide receiver
Tank Dell (knee) recorded 98 receptions for 1,376 yards and 10 touchdowns on 156 targets across the first 25 games of his career in 2023 and 2024. However, the 26-year-old suffered a gruesome knee injury in Week 16 of the 2024 season, dislocating his left kneecap while also tearing his ACL, MCL, LCL, and suffering meniscus damage. Dell's injury forced him to miss the entire 2025 campaign. Dell should have a chance to return to the field in 2026 and re-establish his career. However, he's now likely firmly behind both
Nico Collins and
Jayden Higgins on the Texans' wide receiver depth chart, which leaves him battling
Jaylin Noel and
Xavier Hutchinson for WR3 duties in Houston. Even if Dell can reclaim a prominent role in his team's passing game, the devastating nature of his injury creates obvious question marks around his ability to produce. Dell still carries fantasy upside, but his dynasty profile is riddled with risk.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 26, 2026
Carolina Panthers running back
Chuba Hubbard was one of the breakout success stories of the 2024 season, recording 1,366 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns on 293 touches across 15 games. However, Hubbard missed time early in the 2025 season with a calf injury and had his starting job usurped by fellow back
Rico Dowdle. Hubbard finished the year with just 734 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns on 164 touches across 15 games played. Still, Hubbard may have a chance to reclaim the RB1 role in Carolina in 2026, as Dowdle recently departed the Panthers for the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency. Barring any further backfield additions, Hubbard's main competition in Carolina appears to be Jonathan Brooks and
Trevor Etienne, who have combined for 29 career carries so far in their NFL careers. If Hubbard finds his way back to the usage he saw in 2024, he could easily re-emerge as a viable fantasy running back in 2026.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 25, 2026
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver
Jordan Addison posted career-low numbers across the board in 2025, finishing the year with 42 receptions for 610 yards and three touchdowns on 79 targets across 14 games. Some of Addison's struggles were self-inflicted, as he was suspended for the first three games of 2025 due to a violation of the league's substance abuse policy. However, Addison was also negatively impacted by the extremely inconsistent quarterback play Minnesota received from the combination of
J.J. McCarthy,
Carson Wentz, and
Max Brosmer. While the Vikings still have question marks at the quarterback position, the team's offseason acquisition of former Arizona Cardinals signal-caller
Kyler Murray should give it a more stable passing game floor. Addison recorded nearly 1,800 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns over his first two seasons in the NFL, so an improved offensive environment in Minnesota should give him a chance to return to previously demonstrated levels of production. Coming off a down year, Addison could be a solid buy-low target for fantasy managers in dynasty formats.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 25, 2026
A fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Tennessee Titans tight end
Gunnar Helm recorded 44 receptions for 357 yards and two touchdowns on 55 targets. While the 23-year-old's numbers may not leap off the page, he established himself as a relatively steady contributor in a Titans offense that was starved for playmakers. Heading into 2026, Helm looks like the clear lead tight end in Tennessee after the team's decision to let former tight end
Chig Okonkwo walk in free agency. In 2025, Helm and Okonkwo combined for 100 receptions, 917 receiving yards, and six touchdowns on 134 targets. While Helm will not absorb all of Okonkwo's production, he has a clear pathway to fantasy upside. In dynasty formats, fantasy managers may want to consider buying low on Helm ahead of the 2026 season.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 25, 2026
Across 12 games in 2025, Buffalo Bills tight end
Dalton Kincaid hauled in 39 receptions for 571 yards and five touchdowns on 49 targets. While the 26-year-old's averages of 14.6 yards per reception and 11.7 yards per target both represented career bests, volume continues to be a problem for Kincaid's fantasy profile. For one, Kincaid has missed nine games over the past two seasons due to hamstring, oblique, and knee injuries. Even when on the field in that stretch, Kincaid has averaged under five targets per game. In 2025, Kincaid played fewer than 50% of Buffalo's offensive snaps in 10 out of the 12 games he was active for. In 2026, Kincaid could fall even further down the team's target pecking order following the Bills' offseason trade acquisition of former Chicago Bears wide receiver
DJ Moore. In dynasty formats, Kincaid's stock is fading due to persistent injury and usage question marks.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 25, 2026
Chicago Bears tight end
Colston Loveland got off to a slow start to his NFL career in 2025, recording just 11 receptions over his first six games played. However, the 21-year-old finished the year on a tear. Across his final 10 games played, Loveland hauled in 47 catches for 597 yards and six touchdowns on 64 targets. Loveland also recorded 193 receiving yards and was targeted 25 times across Chicago's two postseason contests. While the Bears have multiple capable pass catchers in wide receivers
Rome Odunze and
Luther Burden III, the team recently traded away veteran wideout
DJ Moore. Without Moore, Loveland should only be moving up the target pecking order in Chicago. Loveland profiles as a high-end dynasty tight end coming off his encouraging rookie campaign.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 25, 2026
Across 16 games in 2025, Buffalo Bills wide receiver
Khalil Shakir recorded 72 receptions for 719 yards and four touchdowns on 95 targets. The 26-year-old has emerged as a steady contributor in Buffalo in recent years, recording back-to-back seasons as the team leader in both targets and receiving yards. However, Shakir's role could be slightly minimized in 2026 following the team's recent acquisition of former Chicago Bears wide receiver
DJ Moore. Shakir profiles more as a possession wideout than a downfield or red zone threat, so a reduction in his targets could further reduce his already middling fantasy production. RotoBaller currently ranks Shakir as the 56th-best wide receiver for dynasty formats.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
March 25, 2026
As long as he can stay healthy, Green Bay Packers wide receiver
Christian Watson will be a popular breakout candidate in fantasy football in 2026 in his fifth year in the NFL. Watson has yet to play in more than 15 games in a season due to injuries since being drafted in the second round in 2022 out of North Dakota State. The 26-year-old played in just 10 regular-season games in 2025 after recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered late in 2024, but he still ended up being a top-50 fantasy wideout. Watson excelled as a top playmaker for Green Bay upon his return from Injured Reserve, catching 35 of his 55 targets for 611 yards and six touchdowns. He finished second on the team in catches, targets, and receiving yards to
Romeo Doubs, who is now in New England. Tight end
Tucker Kraft (knee) will be returning from a torn ACL, and second-year wideout
Matthew Golden will have a bigger role, but all signs point to Watson being the projected clear receiving leader in 2026 if he's healthy. Watson's big-play ability (17.0 yards per catch in his career) will make him a high-risk/high-reward WR2 in fantasy drafts later this year.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
March 25, 2026
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end
Pat Freiermuth's dynasty/keeper fantasy value is on the rise with
Jonnu Smith no longer in town, but there's also the looming question this offseason surrounding the team's quarterback situation. Freiermuth put up a career-high 65 receptions for 653 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns on 78 targets in 17 regular-season games in 2024, but he fell to a disappointing 41-486-4 line in 17 regular-season games with Smith in town in 2025. For fantasy football purposes, the 27-year-old was the TE24 in half-PPR scoring in his fifth year in the NFL. As long as veteran
Aaron Rodgers returns for another season in the Steel City, Freiermuth will have clear bounce-back potential with a higher target floor in what should be a more pass-happy offense under new head coach Mike McCarthy. The recent addition of receiver
Michael Pittman Jr. creates additional target competition for the former second-round selection in 2021 out of Penn State.
--Keith HernandezSource: Pro Football Reference
March 25, 2026
The Detroit Lions officially announced on Wednesday that they re-signed kicker
Jake Bates to an undisclosed deal. Bates was an exclusive-rights free agent. The 27-year-old will return for his third season with the Lions in 2026. The former undrafted free agent out of Arkansas has become one of the more reliable kickers in fantasy football over the last couple of seasons in a Lions offense that should remain formidable in 2026. Last year in 17 games, Bates made 27 of his 34 field-goal tries (4-for-9 from 50-plus yards) and a league-high 54 extra points on 56 tries. He has made 84.1% of his 63 field-goal attempts in his two years in the NFL while succeeding on 95.9% of his 123 extra-point attempts. Bates was the No. 6 fantasy kicker in 2025. It also helps that half of his games come indoors, mitigating his volatility.
--Keith HernandezSource: Detroit Lions
March 25, 2026
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback
Patrick Mahomes (knee) posted a video on Wednesday of himself in a training session where he dropped back and threw the ball, according to ESPN's Nate Taylor. It's the first public footage of him doing anything football-related since he had surgery in December to fix the torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. "Day by Day!" Mahomes wrote his Instagram story. "Felt Great being able to throw the ball around today!" Based on the video clip, Taylor writes that the Chiefs are "optimistic" that Mahomes is on track to take part in the team's voluntary offseason practices, which are expected to start in May. The 30-year-old six-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl MVP had surgery exactly 100 days ago and said a month after the surgery that he hoped to be in uniform for the season opener in September. It's still early in the offseason, but it's a positive development for Mahomes to be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign. The question now is whether he has already peaked in KC's offense after failing to reach the 4,000-yard passing mark in each of the last two years. It hasn't been fruitful to bet against Mahomes, but coming off a serious knee injury, he needs to be knocked down to the low-end QB1 tier going into 2026 fantasy drafts.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Nate Taylor
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