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Who should I draft for fantasy football in 2026? Fantasy football outlooks for Javonte Williams, Luther Burden III, Bucky Irving, Cam Skattebo, Josh Downs, KC Concepcion, David Montgomery, Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Waddle.
Who Should I Draft? Use this tool to assist you with some common 2026 fantasy football draft decisions regarding players like Javonte Williams, Luther Burden III, Bucky Irving, Cam Skattebo, Josh Downs, KC Concepcion, David Montgomery, Stefon Diggs, and Jaylen Waddle. 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:
Javonte Williams, Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys placed a lot of faith in running back Javonte Williams as a free agent acquisition before the 2025 season, and Williams delivered with 1,201 rushing yards and 13 scrimmage touchdowns, which both ranked in the top 10 overall at the running back position. The Cowboys awarded Williams with a three-year, $24 million extension this offseason after his career year.
Despite missing a game due to a shoulder injury, he handled the majority of the Cowboys' rushing attempts with 252 carries. The 26-year-old proved capable of catching passes with 8.4% of the team's target share (51 total targets). Dallas spent the draft trying to improve its defense, meaning that Williams' competition for snaps with Malik Davis is basically unchanged entering the 2026 campaign.
Another year of cohesion for a relatively unchanged offensive line could create more running lanes and red zone scoring conversions for Williams. The Cowboys return all major skill players and their playcaller from a group that ranked fifth in scoring offense last year. He currently has a Sleeper ADP of 40, which aligns with his RotoBaller ranking of 36, and is set for another top-10 fantasy running back finish in 2026 as long as he can stay healthy.
Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving (shoulder) enters 2026 with rebound appeal, but his draft cost is aggressive after an injury-hit sophomore season. The 23-year-old played 10 games and started nine in 2025, rushing 173 times for 588 yards and one touchdown while adding 30 receptions for 277 yards and three more scores.
That was a major step back from his rookie year, when he rushed for 1,122 yards, averaged 5.4 yards per carry, and finished as a strong fantasy starter. Irving missed seven games last season and is working back from offseason shoulder surgery, which adds another layer of risk entering the summer. Irving participated in OTAs and training camp and is expected to be ready for Week 1. Tampa Bay also changed the backfield around him. Rachaad White is with the Commanders now, but Kenneth Gainwell signed with the Buccaneers and should threaten passing-down work, while Sean Tucker remains a factor near the goal line.
Irving still has talent and a path to useful volume under new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, but the workload is no longer clean. He is currently going 45th overall as the RB17 on Sleeper, ahead of his RB26 ranking at RotoBaller, making him a risky bet at cost despite his bounce-back appeal.
Jaylen Waddle, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos wide receiver Jaylen Waddle enters 2026 with a fresh setup after arriving from Miami in a mid-March trade. Waddle played 16 games for the Dolphins in 2025, catching 64 of 100 targets for 910 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 14.2 yards per reception. The production was solid, and his efficiency remained strong, but he now moves into a different offensive structure under Sean Payton.
Denver has already shown interest in using Waddle both inside and outside, giving the Broncos another field-stretching option next to Courtland Sutton. Bo Nix is expected back after offseason ankle surgery, though the quarterback transition and new target hierarchy add some uncertainty. Waddle also faces real competition from Sutton, Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant, Marvin Mims, and tight end Evan Engram, so the move does not guarantee a major volume spike.
He is being drafted around 46th overall as the WR23 in PPR formats on Sleeper, while RotoBaller has him in a similar range at 48th overall and WR25. That is a reasonable price for the talent, but Waddle needs a smooth transition in Denver to beat that draft cost.
Stefon Diggs, Washington Commanders
Stefon Diggs has been in the news more for his off-the-field troubles than his on-the-field touchdowns over the past couple years. He was able to record the seventh 1,000-yard year of his storied career last season during his one-and-done stint with the AFC champion New England Patriots. After not getting much attention from teams this offseason, Diggs signed with the receiver-starved Washington Commanders, which looks like a match made in fantasy heaven on paper.
Washington's passing attack was ravaged by injuries in 2025 to franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels, WR1 Terry McLaurin, and TE Zach Ertz. Diggs fills the void at the WR2 position alongside McLaurin and gives the now-healthy Daniels another consistent pass catcher to throw to. Hopefully Diggs' legal troubles are behind him, but unfortunately his best days might be behind him, too. He only has seven touchdown receptions over his last 25 games, and he has not had a 50-yard catch since 2023.
McLaurin will still be Daniels' top option, so Diggs might be looking at finishing between the 750-900-yard range this season as the WR2. He is now more of a possession receiver than a game breaker. Diggs' value is higher in PPR since he should be able to snag 75-85 passes, but in standard leagues his value will not be like it once was. He is not the same player, which is why he is on his fourth team in four years.
David Montgomery, Houston Texans
After three successful seasons with the Detroit Lions, the Houston Texans acquired running back David Montgomery for a fourth and sixth-round pick, and he's now in a position to see his largest workload in years. The Nick Chubb experiment failed in Houston, and out of necessity, 2025 fourth-round pick Woody Marks led the team in carries. Marks was not overly efficient with the opportunities given, averaging only 3.6 yards per carry, and he should fall back into a more natural pass-catching role in 2026.
Though even as a change-of-pace back, he does not possess the sort of game-breaking ability to regularly take snaps away from Montgomery. Montgomery spent his time in Detroit sharing a backfield with former first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs, who eventually took the leap to superstar status in year three, limiting Montgomery to the fewest carries of his career, despite playing all 17 games in 2025. While his raw numbers were down as a result, his efficiency was not.
Montgomery's 3.17 yards after contact per carry in 2025 marked a career high, and even while his three-time Pro Bowl running mate was piling up accolades, Montgomery managed to average 230 touches, 1,137 yards, and nearly a dozen touchdowns across his three seasons as a Lion. As RotoBaller's RB22, he is one of the more mispriced running backs in this year's dead zone, and with a clear path to a bellcow role on a team built to play with a lead, a healthy Montgomery could handsomely reward drafters willing to wait on the position.
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 - Javonte Williams, Luther Burden, Bucky Irving, Cam Skattebo, Josh Downs, KC Concepcion, David Montgomery, Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Waddle. 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 Javonte Williams, Luther Burden, Bucky Irving, Cam Skattebo, Josh Downs, KC Concepcion, David Montgomery, Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Waddle:
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