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Who should I draft for fantasy football in 2026? Fantasy football outlooks for Rashid Shaheed, Brian Thomas Jr., Deebo Samuel Sr., MarShawn Lloyd, Emmett Johnson, Jauan Jennings, Malachi Fields, Jalen McMillan, Woody Marks.
Who Should I Draft? Use this tool to assist you with some common 2026 fantasy football draft decisions regarding players like Rashid Shaheed, Brian Thomas Jr., Deebo Samuel Sr., MarShawn Lloyd, Emmett Johnson, Jauan Jennings, Malachi Fields, Jalen McMillan, and Woody Marks. 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:
Jauan Jennings, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jauan Jennings will step in as the team's new WR3 after inking a one-year, $13 million deal in May. Stuck firmly behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison on the depth chart, he is not in an ideal situation to stage a rebound off a disappointing 2025 campaign with the San Francisco 49ers. In the wake of Deebo Samuel's departure and Brandon Aiyuk's contract drama, the stage was set for Jennings to emerge as the 49ers' alpha receiver. However, a litany of injuries cost Jennings two games, limited his involvement when active, and impaired his playmaking ability.
He finished the season with 55 receptions, 643 yards, and nine touchdowns on 90 targets.
The Vikings have a strong tendency to operate out of three-WR sets, so Jennings should still be on the field often, but with a greatly reduced target share. Jennings will be functioning more as a role player than a featured receiver with his new team, limiting his fantasy value in 2026. He is listed as the WR58 in RotoBaller's early rankings.
Deebo Samuel Sr., San Francisco 49ers
Who says you can't go home? Bon Jovi was a proponent of heading home, and now Deebo Samuel Sr. is agreeing with that opinion. After a one-year stint in Washington and an offseason where no team seemed interested in signing him, Samuel is returning to help the injury-depleted San Francisco 49ers, bringing him back to where he was a fantasy force in 2021 when he racked up 1,405 receiving yards, 365 rushing yards, and 14 total touchdowns.
Samuel is far from the same player he was that season, though. He has lost the explosiveness he had several seasons ago and is now more of a possession receiver than a game-breaker. Samuel will slot into the injured Ricky Pearsall's role and should get plenty of targets (and handoffs) alongside aging pass catchers Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, and George Kittle.
Samuel's durability always comes into question due to his reckless running style, so he will likely miss a handful of games. Offensive guru Kyle Shanahan will utilize the best of his abilities, so a season of 700-800 receiving yards with another 200 yards on the ground and four-to-six touchdowns sounds about right, unless Father Time tackles him and/or he gets banged up again.
Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
After a stellar rookie campaign, the Jacksonville Jaguars believed they had one of the NFL's best pass-catching prospects in wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. entering 2025. Still, a disappointing sophomore year leaves the wideout seeking a defined spot in head coach Liam Coen's offense. He drew just 91 total targets (16.7% of the team's looks) last season, inviting the Jaguars to acquire Jakobi Meyers from the Las Vegas Raiders (110 total targets, 61 with the Jaguars) midseason in addition to Parker Washington (96) and Travis Hunter (45) already being on the roster.
Thomas Jr.'s effectiveness running crossing patterns in Coen's system led to offseason trade rumors, but the Jaguars hung onto him and, instead, reportedly plan to deploy Hunter as a full-time cornerback. The 23-year-old's separation skills, size, and speed were on display in a 1,282-yard rookie season. Still, he was also force-fed double-digit targets in the last six games of that campaign, when the Jaguars were tanking, and his incredible December was with quarterback Mac Jones, not Trevor Lawrence.
Per nfelo, Jacksonville was sixth in pass rate over expectation (+1.6%) last season and also lost running back Travis Etienne in free agency, so while this offense is appealing for pass-catchers, Meyers and Washington's emergence limits upside across the board when Hunter and tight end Brenton Strange will likely also demand a share of designed looks.
Thomas Jr.'s talent is a tempting click in the sixth or seventh round (ranked 80th overall at RotoBaller, Sleeper ADP of 80) of early fantasy drafts, but his track record within this same ecosystem implies he might end up being a frustrating boom-or-bust weekly option that is heavily dependent on big plays.
Rashid Shaheed, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed experienced two distinct chapters in 2025, totaling 59 catches for 687 yards and two receiving scores. However, 44-499-2 of that line came in nine games with the Saints, which was good for the WR31 in half-PPR formats. Seattle then scooped him in a trade, but his involvement was limited to 15 scoreless catches over the final nine contests.
Shaheed's biggest impact with the Seahawks came as a returner, though that doesn't help most fantasy managers. The skill set that made him a WR3 on the Saints didn't suddenly evaporate. It is reasonable to think that Seattle, which gave him a three-year deal worth $51 million this offseason, has bigger plans now that they've had a year to integrate him into the system.
Their rushing offense is also a bigger question mark with Zach Charbonnet recovering from knee surgery and Kenneth Walker III in Kansas City. While the defense can carry games, the offense should get more aerial as well. The speedster's RotoBaller rank around pick 145 is close to the summer 138 ADP (WR56), so there's room to profit for those who believe his role will expand.
Woody Marks, Houston Texans
Houston Texans running back Woody Marks pushed through weekly bumps and bruises to turn 196 carries into 703 yards and two touchdowns, with another three scores and 208 yards on 24 catches. It was a lost season for Joe Mixon (foot), which led to Marks splitting time with Nick Chubb throughout the first half of the season and popping onto fantasy radars as the PPR RB6 in Week 4 (27.9 points).
But he never scored more than 16.1 PPR points for us again, as more volume behind a poor line led to a meager 3.6 yards per carry. On top of that, his 0.06 missed tackles forced per attempt was tied for the worst mark out of 49 RBs who saw more than 100 carries. So he wasn't breaking many tackles, and his 1.59 yards before contact per attempt was 44th.
In short, he had little room to operate, and couldn't create many new opportunities for himself. And the Texans brought in David Montgomery, who should absorb much of the valuable goal-line work and played all 17 games last year, relegating Marks to pass-catching spellback duties.
A strong defense could mean fewer garbage-time passing theaters as well, if we're becoming more reliant on that avenue. For now, Marks' half-PPR RotoBaller rank and ADP are aligned at RB45 near pick 140 overall, making him a fine zero or hero-RB target after building strength elsewhere in your lineup.
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 - Rashid Shaheed, Brian Thomas Jr., Deebo Samuel Sr., MarShawn Lloyd, Emmett Johnson, Jauan Jennings, Malachi Fields, Jalen McMillan, Woody Marks. 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 Rashid Shaheed, Brian Thomas Jr., Deebo Samuel Sr., MarShawn Lloyd, Emmett Johnson, Jauan Jennings, Malachi Fields, Jalen McMillan, Woody Marks:
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