The NFL Draft was a wild ride this year with so many players being selected nowhere near where the consensus draft boards had them, but it made for entertaining television!
With that though, there’s always the fantasy football fallout. As an influx of rookies come into the league, outlooks and projections shift dramatically for these veterans who are awaiting to see what kind of opportunity they’ll have this upcoming season.
Let’s dive in and take a look at the biggest winners and losers from a fantasy football standpoint after the 2026 NFL Draft.
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Fantasy Football Winners & Losers After The Draft
The Biggest Winners
Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants
Cam Skattebo was the subject of numerous rumors early on this offseason. After John Harbaugh came in as the new head coach, the scuttle butt that Skattebo could be replaced by a high-profile free agent RB was almost deafening.
However, free agency came and went…Skattebo was still the lead option for the New York Giants.
As the attention started to shift towards the NFL Draft though, the rumors started circulating again that Jeremiyah Love could be a target for the Giants at No. 5 overall, which would effectively bury Skattebo from a dynasty fantasy football standpoint.
And yet, now we stand on the other side of the Draft, and Skattebo remains the lead option for this team.
Not only that though, he also got a top 10 offensive lineman added to the unit in front of him to help clear running lanes!
It was a massive gamble to hold onto Skattebo this entire time in dynasty, but if you did, congratulations! You may have a very solid, high-end RB2 on your hands for 2026.
Read More: Buy Low Dynasty Running Backs
David Montgomery, RB, Houston Texans
The Houston Texans have made their intentions clear this offseason: they want to be tougher on offense.
David Montgomery was brought in from the Detroit Lions via trade early on – not in a cheap deal either – and they also signed Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith in free agency.
But going into the NFL Draft, there were questions surrounding Montgomery and whether or not he would be able to operate as the clear lead option in this backfield for 2026.
Those questions were answered by the Texans passing on RB completely, while adding a mauler offensive lineman in Keylan Rutledge, along with a solid blocking tight end in Marlin Klein.
Montgomery’s going to handle 15+ touches every single week this year, as long as he’s healthy, and he’s going to be a priority target for me in drafts.
Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Welcome back to fantasy relevance, Josh Downs!
After a solid first two seasons in the NFL that saw him put up nearly 1,600 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, Downs was moved down the WR pecking order in 2025 to essentially an afterthought.
Alec Pierce, Tyler Warren, and Michael Pittman Jr. dominated the targets and Downs was not on the field consistently. Now, that’s going to change heading into 2026 as the WR room looks a bit different now.
Pittman is now in Pittsburgh and Downs’ main competition for the WR2 role is veteran journeyman, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.
If there’s an opportunity to go acquire Downs now in fantasy football before the public sentiment surrounding him changes, I’d go see if you can get him.
Read More: Sell High Dynasty Running Backs
Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
It’s been a wild offseason for Rashee Rice’s fantasy managers.
After news came out that could potentially derail his NFL career, Rice was cleared by the league and seems to be in the complete clear.
However, that may have not stopped the Kansas City Chiefs from drafting a WR to take Rice’s role eventually with one of their two first round selections…
And yet, we’re now past the Draft and the Chiefs didn’t take a single offensive player until the fifth round!
Rice has his limitations to his game. He’s not the most durable player and he lacks elite traits that would put him up into the conversation with guys like Puka Nacua, Ja’Marr Chase, etc.
But he gets peppered with targets in this Patrick Mahomes led offense and, especially if you play in Full PPR leagues, that’s all that matters for fantasy football.
There were concerns going into the Draft, but Rice is a winner coming out the other side.
The Biggest Losers
RJ Harvey, RB, Denver Broncos
If you didn’t think that the JK Dobbins re-signing signaled what Sean Payton thinks of RJ Harvey, you pretty much have your clear answer now.
There are those out there who believe that Harvey is worthy of – and can handle – a workhorse RB role in the NFL.
I am not one of them, given his size, but that’s what many on fantasy football Twitter believe.
However, the drafting of Jonah Coleman should solidify it for you that Harvey is never going to be anything more than a change-of-pace option in this Denver Broncos offense.
Coleman and Harvey are about as opposite of players as you can possibly find. Harvey’s a smooth and shifty mover out of the backfield, while Coleman is a bowling ball that goes out of his way to find contact at the second or third level.
With Dobbins on essentially a one-year deal, this is Coleman and Harvey’s backfield in 2027 and beyond. The hopes of Harvey having it all to himself have been completely dashed and his dynasty ranking will continue to take a tumble as a result.
Read More: Buy Low Dynasty Wide Receivers
Tyler Allgeier, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Poor Tyler Allgeier, man.
After a solid showing in his rookie campaign, where he rumbled for over 1,000 rushing yards as a fifth-round draft pick, Allgeier saw the Atlanta Falcons spend a top 10 selection on a generational talent in Bijan Robinson.
Allgeier plays the complementary role for the next few years and finally finds his way to a place in free agency where he could be the lead option again…only to see them spend a top-three pick on Jeremiyah Love.
I had hopes that Allgeier could be a weekly top 24 RB play in 2026. And, from a NFL team-building argument standpoint, he shouldn’t have Love ahead of him on the depth chart…but he does.
Allgeier moves right back into a solid insurance RB role for fantasy purposes.
Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers
There was one point this offseason where it looked like Ricky Pearsall was going to be the unquestioned WR1 for one of the best offenses in the entire NFL.
The only thing that was going to stand in his way was his own durability, but that has quickly faded away over the past month and a half.
The 49ers brought in one of the best WRs to ever play the game, Mike Evans, at the tail end of his career. And then spent the No. 33 overall pick on De’Zhaun Stribling, a WR prospect out of Ole Miss.
Yes, there’s a conversation to be had that Stribling should not have been drafted anywhere near this point of the NFL Draft, but the draft capital will signal that he’s going to get touches early and often to justify the acquisition cost.
Pearsall’s now going to need to take a massive step forward to command targets in this offense that has competition at WR, along with players like George Kittle at TE – once he returns – and Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield.
