NFL free agency isn’t just about million-dollar contracts and dramatic jersey swaps. It’s the NFL’s version of a reality show, with fantasy managers doing their best to keep up with all the drama while trying to prognosticate how it will impact their favorite fantasy assets in the coming season. As the 2026 class looms, skill players are lining up to test the market, offensive linemen are quietly plotting to make or break your RB1’s season, and even a few defensive studs are ready to crash the party. The ripple effects could be massive: new homes, new schemes, and new headaches for anyone trying to predict next year’s breakout. Let’s dive into the chaos before your league-mates pretend they saw it coming all along.
Below, I’ll take a quick look at all the projected fantasy-relevant free agents for the 2026 offseason, position by position, tiering them from impact signings to slightly interesting names to merely honorable mentions. I also added teams that may be interested in adding at the position (assuming they don’t extend or re-sign their incumbent before this gets published). And then of course, we’ll rank them at the end. This post will be updated as players and teams make their decisions, so be sure to stop by over the next few months as the chips fall into place for the 2026 fantasy season!
Top 25 Free Agents for Fantasy Football 2026
1. George Pickens, WR
Age: 24
2025 Stats: 137 Targets, 93 Receptions, 1429 Yards, 9 TD
George Pickens is the top skill position free agent on the market entering the 2026 offseason, but it’s highly likely that he won’t be truly on the market, as the Dallas Cowboys may have the opportunity to apply the franchise tag to the wide receiver. Pickens outperformed teammate CeeDee Lamb in his first season in Dallas, playing like the best receiver on the team without missing a game. If somehow Dallas allows Pickens to leave (which they almost certainly won’t), he becomes an instant WR1 in whatever offense he signs with across the entire NFL.
2. Breece Hall, RB
Age: 24
2025 Stats: 243 Carries, 1065 Yards, 4 TD | 48 Targets, 36 Receptions, 350 Yards, 1 TD
Clearly discontent with the situation with the Jets, it’s pretty certain that Breece Hall will leave for greener pastures this offseason. As far as potential suitors go, the Texans and Chiefs each make a ton of sense as potentially dynamic offenses without a true stud in the backfield. Hall finished 2025 with his first 1,000 rushing yard season and pulled in 350 receiving yards but managed just five total touchdowns. On a better offense, that number should jump significantly and make him a fantasy RB1 going into the 2026 season.
3. Jauan Jennings, WR
Age: 28
2025 Stats: 90 Targets, 55 Receptions, 643 Yards, 9 TD
Jennings is a sneaky-elite wide receiver and ought to be the best pair of hands on the open market this offseason, assuming Pickens stays in Dallas. With 15 receiving touchdowns across his last 30 games, Jennings is a legit red zone threat and has excelled in Kyle Shanahan‘s offense, growing into a larger role every year throughout his career. He’ll be a top target for any receiver-needy team, but it would be most fun to pair him with a young, developing quarterback and allow him to develop a relationship akin to what C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins have built in Houston. Although, placing him in Kansas City with the best quarterback of this generation would be fun, too.
4. Mike Evans, WR
Age: 32
2025 Stats: 62 Targets, 30 Receptions, 368 Yards, 3 TD
Can you imagine Mike Evans in anything other than red and gold (or creamsicle and white)? Yeah, me neither. The Buccaneers’ all-time franchise leader in receiving yards (nearly doubling second on the list, teammate Chris Godwin), Evans will most likely re-sign with Tampa Bay and partner with Baker Mayfield for another shot at the NFC South title. At 32 years old, Evans will not only be battling Godwin, Jalen McMillan, and Emeka Egbuka for targets, he’ll also be dodging Father Time in the 2026 season. Evans has missed a combined 12 games the past two seasons, which is really his only negative entering next year.
5. Kenneth Walker III, RB
Age: 25
2025 Stats: 221 Carries, 1027 Yards, 5 TD | 36 Targets, 31 Receptions, 282 Yards
Easily the most explosive running back on this list, Walker was criminally underutilized near the goal line in Seattle last season. Just ask his fantasy managers – they’ll tell you. If Walker heads elsewhere this offseason, one of the things that will have the most impact on his fantasy value will be the makeup of the backfield he joins. If he’s the clear lead back in a place like Dallas, he immediately becomes a top-15 fantasy running back for 2026. If he’s a part of another committee, be prepared for volatility similar to what we saw in 2025.
6. Travis Etienne Jr., RB
Age: 26
2025 Stats: 260 Carries, 1107 Yards, 7 TD | 52 Targets, 36 Receptions, 292 Yards, 6 TD
Travis Etienne Jr. was one of the many beneficiaries of Liam Coen taking over the Jacksonville offense, clearing 1,100 yards and a career-high 13 total touchdowns in a massive bounce-back season. After concerns that he couldn’t carry a full load out of the backfield in 2024, Etienne showed the NFL that he can be a bell cow when he needs to be, toting the ball 260 times without a fumble while averaging 4.3 yards per carry. If he doesn’t return to Jacksonville, the New Orleans Saints might make sense to sign for the Louisiana native.
7. Kyle Pitts Sr., TE
Age: 25
2025 Stats: 118 Targets, 88 Receptions, 928 Yards, 5 TD
Pitts saved his best NFL season for the fifth and final year of his rookie contract, setting himself up for a nice payday on the open market this offseason. Pitts set career-high numbers in targets (118), receptions (88), and touchdowns (5) while recording 928 receiving yards, showing a strong connection with veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. To have a mismatch-generating tight end like Pitts would make a huge difference for a handful of offenses around the league. With Dallas Goedert a free agent (scroll down) this offseason as well, Pitts would be a fun addition to an already explosive Philadelphia Eagles offense.
8. Rico Dowdle, RB
Age: 27
2025 Stats: 236 Carries, 1076 Yards, 6 TD | 50 Targets, 39 Receptions, 297 Yards, 1 TD
After rushing for 1,000 yards with the Dallas Cowboys in 2024, Dowdle bet on himself by signing a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers and topped 1,000 yards again, proving his breakout was no fluke. After breaking the fantasy football slate for a couple of consecutive weeks in the middle of the year, Dowdle will be seeking a multi-year deal as a feature back somewhere in the NFL. Whether he’ll get that deal or not is yet to be seen, especially at 28 years old when next season starts.
9. Javonte Williams, RB
Age: 25
2025 Stats: 252 Carries, 1201 Yards, 11 TD | 51 Targets, 35 Receptions, 137 Yards, 2 TD
Javonte Williams signed with the Cowboys as what appeared to be a part of a committee with Miles Sanders, but he ended up winning the job and set the tone for the season with two scores in Week 1. Well, 1,200 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns later, Williams hits the free agent market as one of the top backs available. From a skills standpoint, I think Dowdle has a higher ceiling, but for teams looking to sign a running back to a multi-year deal, the younger Williams may be more appealing.
10. Alec Pierce, WR
Age: 25
2025 Stats: 84 Targets, 47 Receptions, 1003 Yards, 6 TD
Alec Pierce has always been a solid deep-threat receiver, but was truly unlocked in 2025 with the arrival of Daniel Jones to the Colts, exploding for his first 1,000-yard receiving season. He’s always been efficient at taking the top off of the opposing defense, but showed this year a slightly expanded route tree, though still excelling at the deep ball. Pierce will certainly be a hot commodity on the free agent market, as well he should be after leading the league in yards per reception for two years straight!
11. Jakobi Meyers, WR
Age: 29
2025 Stats: 110 Targets, 75 Receptions, 835 Yards, 3 TD | 5 Carries, 13 Yards
Ho-hum, just a fifth-consecutive season of 90+ targets and 800+ receiving yards for Jakobi Meyers, who will be a free agent after a mid-season trade to Jacksonville. It was pretty clear that Meyers unlocked something in the Jags offense, averaging almost seven targets per game and pulling in three touchdowns in nine contests. Surely Meyers is just thrilled to be out of Las Vegas and in the postseason for the first time since 2021, when he was with the Patriots.
UPDATE 1/12/25: Meyers has already signed with the Jaguars for three years and $60 million, keeping him in Jacksonville through 2028. Meyers should maintain a FLEX-worthy role in an ascending Jaguars offense, though the receiving room is crowded with BTJ, Hunter, Washington, and Strange also available to catch passes, which will limit his week-to-week upside. Sure, we could have omitted Meyers from this list entirely, but let this serve as a barometer for where he would have ranked compared to the rest of the class and the sort of updates you can expect throughout the offseason.
12. Wan’Dale Robinson, WR
Age: 24
2025 Stats: 140 Targets, 92 Receptions, 1014 Yards, 4 TD | 3 Carries, 5 Yards
Typically viewed as a PPR maven, Wan’Dale Robinson was a solid all-around receiver in 2025 with a career-best 1,014 receiving yards and 92 receptions with four touchdowns. Though he excels in short and intermediate yardage areas, he can also win on downfield routes, proving his value as a deep ball threat when paired with Jaxson Dart this season. It might make sense for Robinson to follow former Giants play-caller Brian Daboll if Daboll lands an OC position somewhere in the league for 2026.
13. Deebo Samuel, WR
Age: 29
2025 Stats: 99 Targets, 72 Receptions, 727 Yards, 5 TD | 17 Carries, 75 Yards, 1 TD
Deebo is in a unique situation with his current contract in that if he leaves the Commanders, Washington is still on the hook for a $12.3 million cap hit due to the way they restructured his deal after acquiring Samuel via trade. Odds are he’ll sign an extension with the Commanders and stay in Washington, but with a changing of the guard at offensive coordinator, who really knows what Deebo will do. Samuel saw an uptick in usage in the passing game after the move to Washington and finished with six total touchdowns. If he chooses to stay in the nation’s capital, he makes a solid WR2 behind Terry McLaurin in that offense.
14. Daniel Jones, QB
Age: 28
2025 Stats: 261/384 Passing, 3101 Yards, 19 TD, 8 INT | 45 Carries, 164 Yards, 5 TD
Everything that I have seen and heard has indicated that Jones will sign a long-term deal with the Indianapolis Colts, which makes sense for both parties. Before suffering his season-ending injury, Jones had the Colts’ offense humming through the first eight weeks of the season as they pulled out to a surprise 7-1 record. Then, beginning with the Steelers game in Week 9, the wheels fell off for Jones and the Colts as the quarterback sustained an injury and his performance dipped significantly. Without Jones, the Colts lost their final four games of the season, part of a seven-game losing streak to close the campaign. If nothing else, it demonstrates just how valuable Jones was to this Colts team.
15. J.K. Dobbins, RB
Age: 27
2025 Stats: 153 Carries, 772 Yards, 4 TD | 14 Targets, 11 Receptions, 37 Yards
What team will J.K. Dobbins play for in 2026? IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT TEAM J.K. DOBBINS WILL PLAY FOR.
Each of the past two seasons, Dobbins has signed with a team relatively late in free agency that already seemed to have an answer at running back, only to usurp that position and claim the starting role. In 2024, Dobbins did it with the Chargers, posting 900 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. In 2025, he did it again in Denver with nearly 800 rushing yards and four rushing scores in 10 games for the Broncos. Once Dobbins signs with a team, fantasy pundits should automatically assume that he will be RB1 on that team come the regular season, because that’s exactly what he’s done each of the past two years, regardless of prognostications. If KWIII doesn’t re-sign with the Seahawks, that could make a nice landing spot for the dynamic running back. Paired with a thumper like Zach Charbonnet, Dobbins could excel.
16. Malik Willis, QB
Age: 26
2025 Stats: 30/35 Passing, 422 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT | 22 Carries, 123 Yards, 2 TD
Malik Willis started just one football game for the Green Bay Packers, a loss to the Ravens in primetime, but he was certainly impressive enough to earn a chance at a starting job in 2026. He looked confident in the pocket and decisive when he took off running, completing 85.7% of his passes, both in that game and all season, while rushing for a pair of touchdowns against Baltimore. Don’t be shocked if one of the quarterback-needy teams (Arizona, Minnesota, Miami) brings in Willis to compete for a starting job.
17. David Njoku, TE
Age: 29
2025 Stats: 48 Targets, 33 Receptions, 293 Yards, 4 TD
The emergence of Harold Fannin Jr. has seemingly ended David Njoku‘s tenure in Cleveland, and good for him! Njoku averaged just 4.0 targets per game in 2025 but went for 220 targets in 27 games across 2023 and 2024 combined, prolific numbers for a tight end. Entering his age-30 season, the big man ought to be looking at signing with a contender. It might make sense to reconnect with his former quarterback, Baker Mayfield, down in Tampa Bay.
18. Kenneth Gainwell, RB
Age: 26
2025 Stats: 114 Carries, 537 Yards, 5 TD | 85 Targets, 73 Receptions, 486 Yards, 3 TD
After a career season in Pittsburgh, it would be surprising to see Kenneth Gainwell leave Arthur Smith‘s system. He proved himself as a dual-threat running back with eight total touchdowns and 1,000 combined rushing and receiving yards with check-down merchant (at this stage of his career, at least), Aaron Rodgers. If he does land with another team, Gainwell would be a perfect complementary back to Bijan Robinson in Atlanta, assuming Tyler Allgeier leaves that committee role.
19. Chig Okonkwo, TE
Age: 26
2025 Stats: 79 Targets, 56 Receptions, 560 Yards, 2 TD
Okonkwo might be too low on this list. He’s been extremely consistent across his first four seasons in the NFL, playing in all 68 career games without an injury and pulling in between 52-56 passes in each of the last three seasons. And that’s with the Tennessee Titans’ revolving door at quarterback! Okonkwo is going to be one of the sneaky good signings of the offseason, and if Travis Kelce retires, he’s a guy that I absolutely want to see paired with Patrick Mahomes in an Andy Reid offensive scheme.
20. Isaiah Likely, TE
Age: 25
2025 Stats: 36 Targets, 27 Receptions, 307 Yards, 1 TD
As a Ravens fan, I am extremely sad to see Isaiah Likely hit the open market, especially after the Ravens decided to extend the older, less dynamic Mark Andrews this season while letting Likely test the market. Likely was hampered by a preseason injury and was the victim of a series of unfortunate events in 2025 – the touchdown that wasn’t against the Steelers, the goal line fumble against the Bengals, etc. Likely feels like the king of “almost a touchdown” plays. Maybe he’ll have better luck wherever he lands next.
21. Rachaad White, RB
Age: 26
2025 Stats: 132 Carries, 572 Yards, 4 TD | 45 Targets, 40 Receptions, 218 Yards
White has been overshadowed in Tampa Bay for most of his career. Though he’s lacked efficiency, he’s quietly been a productive volume back over the course of his first four seasons with 25 total touchdowns and over 4,000 rushing and receiving yards combined. He’s a prime candidate to ruin a good thing for a bell cow running back around the league, making a backfield a committee. Or maybe (probably less likely), he signs somewhere like Minnesota and gets a shot at lead back duties.
22. Dallas Geodert, TE
Age: 30
2025 Stats: 82 Targets, 60 Receptions, 591 Yards, 11 TD
Dallas Goedert is a Philadelphia Eagle. But so was Zach Ertz… until he wasn’t. Well, Goedert has the chance to sign elsewhere after a monster season that saw his red zone usage skyrocket, resulting in a career-high 11 touchdowns. When the Eagles weren’t tush-pushing across the goal line, they were shovel passing, bubble screening, and finding other creative ways for Goedert to fall into the end zone with the football. Regardless of where he signs, don’t expect the same kind of opportunity near the painted area. His previous career high before 2025 was just five receiving touchdowns in 2019.
23. Kareem Hunt, RB
Age: 30
2025 Stats: 163 Carries, 611 Yards, 8 TD | 25 Targets, 18 Receptions, 143 Yards, 1 TD
A short-yardage expert, Hunt finished with eight rushing touchdowns in 2025, all of them coming from within five yards or less of the end zone. There aren’t many teams in the market for a true goal line back, but perhaps the Bengals could pair him with the dynamic Chase Brown for a nice 1-2 punch out of the backfield. At age 30, he doesn’t have much shelf life left, but when you’re only asked to gain 1-2 yards at a time, age is just a number.
24. Tyler Allgeier, RB
Age: 25
2025 Stats: 143 Carries, 514 Yards, 8 TD | 16 Targets, 14 Receptions, 96 Yards
One of the most efficient touchdown vultures in the NFL is potentially leaving Atlanta, and nobody is happier to hear that than Bijan Robinson‘s fantasy managers. Allgeier finished with eight rushing touchdowns in 2025, averaging less than 10 carries per game. He’ll make an excellent real-life football addition to one team around the league and create a whole new set of fantasy football headaches for managers of the other running back(s) in whichever backfield he joins. One of the most logical landing spots for Allgeier would be Pittsburgh to reunite with play-caller Arthur Smith, who used him so often in previous seasons in Atlanta.
25. Isiah Pacheco, RB
Age: 26
2025 Stats: 118 Carries, 462 Yards, 1 TD | 26 Targets, 19 Receptions, 101 Yards, 1 TD
There is nobody in the league who runs as violently or as angrily as Isiah Pacheco. But injuries have derailed his career after a promising first two seasons. In 20 games since 2024, Pacheco has gained only 772 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, missing significant time due to a broken leg and other ailments. If he doesn’t re-sign with the Chiefs, Pacheco could be an interesting piece in what will likely be a committee. We’ve seen him be a feature back before, but the explosiveness he once possessed might not ever come back.
Honorable Mentions – Quarterback
Marcus Mariota, Trey Lance, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers
Honorable Mentions – Running Back
Brian Robinson, Jr., Raheem Mostert, Miles Sanders
Honorable Mentions – Wide Receiver
Rashid Shaheed, Romeo Doubs, Jalen Nailor, Marquise Brown, Christian Kirk
Honorable Mentions – Tight End
Cade Otton, Darren Waller, Zach Ertz
Photo by Rich von Biberstein, Kyle Ross | Adapted by Parker McDonald (@CarbonFoxGFX on Twitter/X)