Tier 5 (Continued): The “Area 51” Tier
There’s definitely something there, but will it stay hidden from the public?
61. Jakobi Meyers, WR, JAC
Jakobi Meyers went from an afterthought in Las Vegas to Trevor Lawrence‘s favorite target after a midseason trade to Jacksonville. Meyers averaged 12.4 points per game with the Jaguars from Weeks 10-17, and the team rewarded him with a three-year contract extension to keep him in Duval for a long time. He led the Jaguars with a 21.8% target share and was second to Parker Washington with 1.88 yards per route run. There will be plenty of mouths to feed, especially with the return of Travis Hunter. But Meyers appears to be a fixture in the offense and makes for a rock-solid WR3 with plenty of upside.
62. Trevor Lawrence, QB, JAC
Trevor Lawrence finally put it all together and had the best season of his career under Liam Coen. Lawrence recorded 38 touchdowns and threw downfield a butt ton, ranking second in deep attempts and first in deep yards per game. He has a loaded receiver room with Jakobi Meyers, Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington, and Travis Hunter. Coen seems to have finally unlocked Lawrence, helping him achieve his first top-five fantasy season, and nothing suggests he’ll slow down in 2026.
63. Christian Watson, WR, GB
Christian Watson was easily the Packers’ most dynamic pass catcher in 2025 and one of the best in the league. He ranked fifth with 2.67 yards per route run, third with 17.46 yards per reception, and fourth with 11.11 yards per target. Granted, Watson did so with Jayden Reed hurt for much of the season. But Watson’s numbers didn’t change all that much when they were both on the field. Watson saw virtually the same number of targets, caught the same number of passes, and averaged just four fewer yards with Reed, as well as a negligible 1.3 fantasy points less per game. Watson may head into 2026 underrated, with many expecting his breakout was due to Reed’s absence. If that’s the case, buy that delicious dip.
64. Mike Evans, WR, TB
Injury after injury led to the legendary 1,000-receiving-yard streak ending for Mike Evans. Evans played in just eight games, in part because of a broken collarbone, and will be 33 at the start of the season. Evans had a league-low 1.33 yards after catch per reception among those with at least 50 targets. Chris Godwin will be a year removed from his gruesome injury, and both Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan will be a year further into their NFL careers. View Evans as similar to Davante Adams, a solid WR2 who will have a few spike weeks. The problem is that Evans has more competition for targets and nowhere near the touchdown upside.
65. D’Andre Swift, RB, CHI
In the words of Nick Pollack, “Swift Doesn’t Miss.” D’Andre Swift has never finished outside the top 24 running backs in points per game and finished as RB17 in 2025 despite sharing a backfield with a capable runner in Caleb Williams and a promising rookie in Kyle Monangai. Swift ranked in the top 10 in yards per carry and yards per reception and in the top five in yards after the catch per reception. His skill set makes him useful in fantasy even with a partial workload, and Swift likely heads into 2026 underrated once again. Be like Swift. Don’t miss on D’Andre.
66. Kyle Pitts Sr., TE, ATL
Good things happen when you get Kyle Pitts the ball, and it finally seems like the Falcons have figured that out. It’s a little too late for Raheem Morris, but new head coach Kevin Stefanski wasn’t afraid to feature tight ends in Cleveland, a promising sign for Pitts’ future. Pitts finished in the top five in yards per route run and yards after contact per reception, setting career highs across the board and earning his first top-five fantasy finish. Kyle Pitts Szn was finally real, and it was spectacular.
67. DK Metcalf, WR, PIT
It’s long past time we had a conversation about DK Metcalf. He’s easily one of the most athletic receivers in the league, but it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen the top end of his upside. His first year in Pittsburgh was not great, Bob, with just two games over 100 yards, his first season under 60 receptions since his rookie year, and a career-low 850 receiving yards. Granted, that was on an Arthur Smith-run offense led by the ghost of Aaron Rodgers, but the Steelers cleaned house and will have a new coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback. We have no idea what this offense is going to look like, but regardless, it’s hard to be bullish on DK for fantasy purposes.
68. Terry McLaurin, WR, WAS
It wasn’t just Jayden Daniels who struggled to stay on the field for Washington. Terry McLaurin had injury issues of his own. But when he was on the field, he was the same ole Scary Terry, ranking sixth in yards per reception and 13th in yards per route run, despite playing more snaps with Marcus Mariota than with Daniels. His ten-touchdown season is likely a one-year wonder, but McLaurin is a perfect WR2 target who could come at a discount after a disappointing 2025.
69. Trey Benson, RB, ARI
Trey Benson missed almost the entire season after four games, but he showed why I was so high on him in that short sample. Benson averaged 5.52 yards per carry, had a 6.9% explosive run rate, and forced 3.2 yards after contact per attempt. I hope people forget how fantastic he looked in his short time on the field, because unless the Cardinals add a significant piece in the backfield, I’ll be drafting lots and lots of Benson in 2026.
70. Jalen Hurts, QB, PHI
Jalen Hurts seems like a great guy. He’s a fantastic fantasy quarterback. But he’s not the best passer of the football. There have been rumblings during the offseason about drama in the Philly locker room, driven by the coaching staff and front office failing to criticize Hurts and his shortcomings. There’s even talk that the Eagles could draft or add a quarterback this offseason to motivate him. How much of that is true is hard to say, but often in these situations where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Hurts remains a QB1 in fantasy thanks to his legs, but especially if the Eagles trade A.J. Brown, his top-five fantasy days may be over.
71. Chris Godwin Jr., WR, TB
It took Chris Godwin more than half the season to score 10 or more fantasy points in a game, but that’s not surprising, as he didn’t return until Week 4 from a gruesome ankle injury from last season and missed more time due to additional issues. Godwin will be 30 years old this offseason and is no guarantee to be on the Bucs roster next season with a hefty contract. If he does return, he’s a decent WR3, but not someone I’m looking to draft, as his upside is gone with his age and injury issues.
72. Rico Dowdle, RB, CAR
Rico Dowdle signed a 1-year “prove it” deal with the Panthers last offseason, and for the most part, he certainly did. He was a major part of the Panthers’ success and surprise playoff appearance, outperforming Chuba Hubbard in yards per carry, explosive run rate, missed forced tackles, yards after contact per attempt, and the list goes on and on. It seems Dowdle wasn’t too happy with his questionable usage, per his post-playoff loss social media posts. With Hubbard still under contract and Jonathan Brooks returning from injury, I’d expect to see him elsewhere in 2026. If he can find a team willing to give him the lion’s share of the carries, we saw he’s plenty capable of putting up top-10 weeks.
73. George Kittle, TE, SF
George Kittle is just one of those guys. Even if you hate the 49ers, it’s impossible to hate him. That’s why it was so tough to see him carted off the field in the first round of the playoffs against the Eagles, ending this season and probably affecting next year as well. The recovery timeline for a torn Achilles is about 9 to 12 months, but Kittle is about to turn 33. I can speak from experience, as I approach my 40th birthday, that getting older doesn’t help with the speed of recovery from injury. His draftability won’t be known until probably mid-summer at the earliest.
74. Justin Herbert, QB, LAC
Justin Herbert came out of the gates blazing, throwing 16 touchdowns in his first eight games. But as the already suspect offensive line began to drop like flies due to injury, Herbert had less and less time to throw, and eventually ended up with a broken hand. Herbert had only two games with multiple touchdown passes after Week 9, but he still finished as a QB1. If the Chargers can shore up the o-line and give Herbie some time without pressure, there’s potential for a push into the top five.
75. Jordan Mason, RB MIN
I was aggressive in ranking Jordan Mason among the top 25 running backs last season, and he very well could wind up there for me again. But the Vikings’ offense was a dumpster fire, leaving Justin Jefferson as WR32 in points per game. I’m not making excuses for Mason; he definitely didn’t take advantage of the opportunity when Aaron Jones was placed on IR. But the underlying metrics remain. Mason had a 5.7% explosive run rate (tenth), 4.77 yards per carry (12th), and .19 missed tackles forced per attempt (ninth). I’m buying back in on Mason for 2026. Sometimes we’re not wrong, just early. I hope.
Tier 6: The “Is This a Pigeon?” Tier
You aren’t sure if they’re a superstar or role player, but you’re starting them.
76. Stefon Diggs, WR, NE
Stefon Diggs played 60% of offensive snaps in just three games this season but bounced back in New England just enough to finish as a WR2. Diggs finished inside the top 10 in yards per route run and had 1,000 receiving yards for the seventh time in his career. But at age 33 at the start of the season, the upside is nonexistent. He’s a fine WR3 but not much more.
77. RJ Harvey, RB, DEN
J.K. Dobbins was once again proving people wrong by holding off rookie RJ Harvey and having an excellent season in Denver before a season-ending injury in Week 10. Harvey stepped in and had some success, but he wasn’t particularly efficient or explosive. Dobbins ended the season with 5.05 yards per carry (seventh), 77.2 rushing yards per game (sixth), and a 7.8% explosive run rate (third). Harvey’s stats were, um, something. He had 3.7 yards per carry (42nd), 31.8 rushing yards per game (45th), and a 2.7% explosive run rate (42nd). Dobbins is a free agent, but he could certainly return to Denver; they signed him after drafting Harvey. Depending on what Harvey’s ADP turns out to be, he may be a full fade for me in 2026.
78. Kyle Monangai, RB, CHI
Kyle Monangai is a name you need to remember for 2026 because, even playing second fiddle to D’Andre Swift, he scored five touchdowns and posted double-digit fantasy points in all but two games in which he had at least ten touches. Monangai has mouth-watering upside, and even with Swift sticking around, I love Monangai as a solid FLEX with upside for spike weeks. We’ve seen two backs be fantasy-viable in a Ben Johnson offense before.
79. Patrick Mahomes II, QB, KC
Patrick Mahomes looked like “Showtime” Mahomes (the worst nickname ever) through about Week 8, but the Chiefs’ offense sputtered from Week 9 until his season-ending ACL injury. Even if Mahomes can rehab quickly enough to return by Week 1, as he hopes, he could be without Travis Kelce (possible retirement), Rashee Rice (possible suspension), and Hollywood Brown (Unrestricted Free Agent). I firmly believe Mahomes has multiple elite fantasy seasons left in him. But given that he’ll be returning from an ACL injury, possibly have a new offensive coordinator, and have multiple new pass catchers, 2026 may be the calm before the storm of a late-career surge a la Tom Brady.
80. Woody Marks, RB, HOU
Woody Marks teased us a few times before taking over the Texans’ backfield by season’s end, but it wasn’t pretty. Marks had the second-lowest yards per carry among running backs with at least 100 carries and was tied with Chuba Hubbard and Emanuel Wilson for the lowest missed tackles forced per attempt. I think Marks will have a solid role in the Texans’ offense in 2026, but I expect them to add a back to help carry the workload.