Examining key rookies from the 2026 class and what role they'll play in fantasy football to start this season

The preseason is over, fantasy football drafts are hitting their peak and we finally have a clearer picture of which rookies can actually help us in Year 1. There are only a couple I feel comfortable calling weekly starters right now, but this class has plenty of flex options, upside stashes and players who could become very valuable as the season unfolds.

Yes, Love is dealing with a high-ankle sprain, but once that ankle is cleared and he's ready to go, you're starting him every single week. His preseason debut was just a glimpse of the type of production we could get from a true three-down running back who can beat defenses on the ground and through the air. Love has weekly RB2 value with legitimate RB1 upside once healthy, although Arizona was still working him back from the injury entering the final week of August.

Seattle kept Price under wraps for basically the entire preseason, and I don't view that as a negative at all. They wanted their first-round running back healthy for Week 1 because he's going to command a significant workload in this offense. There may be questions about how much receiving work he gets, but the rushing volume and scoring opportunity should make Price a weekly starter right out of the gate.

Tate finished the entire preseason without a catch, and some of the excitement surrounding him earlier this summer has understandably cooled off. I'm not stressing over the talent or the opportunity because he's still going to be one of Cam Ward's primary targets, and he finished Titans training camp with seven catches and two touchdowns in a joint practice against Chicago. This might be a slower burn in a Tennessee offense that I don't project to be great, but Tate remains firmly on the flex radar.

Cleveland is going to find ways to get Concepcion the football. We've already seen him used through the air, on the ground and in the return game, and the explosiveness jumps off the screen. The bigger concern for me is Cleveland's offense and quarterback situation, but the talent and designed touches give Concepcion immediate flex appeal.

Stribling has looked great throughout the preseason, and you should be drafting him with the intention of potentially playing him early. There are still questions surrounding the health of San Francisco's veteran pass-catchers, including George Kittle and Mike Evans, which could open an even larger opportunity for the rookie. He's a flex-worthy receiver already, with the potential for significantly more depending on how this 49ers depth chart looks entering the season.

Boston didn't give us much statistically during the preseason, but Cleveland didn't need to see much from him because he earned first-team work throughout camp. He's a big outside receiver with the type of frame that could make him an immediate factor around the end zone. There are a lot of mouths to feed in Cleveland, but at his price, Boston is an intriguing deep-league flex option with upside.

Tyson is the definition of stash and wait. He suffered a significant hamstring injury after already missing valuable offseason time, and the Saints placed him on injured reserve to start the season, meaning he'll miss at least the first four games. He was injured in the middle of August and given an initial timeline of two months for a return. You're not drafting Tyson expecting to play him anytime soon, but if you've got an IR spot, the talent and eventual opportunity make him worth holding.

Lemon missed most of camp with a hamstring injury, then his preseason debut definitely wasn't the type of performance anybody wanted to see. I'm still not giving up on the talent, but I don't expect him to immediately be a full-time player in two-receiver sets. This feels like a much slower burn where we check back around the middle of the season and see what his role has become.

Coleman currently projects as the third running back in Denver behind J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey, so there's not much we can do with him early. But we've played this game with Dobbins long enough to know the health questions aren't going anywhere. Coleman is exactly the type of running back I want sitting at the end of my bench because it feels more like a matter of when an opportunity opens than if.

Washington is a stash, but he's a stash I absolutely do not want getting past me late in drafts. He was outstanding throughout the preseason, rushing for 168 yards on 23 carries, and Ashton Jeanty's ankle injury has created some uncertainty heading into the season. Washington can go from a bench stash to a weekly fantasy starter very quickly if Jeanty misses time.

Johnson looked like Kansas City's second-best running back during the preseason, and I loved what we saw from him both as a runner and receiver. There's probably not enough opportunity to matter while Kenneth Walker III is healthy and commanding the backfield. But if something happens to Walker, Johnson becomes a much more interesting player in an offense we expect to score plenty of points.

It was a pretty quiet preseason for Cooper, which isn't exactly what fantasy managers wanted to see from a first-round pick. I'm still interested because Geno Smith gives this Jets passing game a chance to be significantly better, and there should eventually be opportunity for Cooper to carve out a role. In normal redraft leagues, though, I'd rather monitor him and potentially grab him off waivers once we actually see the routes and targets increase.

Betting on rookie tight ends is already difficult enough before we start adding missed practices and injuries into the equation. Sadiq lost valuable time throughout the offseason and currently sits behind Mason Taylor, so I'm not spending meaningful draft capital here. In normal one-tight end leagues, leave him on waivers and make him prove that the role is there first.

Singleton finished the preseason with another 44 scrimmage yards against Chicago, but he's still buried behind Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears. I'm not ready to call him Tennessee's future at the position, and I'm definitely not expecting meaningful touches early. He's a deep stash whose value changes quickly if Spears, who has dealt with durability issues, misses time.

Don't draft Mendoza in standard one-QB leagues. Kirk Cousins appears positioned to open the season ahead of him, even though Las Vegas has not officially announced its Week 1 starter as of Monday morning. Quarterback is too deep to burn a bench spot waiting on a rookie who may not play, so if Mendoza gets his opportunity later in the season, you can deal with it on waivers then.