Fantasy Football Value Picks to Target After 2026 NFL Roster Cuts

With cutdown day in the rearview, rosters for the 2026 NFL season are nearly set. While many teams will shuffle the deck slightly via the free-agent market over coming days, fantasy managers at least have a clear picture of what depth charts around the league will look like when the campaign kicks off.

Shrewd fantasy managers can use these recent roster shakeups to hunt value.

Because squads are limited to just 53 players on the active roster, many backups will see significant action in 2026. While they may not open the year with a fantasy-relevant role, injuries and other unforeseen events could quickly clear a path for these depth options to earn meaningful playing time.

With that in mind, here's a look at five of the best post-cutdown day value picks you can target late in your fantasy draft.

Fantasy points, rankings, average draft position (ADP) and other metrics courtesy of FantasyPros using PPR data.

The discussion around fantasy-relevant Indianapolis Colts running backs has been centered squarely around superstar Jonathan Taylor for the last few seasons, but he may not be the only household name in this backfield by the end of the 2026 campaign.

Seth McGowan, an unheralded rookie seventh-rounder who wasn't even a lock to make the team at the start of the offseason, has surged up the depth chart and is primed to open the year as Taylor's backup. McGowan, Taylor and DJ Giddens—last year's RB2—were the only three backs to stick on Indy's final roster.

McGowan began turning heads early in training camp and continued to thrive throughout the preseason. He put plenty of impressive highlights on tape in practice while cementing himself as the club's No. 2 RB option.

The Athletic's James Boyd said that Taylor would "shoulder the bulk of the workload" for the platoon, but noted McGowan "clearly won the second-string job thanks to his physicality and reliable hands". While 2025 fifth-rounder Giddens will still have a small role after beating out UDFA sophomore Ulysses Bentley IV, McGowan will be the one taking the majority of snaps whenever Taylor rests.

More importantly, McGowan has become the ideal handcuff to snap up late in fantasy drafts. He now has sky-high potential for a feature role should Taylor miss time. While the star back played in all 17 games last year, Taylor has only managed to stay fully healthy twice in six seasons and missed 17 contests between the 2022-24 seasons.

Given the volume that the Colts' coaching staff allocates to the top back in this offense (Taylor has amassed nearly 700 touches over the last two seasons), McGowan would be a borderline fantasy RB1 in any game the starter misses.

Despite this incredible potential, McGowan's is still flying completely under the fantasy radar and only has an ADP of 295 (RB78). This means you'll be able to safely target the rookie in the final round of most drafts.

After being in real danger of being cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kaleb Johnson has found new life as a member of the Green Bay Packers. While it isn't exactly promising to see the 2025 third-rounder get shipped to Titletown for a 2028 sixth-round draft pick, Johnson will have ample opportunity to turn his career following an abysmal start.

The Packers made the move after finding out they would be without their three-time Pro Bowl starting running back indefinitely. Josh Jacobs landed on the Commissioner's Exempt List this weekend, stemming from charges of battery and criminal damage to property after a physical confrontation with his girlfriend. The veteran will not be permitted to practice or attend games while he remains on the exempt list.

Green Bay has opted to forge ahead with three running backs on the active roster. Without Jacobs, the club's platoon consists of incumbents MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks in addition to the recently-acquired Johnson.

While Lloyd is reportedly in line to take the first crack at locking down the starting role during Jacobs' absence, Johnson could still carve out a fantasy-relevant role quickly.

Lloyd has been with the team since he was selected in the third round of the 2024 draft, but only appeared in one game as a rookie and missed all his sophomore season with injuries. Brooks has more experience—he's suited up for 32 games since joining the Packers in 2024—but has only produced 289 yards and one touchdown on 63 totes for the club.

Although Johnson struggled with the Steelers as a rookie (contributing just 69 yards on 28 carries) and still needs to get brought up to speed in a new offense, his potential is undeniable. The 6'1", 224-pound back was a Day 2 pick last year thanks to a rare combination of size, strength, athleticism and finesse, traits that could help him get back on the right track.

For fantasy purposes, consider Johnson a high-upside lottery ticket whose worth stashing at the end of your bench. He may not provide much value right away (which is reflected in his ADP of 220), but injuries or production woes from the players ahead of him on the depth chart will open the door for a breakout.

Odell Beckham Jr. was a longshot to make the New York Giants' final roster after a litany of injuries derailed the past half-decade of his career—including spending 2025 out of football—but the veteran wideout seems rejuvenated by a return to the Big Apple.

With Beckham sticking as one of the five wideouts that new head coach John Harbaugh elected to keep on the 53-man roster, the receiver's much-anticipated comeback could even end up being a meaningful fantasy football storyline.

Beckham hasn't been a reliable fantasy weapon since his stint with the Los Angeles Rams back in 2021. Despite joining the club midway through the campaign, OBJ managed to rate as the WR22 between Weeks 12-18. He went on to miss all of 2022 with injuries before returning to play for Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens the following year—finishing as the WR63 that season.

Beckham caught on with the Miami Dolphins for the 2024 campaign, but fell off the fantasy radar entirely after tallying just nine catches for 55 yards in nine games for the club. While that showing won't inspire much confidence for his 2026 outlook, the 33-year-old could contribute enough to be worth rostering.

New York has questions within the receiving corps, especially with star wideout Malik Nabers still working his way back to full strength following an ACL tear that limited him to four games in 2025. Joining Beckham as depth options are longtime Big Blue pass-catcher Darius Slayton and a pair of recent additions in veteran Darnell Mooney and rookie Malachi Fields.

The pecking order behind Nabers has yet to be established, but Beckham displayed strong chemistry with quarterback Jaxson Dart throughout the offseason. He even made a few spectacular grabs that had onlookers buzzing:

While Beckham likely won't rekindle the Pro Bowl form of his youth, he enters the year as a projected boom-or-bust injury/bye week fill-in with some flex appeal.

OBJ remains a legitimate deep threat with fantastic hands, giving him the potential to score a touchdown on a weekly basis. That floor, coupled with the upside of an expanded role if players ahead of him on the depth chart are ineffective or injured, make the WR108 with a 341 ADP worth a last-round dice roll in deeper fantasy formats.

The Baltimore Ravens have traditionally leaned heavily on the ground game to generate offense, but the team's passing attack could be its greatest strength in 2026 if rookie wideout Ja'Kobi Lane lives up to the hype he's generated over the past few months.

Lane, a third-round pick out of USC, entered the league as a raw prospect oozing potential. While the 22-year-old only played in 30 games across his three seasons with the Trojans, he tallied 18 touchdown grabs—including 12 during his sophomore campaign alone—and has the talent to translate those scoring chops to the professional level immediately while rounding out the rest of his game with some polish.

It won't be easy for defenders to stop the 6'4", 200-pound receiver, especially one who has the hands and athleticism to turn contested jump balls into easy receptions. He dominated cornerbacks and safeties throughout training camp and the preseason, opening the door for him to begin his career as Baltimore's No. 2 wideout behind established star Zay Flowers.

Lane's contributions this offseason were noticed by teammates, with superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson seeming particularly impressed. Jackson recently had some high praise for the rookie and provided some impressive comps (per Pro Football Talk 's Myles Simmons ):

"Big guy — like 6-4, 6-5 — [he can] catch the ball with the best of them," Jackson said. "I told you, my comparison [is] like Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins with the hands."

With veteran Rashod Bateman facing potential discipline from the league stemming from his June arrest on family violence charges, Lane could assume an even larger role than initially expected. Fellow rookie Elijah Sarratt and incumbent backups Devontez Walker and LaJohntay Wester are the only other Ravens wideouts to make it through cutdown-day.

Despite his immense potential, Lane is being drafted as the RB61 with an ADP of 174. He's one of the best late-round wideouts you could take right now, offering far more upside than most of his peers found in this range.

The Tennessee Titans are trending towards a breakout campaign in Year 2 of the Cam Ward era. With a new coaching staff taking over and the prized quarterback having another offseason to hone his craft, Tennessee's offense should take a major leap this coming season.

One of the main beneficiaries of this potential improvement will be Gunnar Helm, the unheralded sophomore tight end who is set to play a large part in the team's 2026 plans.

Helm has all the physical tools required to be a prolific pass-catcher. He stands a solid 6'5", 241 pounds and has strong ball skills, talent he flashed as a fourth-round rookie last year. Despite splitting time with entrenched starter Chig Okonkwo and stymied by a listless offense with a porous offense line, Helm still managed to reel in 44 of his 55 targets for 357 yards and two touchdowns.

With Okonkwo departing in free agency, the offensive line getting some much-needed help and a new offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll taking over, you can reasonably expect Helm's fantasy marks to go way up this year. He's the clearcut No. 1 TE on Tennessee's roster, with veteran additions Daniel Bellinger and Kylen Granson likely to log only a handful of targets and mainly stay relegated to blocking duties.

While Helm has the ceiling of a fantasy TE1, he's not even being drafted in most formats. He's currently the TE31 with an ADP of 278, making him a perfect last-round selection and even a preseason free-agent pickup for managers who aren't completely satisfied with the tight ends they came away from their draft with.