Fantasy Football Roundtable: Don't leave the party without 'em — Our analysts share their must-draft player for 2026

The biggest fantasy football draft weekend of the year is upon us as we prep for the 2026 NFL season, which begins next Wednesday. You've likely been consuming as much content as humanly possible to be in the best shape going into your draft. But there's always more! If there's one thing you do at your draft, it's select these players. Yahoo analysts Chris Allen, Hayden Winks, Josh Norris, Scott Pianowski, Joel Smyth, Justin Boone, Matt Harmon and Ray Garvin give you their one must-draft player for 2026.

Chicago's passing game has garnered most of our attention all offseason. And rightfully so, with Year 2 of the Ben Johnson-Caleb Williams connection upon us and the rise of Luther Burden III. But D'Andre Swift's role in all of this has gone under-discussed. Swift had a career year after being reunited with his old OC. Most would look at 1,386 regular-season all-purpose yards as a "mid" result. But a look under the hood tells a better story.

Among all RBs in 2025, Swift's 51.0% rushing success rate ranked fourth. Coupled with top-12 marks in adjusted yards after contact per attempt and explosive play rate, Swift had the base-down work secure. Plus, only six other RBs took more carries from inside the five-yard line than Swift. All of this came while playing through multiple lower-body injuries, which only caused him to miss one game. So now, Swift is (mostly) healthy, Johnson considers Kyle Monangai's knee hyperextension a week-to-week issue and there's less uncertainty around the offense. If we're going to treat all of the pass-catchers as early-round picks to target, Swift deserves the same consideration. — Chris Allen

After about 200 drafts, my most drafted player is Etienne with a personal ADP of 40th overall. On Yahoo, Etienne is a consensus fourth-round selection with an ADP of 42nd overall as the RB18. I rank him 33rd overall, so it's a full round of value early in drafts. Etienne is coming off an RB11 per-game finish on RB14 usage. That was while splitting work in Jacksonville, and we'll see just how much Alvin Kamara can play as a 31-year-old with a training camp multi-week knee injury. Etienne will safely be the goal-line back and has a pass-catching history on early downs dating back to college.

This Saints team quietly provides the best environment he's had for fantasy points. Head coach Kellen Moore was first in neutral pace rate last year, and the offensive line features two quality first-round tackles, a newly-signed veteran LG and two long-time teammate interior players. It's an above-average unit, and Etienne is used to bottom-10 OLs from Jacksonville. He's cleared 1,399 total yards in three of four healthy seasons, and I think he'll do it again. — Hayden Winks

My season rides on a handful of players. Namely: Saquon Barkley, Kenneth Walker III, De'Zhaun Stribling and Parker Washington. Simply put, the Jaguars WR1 has been undervalued all summer long. Washington is currently being drafted 74th overall on Yahoo, when his real price should be closer to 55th. With Washington, Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr. on the field together last season, PW had a team-high 31% target share with 3.17 yards per route run. So if you have any questions about how this "loaded" receiver room is going to play out, we already have our answer.

In that same section of the season, Washington played 63% of his snaps from the slot when all three receivers were on the field together. That's exactly what we want, as he attacks the precise area that Liam Coen's offense emphasizes: 10-20 yards over the middle of the field. Washington wins small with his athleticism. He wins big on tight-window targets. And if he were a second-round pick in the NFL Draft rather than a sixth, Washington's ADP would be multiple rounds earlier. — Josh Norris

McConkey was a dominant player in the second half of his rookie year , but everything fell apart in Year 2. I'll write that off as an excused absence — the offensive line collapsed, the play calling went stale and the target tree was crowded. Mike McDaniel steps in as the perfect OC — a creative schemer who will put McConkey in motion and find YAC-producing routes downfield. Keenan Allen is gone, so the target tree is trimmer. QB Justin Herbert can be a talent elevator, especially now that the line is fortified again (despite the loss of starting center Tyler Biadasz). McConkey is still available outside of Pick 40 in Yahoo leagues, a delightful buying opportunity for the final draft weekend. — Scott Pianowski

Round 2 has plenty of RBs available, and my favorite at ADP is Omarion Hampton at 18th off the board. Talented RBs going into their second season are consistently fantasy gold. In fact, of the first 11 RBs drafted inside the top-25 since 2015, all 11 of them had a fantasy RB1 season by their second year. Ashton Jeanty and Hampton are up next.

When healthy, the Chargers' RB was a force as a rookie, posting RB1 fantasy numbers in an overall poor situation. I love the coaching change as much as the talent. Mike McDaniel has had a top-seven fantasy RB in three consecutive seasons, and even with the 11th-best scoring offense since 2022, has the third-most RB fantasy points. If a 31-year-old Raheem Mostert can be a top-five fantasy RB with McDaniel, I'm betting Hampton can, too. He'll get the goal-line work and showed great receiving chops as a rookie to the point where the Chargers only threw to RBs when he was on the field. Healthy offensive tackles and FB Alec Ingold can help the run game improve in the new system.

There are some that worry about Hampton's volume, but I trust he'll get the touches that matter most and plenty of work in an offense that I'm buying in 2026. — Joel Smyth

Smith is finally out of A.J. Brown's shadow and ready to prove he can be the Eagles' No. 1 receiver. Over the last two seasons, there have been three games where Brown was sidelined and Smith played a full complement of snaps. The results were stat lines of 6-84-0, 7-79-0 and 7-76-1 while averaging just under 10 targets per game. Even with Brown finishing as a top-12 fantasy wideout in recent years, Smith still produced as the WR17 (2024), WR21 (2023) and WR16 (2022) on a per game basis before this past season, when he was as the WR33 amid some overall struggles in the offense.

Fortunately, there are plenty of signs pointing to the Eagles having a bounce-back campaign, including their new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, some better offensive line health and a very soft schedule. The 27-year-old (turns 28 in November) will enjoy the easiest slate at his position . Don't be surprised when Smith finishes as a fantasy WR1. — Justin Boone

Ever since the NFL Draft closed and we filed our first pass of rankings, I've had Waddle as my WR12 or 13 and a top-30 overall player. While I will grant you that Waddle has a frustrating injury history, to me, that's the only hole in his profile. There is so much the fantasy industry doesn't understand about Waddle and the situation change he's about to experience. Waddle ranks 18th in yards per route run and 13th in first downs per route the last three seasons. The only reason he didn't pop off last year without Tyreek Hill for most of the year was the Dolphins ranked 30th in neutral dropback rate and 32nd in plays per game. Denver ranked sixth and fifth — there will be much more raw opportunity awaiting, along with a quarterback upgrade.

The other often-missed variable is that Waddle has long been playing out of position as an outside on-ball receiver in Miami to allow for role-catering for other players. Going to Denver with Courtland Sutton established as the X-receiver and Pat Bryant emerging as the big, on-ball slot, Waddle is about to play a movement Z-role for the first time in years. I can't even say how much of a game-changer this is going to be for the new Broncos receiver. He's going to run more breaking routes and get a ton of layups running routes off the line. He will be a big hit player as a Round 4 pick that returns WR1 value. — Matt Harmon

I'm betting on the Year 2 leap with Tetairoa McMillan. As a rookie, he showed that he can be the clear No. 1 receiver in an NFL offense, and there's no question who the best wideout in Carolina is. Yes, there are concerns with Bryce Young and the offensive line, but McMillan should continue to command a massive share of this passing game regardless. He earned a 25% target share as a rookie and accounted for 43% of Carolina's air yards. Now I want to see the Panthers make life easier on him. If Jonathon Brooks can give them a legitimate running game, that should create better opportunities off play action, and I'd love to see McMillan used more from the slot to manufacture easier looks. All indications point to Carolina doing exactly that with him in the offense. My projections have him around 145 targets and 1,250 yards. At a Round 4 price, I'm buying the talent, the volume and the Year 2 breakout. — Ray Garvin

The Playbook is powered by some of fantasy football's most-trusted analysts: Justin Boone (the top-ranked in-season ranker of 2025), Matt Harmon, Josh Norris, Joel Smyth, Scott Pianowski and Hayden Winks. This isn't one analyst's opinion. It's a consensus of the sharpest minds in fantasy football, featuring advice you can rely on.

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