In a matter of weeks, Roger Goodell will take to the NFL Draft stage in Pittsburgh while a chorus of boos rises up from the crowd of yinzers gathered before him.
The commissioner will announce the first pick in the draft, and then … we’re off to the races, baby.
Before that chaos takes hold, let’s take a minute to identify some ideal landing spots for incoming rookies at each position. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited for all of these young guys to achieve their dreams of playing in the NFL. But for fantasy purposes, I’d be extra psyched if they landed with…
QB: Pittsburgh Steelers
Let’s pretend for a minute that He Who Shall Not Be Named doesn’t exist. If “that guy” chooses to follow Hoobastank around on tour instead of reuniting with Mike McCarthy and the Steelers, this would be a solid situation for a young QB.
A rookie’s only competition would be former sixth-round pick Will Howard and Mason Rudolph, who’s never thrown for 1,800 passing yards in a season. The offense has respectable weapons in DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman, Jaylen Warren and more tight ends than a Butt Convention.
It’s unlikely that Fernando Mendoza falls outside the first 10 picks, let alone all the way to the Steelers at Pick 21. But keep an eye out if another QB lands there in the first couple of rounds.
RB: Washington Commanders
Travis Etienne and Kenneth Walker called dibs on the best landing spots during free agency, but don’t sleep on the Commanders as a nice destination for fantasy goodness.
They let arguably their best running back leave in free agency and added only Rachaad White, who is a respectable pass catcher, but not much of a pure running threat.
Couldn’t you picture Jeremiyah Love here alongside Jayden Daniels, making defenders miserable? Wouldn’t that make you happy? Do you like it when I ask you rhetorical questions?
WR: Miami Dolphins
The scene in Miami is starting to look like the finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Remember? Will Smith standing in the middle of the suddenly empty living room, looking sullen. Replace Smith with Malik Willis and the living room with the pass-catching depth chart. It’s a sad scene.
And if we look back to Willis’ last start for the Packers, we saw Christian Watsonput up 113 yards and a touchdown. Any legitimate downfield threat should feel right at home in Miami.
TE: Carolina Panthers
The Panthers haven’t had a tight end hit 400 receiving yards since Greg Olsen was in town. That’s bonkers, especially considering the lack of receiving firepower on those rosters.
If some young, athletic, pass-catching tight end ends up in Carolina, that could change in an instant. With only Tetairoa McMillan as a sure target, there’s plenty of opportunity for a rookie tight end to make our fantasy teams happy.
The Fantasy Life NFL Draft Guide is a living, breathing draft hub with live updates as we head into the NFL Draft. Inside you'll find Matthew Freedman's Big Board, expert NFL mock drafts across the Fantasy Life team, Dwain McFarland's Rookie Super Modeland non-stop insights to get you ready for the NFL Draft.
The Week 17 Sunday Night Football audience saw what had been hinted at for much of the season. Luther Burden was just unguardable, torching the 49ers secondary for 138 yards and a score on 9 catches in a 42-38 loss in San Francisco. Is that a sign of things to come? Well, after the trade of DJ Moore to the Bills, the door is open for Burden to make more noise in the coming season. Ian Hartitz tapped Burden as a breakout for the coming season:
Consider: Just five rookie wide receivers have averaged north of 2.5 yards per route run over the last decade (min. 50 targets):
Luther Burden (2.71)
A.J. Brown (2.68)
Justin Jefferson (2.66)
Puka Nacua (2.6)
Ja'Marr Chase (2.51)
That's pretty f*cking good company—and now Burden's path to a full-time role is more clear than ever after the team shipped DJ Moore off to Buffalo. There's still some legit target competition in the form of Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland, but at least the rising second-year talent should now have every opportunity to turn his elite efficiency into similarly awesome counting numbers. Throw in the potential for the offense as a whole to make a leap in Year 2 of the Caleb Williams-Ben Johnson partnership, and Burden profiles as a breakout bet worth making in 2026.
Kendall Valenzuela, Pete Overzet and Dwain McFarland join Ian in providing their own breakout players for 2026.⤵️
Comparing best ball and redraft rankings, it’s important to know the difference. No one may be as adept at knowing the difference than the Deposit King himself, Pete Overzet, who looked at Underdog ADP against Fantasy Life rankings to show who could be bargains in early Underdog drafts. One player has been getting some buzz since he changed teams:
Kenneth Walker | RB | KC (FL RB7; Underdog RB11)
This is an interesting comparison between rankings and ADP. Walker's landing spot in Kansas City is undoubtedly a boon for his fantasy value—Ian and Dwain have him as their RB5—but Underdog drafters have been slower to move Walker up. A big reason for this is that UD drafters select rookie Jeremiyah Love (RB9) and sophomores Ashton Jeanty (RB6) and Omarion Hampton (RB8) over him.
This is a classic case of tournament players trying to skate to where they think the puck is going to be and potentially drafting a young RB who could be a top-five overall selection next year. But in this case, I'm inclined to side with our Fantasy Life rankings. The (cheaper) bird in the hand is worth more than a few in the bush.
Pete showcases the players he’s buying and selling.
