2026 Early Love/Hate Players for Fantasy Football
By: Andrew Ferguson
Every year I see lists like this come out with a whole lot of ‘no s*** Sherlock’ takes. All of these players are talented, don’t get me wrong. But the love doesn’t come from me wanting to hang out with them on a Friday night drinking beers, or the hate stemming from if they’ve burned me in the past (I still can’t get over Justin Jefferson as my first round pick last year). My love/hate comes from the situations they reside in within their offenses and where they are currently being drafted at. It’s the value concept of fantasy football. This game is about numbers, not about rooting for your favorite player and hopes.The numbers don’t lie. The only people lying are those that believe in JJ McCarthy.
QB I Love: Brock Purdy
If you’ve read what I think about fantasy football QBs, I love to wait into deeper rounds before drafting one, and Purdy is the guy to wait on for 2026. There are a lot of questions around his health over the last 2 years as he’s missed a total of 10 games. But when healthy in 2025, he averaged nearly 21 points per game and finished as a top 6 QB in 4 of his 9 starts. They’ve
continued to bring in new weapons for him on the offense and with Kyle Shanahan still in charge of offensive playcalling, I’m a believer. If Matt Ryan can win an MVP, Brock Purdy can be your QB1. I expect Ricky Pearsall to step up and I really like the addition of De'Zhaun Stribling. But bringing in Mike Evans in free agency is the biggest reason this offense will be even better than 2025 though. Evans is an elite red-zone threat and if he stays healthy, will have 1,000 receiving yards. CMC and a healthy Kittle will also take a lot of pressure off Purdy for safety valves. Given where Purdy is being drafted (QB13), this is the guy to aim for when waiting and the Evans/Purdy duo could even turn into a beautiful stack given their late round value.
QB I Hate: Joe Burrow
Again, I don’t hate Joe Burrow. I hate where he’s being drafted right now. He’s projected as high as the 3rd overall QB which would require a 3rd to 4th round pick to scoop him up. I understand the potential this offense has and the WR duo he has, but let me leave you with some numbers:
In 2024 he threw for almost 5,000 yards and 43 passing TDs. What a historical season! He still finished as ‘only’ QB3 in fantasy that year. Part of that reason is because Burrow has 0 rushing upside. I think taking Burrow that early is crazy and if you want pure passing numbers like I mentioned before, wait a few rounds and take Matthew Stafford. I just think it’s a gamble to bank on Burrow replicating those 2024 numbers and anything short of that, puts him in a mid range pocket passing fantasy QB threshold. There are plenty of QBs to choose from later on.
RB I Love: Ashton Jeanty
Tough place for a rookie to end up in. Las Vegas’s offense last year was a disaster and Ashton did everything he could. He needs to start getting on Ashton Hall’s routine and dumping his face into $14 water. Anybody? Look it up. Jeanty honestly had nothing going for him as the QB play
was horrendous, the offensive line ranked in the bottom half and he had no other weapons to take some pressure off. Brock Bowers missed some time so it was all on poor Ashton. However, with all of the bad, he still finished only 25 yards away from rushing for 1,000 as a rookie and was able to grab 55 passes. I see the light! The Raiders should be heavily improved on their offense with the upgrades at QB and O-line, no RB competition and Klint Kubiak now running the show. Jeanty is a bowling ball of a human being and with better open lanes, red zone opportunities and pass catching abilities, he’s a much safer RB1 this year than last year.
Again the value of this pick is why the conversation is important. Jeanty is going as a late 1st round pick or early second. It’s a big decision to make but I think this is terrific value for either of those as your first running back with a big Sophomore year on the horizon.
RB I Love: Quinshon Judkins
Really? The Browns? They just traded Myles Garrett, they’re going to be terrible this year. Most likely, they are still the Browns at the end of the day. But what’s my favorite word in this article? VALUE!! He’s recovering from a broken leg from last year, but should be ready for week 1. Judkins is projected to be the 23rd RB off the board. How many RBs can you get that late that got 230 carries in their rookie year? The answer is none. AND he missed 3 games. This is his backfield and his numbers should be even better than 2025. They finally may have decent QB play and this will be a heavy run team. They drafted 2 WRs early to improve the pass game which will open the box up more for bigger run lanes. He can catch the ball and will be their goal line back. He’s a clear RB1 with insane 5th-6th round value. I like him a lot better than guys like David Montgomery and D’Andre Swift who are all being drafted ahead of him.
RB I Hate: De’Von Achane
Don’t hate the player, hate the game! And when your team sucks, you really do hate the game. I think the Miami fan base is going to have a tough season watching their Dolphins this year. They’ve seen their entire offense leave with Mike McDaniel being ushered out. Leaving just Achane to carry the load. Achane has surprisingly stayed healthy over the last 2 seasons given his small frame. He’s finished as RB5 in back to back seasons but I think those days are about to change. McDaniel is a weird guy, but he knows how to use speed and get his players in open space. I think the coaching change is really going to affect Achane here. There have been a lot of talks about him being traded or him wanting out of Miami so his playtime could take a hit there as well. If they feel they are close to a deal, they could put him on the shelf. “Remember De’Von, if anybody asks, it’s your left hamstring that hurts.” With no downfield weapons and Malik Willis at QB, I expect defenses to stack the box and prevent Achane from breaking into the 2nd level. He’s not going to be able to withstand the beating he's about to take this year.
And for being the current project RB9 off the board, I’m not taking him with my 2nd round pick or my first RB. Pass and take guys like Omarion Hampton or Kenneth Walker.
RB I Hate: Travis Etienne
He plays for the Saints, I’m a Falcons fan. Do I need to even break this down? Okay fine. Etienne has seen an up and down career. In his last 3 years, he’s finished RB3, RB35, then RB10. Last year in Jaxonville, he had Liam Cohen come in and completely revamp this offense turning Trevor Lawrence into an MVP caliber QB. The run game was efficient and Etienne was a big part of that. But that was in Jacksonville and he now takes his skillset to New Orleans. A bottom feeding NFC South squad. New Orleans ranked bottom 5 in almost every meaningful rushing category in 2025. And as bad as Kamara was last year, he’s still on the roster and is going to get his share. The Saints focused this offseason on Tyler Shough and surrounding him by drafting 3 WRs and a TE. This team will be trailing a lot and passing with not a lot of opportunities in the Red Zone. This team sucks, this organization sucks, don’t draft Etienne who’s going RB14 in drafts.
WR I Love: Zay Flowers
Man, what’s not to love here? A fantasy WR that finished WR7 last year that’s currently being drafted as WR14. AND I still think he can do better. The Ravens are a run heavy team but this WR core is led by Flowers. He will get all of the passing volume on a weekly basis. Lamar Jackson has improved over the years as a passer and Zay is benefiting from all of it. The Ravens will focus on getting Flowers the ball more behind the line of scrimmage and allowing him to make a play. He could certainly be a candidate to jump out to JSN type numbers this year given where he’s being drafted right now. If Zay can find the endzone a few more times than he has throughout his career, be on the lookout for a monster year. This is a great 3rd or 4th round pick as your WR2 depending on how your draft goes. I like him way better than guys like Garrett Wilson and Jameson Williams who are being drafted right around Flowers. Great value ��
WR I Hate: Tetairoa McMillan
This one is obvious right? He’s a WR that plays for the Panthers who are still trotting out a 12-year-old QB that needs an ‘uppy’ to see over his O-line. As much as I want to hate on Bryce Young’s stature, I’ll save that for another time. Young just doesn’t put up enough passing volume to support a true number 1 WR. McMillan is currently being drafted as WR16 which puts him as your 2nd WR or even 1st depending on how your draft goes. I get that he won Offensive Rookie of the Year last year, but I don’t really see the numbers getting much better. Tet only had one game last year where he ranked as a top 10 WR for the week, and it came where he exploded as the highest ranking WR that week. Consistency is key in fantasy and I don’t see him as a staple to anyone’s teams this year until we see improvement from the QB play. For his current draft position into the 4th round, you can do much better with guys like DeVonta Smith, Mike Evans or Luther Burden (who I’m very big on this year).
TE I Love: Tucker Kraft
Tucker Kraft was on his way to a monster fantasy year before getting hurt in week 9. Before the injury, he was putting up 14 points per game (half PPR), and was the TE 2 and was actually ahead of Trey McBride in points per game at the time. Green Bay saw Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks leave in free agency without bringing in much, leaving even more targets to go around that will lead into the hands of Kraft. He’s a big threat, loves scoring TDs and he has the trust of Jordan Love. I expect him to make a full recovery and put up top 5 numbers at the position. He’s currently projected to be drafted as the 8th TE. This is a no brainer if you don’t land one of the top 2 guys and wait until the 6th round or even later for your TE.
TE I Hate: Colston Loveland
I really am excited for what the Bears are going to do on offense this year. We will see if Caleb Williams is ready to enter the MVP category, Ben Johnson and the run game will be exciting and the young WR duo in Odunze and Burden with Loveland at TE will make for an explosive offense. Everyone thinks that the departure of DJ Moore is going to open up a ton of more opportunities for Loveland. I think it will, but only a little bit. I project most of those targets will start going to Luther Burden. Burden is an absolute sleeper this year and I hate that Loveland is ranked as the 3rd TE coming off the board which could be as early as your 4th round pick. The NFL has never produced 3 TEs in the same season, have over 1,000 yards. I think Bowers and McBride are a lock for that number, given they stay healthy. So your odds of Colston’s return on investment that early for a TE go down even more. I feel like every year, there are some TEs that are over valued in fantasy and drafted too early and put up pedestrian numbers. I do think that Loveland can finish the year as a top 5 TE, but the numbers won’t justify where he’s being drafted. Temper your expectations and wait for Harold Fannin or even Kyle Pitts. Wow, I can’t believe I actually just said that.
