Fantasy Football comeback players for 2026

2026 Fantasy Football Comeback Players

By: Andrew Ferguson

How many times have you had high expectations and drafted a guy, he’s a bust, then he’s completely off your radar the next year because of it? Then the next year you pass up on him, and he finally puts up huge numbers? Raise your hands high and be proud because it happens to me all the time. The fact that I’m considering Justin Jefferson again for my first round pick has my blood boiling. But this type of behavior happens every year. Being consistent in the NFL is hard but comebacks happen every year. How many people gave up on Saquon after a mediocre year with the Giants? Look what he did the second he left them and was placed on a team that knew how to properly utilize him. Players get injured, they suffer from being on bad teams, or they deal with the sheer fact that JJ McCarthy is their starting QB. Again, blood pressure is up. 

I wouldn’t say these players are necessarily sleepers or even huge value picks like I’ve preached on multiple times in previous articles. These are picks that I feel if they live up to what they’re supposed to do, they are a safe value for where they are currently being drafted at. Not every pick in fantasy is going to be something you overthink. Sometimes when a guy is sitting there and you’re going back and forth on whether you should take him or not, sometimes it’s okay to look at the numbers and be okay as long as he stays healthy.

Here are my comeback players for 2026.

Philadelphia Eagles QB: Jalen Hurts

There are a lot of reasons to not be excited about Jalen Hurts this year. But with how many people think he underperformed last year, he still finished as QB8 in fantasy. The problem was he was drafted as QB3. He also just lost his top WR in AJ Brown to the Patriots. So why is he on my list? Because he’s consistent and a lot cheaper this year. Over the last 5 years, Jalen Hurts has finished as QB9, QB3, QB2, then QB8 in back to back seasons. He averages 12 rushing TDs over that 5 year stretch. QBs with rushing upside will always have a special place in my heart and where Hurts is being drafted this year compared to last year is why I love him. He also has a new offensive coordinator in Sean Mannion coming in to fix whatever was going on last year. So believe it not, there is room to grow from the last couple of years. I know Hurts will have a better passing season because of the upgrade in playcalling and when you sprinkle in a better run game that already produces 12 rushing TDs on average, your QB that’s projected a 5/6th round pick and is the 6th QB off the draftboard turns into a top 5 (or even better) player at the position. 

Hurts is a player that I feel comfortable drafting at QB if you decide to go with one earlier, but Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are already gone. Value is always my main component for validating where someone is being taken. If you take Hurts, there is a chance he gets back to top 3 at fantasy QBs, but he won’t be any worse than top 10. He’s a safe pick. 

Los Angeles Chargers RB: Omarion Hampton

This guy is on about every fantasy scout's radar this year. And he was on a lot of them last year. I tend to agree with the trends. His downside, he got hurt and he hasn’t proven himself, so people are shy because he’s currently projected to be taken as RB9 and in the 2nd round. A high price to pay especially if this is your first RB you’re about to select. But the good news is, in the 9 games he played in last year, he put on a glimpse of what his career could look like. He averaged 13.3 points per game as a rookie. Those aren’t numbers that will completely drop your jaw to the floor so let’s talk about how he can take the next step. This backfield belongs entirely to Hampton. And it’s a backfield that has a run first coach in John Harbaugh. He also now has Mike McDaniel as his offensive coordinator and we saw him turn Achane into a fantasy star. Hampton is a completely different skillset so he’s going to be a better pure runner. Achane relied heavily on speed. The good news though is that in his rookie year, Hampton was on pace for 60 catches. I think Herbert will dump down to Hampton plenty and there will be even more designs from McDaniel to get him in open space. RBs with pass catching upside (obviously in PPR leagues) are similar to having QBs with rushing upside. Just look at what guys like Kennith Gainwell did for your fantasy team last year. 

Hampton is a guy that if he stays healthy, is definitely worth that 2nd round pick and is a safe RB1 choice. We could see a massive 2nd year breakout from him where he fits in with that RB9 projection or even better. 

Carolina Panthers RB: Chuba Hubbard

I’m not sure why Hubbard is ranked so low going into 2026. Rico Dowdle is gone and the only competition is Jonathon Brooks who has now had 2 ACL injuries to the same knee and he’s only 22-years-old. In 2024, Hubbard put up solid numbers and finished as RB14. He ran for 1,200 rushing yards, 10 TDs and had 43 dump off catches. I say ‘dump off’ because those 43 catches only turned into 171 receiving yards. That’s less than 4 yards per catch but hey, points are points in fantasy (PPR of course)! Hubbard is currently being drafted as RB32. You’re telling me he’s ranked last out of 32 NFL teams in fantasy? Again, do the math, there are 32 NFL teams. This guy is the starter! And, we’ve seen what he’s capable of when healthy and takes on the lead role. He was doing pretty okay before he got hurt and Dowdle took a big snapshare away from him (RB12). 

He’s currently going in the 8th round or later, and he’s completely healthy. You can do a lot worse than him as your RB3. I know it’s not the flashiest pick but he’s well rounded with a lot of upside. I expect the Panthers to be a middle of the pack team this year. There will be games where they really try to get the run game going so that will definitely help Hubbard out. He will be used as a work horse and should be on everyone’s radar in the middle of a draft looking for RB value. Expect a bigger 2026 for Chuba. 

Jacksonville Jaguars WR: Brian Thomas

This was one of the biggest drop offs in fantasy that I’ve seen in quite some time. Thomas exploded onto the scene as a rookie in 2024 finishing as WR4. It seemed like it was going to be another one of those LSU WRs that everybody all saw coming. However, 2025 was a Sophomore slump for the ages. People think Jacksonville has a crowded WR room. But let me break it down for you. 1) Brian Thomas is the most talented WR on this team. Especially on the outside.  2) Travis Hunter will be playing primarily defense this year. He won’t eat up a lot of targets. 3) Meyers and Washington will be fighting for slot snaps and moving around the formation. Thomas will get every snap he can without competition from the others eating into it. Brian Thomas dealt with injuries in 2025 so a comeback is right around the corner. And for a guy that’s currently being drafted at WR37, what’s there to lose here? Trevor Lawrence is coming off his best year and the momentum from last year will roll into 2026. Thomas will benefit and for where he’s being drafted is a no brainer for me. 

Pick him up as your WR3 with no fear. 

Washington Commanders WR: Terry McLaurin

Scary Terry! Let’s recap what we’ve seen from his career: Since 2020, the Commanders QBs have been Alex Smith, Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke, Fitzmagic, Carson Wentz, Sam Howell, Jacoby Brissett, Marcus Mariota and finally, Jayden Daniels. Whoof. No matter who was at QB, McLaurin still figured out how to get to 1,000 receiving yards. The guy is fast and talented. Now the Commanders have a franchise QB in Daniels and we got to see the duo shine for one full season in 2024 where McLaurin finished as WR7 and made an appearance in the NFC Championship game. The Commanders crashed back down to earth last year while also suffering from injuries to both Daniels and McLaurin. People just completely forgot about this chemistry as McLaurin is now being drafted at WR25. If both the QB and WR stay healthy, your return on investment will be much higher. Daniels is a star. McLaurin is a star. They deserve better than these projections. McLaurin is a safe WR2 this year with a big bounceback ahead for both of these players. 

Baltimore Ravens TE: Mark Andrews

Remember when Mark Andrews was a ‘set it and forget it’ tight end? Me too. Because it wasn’t that long ago. This guy is only 30 years old, and for tight ends, that’s proven to not be a bad thing. He is coming off his worst year in his career but a lot of that was due to Lamar Jackson missing time and underperforming. Isaiah Likely was also a target hog for the tight end room in Baltimore and now that he’s gone, it opens up a lot more volume for Andrews. Before last year, Andrews finished as a top 5 TE in fantasy in 5 of the last 6 seasons. I know he’s got at least one more big year left in him. But he’s currently being drafted at TE14 right now. This is one of those situations where if you miss out on one of the big names early in the draft, you can wait and take Andrews then stream other TEs throughout the season. Andrews is still Lamar’s favorite redzone target and he’ll get you points in the endzone this year. 

For where he’s being drafted (almost undrafted), Andrews can easily finish back in the top 8 for the position, giving you fantastic ROI.