It’s almost time for football to leave us for its annual hibernation. For many of us, our thoughts are already turning to how the 2026 fantasy football landscape might look. One of the key factors in determining that will be the movement of players who had positive influences in the 2025 season, and this year’s free agency period looks to be stronger than most.
Of course, many of these players will be re-signed, with some potentially franchise tag worthy as well, but for now, as we sit here in January, it’s an interesting exercise to rank the top 20 free agents.
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Top 20 Free Agents for Fantasy Football
1. George Pickens
In his first season since escaping the miserable offenses that have plagued Pittsburgh during his early career, George Pickens put up career highs in targets, receptions, receiving yards, touchdowns and catch rate. Pickens ranked 40th in targets per route run (0.22), but ninth in yards per route run (2.45).
Perhaps Pickens might not have thrived quite so much if CeeDee Lamb were at full health, but to downplay what Pickens did is denial. Pickens finished the season tied for the fourth-most wide receiver fantasy points with Ja’Marr Chase. It seems likely Jerry Jones will see this situation as one to leverage for as many headlines as possible, but wherever Pickens plays next year, we know he’s a legitimate star at the position.
2. Daniel Jones
It’s more probable in Daniel Jones’ case that he doesn’t make it to free agency, with both he and the Colts keen to get a new contract sorted out soon, despite the torn achilles he suffered in Week 14 against the Jaguars. Through the first 13 weeks, Jones ranked fifth in passing yards and yards per attempt, had 19 touchdowns to seven interceptions in the passing game, five rushing touchdowns and six top-12 fantasy finishes.
Jones had only one finish outside of the top 17 in his healthy games and seemed to click with Shane Steichen calling plays. Achilles injuries aren’t what they once were, and while it’s fair to have some concern, Jones still makes an ideal QB2 in Superflex leagues if he returns to the Colts.
3. Alec Pierce
The Colts might find it slightly harder to retain Alec Pierce, who had such a breakout this year that the contract numbers his agent will be seeking could be hard to justify when they’re already paying Michael Pittman Jr. and need to bring back Daniel Jones, while making other additions to a roster that’s not quite there yet.
Among wide receivers with 50 or more targets, Pierce had the highest average depth of target (aDOT) at 19.4, over a yard more than any other player, and he also led the position in yards per reception at 21.34, almost four full yards more than the next nearest receiver. Perhaps there’s a slight cause for concern that this season might not be repeatable. After all, 477 of Pierce’s 1,003 yards came on passing plays of 20+ yards downfield. Plenty of quarterbacks aren’t as willing or as good at those types of throws, but good wide receivers rarely hit free agency, and the level of contract given to Pierce will force a team to keep him in their plans.
4. Breece Hall
The Chiefs were reluctant to part with a third-round pick for Breece Hall at the trade deadline, maintaining that their limit was a fourth-round pick. Ultimately, it wouldn’t have saved a cursed season from going sideways, but it would have given them a head start on fixing their running back woes.
The Jets seem unlikely to franchise tag Hall at a cost of over $13 million, and the two sides seem ready for a break from each other, with the Jets seemingly having made no real effort to extend Hall. It wasn’t a bad season for Hall, as he finally hit 1,000 rushing yards and continued to be one of the better receiving backs in the league. He’s never surpassed five rushing touchdowns in a season, though, and it’ll be interesting to see if a team fully trusts him to handle a workhorse role. It’s undeniable that his talent makes him an interesting name to monitor.
5. Kenneth Walker III
If Kenneth Walker had been given as big a workload over the last few years as Breece Hall has, would he be the top choice on this list? It’s possible. Walker has dealt with a very talented backup in Zach Charbonnet for the last few years and still put up similar, if not better, numbers.
One significant factor, though, is that Walker is 27 years old and Hall is 24. The Seahawks currently have the fourth-most cap space, though, and could look to keep Walker, especially after a dominant playoff win over the 49ers, where he scored three touchdowns.
6. Jauan Jennings
The 49ers are in a poor state of affairs heading into 2026 when it comes to their pass-catchers. Brandon Aiyuk will not be on the team, George Kittle is dealing with a torn Achilles at age 32 and Ricky Pearsall hasn’t been able to stay on the field long enough to reach 1,000 career yards over the past two seasons.
Meanwhile, Jauan Jennings has totaled over 1,600 yards and has 15 touchdowns in the last two seasons, but looks set to be a free agent. Jennings will be 29 by the time the season starts, but would be a fine addition for a team like the Bills, Jets or Steelers, who all need more depth at the position. Jennings might not command as much money as Alec Pierce, but he’ll still be a significant mover on the free agent market.
7. Kyle Pitts
We’re yet to hear whether new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski wants to retain Kyle Pitts. If he does, it’s fair to assume there will be a lot written about Kyle Pitts in the David Njoku role. But the Falcons are middle of the pack in cap space, and likely see Drake London as the bigger issue, with him heading into the final season of his contract and being a more proven player.
Stefanski could look to reunite with Njoku instead, or perhaps go after Isaiah Likely, whom he saw first-hand plenty of times in the AFC North. Regardless, Pitts will be in demand after career highs in targets (118), receptions (88) and touchdowns (five). It’s been an up-and-down road for Pitts, but he looked comfortable last year, and talented pass-catching tight ends don’t often make it to the open market.
8. Aaron Rodgers
If you thought that this would be the offseason where we’d be spared Aaron Rodgers storylines, you were mistaken. There are enough quarterback-needy teams out there that it’s fair for Rodgers to at least consider his options. A year ago, he was rebuffed after publicly clamouring for the Vikings, and while back then it seemed fair to give J.J. McCarthy room to prove himself, now it feels much more likely that Rodgers could be useful for them.
Rodgers had a better season in 2025 than in 2024 with the Jets. He completed 65.7% of his passes, and while he was more reliant on yards after the catch than at any time in his career, it should be noted that with the right system, he’s good enough to play still. Do any teams feel that they want to deal with his personality, however, in exchange for likely no more than a year of his service?
9. Travis Etienne
Over the years, Travis Etienne has firmly established himself in the good but not elite category of running backs, but he will hit free agency coming off one of his more consistent campaigns. More often than not, Etienne has failed to put it all together for an entire season, either starting strong and finishing weakly, or the opposite.
In 2025, however, Etienne was the RB10 in fantasy points per game and RB12 in total points, leading the Jaguars in receiving touchdowns. At 26 years old, he likely lands a nice three-year deal somewhere.
10. Javonte Williams
Like many players on this list, Javonte Williams is another player who it might make the most sense to stay with the team he just played for. In Dallas, Williams found the perfect environment for a career resurgence. Williams had the eighth-highest success rate among running backs and finished with career highs in attempts, rushing yards, touchdowns and longest career rush.
Williams has been healthy for two straight seasons and looks reliable for fantasy purposes. Even if he stays in Dallas, he probably finds tougher competition for touches next year, but he is only 25 years old, and plenty of teams will remember what they thought of him coming out of college.
11. Mike Evans
After 12 seasons with the Buccaneers and turning 33 this offseason, it remains to be seen if Mike Evans still wants to play, and whether that’s in Tampa Bay on a cheap deal or elsewhere. With Evans’ 1,000 yards per season streak broken in 2025, due to injuries, it feels like the right time to close that chapter.
If Evans wants to chase one more Super Bowl ring, could he take a one-year deal with a team like the Bills or Patriots? Perhaps. Even at age 33, Evans would be a better bet than many who hit the open market.
12. Isaiah Likely
It was a nightmare season for Isaiah Likely, who looked set to truly break out after a promising 2024 season. Likely broke a bone in his foot during training camp and struggled to get a big role in the offense, averaging 21.9 yards per game.
Likely has shown big play potential, averaging 11.6 yards per reception and has 15 touchdowns in the last four years, which is more than Evan Engram‘s managed in his last six years and the same amount as Kyle Pitts has in five years. Likely isn’t going to be short of offers and will probably be a popular fantasy asset with the right landing spot.
13. Rashid Shaheed
The Seahawks look like geniuses for bringing in Rashid Shaheed for the cost of fourth and fifth-round picks, and it’s hard not to think that he could have helped Buffalo be more effective if they’d paid that price. Teams will get a chance to rectify the mistake of letting Shaheed go to Seattle, should he make it to free agency.
Shaheed didn’t pop for fantasy this year, between a new system with Kellen Moore in New Orleans, iffy quarterback play and then a change of scenery, but he was explosive to start the 2024 campaign. Keep your eyes peeled for if Klint Kubiak, his coordinator in Seattle, lands a head coach position and elects to pursue Shaheed once again.
14. Malik Willis
It’s not been a straightforward journey for Malik Willis, who entered the league via the 2022 NFL Draft, perhaps one of the poorest quarterback drafts of this millennium. Willis was the third signal-caller selected, behind Kenny Pickett and Desmond Ridder, going in the third round to the Titans.
After limited opportunities there, Willis found more of a home in Green Bay, where he started three games this season and led the Packers to wins in two of those and was far from the problem against the Ravens in Week 17. In that game, Willis torched the Ravens with the deep ball repeatedly, throwing for 13.7 yards per attempt and adding 60 rushing yards.
As a dual-threat quarterback, Willis is not the most polished player, but in the eight games he’s played 60% of the snaps or more, he’s had 40+ rushing yards in six of them. With a poor quarterback draft class and not much available in free agency, Willis looks likely to find a bridge job in 2026, at the very least.
15. Romeo Doubs
The Packers are also set to lose Romeo Doubs, who has said his farewells via social media to his teammates, and it’s not altogether surprising. The Packers are well stocked with Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Tucker Kraft.
Doubs is a good player, but he’s probably going to cost more than his worth. Doubs has scored 21 touchdowns in 59 games for Green Bay, as well as recording over 600 yards in each of the last three seasons. He’s not top tier, but he likely finds a home for one of the many teams requiring better depth talent.
16. Rico Dowdle
Coming off a fantastic year with the Cowboys, Rico Dowdle took a one-year prove-it deal with the Panthers and finished as the RB21 in PPR points per game and RB16 in total points. Dowdle had 10 top-24 weekly finishes among running backs, including three as either the RB2 or RB1 overall.
Dowdle was better than Chuba Hubbard in yards per attempt, yards before contact and yards after contact per attempt, while Hubbard didn’t have a single explosive run on 129 attempts — the only running back with 100+ attempts without one. Meanwhile, Dowdle ranked 20th in that metric and was a solid Flex play, at worst, most weeks. Dowdle outplayed Hubbard, but the Panthers are tied to Hubbard’s contract, so Dowdle will once again be a free agent who could form a solid part of a committee.
17. Wan’Dale Robinson
Perhaps the Giants get a deal done with Wan’Dale Robinson before free agency now that they have John Harbaugh locked up as their head coach, but the Giants aren’t blessed with cap room, ranking 19th in available space according to Over the Cap.
Of course, there are plenty of levers you can pull to free up more cap space, but it might be tough to find a deal that works for both sides, with the Giants very familiar with Robinson’s injury history and Robinson’s agent likely to lean heavily on the fact he’s coming off a 1,000-yard season.
Someone will likely be happy to pay Robinson, though, and his career average of 45.6 yards per game as a volume-based slot receiver does make him interesting. Teams like the Raiders or Saints could do a lot worse than Robinson.
18. David Njoku
The writing was on the wall the moment Harold Fannin Jr. was drafted by the Browns. The cap hell they find themselves in due to a string of bad contracts, headlined by Deshaun Watson, means they have to get cheaper across the board, and moving on from David Njoku will be a step forward in that regard.
Njoku is coming off his worst season since 2020, but has put up enough good production throughout his career that he’ll have suitors. If the Falcons elect not to keep Kyle Pitts, a reunion with Njoku and Kevin Stefanski in Atlanta makes sense.
19. Tyler Allgeier
Speaking of Atlanta, one of the very best backup running backs in the league hits free agency this offseason. With the Falcons set to pay Drake London, and possibly Kyle Pitts, among others, it’s very hard to imagine them paying Tyler Allgeier enough to keep him from testing the open market.
This past season wasn’t quite as strong a year for Allgeier as 2024 was, when he finished 10th in explosive run rate and seventh in juke rate, but he still added eight rushing touchdowns and managed 514 rushing yards on 8.4 attempts per game. In a poor running back draft class, Allgeier could easily find a path to heavy touches in 2026.
20. Joe Flacco
To Pittsburgh to complete the AFC North? Perhaps. More likely is a return to Cincinnati for Joe Flacco, who was almost good enough to save the Bengals’ season, and getting to play behind an injury-prone quarterback in Joe Burrow would make some sense.
Another possibility would be a return to the Colts if they have doubts about Daniel Jones’ early availability or Miami as they deal with the cap hell that would follow from moving on from Tua Tagovailoa. Flacco doesn’t bring any drama with him, doesn’t command huge costs and has shown he will make sure the right players get the ball. As long as he still feels able to play, he’ll have offers.
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