The Indianapolis Colts are running it back with quarterback Daniel Jones. Let’s take a look at the fantasy football implications.
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Fantasy Football Impact: Daniel Jones Re-Signs With Colts
According to reports, Jones has agreed to a two-year, $88 million contract that could reach $100 million, with $50 million guaranteed in the first year. The deal marks the largest two-year contract in NFL history and cements Jones as the Colts’ franchise quarterback moving forward.
The move wasn’t exactly surprising.
Indianapolis spent much of the offseason signaling that it had no intention of letting Jones leave after the impact he made during his first season in head coach Shane Steichen‘s offense.
From transition tag discussions to long-term negotiations, the Colts were clearly committed to bringing him back. Indiana Jones or bust.
Jones Thrived Before Injury
Before injuries derailed his season, Jones delivered one of the most efficient stretches of quarterback play of his career.
The Colts went 8-2 in games Jones started while he was 100% healthy, while the quarterback averaged 19.7 fantasy points per game, good for QB6 in fantasy scoring during that span (8th in fantasy points per dropback). Even under expected fantasy scoring models, Jones ranked QB12 in expected fantasy points per game, highlighting that the production wasn’t entirely fluky.
Jones’ mobility remained a major component of his fantasy value as well. He recorded five rushing touchdowns, continuing to demonstrate why his legs make him such an appealing fantasy asset.
Per the Athletic, Jones posted the second-highest completion percentage (68.0) for a single season in Colts history.
The pairing between Jones and Steichen appeared to unlock the Colts’ offense. Indianapolis operated at one of the highest levels in the league. The Colts averaged 3.17 points per drive through their first 10 games, the fourth most by a team in its first 10 games this century, per TruMedia.
Historically efficient offense.
Unfortunately for the Colts, the season unraveled after injuries struck.
Jones first played through a broken leg, showing toughness while continuing to lead the offense. But his season ultimately ended after suffering a torn Achilles, an injury that forced Indianapolis to scramble at quarterback and contributed to the offense collapsing late in the year.
Achilles Injury Raises Major Questions
The Colts clearly believe Jones can return to form.
However, history suggests that Achilles injuries are not always kind to quarterbacks — particularly those whose fantasy value is heavily tied to mobility.
Jones will turn 29 years old before the start of the 2026 season, and his rushing ability has always been a key element of his game. If that athleticism is even slightly diminished, it could impact both his fantasy upside and the overall ceiling of the Colts’ offense.
He’s not Kirk Cousins or Aaron Rodgers coming off a torn Achilles…but it’s an injury that cannot be ignored. Especially when you consider that Jones has not consistently been available for full seasons.
From a fantasy football perspective, that uncertainty is difficult to ignore.
Jones’ rushing ability and uber-efficiency helped elevate him into QB1 territory last season. If the injury limits his mobility early in the year, his fantasy profile could shift closer to a mid-tier QB2. It’s not like last year was the first season Jones has ever ‘popped’ for fantasy managers.
He was the fantasy QB9 in 2022 (10th in fantasy points per dropback), but then played just 16 games the next two seasons because of injuries. Jones was QB36 and QB38 in fantasy points per dropback from 2023 to 2024.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the offense will struggle or implode — but it could reduce Jones’ fantasy ceiling.
Expect Offensive Regression
Even if Jones returns healthy at some point, it’s fair to expect some level of regression from Indianapolis’ offense.
Combine that with Jones’ recovery timeline, and it becomes reasonable to project slightly more conservative offensive output early in the year.
The Colts may lean more heavily on the ground game — particularly with star running back Jonathan Taylor — while Jones works his way fully back into form. Would also anticipate JT’s role in the passing game – career-highs across the board in 2025 – will remain intact.
Familiar Weapons Remain in Place
One encouraging factor for Jones is the continuity around him.
Wide receiver Alec Pierce returned to Indianapolis on a new deal, reportedly taking less money to remain with Jones and the Colts offense.
Pierce has developed strong chemistry with Jones, particularly on vertical routes that stretch opposing defenses. He will be the team’s de facto No. 1 WR after the team traded away Michael Pittman Jr.
Jones will also continue to work with slot receiver Josh Downs, who has become one of the team’s most reliable chain movers in the passing game.
Meanwhile, second-year tight end Tyler Warren adds another weapon to the offense, potentially giving Jones a versatile option in the middle of the field.
That supporting cast should help stabilize the passing attack even if the Colts lean more heavily on the run game early in the season.
Fantasy Outlook for 2026
From a fantasy football perspective, Jones remains one of the more volatile quarterback options heading into the 2026 season. At his best, his combination of rushing production and efficient passing can deliver top-10 quarterback results. However, the Achilles injury introduces real uncertainty — particularly if it impacts his mobility.
Early projections likely place Jones in the mid-to-late QB2 range, with upside to climb into QB1 territory if his rushing production returns to pre-injury levels. The expectation is that he won’t miss any regular-season games, and he will be ready for Week 1. Adam Schefter also reported he could be ready for training camp. Meanwhile, the Colts’ offense as a whole may take a slightly more balanced approach as Jones continues his recovery.
Early Fantasy Takeaway
Indianapolis clearly believes Daniel Jones is the right quarterback to lead the franchise.
Colts GM Chris Ballard has greatly supported the return of quarterback Daniel Jones despite his Achilles injury. Says he has a bright future in Indy. Anthony Richardson is going to be traded, with the Colts expressing confidence in Riley Leonard as QB2 if Jones can’t get ready in time.
The contract signals confidence in what the team saw from him last season before injuries derailed the campaign.
But from a real-life perspective…it’s a hard sell for me to pay this amount for Jones off this injury, with guys like Tua Tagovailoa, Kyler Murray, Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins playing elsewhere for close to the league minimum.
Jones may never get back to what he showed in the first half of the 2025 season. The Colts are betting against that.
More 2026 NFL Free Agency Moves & Fantasy Impact
Alec Pierce was one of the most coveted free-agent receivers on the market, and the Colts decided that they couldn’t let Pierce get away.
The Colts are re-signing Pierce to a four-year deal worth a reported $116 million, as first reported by the Pat McAfee Show. The deal reportedly includes a $16 million signing bonus and $84 million in guaranteed money.
A four-year veteran, Pierce is coming off his finest NFL season to date. He had 47 catches for 1,003 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games. That came on the heels of an eye-opening 2024 season in which he had 37 catches for 824 yards and seven TDs.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Colts re-signing Alec Pierce
Chiefs Sign Kenneth Walker III
Walker finished last season as the RB22 in half-PPR, but the ranking doesn’t tell the full story. Just ask anybody who drafted Walker…and then watched him go NUCLEAR in the real-life NFL playoffs.
His fantasy production was heavily impacted by the committee with Zach Charbonnet, which often limited his volume despite elite efficiency.
When Walker operated without Charbonnet in the lineup, the upside was obvious (final three postseason games and Week 3 of the 2025 season).
- 23.4 half-PPR fantasy points per game during the postseason
- 22.0 half-PPR points in a 2025 regular-season game without Charbonnet
Those performances offer a glimpse/upside-down case of what Walker can do when given feature usage.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Chiefs signing Kenneth Walker III
The Miami Dolphins are landing the top quarterback in free agency, agreeing to a three-year, $67.5 million deal with Malik Willis, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic.
The Willis signing marks a changing of the guard at QB for the Dolphins, who announced the release of Tua Tagovailoa hours before reaching an agreement with Willis.
A third-round draft pick of the Titans in 2022, Willis struggled early in his career. He made three starts for Tennessee as a rookie, completing 50.8% of his throws, averaging a meager 4.5 yards per attempt, and throwing no TD passes and three interceptions.
Willis didn’t make any starts for 2023. In August 2024, the Titans traded Willis to the Packers for a seventh-round pick in 2025.
The change of scenery did wonders for Willis, who thrived as the backup to Jordan Love.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Dolphins signing Malik Willis
TE Isaiah Likely is signing a three-year deal with the Giants, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz. It’s reportedly a $40 million deal that could be worth up to $47.5 million.
Likely had some big games for the Ravens, but the presence of veteran TE Mark Andrews kept Likely from having a sustained fantasy impact.
Likely’s best season in Baltimore came in 2024, when he had 42 catches for 477 yards and six touchdowns. He had a memorable performance against the Chiefs in the NFL’s 2024 Thursday-night season opener, with nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Likely nearly had a second TD catch in that game at the end of regulation, but his toe came down out of bounds in the end zone, as the Ravens lost 27-20.
Likely has never drawn more than 60 targets in a single season, but he’s likely to surpass that target total with the Giants in 2026 if he can stay healthy.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Giants signing Isaiah Likely
Saints Sign Travis Etienne Jr.
With Alvin Kamara turning 31 in July and coming off a season abbreviated by injury, the Saints are bolstering their backfield with the signing of Etienne, who had 1,399 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns for Jacksonville last year.
Etienne has topped 1,000 rushing yards in three of his four NFL seasons. After a down year in 2024, when he had only 558 rushing yards and two touchdowns in Doug Pederson’s final year as the Jaguars’ head coach, Etienne had a strong rebound year in 2025. He had 260-1,107-7 rushing and 36-292-6 receiving in Liam Coen’s first season as Jacksonville’s head coach and playcaller. Etienne finished RB10 in PPR fantasy scoring last season and RB14 in PPR points per game.
Coen has a reputation for being a rainmaker for running backs, with Bucky Irving having a big season for the Buccaneers in 2024, when Coen was the offensive coordinator in Tampa, and Etienne thriving in 2025.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Saints signing Travis Etienne Jr.
The New England Patriots have added a new weapon to their receiving corps, signing wide receiver Romeo Doubs to a four-year, $80 million deal, according to reports.
Doubs arrives in New England after spending the first four seasons of his career with the Green Bay Packers, where he quietly developed into one of the more reliable contributors in the team’s wide receiver rotation.
The former fourth-round pick out of Nevada totaled 202 receptions and 21 touchdowns during his time in Green Bay, establishing himself as a dependable target — particularly in the red zone and on the outside.
From a fantasy football perspective, the signing offers some intriguing upside, even if Doubs still carries limitations as a true No. 1 receiver.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Patriots signing Romeo Doubs
Although Evans is entering the later stages of his career, he remains one of the NFL’s most respected wide receivers.
The 2025 season marked the first time in Evans’ career that he failed to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards, but that statistic requires context. Evans appeared in just eight games while dealing with multiple injuries, including his typical annual hamstring issues and a more unusual clavicle injury that ultimately sidelined him for most of the season.
Even so, Evans continued to command strong volume when healthy. In the seven games he played fully, he saw seven or more targets in all but one contest and posted a 24.4% target share, leading the Buccaneers during that span. His 28% target rate per route run ranked 8th-highest at the position.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the 49ers signing Mike Evans
Robinson has been one of the NFL’s most consistently targeted wide receivers over the past two seasons.
In fact, only five receivers have recorded 130 or more targets in each of the last two seasons:
- Ja’Marr Chase
- Amon-Ra St. Brown
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- Justin Jefferson
- Wan’Dale Robinson
That’s elite company — and a strong indicator of how heavily Robinson has been featured within his offenses under Daboll.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Titans signing Wan’Dale Robinson
Mike McCarthy reunites with one of his favorite players in Pittsburgh, Rico Dowdle. We have a lot to unpack here, so stay with me. First, we have to discuss Kaleb Johnson. I’ll keep this short and sweet. After a lost rookie season, where Kenneth Gainwell made Johnson a distant memory, Johnson has immediately been sent to the shadow realm again by a free agent running back signing. Johnson isn’t on the fantasy radar for 2026 in any format. His dynasty value barely has a pulse. It has been a horrible runout for a prospect that I loved last year.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Steelers signing Rico Dowdle
Buccaneers Sign Kenneth Gainwell
Kenneth Gainwell lands in Tampa Bay with a two-year deal to work alongside Bucky Irving. Gainwell is coming off a career-best season as the RB19 in fantasy points per game, finishing with 187 touches and 1,023 total yards. He was particularly impressive as a pass-catching weapon out of the backfield, which is where he’ll likely make his money in 2026.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Buccaneers signing Kenneth Gainwell
A fifth-round draft pick out of BYU in 2022, Allgeier ran for 1,035 yards as a rookie with the Falcons, then spent the next three years in a complementary role after Atlanta selected RB Bijan Robinson with the eighth overall pick of the 2023 draft.
In fact, investors in Bijan were dismayed by the size of Allgeier’s role. Allgeier has averaged 9.1 carries a game over the last three seasons and had a career-high eight TD runs in 2025.
Allgeier figures to have an even more substantial role in Arizona this season, although it would be premature to call him the Cardinals’ lead back. Arizona still has RBs James Conner and Trey Benson on the roster.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Cardinals signing Tyler Allgeier
The knee-jerk reaction to Isiah Pacheco signing with the Detroit Lions will be that he will be the new “David Montgomery” in this offense, which I think doesn’t come to fruition. Pacheco immediately becomes the RB2 on Detroit’s depth chart, but I think this only lasts until the NFL Draft. Injuries have taken a toll on Pacheco over the years, and last year, he was a shell of his former self.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Lions signing Isiah Pacheco
Tua Tagovailoa lands with the Atlanta Falcons on a one-year deal to compete with Michael Penix Jr. Yes, Tagovailoa could easily be the backup in Atlanta, but with a new coaching staff that has no previous ties to Penix and the fact that he tore his ACL in Week 11, Tagovailoa could easily be the Week 1 starter. If Tagovailoa plays well, I could easily see him holding onto the job for the 2026 season (and moving forward).
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Falcons signing Tua Tagovailoa
Dobbins was off to a strong start for Denver in 2025 before sustaining a season-ending Lisfranc (foot) injury in Week 10. He had 153 carries for 772 yards (5.0 YPC) and four touchdowns. Through the first 10 weeks of the season, Dobbins was RB22 in half-point PPR fantasy points per game.
If Dobbins can stay healthy, he has a good chance to be Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s primary early-down back in 2026. But R.J. Harvey will have a substantial role, too. Harvey played a complementary role early in his rookie season, then became the Broncos’ lead back after Dobbins got hurt.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Broncos re-signing J.K. Dobbins
Seahawks Re-Sign Rashid Shaheed
Rashid Shaheed returns to Seattle on a three-year deal to fill out their wide receiver depth chart. Last year, Shaheed began the year with New Orleans as the WR38 in fantasy points per game (Weeks 1-9), seeing a 21% target share and 23.4% first-read share as he churned out 55.4 receiving yards per game and 1.75 yards per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). He was on his way to a solid statistical season.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Seahawks re-signing Rashid Shaheed
Kelce finished TE3 in fantasy scoring last season, but his 76 receptions were a 10-year low. Kelce had 851 receiving yards in 2025 and has finished with fewer than 1,000 yards in each of the last three years. He’s also finished with five or fewer TD catches in each of the last three years. Kelce averaged 1.47 yards per route run last year – the lowest mark of his 13-year career.
Check out our full article for the fantasy impact of the Chiefs re-signing Travis Kelce
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