3 Second-Year Players to Target (2026 Fantasy Football)

Second-year players can often be overlooked in fantasy football. The potential of their rookie season has worn off, yet there’s not enough data to know just how good they could be.

That’s why targeting them could potentially be a league-winning strategy. Below are a few such players to keep an eye on during your fantasy drafts, and their current expert consensus ranking (ECR).

Second-Year Players to Target in Fantasy Football

Cam Ward (QB – TEN) | ECR: QB24

As top overall picks go, Titans quarterback Cam Ward had one of the more disappointing rookie seasons in recent memory. Despite starting all 17 games, Ward barely topped 3,000 passing yards (3,169). He also averaged just one score per game (15 passing touchdowns plus two rushing touchdowns) and led the Titans to a bottom-three scoring offense.

Tennessee famously had little to surround Ward in his rookie season. Three of the team’s top four receivers by the end of the season were fourth-round rookies — Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike and Gunnar Helm — and just one of them topped 600 yards or four touchdowns.

Tennessee addressed that in full this offseason in both free agency and the draft. First, they signed former Giants receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who came off his first 1,000-yard season and will provide a safety valve for Ward. They then took the first receiver in the 2026 NFL Draft, Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate, to complement Robinson and stretch the field.

But perhaps the biggest addition to the Titans’ offense was the hiring of offensive coordinator Brian Daboll under the new regime led by new head coach Robert Saleh.

Daboll was instrumental in developing Bills quarterback and 2024 Most Valuable Player, Josh Allen. In Daboll’s last two seasons as the Bills’ play-caller, the offense finished in the top five in both points and yards. Those also happen to be the first two seasons that Allen was fantasy’s top quarterback.

It’s a shame the Titans didn’t have this level of support in Ward’s rookie season, but it’s here now. We know Ward has the physical tools; after all, it’s what made him the top overall pick. But now he has the players and the coaching to make a leap. Target him in the later rounds as a QB2 with a chance to start for your fantasy team by year’s end.

Tetairoa McMillan (WR – CAR) | ECR: WR14

While the hope for Cam Ward is to go from bad to good, the goal for Tetairoa McMillan is to go from good to great.

McMillan was the first receiver taken in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Panthers and didn’t exactly enter the best situation for a rookie. The Panthers were coming off a 5-12 season under quarterback Bryce Young, who appeared to be a giant bust. They also had no other weapons around McMillan or someone he could develop alongside.

But the Panthers and Young defied expectations, and McMillan benefited. The team made the playoffs while McMillan topped 1,000 receiving yards and scored seven times. He was a top-15 fantasy receiver while also being named the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

McMillan is already being ranked this offseason as a high-end WR2, but he has the potential to finish the season even higher. McMillan will have the same offensive brain trust back, including Dave Canales and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik. He still has quarterback Bryce Young, who progressed in his own second season with this same coaching staff last year.

And there’s still very little competition for targets with the Panthers’ focus this offseason on their defense and offensive lines. Their biggest free agent signing was defensive end Jaelen Phillips, while their first-round draft pick was offensive lineman Monroe Freeling, allowing McMillan to stay atop the pecking order on offense.

Quinshon Judkins (RB – CLE) | ECR: RB21

Quinshon Judkins wasn’t the first running back taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, nor was he the top fantasy rookie running back when the season ended. But his sophomore season is set up to be a good one for fantasy managers.

The starting running back for the Cleveland Browns is not usually a hot commodity in fantasy drafts, but Judkins proved he could carry the load last season, seeing 230 carries in just 15 games. That will come in handy under new Browns coach Todd Monken, who.

As the Ravens’ offensive coordinator over the last three seasons, they never finished outside of the top three in rushing attempts. And while no one would confuse Judkins with the Ravens running back, Monken ran out there in Derrick Henry (who would?), but Judkins is the big-body running back type that can weather the hits.

And like Henry, Judkins isn’t a three-down fantasy back who’s catching 50 passes. Henry never caught more than 20 receptions in either of his two seasons under Monken, yet still finished as a top-six fantasy running back because of the volume he saw and scoring opportunities.

On that note, the Browns did a lot to support Judkins’ fantasy prospects on the roster around him. They signed two big-name offensive linemen in Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins in free agency, in addition to drafting two more in the first three rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft, Spencer Fano and Austin Barber.

They also took two receivers in the top 39 picks in KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston to join veterans Jerry Jeudy and Harold Fannin Jr. There are no other running backs to even whiff any of Judkins opportunities.

It’s rare for a running back’s role to be so prominent and clear, but Judkins is and will benefit his fantasy managers.