12 Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers (2026)

12 Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers (2026)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and which to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Beyond this, it’s important to keep tabs on preseason rankings risers and fallers. We’ll help you there with this recurring article, where we’ll explore players rising or falling in the rankings as we approach NFL Week 1.

    Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers

    Preseason games are rolling, real drafts are picking up, and the injury bug has arrived in force. This was the most news-driven week of the series, defined by a rash of hamstring injuries that reshaped depth charts and, in one case, finally flipped a backfield. Here is what moved.

    Fantasy Football Risers

    Stefon Diggs (up 31 spots to No. 105). For the second straight week, Diggs is the board’s biggest riser, and the climb is the delayed payoff of his August 5 signing with Washington. Two weeks ago he moved 40 spots on the news itself. Now the consensus is pushing him up again as camp reports confirm the role. He looked the part in the Commanders’ joint practice with Miami, catching a touchdown from Jayden Daniels alongside Terry McLaurin. The market spent the summer treating him as the board’s biggest overdraft because he had no team. Now that he does, and now that the chemistry is showing up on the field, the rankers are still catching up to it.

    Jonathon Brooks (up 13 spots to No. 88). This is the one to circle, because it closes the longest continuous storyline of the series. Brooks was our very first lead riser back in mid-June. He then zigzagged for two months as the consensus wrestled with his health and his path. This week he finally did the thing the whole arc was building toward. He passed Chuba Hubbard in the rankings. Brooks drew the starting nod in Carolina’s preseason opener, worked with the first unit, and has been a full participant all camp roughly 18 months removed from his second ACL surgery. Head coach Dave Canales has praised his conditioning and readiness. The consensus has finally sided with the upside over the incumbent, and the timing, with a majority of drafts imminent, could not be more relevant.

    De’Zhaun Stribling (up 16 spots to No. 139). The San Francisco receiver cascade that began with Ricky Pearsall’s season-ending injury keeps maturing. Stribling continues to climb as the reshuffled Niners room solidifies around him, a third straight week of follow-through on that depth-chart opening.

    Isaiah Likely (TE, up 16 to No. 116) rebounds after leading the tight end sell-off last week, and Javonte Williams (RB, up 6 to No. 34) pushes further into the startable-back range as his workload outlook firms.

    Fantasy Football Fallers

    Jordyn Tyson (down 40 spots to No. 123). The biggest single move of the week, and a clear injury story. The Saints rookie, the eighth overall pick, suffered a hamstring injury in the August 13 joint practice with Jacksonville and is reportedly expected to miss around two months, a timeline that runs into October and makes him a strong candidate to open the season on injured reserve. Tyson had been generating real training-camp buzz, so this is a meaningful hit to his rookie outlook, compounded by a college injury history that now looks more relevant. Watch the cascade. Chris Olave, who was a top-six fantasy receiver per game in Tyler Shough’s 2025 starts, becomes the clear focal point of the New Orleans passing game, and depth receivers and TE Juwan Johnson move into early-season streaming range.

    Chuba Hubbard (down 11 spots to No. 91). The other half of the Brooks story. Hubbard felt a hamstring grab during a one-on-one drill, and an MRI confirmed what Canales called a “legit” hamstring injury, leaving him week-to-week. The team is optimistic he plays Week 1, but the injury opened the door for Brooks in the preseason opener at exactly the moment the consensus was already leaning that way. For the first time all summer, the Carolina backfield order has flipped.

    The quarterback tier, as a group. Nearly every quarterback in the draftable range slid a handful of spots this week, including Jayden Daniels (down 7), C.J. Stroud (down 10), Malik Willis (down 11), Jaxson Dart (down 6), and Kyler Murray (down 5). Read this as a positional re-slot rather than a set of individual red flags. Daniels in particular is a case worth flagging directly. He is healthy, looked excellent in joint practices, and is simply being rested in the preseason. His rank dip is the consensus nudging quarterbacks down relative to elite skill players as drafts approach, not a signal on any one passer.

    More Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers

    New Rank Player Team Pos Tier (ref) Prior Rank Rank Δ
    ECR vs ADP (snapshot)
    1 Jahmyr Gibbs DET RB1 1 1 0 0
    2 Bijan Robinson ATL RB2 1 2 0 0
    3 Ja’Marr Chase CIN WR1 1 3 0 0
    4 Puka Nacua LAR WR2 1 4 0 0
    5 Jaxon Smith-Njigba SEA WR3 1 5 0 1
    6 Amon-Ra St. Brown DET WR4 1 6 0 2
    7 Jonathan Taylor IND RB3 1 8 1 0
    8 Christian McCaffrey SF RB4 1 7 -1 -3
    9 CeeDee Lamb DAL WR5 1 9 0 2
    10 James Cook III BUF RB5 2 11 1 -1
    11 Justin Jefferson MIN WR6 2 10 -1 1
    12 Ashton Jeanty LV RB6 2 12 0 -2
    13 Drake London ATL WR7 2 13 0 6
    14 Chase Brown CIN RB7 2 14 0 1
    15 Saquon Barkley PHI RB8 2 16 1 -2
    16 A.J. Brown NE WR8 2 15 -1 5
    17 Brock Bowers LV TE1 2 17 0 5
    18 De’Von Achane MIA RB9 2 18 0 -4
    19 Nico Collins HOU WR9 2 20 1 5
    20 Omarion Hampton LAC RB10 2 19 -1 -4
    21 Derrick Henry BAL RB11 2 21 0 -3
    22 George Pickens DAL WR10 2 22 0 3
    23 Kenneth Walker III KC RB12 2 23 0 -6
    24 Trey McBride ARI TE2 2 24 0 -1
    25 Chris Olave NO WR11 3 25 0 3
    26 Malik Nabers NYG WR12 3 29 3 4
    27 Josh Allen BUF QB1 3 26 -1 -7
    28 Rashee Rice KC WR13 3 27 -1 4
    29 DeVonta Smith PHI WR14 3 28 -1 5
    30 Zay Flowers BAL WR15 3 30 0 6
    31 Kyren Williams LAR RB13 3 31 0 -4
    32 Tetairoa McMillan CAR WR16 3 34 2 8
    33 Tee Higgins CIN WR17 3 32 -1 5
    34 Javonte Williams DAL RB14 3 40 6 -3
    35 Breece Hall NYJ RB15 3 37 2 -2
    36 Josh Jacobs GB RB16 3 38 2 -7
    37 Lamar Jackson BAL QB2 3 36 -1 0
    38 Garrett Wilson NYJ WR18 3 41 3 7
    39 Jeremiyah Love ARI RB17 3 33 -6 -13
    40 Ladd McConkey LAC WR19 3 39 -1 2
    41 Emeka Egbuka TB WR20 3 35 -6 -2
    42 Jaylen Waddle DEN WR21 3 43 1 5
    43 Colston Loveland CHI TE3 4 42 -1 0
    44 Drake Maye NE QB3 4 44 0 7
    45 Travis Etienne Jr. NO RB18 4 46 1 -4
    46 Terry McLaurin WAS WR22 4 45 -1 10
    47 Davante Adams LAR WR23 4 47 0 11
    48 Joe Burrow CIN QB4 4 48 0 5
    49 Luther Burden III CHI WR24 4 49 0 6
    50 Cam Skattebo NYG RB19 4 50 0 -15
    51 D’Andre Swift CHI RB20 4 53 2 -1
    52 Jameson Williams DET WR25 4 56 4 8
    53 Tyler Warren IND TE4 4 52 -1 -4
    54 Quinshon Judkins CLE RB21 4 55 1 -10
    55 Bucky Irving TB RB22 4 51 -4 -9
    56 David Montgomery HOU RB23 4 57 1 -8
    57 DJ Moore BUF WR26 4 60 3 -5
    58 Mike Evans SF WR27 4 59 1 5
    59 Christian Watson GB WR28 4 58 -1 7
    60 Rome Odunze CHI WR29 4 62 2 4
    61 Jayden Daniels WAS QB5 4 54 -7 -2
    62 Jalen Hurts PHI QB6 4 61 -1 0
    63 Bhayshul Tuten JAC RB24 4 64 1 -6
    64 TreVeyon Henderson NE RB25 4 63 -1 -10
    65 Jadarian Price SEA RB26 5 66 1 -4
    66 Caleb Williams CHI QB7 5 67 1 5
    67 Parker Washington JAC WR30 5 72 5 6
    68 Tucker Kraft GB TE5 5 65 -3 -3
    69 Carnell Tate TEN WR31 5 68 -1 0
    70 Marvin Harrison Jr. ARI WR32 5 71 1 6
    71 Justin Herbert LAC QB8 5 69 -2 6
    72 Jaylen Warren PIT RB27 5 70 -2 -4
    73 Rhamondre Stevenson NE RB28 5 77 4 2
    74 Brian Thomas Jr. JAC WR33 5 76 2 -2
    75 Tony Pollard TEN RB29 5 73 -2 6
    76 Trevor Lawrence JAC QB9 5 75 -1 8
    77 Harold Fannin Jr. CLE TE6 5 87 10 -10
    78 Sam LaPorta DET TE7 5 79 1 -8
    79 DK Metcalf PIT WR34 5 74 -5 4
    80 Dak Prescott DAL QB10 5 78 -2 0
    81 Rico Dowdle PIT RB30 5 82 1 -3
    82 Kyle Pitts Sr. ATL TE8 5 81 -1 -8
    83 Courtland Sutton DEN WR35 5 84 1 5
    84 Chris Godwin Jr. TB WR36 5 86 2 8
    85 J.K. Dobbins DEN RB31 5 88 3 2
    86 Michael Pittman Jr. PIT WR37 5 91 5 23
    87 Michael Wilson ARI WR38 5 90 3 -2
    88 Jonathon Brooks CAR RB32 5 101 13 3
    89 Alec Pierce IND WR39 5 85 -4 4
    90 Quentin Johnston LAC WR40 5 94 4 14
    91 Chuba Hubbard CAR RB33 6 80 -11 -12
    92 Blake Corum LAR RB34 6 96 4 2
    93 RJ Harvey DEN RB35 6 92 -1 -11
    94 Brock Purdy SF QB11 6 93 -1 12
    95 Jaxson Dart NYG QB12 6 89 -6 -6
    96 Josh Downs IND WR41 6 97 1 12
    97 George Kittle SF TE9 6 104 7 -2
    98 Patrick Mahomes II KC QB13 6 98 0 0
    99 Wan’Dale Robinson TEN WR42 6 103 4 21
    100 Bo Nix DEN QB14 6 99 -1 3
    101 Jacory Croskey-Merritt WAS RB36 6 107 6 -2
    102 Kyle Monangai CHI RB37 6 95 -7 -12
    103 Jordan Addison MIN WR43 6 106 3 7
    104 Travis Kelce KC TE10 6 105 1 -8
    105 Stefon Diggs WAS WR44 6 136 31 9
    106 Kenneth Gainwell TB RB38 6 109 3 1
    107 Jordan Mason MIN RB39 6 112 5 -5
    108 Matthew Stafford LAR QB15 6 102 -6 -7
    109 Jayden Reed GB WR45 6 111 2 3
    110 Jared Goff DET QB16 6 108 -2 5
    111 Makai Lemon PHI WR46 6 100 -11 -14
    112 Rachaad White WAS RB40 6 110 -2 -1
    113 Jakobi Meyers JAC WR47 6 115 2 10
    114 Dalton Kincaid BUF TE11 6 119 5 -14
    115 Aaron Jones Sr. MIN RB41 6 113 -2 2
    116 Isaiah Likely NYG TE12 6 132 16 -11
    117 Dallas Goedert PHI TE13 6 116 -1 2
    118 Jake Ferguson DAL TE14 6 118 0 -5
    119 Kyler Murray MIN QB17 6 114 -5 5
    120 Baker Mayfield TB QB18 6 117 -3 11
    121 Mark Andrews BAL TE15 6 128 7 -5
    122 Jordan Love GB QB19 6 120 -2 13
    123 Jordyn Tyson NO WR48 6 83 -40 -37
    124 Xavier Worthy KC WR49 6 123 -1 6
    125 Chris Rodriguez Jr. JAC RB42 6 133 8 25
    126 Tyler Shough NO QB20 6 121 -5 29
    127 KC Concepcion CLE WR50 6 130 3 9
    128 Khalil Shakir BUF WR51 6 126 -2 23
    129 Jalen Coker CAR WR52 6 125 -4 29
    130 Matthew Golden GB WR53 6 137 7 3
    131 Tyler Allgeier ARI RB43 6 129 -2 7
    132 Woody Marks HOU RB44 6 131 -1 16
    133 Tyrone Tracy Jr. NYG RB45 6 124 -9 1
    134 Zach Charbonnet SEA RB46 7 134 0 -6
    135 Romeo Doubs NE WR54 7 135 0 7
    136 Juwan Johnson NO TE16 7 142 6 21
    137 Tyjae Spears TEN RB47 7 139 2 22
    138 Malik Willis MIA QB21 7 127 -11 16
    139 De’Zhaun Stribling SF WR55 7 155 16 -7
    140 Keaton Mitchell LAC RB48 7 146 6 25
    141 Jonah Coleman DEN RB49 7 158 17 11
    142 Alvin Kamara NO RB50 7 141 -1 -13
    143 Tank Bigsby PHI RB51 7 145 2 21
    144 Brenton Strange JAC TE17 7 151 7 12
    145 Hunter Henry NE TE18 7 148 3 0
    146 Sam Darnold SEA QB22 7 140 -6 -3
    147 Dylan Sampson CLE RB52 7 147 0 24
    148 C.J. Stroud HOU QB23 7 138 -10 12
    149 Deebo Samuel Sr. SF WR56 7 153 4 -22
    150 Chig Okonkwo WAS TE19 7 152 2 3

     

    View the Best Fantasy Football Team Names

    Fantasy Football Draft Rankings

    Check out the consensus 2026 fantasy football draft rankings from our experts.