Fantasy Football Player Notes

Jaylen Waddle's 2025 season looked disappointing on the surface, but Miami's run-heavy approach masked another highly efficient campaign from the former first-round pick (13th in yards per route run). Now in Denver after a blockbuster trade, Waddle steps into a pass-heavy offense where he projects as the featured receiver. His explosiveness and efficiency have consistently kept him on the WR1 fringe despite frequent nagging injuries and inconsistent volume in Miami alongside Tyreek Hill. But if Bo Nix and the Broncos offense continue ascending, 2026 could finally be the season Waddle delivers a true top-tier fantasy breakout.

Courtland Sutton's 2025 finish once again outpaced his underlying usage, as strong touchdown production helped propel him into the top-12 overall WRs despite modest efficiency (20th in PPG). Before the Week 12 bye week, Sutton was outside the top-30 WRs in PPG. Denver's passing attack now looks significantly EVEN more crowded after the addition of Jaylen Waddle, and the Broncos enter 2026 with virtually no vacated volume available. Sutton still profiles as an important red-zone target for Bo Nix, but his declining efficiency metrics and growing competition raise concerns about his fantasy ceiling. At age 31, Sutton feels more like a volume-dependent WR3 than a true alpha receiver moving forward.

R.J. Harvey's rookie season was a tale of two seasons centered around J.K. Dobbins being in the lineup and out of it. In Weeks 1-10, Harvey was the RB29 in fantasy points per game, averaging 29.1% of the snaps played with 7.5 touches and 38.9 total yards per game. In Weeks 11-18, with Dobbins out, he was the RB13 in fantasy points per game with 16.8 touches and 72.5 total yards per game while averaging 60.7% of the snaps played. With Dobbins back and Denver drafting Jonah Coleman, Harvey's role is up in the air. He could easily fall back into last year's early-season role as passing down partner with Dobbins, or this backfield could get messy with all three backs playing and the production getting divided up. Harvey was awesome overall last season as a receiving option, but he struggled on early downs. As a pass catcher, he ranked sixth in target per route run rate and first downs per route run and tenth in yards per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). As a rusher, among 49 qualifying backs, he was 21st in missed tackle rate but 42nd in explosive run rate and 44th in yards after contact per attempt. Harvey is a decent selection in fantasy drafts this season, but in 2026, I won't go out of my way to get him on all my teams like last year.

Bo Nix is something of a fantasy football Rorschach test. The good: Nix has finished QB7 in fantasy scoring in each of his first two NFL seasons; he provides value as a runner, with 786 rushing yards and nine TD runs in 34 regular-season starts; Broncos head coach Sean Payton is regarded as one of the NFL's better playcallers; and an offseason trade for Jaylen Waddle gives Nix a very good group of pass catchers. The bad: Nix hasn't fared quite as well in fantasy points per game, ranking QB9 in 2024 and QB11 in 2025; he led the league in pass attempts last season yet still fell short of 4,000 passing yards; and he averaged an unimpressive 6.4 yards per pass attempt last season. Nix offers a relatively safe floor but might have a limited ceiling. Consider him a low-end QB1 or high-end QB2.

J.K. Dobbins returns to Denver this season as their early down hammer. It's tough to count on him for a full season at this point, but while he's out there, he should be a nice RB2/flex play this season. Last year, Dobbins did see his season cut short with a foot injury. In Weeks 1-10, he was the RB24 in fantasy points per game, averaging 16.4 touches and 80.6 total yards. The bulk of that work was in the rushing department as he averaged only 1.4 targets and 3.7 receiving yards per game. He had only four games in which he saw more than one target, and he never saw more than two targets in any game. Dobbins was on pace for 260 carries and 1,313 rushing yards before his injury, so his value on early downs is quite nice. Among 49 qualifying backs, he ranked third in explosive run rate and eighth in missed tackle rate (per Fantasy Points Data). Dobbins should return RB2/touchdown-dependent flex value this season.

Jonah Coleman walks into the Denver depth chart as the RB3 with the ability to climb the depth chart. If J.K. Dobbins is unable to stay healthy this year, Coleman could assume the early down duties opposite R.J. Harvey. If Harvey can't continue to grow and improve after his rookie season, it wouldn't be shocking to see Coleman hop Harvey on the depth chart and become the passing-down option for Denver. Over his last three collegiate seasons, Coleman ranked 54th, 13th, and 1st in yards after contact per attempt and 61st, sixth, and fourth in elusive rating (per PFF). In two of those three seasons, he was also top 24 in yards per route run. Coleman is a wonderful late-round dart to toss in fantasy drafts in 2026.

The Broncos had one of the softest schedules to start the 2025 season. 2026 is drastically different. In the first six weeks, it's tough, according to Warren Sharp (although drawing the Chiefs twice early on could be an advantage if Patrick Mahomes is less than 100%). First 8 games: Chiefs, Jaguars, Rams, 49ers, Chargers, Seahawks, Cardinals, and Chiefs. Third-toughest schedule over that stretch. If the Broncos don't have the same injury luck on defense two years in a row, it's possible they don't return elite DST status.

Pat Bryant quietly carved out a larger role as his rookie season progressed, giving Denver reason to believe he can contribute more in Year 2. The former third-round pick earned increased playing time late in the season and showed flashes of reliability before an injury cut short his playoff run. The addition of Jaylen Waddle limits Bryant's path to major target volume, but he still projects as the favorite for the Broncos' No. 3 WR role entering 2026. In deeper formats, Bryant profiles as more of a depth stash tied to offensive growth rather than standalone volume.

Will Lutz has been steady in his three seasons with the Broncos, making 89.0% of his field goals and 98.3% of his extra points over that span. Unfortunately, Lutz has not been awash in field goal opportunities since coming to Denver, with the Broncos ranking 14th, 16th and 19th in FG attempts the last three seasons. Lutz has finished 22nd, eighth and 16th in fantasy scoring among kickers over that span.