Fantasy Football Player Notes

Rashee Rice is an interesting WR to rank, given how much he was targeted in the red zone this past season (a ton of screen passes). Rice finished top-5 among WRs in PPG during his truncated season. 7th overall in red-zone targets in just 8 games played. Given his draft price might be slightly reduced based on his off-field issues and injured QB...Rice could easily be a league winner and dark-horse WR1 overall candidate in 2026.

Our first report on Patrick Mahomes' return from injury came on January 15th, when he claimed that he is aiming to return for Week 1 with no restrictions. Given his mid-December surgery, Week 1 seems aggressively optimistic (less than 9 months).
That's really the main question mark regarding Mahomes - when will he return and how effective will he be? Especially with his mobility. Mahomes ran a lot more in 2025 than he has in years past, hitting career-highs across the board (QB2 in PPG). But his passing has dipped in four consecutive seasons. And the injury makes it seem very much less likely we get Mahomes running nearly as much, especially to keep him out of harm's way. Low-end QB1 territory feels right for the Chiefs QB, weighing his early-season performance with a high return in the latter portion of the 2026 season.

Tyquan Thornton re-signed with the Chiefs on a two-year deal worth $11 million. This is notable given that only Xavier Worthy and Jalen Royals were the other Chiefs WRs under contract for the 2027 season.
The speedy wide receiver had his most productive season in the NFL last year, catching 19 passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns (on nearly 1,000 air yards and 23 deep targets). He stepped up at the start of the year due to Worthy's injury and Rashee Rice's suspension. Over the first 5 weeks of the year, Thornton averaged 10.3 fantasy points per game.
His 2025 yardage and touchdown totals set new career-highs, and he averaged 23.1 yards per reception (first in the NFL). Also had zero recorded drops.