Fantasy Football Player Notes

Terry McLaurin experienced a steep drop-off last year after his banner WR14 campaign in 2024. Ultimately, the Washington offense took a massive step back, and McLaurin was dealing with a quad injury for much of last season, which limited him to ten games played. In those ten games, yes, he was the WR33 in fantasy points per game, but his per-route metrics remained stellar. Among 109 qualifying receivers, McLaurin ranked 25th in target per route run rate (24%), 13th in yards per route run (2.38), fourth in first downs per route run (0.135), and 26th in route win rate (per Fantasy Points Data). With Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz gone, only Stefon Diggs, Antonio Williams, and Chig Okonkwo were added to this receiving depth chart; McLaurin should return to his target-hog WR2 ways in 2026. He's a strong bounceback candidate.

Jayden Daniels' 2025 season was crushed by injuries. Daniels dealt with a knee sprain, a right hamstring injury, a dislocated elbow, and an elbow sprain. For a player who entered the NFL with questions about his size and injury risk, it wasn't what anyone wanted to see. Daniels still managed to flash the upside in his four full games played last year to remind people why they fell in love with him in the first place. In those four games, Daniels averaged 20.2 fantasy points per game, nine rushing attempts, and 44 yards on the ground. If he had kept up that pace all season, he would have been the QB7 in fantasy points per game and averaged the second-most rushing yards per game among quarterbacks. With all of the injuries he sustained last year, his stats are a muddied mess that are better off tossed in the trash, but for the sake of doing my due diligence among 45 qualifying quarterbacks, he ranked 42nd in highly accurate throw rate, 38th in catchable target rate, and 25th in hero throw rate (per Fantasy Points Data). Daniels has plenty of questions that he'll have to answer in 2026. Can he hold up for an entire season? Was his rookie season just a flash in the pan? I'm willing to draft Daniels again in 2026 despite all of these questions because of his rushing ability and the brief flash in 2025 of his rookie talent.

Last year, Jacory Croskey-Merritt had an up-and-down season as the RB41 in fantasy points per game. Washington didn't trust him as a passing game option, and he was in and out of the starting lineup as the team also leaned on other backs like Chris Rodriguez. In 2025, Croskey-Merritt had four top 24 finishes in weekly scoring while also popping in rushing efficiency metrics. Among 49 qualifying backs, he ranked 26th in explosive run rate, 19th in yards after contact per attempt, seventh in yards per carry on zone runs, and ninth in one rushing success rate (per Fantasy Points Data). Croskey-Merritt is only a dice roll this season as he'll be competing with Rachaad White, Kaytron Allen, and Jerome Ford for the starting job and work in 2026.

Over the last two seasons, with Bucky Irving in town, Rachaad White was a more effective per-touch player, but with Irving out of the lineup last year, he proved again that he can carry the mail (although while being horribly inefficient). Last season, in Weeks 5-12, White averaged 14.6 touches and 60 total yards while seeing 71% of the snaps. During that span, White was the RB23 in fantasy points per game with a 1.2% explosive run rate, a 14% missed tackle rate, and only 1.52 yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). White has moved on to Washington for the 2026 season, and he could easily be their starting running back this season if he can secure the job coming out of camp. He is a decent dice roll for fantasy football for 2026, who could stack up enough volume to pay off for fantasy gamers.

After a long offseason, Stefon Diggs is finally a Washington Commander. We've all speculated all offseason that Diggs would possibly land with Washington, and now it has come to fruition. Diggs had a strong 2025 season that proved that he has plenty left in the tank to post a strong fantasy season in 2026. Last year, he was the WR23 in fantasy points per game with only a 65.4% route share (62nd out of 109 qualifying receivers). Among 109 qualifying receivers, he was stellar on a per-route basis, ranking 22nd in target per route run rate (25%), 20th in receiving yards per game (59.6), and eighth in yards per route run (2.53) and first downs per route run (0.127, per Fantasy Points Data). Among the same sample of receivers, he was also 28th in overall separation score, 18th in separation versus man coverage, 22nd in route win rate against man coverage, and 11th in yards per route run against both man and zone coverages. Diggs didn't show any falloff, so I'm not projecting that for 2026, being even further out from his ACL reconstruction. Diggs is a strong WR3 with upside this season. I expect the Washington passing attack to be funneled through Diggs and Terry McLaurin.

Chig Okonkwo is back on the intriguing late-round tight end radar again for 2026. The signing of Stefon Diggs definitely puts a damper on his upside, but Okonkwo is still an interesting dice roll. Last year, among 54 qualifying tight ends, he was 24th in target share, 23rd in receiving yards per game, 28th in yards per route run, and 37th in first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Okonkwo has been a per-route metric darling in previous seasons, so with better quarterback play in 2026 tied to Jayden Daniels, I wouldn't be surprised if he recaptures some of that magic. I still don't know if he'll have enough volume this season to be anything more than a streaming option when the matchup is right.

Antonio Williams' rookie season outlook took a massive hit with Stefon Diggs signing with the Commanders. Williams could still have his moments as a flex option in 2026, but I wouldn't count on him as anything more than a bye-week flex option unless Diggs gets hurt. During his final season in college, Williams ranked 69th in yards per route run and 39th in receiving grade as an underneath slot option.