Chigoziem Okonkwo
Okonkwo was just signed to a modest four-year, $30 million contract by the Washington Commanders, which positions him to open the year as the starting tight end. He’s coming off a four-year stretch that left little on the table in terms of meaningful production.
During his rookie season, he began to gain steam alongside Ryan Tannehill, but Tannehill was injured just as Okonkwo’s momentum started to build.
A player’s offensive environment matters. Since Tannehill’s injury, Okonkwo’s starting quarterbacks have been Josh Dobbs, Malik Willis, Will Levis, and Cam Ward. Since 2023, Okonkwo has finished second on his team in targets, but that only translated into TE23, TE18, and TE21 finishes.
The quality of an offense is largely determined by the quarterback and its philosophy. Okonkwo gets an upgrade in that department with Jayden Daniels in Washington and his new offensive coordinator, David Blough.
During Zach Ertz’s first full season with Daniels, Ertz averaged 10.4 fantasy points per game, good for a TE10 finish. At the time, Ertz was already 34 years old and two years removed from an ACL injury.
The 2025 season, however, was largely a wash as Daniels and Ertz both suffered significant injuries at different points in the year.
Newly appointed offensive coordinator David Blough will take over for former OC Kliff Kingsbury. The expectation is that Blough will design the offense similarly to Kingsbury’s system, which should bode well for Okonkwo.
Over the past two seasons under Kingsbury, Washington targeted the tight end position on roughly 24 percent of its passes — well above the league average.
Teams that have targeted tight ends at least 24 percent of the time since 2024 include the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Commanders.
All of those offenses have produced fantasy TE1s.
Fantasy Takeaway: Okonkwo is in a good system with a significant upgrade at quarterback. The opportunity for him is fantastic, pending another significant addition at receiver or tight end. He has all the factors that make him a perfect TE1 sleeper this year.
Keaton Mitchell
Mitchell signed a two-year, $9.25 million dollar contract with $5 million guaranteed. He is eligible to earn up to $11.25 million in incentives. Mitchell has been a favorite for dynasty managers.
Mitchell has always been one huge play away from winning a week for a fantasy team. He’s as explosive as a running back comes. Even though he was part of a prolific rushing attack in Baltimore, he’s been stonewalled by Derrick Henry and coaches who, for some reason, have been apprehensive about creating situational opportunities for him. Luckily, he now finds himself in a system perfect for creating those explosive opportunities. Miike McDaniel must be all butterflies and rainbows right now.
Patience should be prescribed as the 2026 season unfolds. McDaniel should begin to include Mitchell more consistently as the season progresses.
Fantasy Takeaway: Dynasty managers should manage to get Mitchell as a throw-in on any upcoming trades. If his dynasty value is going to manifest anywhere, it’s in Los Angeles with Mike McDaniel.
Rachaad White
Rachaad White signed a one-year deal with the Washington Commanders. The details haven't been made public yet, but a meager one-year deal to a running back who has been an inefficient runner for the majority of his career doesn't instill confidence.
Nonetheless, White should still carve out a role as a receiver, further capping Jacorey Croskey-Merritt’s opportunities and upside. Bet on Washington adding another runnin gback to further muddy their backfield for fantasy purposes.
Fantasy Takeaway: View White as a fantasy RB3 in 2026 that will prove to be more of a nuisance than a fantasy asset. Washington’s backfield is still incomplete. They should be adding up to two more running backs before the start of the season.
Michael Pittman
Michael Pittman is getting a much-needed change of scenery with the Pittsburgh Steelers after signing a three-year, $59 million contract extension that includes $24 million guaranteed. But can he become the top target earner and bounce back to near career highs with his new team?
Although Pittman posted a higher target share than Alec Pierce in 2025, he struggled overall and ultimately fell behind Pierce in both situational efficiency and total production. A major reason was his target volume and target depth relative to Pierce.
Pittman received 110 targets last year and only produced 784 receiving yards. That kind of volume is a gray area where only the most efficient receivers eclipse 1000 receiving yards.
Also, Pierce’s average target depth was nearly 20 yards downfield, compared to just 8 yards for Pittman. That significant difference in deployment played a large role in Pierce outproducing him.
Pittman’s role in Pittsburgh should look similar to how he was used in Indianapolis in 2025. According to Matt Harmon of Reception Perception, Pittman primarily ran intermediate routes but showed strong success across his entire route tree. That type of role can create a stable baseline of production, but DK Metcalf remains Pittsburgh’s WR1, which will likely cap Pittman’s weekly ceiling.
Aaron Rodgers, now 42, finished 13th in pass attempts last season but posted a career-low yards per attempt. Pittman’s skill set fits well with Rodgers’ tendency to work the short and intermediate areas of the field, making him a logical complementary option within the offense.
Still, unless Rodgers suddenly finds a way to reverse the effects of aging, it will be difficult for Pittman to consistently produce more than back-end WR2 numbers.
Fantasy Takeaway: Pittman has an outside shot at recreating WR1-level production, but it would likely require him to surpass DK Metcalf in the target pecking order or emerge as Pittsburgh’s primary red-zone option in 2026. Do not draft him anywhere within the top 24 wide receivers in 2026.
Rico Dowdle
Rico Dowdle signed a two-year, $12.75 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, making him the heavy favorite to serve as their RB2 in 2026, a nice chink of change relative to the $2.75 million he was making on the Carolina Panthers.
Dowdle was a revelation for fantasy managers in 2025 and a significant factor in many making a postseason push in their leagues. Granted, his massive games came against two of the league's worst run defenses in back-to-back weeks. Still, his low pad level and tackle-breaking ability were evident when he was afforded space to build momentum. Which begs the question: how is he distinct from Jaylen Warren?
Well, he really isn’t. Dowdle is somewhat redundant. As rushers, the two backs have produced similarly. Dowdle is great at creating yards after contact, but Warren excels at it. It’s perhaps Warren’s standput trait as a rusher.
As receivers, Dowdle is underrated and has proven to be reliable, but Warren has been one of the best receiving backs in the league over the past few years in terms of efficiency.
Like many backfields in the modern era of football, this one will to be a committee approach. But not by a large majority. Warren has always been an effective rusher, but durability has been a concern, which is why we expect a close-to-even split in 2026.
Fantasy Takeaway: Warren qualifies as an RB2. Dowdle finds himself in a similar situation to the one he found himself in Carolina last year, making him a top-tier handcuff and RB3 as long as Warren.
Kyler Murray
Kyler Murray was signed to the Minnesota Vikings on a friendly one-year team deal for $1.3 million. Arizona still owes Murray roughly $36.8 million after releasing him, so this equates to one hell of a bargain for Minnesota. The only kicker is that Minnesota cannot franchise tag Murray after the 2027 season. They must negotiate a new long-term contract with him or allow him to become a free agent.
We saw Minnesota let Darnold walk after one year, despite getting a postseason appearance with him, only to watch him sign with the Seattle Seahawks and go on to win the Super Bowl. Does that mean that Minnesota will be more lenient with Murray?
Murray’s market should be relatively hot in 2027. If Murray can get Minnesota to the postseason in 2026, then he should have a modest number of suitors. Other notable free agent quarterbacks next year will be Matthew Stafford and Baker Mayfield. Each of those two would be an ideal fit with the Vikings. But what about J.J. McCarthy?
McCarthy still needs time to learn. His 2026 campaign was extremely turbulent and should be expected to be the QB2 behind Murray. Needless to say, if Murray falters significantly, then McCarthy should get another opportunity.
Kevin O’Connell and Drew Petzing both come from the Shanahan coaching tree (honestly, who doesn’t these days), except for the fact that O’Connell largely pulls from its passing philosophies while Petzing relied on its run concepts.
With the Vikings, Murray should see far more deep shots and a higher pass rate than he did in Arizona in a more traditional drop-back approach from under center. Play action will be a major factor, though, which creates more space in the middle of the field and more efficient throws.
Let’s also not forget that Murray will be playing with arguably the best receiver in the NFL, Justin Jefferson, along with Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson. That cast alone is enough to help vault into the QB1 ranks, and it should.
Murray will need to see the field better in 2026. The weapons and quarterback system are in place; he just needs to learn to play within the structure. Murray has been infuriating to watch, and that shadow could quickly reemerge if he hasn’t matured by the time the season begins.
Fantasy Takeaway: Murray profiles as a mid-to-low QB1 if he holds the job all season. O’Connell’s system has historically elevated quarterback efficiency, and Murray now gets the best supporting cast of his career. His rushing upside keeps the ceiling high, but his volatility makes him a better target if he falls outside the top 8 quarterbacks in drafts.