Fantasy Football Roundtable: Players we're most excited about for 2026 who have a new team or offensive coordinator
Every offseason in the NFL, we get movement. Whether that's a player being traded, a player signing with a new team, a coach get a crack at leading a team, all of it is impactful to fantasy football in some capacity. Yahoo analysts Justin Boone, Joel Smyth, Matt Harmon, Scott Pianowski and new-addition Hayden Winks share which player they are most excited about for 2026 who is on a new team or with a new offensive coordinator.
Jaylen Waddle, WR, Broncos
Waddle's move to Denver instantly makes him one of the most exciting players to draft in fantasy, given his reasonable ADP as the WR23 at the Round 4-5 turn. It's been a couple seasons since Waddle was a true impact fantasy starter, but the fact that he averaged WR28 stats on a struggling Dolphins team last year was commendable. Prior to that was a forgettable 2024 campaign. However, Waddle produced over 1,000 yards in each of his first three years in the league, resulting in fantasy finishes of WR17, WR11 and WR22.
The Broncos paid a premium to acquire Waddle, including a first-round pick, which is a sign they view him as a key piece of their offense moving forward. So we have a player in his prime (turns 28 in November), going to a quality offense with a better quarterback where he'll be featured as the No. 1 receiver. Add in the fact that the Broncos threw the fourth most pass attempts (613) in 2025, versus the Dolphins who were third lowest in that category (479). If you're looking for this year's George Pickens, Waddle is the wideout to target as a potential top-15 fantasy WR. — Justin Boone
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Kyler Murray, QB, Vikings
Going from the worst to the best organization, according to the NFLPA reports, can't be overstated, especially when the Vikings also have HC Kevin O'Connell, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and a competent offensive line in their dome stadium. Before J.J. McCarthy flopped last year, O'Connell QBs were on fire. Kirk Cousins (20.2 fantasy points per game, QB7), Nick Mullens (19.9, QB8), Sam Darnold (19.7, QB8) and even Josh Dobbs (17.6, QB17) were very useful in this pass-heavy offense. Only Dobbs ran out of that group, too!
What happens if Kyler can somewhat match the 2022-2024 Vikings' average of 249 passing yards per game (fifth), while also averaging his career figure of 37 rushing yards per game? Well, then Kyler would be a no-doubter, top-10 fantasy QB with an underrated ceiling. Murray will also benefit from the Vikings' league-leading play-action rate from those 2022-2024 seasons, a stretch where they were also first in success rate on 20+ yard attempts. This feels like a Trevor Lawrence to Brock Purdy arbitrage, and the Vikings open with the Packers (without Micah Parsons) and Bears this season. —Hayden Winks
Zay Flowers, WR, Ravens
Zay Flowers had his third-year breakout in 2025 already, scoring the 11th-most fantasy points when Lamar Jackson was healthy, but a dominant season may come in 2026. Todd Monken wasn't a bad playcaller, but former Bears OC Declan Doyle can be a nice change for the young WR. Flowers is best used as a versatile piece that can capitalize on play action and motion. More passing volume is nice as well. In Jackson's injury-riddled season, Baltimore had the lowest dropbacks since 2020, with over 100 less than 2023, and over 200 less than 2021.
A WR that ranked third in yards per route with Jackson last season just simply needs more routes. He also ranked second in play action passing, an area Ben Johnson's offense in 2025 ranked second in the league, with 20% of plays being a play action pass. Flowers is in need of creativity.
The QB is there, the targets are there, if Doyle can replicate Johnson's offense and be the creative playcaller he's advertised to be, a WR with Flowers ability and style can blow up in Year 4. The risk of having a playcaller without any playcalling experience is notable, nevertheless, the high-end outcome for Flowers excites me. — Joel Smyth
Kenneth Walker III, RB, Chiefs
We all have been bemoaning the lack of potency from the Chiefs' passing game for several seasons now. While fair, it's also led us to ignore the deterioration of the rushing attack in Kansas City. Over the last two seasons combined, the Chiefs rank dead last with a 2.9% explosive rushing rate on running back runs. The teams ranked just ahead of them, the Browns and Raiders, both hover around 5.3%. The teams just ahead of those clubs hover around 6%.
That means the Chiefs are 32nd by a pretty sizable margin compared to the field. This is despite the fact that the Chiefs have the fourth-lowest stuff rate (runs for zero or negative yards) in the NFL during this same span. The Chiefs' offensive line is solid and is giving the running backs room. The backs are just scraping out almost nothing extra.
Whatever you think about Kenneth Walker, he is a proven explosive-play threat at running back. The playoff run with Seattle was also a reminder that he can be a weapon in the screen game, a feature of the Andy Reid offense. Walker may well change what we've come to think of the way the Kansas City offense has functioned lately simply by giving them a serious ground game. I'll have Walker as a locked-in, good Round 2 selection. — Matt Harmon
Ladd McConkey, WR, Chargers
Ladd McConkey looked like a superstar in the second half of his rookie year. Let's hold onto that, and give him a pass for everything that went wrong in his second season – stale play-calling, congested target tree, injury-ravaged offensive line. The line is now healthy, the downfield targets more consolidated (with Keenan Allen not expected back), and perhaps best of all, we welcome hotshot OC Mike McDaniel to orchestrate the plays (the same mastermind who schemed 4,624 passing yards from Tua Tagovailoa three years ago).
You're going to want Chargers this year, and if you prefer to fill in this space with Justin Herbert or Omarion Hampton optimism, I'll nod my head in agreement. But so far in draft season, McConkey has been my most proactive pick of the group. — Scott Pianowski
