I had a pretty typical summer this year. Did a bit of traveling, saw some extended family. Read a book. Went to the beach. Poured a concerning number of hours into NFL preview guides, team projections, film breakdowns, and any other viable resource that would help me obliterate my closest friends in the absurd competition that is fantasy football. You know how it goes.
With my home league draft in the books, now’s the time to release some takes into the wild.
Here are my top targets in fantasy football
this year.
Average Draft Position (ADP) consensus rankings via footballguys.com on Aug. 18
Bijan Robinson
RB | Atlanta Falcons | ADP: 2
I’m taking this opportunity to call my shot that Bijan Robinson will have an Offensive Player of the Year/Madden cover athlete/all-time-productive season.
Robinson has over 400 more yards from scrimmage than any NFL player since he was drafted eighth overall in 2023. The former Longhorn paces his position in targets (261), receptions (198), and receiving yards (1,738) in that span. Now, he’ll be playing with a passer in Tua Tagovailoa who’s accustomed to force-feeding running backs through the air.
After the Falcons substituted Brian Robinson Jr. for Tyler Allgeier at RB2, there’s also a path to elite redzone usage. And I’d consider Kevin Stefanski — who’s bringing along renowned OL coach Bill Callahan — to be an upgrade at playcaller over Zac Robinson.
Atlanta’s offensive stability may not be that of the Detroit Lions, but that can be offset by Robinson’s frame (5’ 11”, 215 lbs) compared to Jahmyr Gibbs (5’ 9”, 202 lbs). Are we really expecting the latter to see 350-plus touches in a season? From what I gather, Gibbs is the consensus top pick in fantasy drafts this year because his Lions project to score more points than Robinson’s Falcons. That’s a fair assumption to make, but should it really sway your pick? Both backs have sick skill sets, but Robinson is a more complete player with a true bellcow build. That’s a trump card worthy of winning the entire pot.
With Allgeier out, plus Tagovailoa and Stefanski in, Robinson has the runway to prove that he’s one of the single best players in the league on his way to an RB1 overall finish.
A.J. Brown
WR | New England Patriots | ADP: 20
After emerging as one of the league’s elite offensive players in his first few years in the league, A.J. Brown is coming off consecutive “down years” of 1,000 yards and 7 touchdowns. The recently-turned-29-year-old missed five games in 2024 and another two in 2025 while dealing with a lingering hamstring injury. Anyone who watched a Philadelphia Eagles game in recent years could tell you that Brown seemed a bit disconnected from the offense and unsatisfied with his role. Did the New England Patriots trade a first-round pick for a fading star?
In my studied opinion, no. I’m buying into a bounce-back from Brown. Without Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley dominating touches on the ground, it’s easy to see a world where Brown’s target volume spikes back up. Furthermore, I don’t think it’s silly to expect a more motivated version of the former All-Pro. He’s expecting a larger workload, reuniting with his former head coach, and not only is he playing with the best quarterback of his life in Drake Maye, but he’s also providing Maye with the best pass-catcher he’s ever had. Is it that outlandish to suggest Maye and Brown could be one of the NFL’s scariest duos of 2026?
To me, the upside of a top-five QB/top-five WR pairing outweighs the risks associated with Brown’s availability and attitude. If Robinson is my top bet to become the undisputed champion of his respective position, Brown is my pick to remind the league that he’s still in the ring. Let’s not overthink “elite player goes to better situation” the way we did when Barkley was a second-round fantasy pick after joining Philly in 2024.
For the record, I’ve always been a fan of Romeo Doubs (ADP: 124), so I am happy to target him at the end of fantasy drafts whenever I take a running back or Brock Bowers (ADP: 18) in the second round instead of Brown.
David Montgomery
RB | Houston Texans | ADP: 47
Houston’s defense is equipped to be as formidable as ever under DeMeco Ryans. If Nico Collins can stay healthy and C.J. Stroud can perform as he did in the 2025 regular season (92.9 passer rating) as opposed to his abysmal playoff performance (51.8 passer rating), the Texans should be a true title contender.
After the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl LX with an elite WR and good-but-certainly-not-great talent at QB/RB/TE/OL, the path for Houston is seemingly there. Jaxson Smith-Njigba won OPOY due (in small part) to a run-first attack that forced defenses to load the box with bodies and play basic coverage structures.
Last season, Houston’s rushing offense finished bottom-four in yards per play, first downs, touchdowns, Expected Points Added per play, and success rate. So how do they fix the problem? By trading an offensive lineman and two Day 3 picks for David Montgomery.
There’s hope that continuity within the scheme and tweaking along the O-line will provide a boost as well, but really, there’s pressure on Montgomery specifically to elevate the run game. I think he’s capable of rising to the challenge. He and Houston’s offense alike may not be explosive enough to reach RB1 fantasy numbers, but that’s okay. Not every hit has to be a home run. This is as safe a pick as you can make in the “running back dead zone.”
Some of my other favorite mid-round targets include Breece Hall (ADP: 31), Jaylen Waddle (ADP: 44), DJ Moore (ADP: 51), Mike Evans (ADP: 58), and anyone projected to play the majority of snaps for the Chicago Bears’ offense.
Parker Washington
WR | Jacksonville Jaguars | ADP: 65
One of the hottest players in fantasy football this summer is Parker Washington. A third-year pro who’s been thoroughly impressive in every offseason of his career — including this year — Washington finally emerged as an offensive contributor in 2025. He led the Jaguars across the board with 72 targets, 48 receptions, and 747 receiving yards after their Week 8 bye (including playoffs).
On a per-game basis over that stretch, Washington averaged 7.2 targets, 4.8 catches, 74.7 yards, 0.5 touchdowns, and 15.8 fantasy points in PPR formats. For context, Davante Adams finished as fantasy’s WR9 last season with 15.9 PPR points per game.
During that 10-game sample size to close last season, Washington ranked second among 113 wide receivers in yards per route run (2.69) and PFF receiving grade (90.8). He was also top-12 in first downs per route run (0.12), contested catch rate (75%), and passer rating when targeted (124.3). He. Was. Good. Yet he ranked 101st in route rate (92.1%).
It’s hardly a guarantee that a player will continue to yield efficient results with a rise in volume. In Washington’s case, though, it feels like a bet worth making. He’s not just a scrappy competitor who’s the first guy in the building each day. He also happens to be a young playmaker who’s improved year after year, has more chemistry and experience with Trevor Lawrence than any other Jaguars wideout, and will play in an offense that has drawn some incredible fantasy numbers from its slot receiver.
Washington’s relatively small stature (5’ 10”, 204 lbs) may inhibit him from being a do-it-all, ultra-productive slot receiver like Cooper Kupp and Chris Godwin were under Liam Coen. As this offseason has progressed, though, the drumbeat has grown louder and louder that “PDub” is the team’s top receiver. “I get the opportunity to play within all the personnels,” Washington told 1010XL. “I’m excited for any opportunity. Liam told me, like, ‘Be ready to play all positions.’ And I’ll just stay ready.”
For what it’s worth, Washington isn’t the most mispriced Jaguar. That’d be RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. (ADP: 135), who has historically been more effective than Bhayshul Tuten and is expected to see the majority of goal-line work. There are other late-round tight ends with more upside than Brenton Strange (ADP: 145), but he has a sturdy floor and sneaky ceiling worth chasing in deeper fantasy formats. And while I’m expecting something of a bounce-back season for WR Brian Thomas Jr. (ADP: 68), I’m hesitant to draft him after seeing Jacksonville’s opening schedule of CB1s. I wouldn’t balk at anyone buying low on a premier talent, but Thomas Jr. profiles as a “more valuable to an NFL team than a fantasy team” kind of player. Good luck picking which week he’ll come down with two out of three deep targets.
Justin Herbert
QB | Los Angeles Chargers | ADP: 85
This one’s pretty obvious. An uber-talented quarterback who’s been hanging just outside the gamebreaker tier of Mahomes/Allen/Jackson gets paired up with the guy who got Tua Tagovailoa a passing yards title. Justin Herbert’s arm talent and mobility will allow Mike McDaniel to amplify a playbook that was already considered among the league’s most creative. Lightning struck when the Chargers hired McDaniel; the rest of the league will feel the boom this season.
There are plenty of mid- to late-round fantasy options at the position with more rushing upside, but Herbert (career averages of 18.1 rushing yards and 2.5 rushing touchdowns per season) won’t be a complete zero. He actually led the league with 439 scramble yards last year, per Fantasy Points. While the amount of scrambles should decline with better O-line health in 2026, you could argue that Herbert has untapped potential as a designed runner in scoring territory.
Rushing upside aside, with McDaniel calling plays, Herbert has as much upside as anyone to throw 40-plus touchdowns this season. The only other quarterback to play in a McVay/Shanahan scheme who’s even in the same ballpark as Herbert in terms of arm talent is Matthew Stafford. Ask his MVP trophy how that’s going.
I love the idea of stacking Herbert with Ladd McConkey (ADP: 38) and/or Quentin Johnston (ADP: 90), and I also like Tre Harris (ADP: 168) as a deep sleeper. My top targets at quarterback after Herbert are Trevor Lawrence (ADP: 88), Brock Purdy (ADP: 103), and Bo Nix (ADP: 110) in that order.
Rachaad White
RB | Washington Commanders | ADP: 108
Last season, the fantasy community learned a collective lesson: do not ignore ambiguous backfields. Javonte Williams took advantage of a new situation and an empty backfield with the Dallas Cowboys to finish as the RB12 last year, despite being drafted as the RB38.
It’d be a surprise for Washington to see instant success with a new offensive coordinator the same way their divisional rival did a year ago. That said, if Jayden Daniels manages to suit up for 14-plus games, the Commanders’ lead running back should end up as a draft-day bargain.
White offers a fairly similar profile to Williams. He probably has more gas in the tank than the public currently believes — did you see the state of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers O-line last year? — and while his contract may be a cheap one-year flier, that shouldn’t be a complete disqualifier.
Maybe White turned down more money elsewhere so he could play with his former college quarterback. Maybe not, but I’d be more concerned if White signed a minimal contract to stay with the same team. He’s much more likely to break out on a new offense. (Parker Washington is the only player highlighted in this article who won’t be playing on a new team or for a new playcaller in 2026.)
The backfield rotation will be shared with Jacory Croskey-Merritt (ADP: 111), a.k.a. “Bill,” but the recent sixth-round pick is a bit of a one-trick pony as a ball-carrier. On the other hand, White is a jack-of-all, master-of-none back who seems to be most valuable in pass protection. He projects to see the bulk of work on passing downs, and while he’s not necessarily a bulldozer at the goal line, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him vulture those valuable touches, too.
Like Williams, I don’t believe White is an obvious No. 1 back hiding in plain sight… but I do expect the perception of his talent, role, and offensive environment to change for the better over the next few months.
Some of my other late-round priorities include Wan’Dale Robinson (ADP: 104), Zach Charbonnet (ADP: 137), and Terrance Ferguson (ADP: 173).
Who are your favorite picks in fantasy football this year, Jaguars fans?
Let us know in the comments below!
