Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III tied for the league lead with 16 rushing touchdowns in 2024, and while those calling for regression ahead of the 2025 season were technically right, Cook was able to pair his 12 touchdown runs with 1,621 yards on the ground and the first rushing crown of his career. Cook has finished as the RB8 and RB6 in the past two seasons, and with Buffalo's offense remaining largely intact for 2026, there is no reason to expect any significant falloff. The largest change comes at the top, where Joe Brady will take over as head coach, though his previous promotion to offensive coordinator coincided with Cook's breakout, and no team has scored more offensive touchdowns across his two full seasons as playcaller. While the offseason trade for veteran receiver DJ Moore could allow for perennial MVP-contender Josh Allen to again throw for more than 4,000 yards, something he has not done in either of Cook's RB1 seasons, a more balanced offense could also lead to more scoring opportunities on the ground. Despite Allen scoring rushing touchdowns at a historic rate in recent years, Cook has still been one of the league's most active backs from within the five-yard line over the past two seasons, and he is RotoBaller's RB5 for 2026.

Still eyeing a return for 2026, free agent wide receiver Tyreek Hill (knee) continues to work his way back from the gruesome knee injury that ended his 2025 season after only four games. In a clip he posted to his YouTube channel in late June, he appears to receive positive news from a doctor who is impressed by his recovery. As rumors continue to swirl about potential 2026 landing spots for the five-time All-Pro, teams are set to reconvene for training camps at the end of the month, where a single injury could create a need for his services. While there are no guarantees that he will ever take another NFL snap, and even fewer assurances that he can return to pre-injury form, Hill has been one of the most explosive players to ever play the game, with his 28 career touchdowns of at least 50 yards ranking as the fourth most in NFL history. An afterthought in most 2026 drafts, Hill is a player who can and should be scooped up in the final rounds of any leagues with the use of injured reserve slots, and even without, the 11th-year receiver is worthy of an end-of-bench early-season stash, allowing fantasy managers extra time to make a decision before bye weeks and injuries arrive.

New Orleans Saints running back Kendre Miller was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. At the time, Alvin Kamara had seen his efficiency drop as he flirted with 300 opportunities in each of the previous three seasons, and the prevailing belief was that Miller could help to keep him fresh before potentially assuming the starting role himself. However, injuries have limited the fourth-year back to appearances in only 21 of a possible 51 games, and when he has seen the field, he has not looked the part of an NFL starter, averaging fewer than four yards per attempt on his 127 career carries. With New Orleans committing $28 million in guarantees to free agent Travis Etienne Jr., and Kamara still on the team along with Devin Neal and Audric Estime, Miller could be viewed as a long shot to even make the Saints' 53-man roster. Ranked outside of RotoBaller's top 300 players for 2026, Miller is not a player that should factor into draft plans in any redraft leagues, and his dynasty value has sunk to a place that makes him an easy drop candidate.

While playing in all 17 games in 2025, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy saw his receiving yards cut by more than half from his previous season, a 90-catch, 1,229-yard campaign that earned him his first Pro Bowl selection. His first season with the team saw him hyper-targeted to end the year by a combination of Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Bailey Zappe, earning double-digit opportunities in six of the final nine weeks. While the team's quarterback rotation continued into 2025, the players changed, and with Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders all starting games, Jeudy only topped 10 targets twice all season, and an inability to form a connection with any of his signal callers led to one of the lowest reception percentages in the league. Heading into 2026, the Browns' quarterback situation is as unsettled as ever, with Sanders and veteran Deshaun Watson projected to battle throughout training camp for the starting job in new head coach Todd Monken's offense, and with the team spending two top 40 picks on the receiver position, Jeudy could face the most significant target competition since being traded from Denver. With all these factors at play, expectations are low heading into the 2026 season, and Jeudy is RotoBaller's WR64.