If you fail to prepare for the injury news entering your fantasy football draft, you’re preparing to fail. Health updates can change in a hurry and will always be reflected in our redraft rankings, so make sure to consult our latest rankings before making final decisions. Here is where we stand right now on some of the big names.
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
ADP: QB15
Kansas City’s star tore his ACL on December 14, a timeline that initially put his status in question for the start of the 2026 regular season.
He was ahead of the projected recovery timeline for most of the spring, and once we got to camp, it became obvious that Mahomes was going to be under center for their first offensive snap of 2026.
I’m not viewing him as a flight risk entering the season, but ranking him isn’t nearly as clean. Over a quarter of his points came on the ground last season, easily a career high and one that I’d project regression for if he hadn’t suffered a serious knee injury.
With the addition of Kenneth Walker, the expectation is for this offense to function far differently than it has at any other point during the Mahomes era, and that leaves him on the outside looking in at QB1 status in most formats.
Josh Jacobs, RB, Green Bay Packers
ADP: RB16
Jacobs battled a variety of injuries down the stretch last season, causing his efficiency to crater as a result. All reports coming out of Green Bay suggest he is healthy, but he is a name to keep in mind as he faces a potential suspension due to off-the-field conduct.
We got legal updates on that front, and while the charges aren’t what was initially feared, an extended absence is still very possible. The concern for fantasy managers is that the NFL waits for more clarity from the courts, thus delaying action until the second half of the season.
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MarShawn Lloyd is the next man up for an offense that has relied heavily on the run game since adding Jacobs. Lloyd is currently fully healthy, a rarity up to this point in his career. If we were to get a lean on the Jacobs situation, the Packers could add depth to their backfield, and if that occurs, we will address it with updates.
Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seattle Seahawks
ADP: RB44
Winter injuries always complicate evaluations, and that is certainly the case with Zach Charbonnet. The team has been unwilling to set any sort of timeline for his recovery from a torn ACL suffered on January 17, but rumors have been flying around for the past month that Week 1 is still on the table.
That feels optimistic, but it speaks to the general optimism surrounding the 25-year-old. Jadarian Price is the expensive part of this backfield, and I think that’s right, but if a short-yardage savant in Charbonnet is back sooner rather than later, the rookie first-round pick is going to struggle to return on your investment in him.
A ramp-up period would be likely, and it’s hard to imagine feeling good about flexing Charbonnet at any point before Halloween, but this is a player with 20 rush TDs over the past two seasons. He’s proven capable of handling the valuable work, and if that’s true for the second half of this season, Price’s sixth-round ADP is going to be tough to justify.
Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants
ADP: RB19
Skattebo’s Week 8 injury was severe and required extensive offseason attention. A dislocated ankle, tibia/fibula fracture, and deltoid ligament rupture are each major injuries on their own, let alone all occurring simultaneously.
That said, he is pacing to be a full participant to open the season. Aside from a minor early-camp blip involving a failed backflip, nothing has raised major concern this summer, and you can feel good about where his health stands today, something that seemed unlikely just a few months ago.
He’s coming off of draft boards in the fourth round, so we aren’t getting any sort of discount. He went over 15 carries or five catches in five straight games prior to his rookie season being cut short: if he can sustain that level of versatility, he’s a strong click at cost over a player like Quinshon Judkins, who is not only coming off of an injury of his own, but plays for an offense with very little expected of them.
Jonathon Brooks, RB, Carolina Panthers
ADP: RB39
The Panthers made Brooks a second-round pick in 2024 despite a prior ACL tear, only for him to tear the same ACL after just 12 professional touches. After missing all of 2025, it is unsurprising that he is currently considered healthy, though this remains a situation that demands monitoring as reps increase.
We are one Chuba Hubbard (hamstring) negative update from Brooks flipping him in most drafts. The touch ceiling is fair to question, but we do know this team loves the profile and if given the ability to prove his worth early, we could be looking at an RB2 hiding in plain sight.
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers
ADP: RB33
Chuba Hubbard is battling a hamstring injury and is labeled as “week-to-week”.
All signs are pointing to this being a conservative approach for a veteran who has missed just six games during his first five NFL seasons. I remain confident that this is a good source of cheap volume late in drafts, something that is awfully difficult to come by.
That said, the longer this lingers, the more I soften on that stance. The Hubbard click is one of volume and a lack of belief that they will ever load Brooks down with work this season. That theory looks good on paper, but only if Hubbard can get on the field sooner rather than later.
This is a situation to check on daily as your draft approaches.
Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
ADP: WR12
A torn ACL on September 28 ended Nabers’ second season before it truly began, and he underwent surgery less than a month later. Offseason reports indicated he needed a cleanup procedure, initially dampening hopes of a September return.
But as has been the case with these supreme athletes, there seems to be nothing to worry about. Nabers looked like a generational talent as a rookie, and while he’s only seen three career looks from Jaxson Dart, he’s very clearly a featured member of this offense.
I have a hard time seeing his ADP rise much above this level at this point, and that means there is still room for value. Dart clicked with Wan’Dale Robinson and fed him 140 targets in 2025: if Nabers sees that volume, he has a chance to return Round 1 value from the middle of the third.
Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
ADP: WR13
Rehabbing a knee while incarcerated isn’t how most NFL players spend their summers, but Rice is back on the practice field and projects as Kansas City’s leading target earner in Week 1. Between injuries and off-field issues, his profile carries risk, but he fits Andy Reid’s system like a glove and has been a PPR cheat code when healthy.
Rice averages over 5.5 catches per game up to this point in his career. He has a real chance to top that number in 2026, though, as mentioned with Mahomes, it is possible that this offense functions a bit differently.
Drafting him over Zay Flowers or Tee Higgins is something that the industry is comfortable doing, but I am not.
Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears
ADP: WR24
There is plenty of hype in Chicago, and Luther Burden’s remarkably efficient 2025 season is a primary reason. He is a young receiver with all the tools, playing in a system designed to maximize his strengths.
However, an early-August groin injury cost him the preseason. The Bears brought him back this past week, and that has all signs pointing to him being good to go to open the season. The summer setback resulted in his ADP falling a few spots, with Rome Odunze moving up: you want pieces of this offense wherever you can get them, and I find myself favoring whichever WR is taken second.
Alec Pierce, WR, Indianapolis Colts
ADP: WR37
Pierce signed a large contract this offseason, and the Colts moved on from Michael Pittman. Everything looks good situationally, but left ankle surgery in the offseason has resulted in a recovery that bled into training camp.
It wasn’t an ideal summer for the burner, but he’s back at practice now and appears to be on track for Week 1, something this team suggested was the most likely outcome. The concern here is simple: he’s been a simple route runner up to this point, and we have no camp proof that he’s expanded things at all.
There is risk involved, but much of it is sucked out with a very modest ADP. Josh Downs and Keenan Allen will make racking up cheap receptions an uphill battle, but that hasn’t mattered in the past for one of the game’s premier threats.
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
ADP: TE11
Kittle has been a mainstay in the Tier 1 tight end discussion and is trending back toward that status. He tore his Achilles on January 11, and at the time, a midseason return seemed like a best-case scenario.
He is healthy now and has a chance to play in the opener, though it should be noted that the 49ers open against the Rams in Melbourne, a grueling travel situation the team may want to shield him from.
Jake Tonges would be a Week 1 streamer should #85 not make the flight, but his stay on fantasy rosters figures to be short-lived with Kittle trending in a positive direction. If he is as close to full strength as all reports suggest, there’s a chance this is the best pick on the board.
Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers
ADP: TE5
Kraft looked like an emerging star last season before tearing his ACL on November 2. He has expressed complete confidence in his ability to debut with his teammates in Week 1, and the Packers mirrored that confidence by activating him off the PUP list on July 31.
He appears good to go, making him a top fantasy target.
It should be noted, however, that he did hint in the middle of August that he may not be thrown to the wolves in terms of role until the middle of the season. That soundbite hasn’t impacted my ranking of Green Bay’s budding star, but it may impact your roster construction a bit: drafting a viable TE2 isn’t a bad use of a late-round pick if you decide to take the plunge on Kraft (more affordable for those drafting on ESPN than other sites).
