Based on how NFL rosters are structured these days, turnover is inevitable. Teams are willing to move on from “busts” early, and players are in demand if they live up to expectations. It’s a part of the business. The fantasy football rankings are naturally an evolving work of art until draft day, but the early player movement has impacted the value of plenty.
Fantasy Football Rankings: Players on the Rise After Free Agency
Let’s start with the more obvious answers: Kenneth Walker III signing with the Kansas City Chiefs, Isaiah Likely with the New York Giants, and Malik Willis with the Miami Dolphins.
The reigning Super Bowl MVP is now joining the team that we assumed would be playing in the Big Game a year ago, and it’s hard not to love this get for Andy Reid.
Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt played out the end of their respective contracts this past year, and while they’ve been serviceable, they largely have failed to add a home run-hitting element to this ground game.
Walker in his career
–> 8th in 10+ yard carry rate (34 qualified)
–> 13th in PFSN Elusive RatingChiefs RBs over that stretch …
10+ yard rush rate: 6.8% (32nd)
15+ yard rush rate: 2.6% (32nd)
25+ yard rush rate: 0.9% (30th) #FantasyFootball— Fantasy Sports HQ (@FSHQ365) March 9, 2026
Of course, the state of this offense as a whole relies on Patrick Mahomes’ rehab process, but this is a young running back who is being given the keys to a backfield in a way the Seattle Seahawks weren’t willing to do until forced.
Remember back in 2023 when we believed Pacheco to be the next big thing in this backfield? His 17-game pace that season was for north of 1,100 rushing yards and a tick under 11 touchdowns.
Walker needs to stay on the field as any running back does, but his 4.8 YPC during the playoff run with the bellcow label was proof of concept that he can handle volume while sustaining efficiency.
He’s in the low-end RB1 conversation for both this upcoming season and in dynasty formats. Again, the status of Mahomes will greatly influence this ranking as draft season approaches, and so will how the depth of this backfield shakes out. This is effectively the 2025 Javonte Williams case, and that was a highly profitable one for all involved.
Bhayshul Tuten Inherits Jacksonville’s Lead Role
Speaking of low-tier RB1s, that’s exactly what Travis Etienne was last season for the Jaguars. He’s taken his talents to New Orleans now, and that opens the door for everyone’s favorite 2025 sleeper in Bhayshul Tuten.
As a fourth-rounder, the rookie scored seven times a season ago, though his efficiency was lacking and his versatility was essentially nonexistent. The good news is that he was a 60th percentile RB in terms of gain rate, which suggests we are likely looking at an elevated floor given his projectable volume and the general direction of his offense.
READ MORE: Travis Kelce Not Retiring Just Yet: What Does He Have Left for Fantasy Football?
The bad news is that, despite that success, we were still looking at just 3.7 yards per carry without pass-catching prowess.
He profiles as a top-30 running back with this role adjustment, though it’s likely that the optimism that the drafting population had for him last year spills over into this season and pushes him closer to RB20 in ADP than RB30.
That’s a little rich for me. He’s just ahead of running backs like Blake Corum and Kyle Monangai, who have less of a clear path to averaging 15-plus touches, but Jaylen Warren, sans Kenneth Gainwell, is a player I have tiered above Tuten. I’d rather roll the dice on rookies coming off injuries, such as Cam Skattebo and Quinshon Judkins, than go the way of a one-dimensional back that could be valued above what his mean outlook suggests is most reasonable.
Isaiah Likely and Malik Willis Find Fresh Starts
The onesie positions can be a bit tricky because they require consistent excellence to be viable. Last season, there were 39 tight ends with a 15-plus PPR performance, but there were only eight with more than three. The same logic held for quarterbacks, where 32 had a 25-point effort, but only seven had more than three. You either pay for the great, or you roll the dice with matchups and breakouts.
Neither Likely nor Willis has enough equity built up to be considered in the “pay for great” tier, but it’s not hard to make the case for either now that they are in spots to spread their wings.
Likely ranks 18th among 33 qualifiers at the position in yards per route run during his career and seventh in PPR points per target over that stretch, ahead of Trey McBride. The hiccup has been a lack of reps due to Mark Andrews’ presence, and while I like Theo Johnson’s athletic profile as much as anyone, he now seems positioned to be the Likely’s Likely in New York as the secondary option.
He’s entering his age-26 season and could see his stock soar in short order if Jaxson Dart can build on the glimpses of promise we saw in his rookie year. Naturally, there is heavy target competition by way of Malik Nabers, but Likely’s ability to run a variety of routes figures to play nicely in an offense that is pretty clearly on the rise.
We’ve seen him produce when given the opportunity, and with a role that is now his to lose, Likely enters 2026 as a top-10 tight end in both redraft and dynasty formats. Your confidence in Dart’s development will determine how high you push him up your list. Personally, I’d rather be Likely in New York with a plan at quarterback than Kyle Pitts in Atlanta without one or George Kittle in San Francisco coming off the devastating Achilles injury.
The other on-the-move onesie player who has drawn interest is Willis, as he takes his talents from Green Bay, where he was Jordan Love’s backup, to head man in Miami after Tua Tagovailoa was released.
We think we know what we have in the pride of Liberty, but can we say with certainty? Willis has thrown just 155 passes since the Tennessee Titans made him the 86th overall pick in 2022, and while the rushing component is certainly appealing at 5.5 yards per carry, the fact of the matter is that we’ve never seen him take regular reps, and the Dolphins offense is under reconstruction.
We know there is talent in this profile and on this roster. De’Von Achane is one of the most dangerous running backs in this league, and Jaylen Waddle, while not the type of alpha receiver teams typically look for as their WR1, is a versatile option at the very least.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of room for ceiling weeks, and maybe there’s a second-half star, but there are too many moving pieces at the moment to rank him as a QB1 in any format. Miami plays in a division with multiple ball-control offenses that prioritize time of possession, and they aren’t going to regress any time soon. Raw volume could be an issue, and while that can be overcome with efficiency (worth noting that Willis completed over 78% of his passes while with the Packers), I need visual confirmation before assuming it’s there.
The quarterback position is deep, which allows us to be more patient with our excitement for Willis than for a player like Likely, who can be a weekly starter simply by being involved consistently. Right now, I have Willis on the top-20 fringe, in the same redraft tier as Matthew Stafford and Jordan Love, and in a dynasty range that includes Kyler Murray and Sam Darnold.
Alec Pierce Could Be a Sneaky Fantasy Asset for the Indianapolis Colts
Alec Pierce got the bag from the Colts to stay in Indy, and we generally love to see speed-oriented pass catchers staying indoors. Despite a number of moving pieces, he finished 2025 averaging 12.2 fantasy PPR points per game and was even better when you consult our PFSN NFL WR Impact metric (WR9).
For his career, Pierce has averaged 18.7 yards per catch, a level of upside that isn’t sustainable for most, but having done so over a 157-reception sample makes this a unique player capable of threatening defenses vertically.
Big plays are one thing, but what has made him a sneaky fantasy asset over the past two years is his ability to turn those bombs into touchdowns (13 TDs on 84 receptions). Can he sustain that rate? Can he develop further with role expansion in his age-26 season as a 6-foot-3 weapon?
Oh yeah, and who is throwing him the ball?
Pierce is a talented player who is worth more in fantasy circles today than he was when the regular season ended, but I’d caution against seeing the big contract and assuming that the growth from last year is a lock.
At the moment, he’s in the Christian Watson bucket for both this year and moving forward. He doesn’t come saddled with the same injury concerns as Green Bay’s burner, but a similar skill set and more questions than answers at the QB position only gets you so far at the deepest position in all of fantasy.
Josh Downs Could Be the Biggest Winner Among Colts Wide Receivers
I’d argue that, long term, Josh Downs was the biggest winner among Colts WRs this offseason. With Michael Pittman out of town, we could see the 5-foot-9 sharp route runner post the best season of his career in 2026.
For me, his ranking lags a bit behind that of Pierce, but when you adjust for how optimistic your draft room is likely to be, I suspect Downs will be the better buy more often than not.
Fantasy Football Rankings: Fallers
We are in early March, so it’s hard to call anybody truly a “faller” until we get closer to preseason action and roles become more defined.
That said, Michael Pittman Jr. joining forces with DK Metcalf doesn’t feel optimal in Pittsburgh. Both operated as short-to-intermediate targets last season rather than vertical threats, and while one such weapon can have some weekly value, putting them on the same roster with below-average quarterback play is shaky at best.
Both are talented players who can exploit specific matchups, but asking either of them to be a weekly starter while paired is something I don’t think we’ll ever get comfortable with.
We know that running backs have a short shelf life, and the writing seems to be on the wall for James Conner in Arizona. He revised his deal earlier this month to stay with the team, but with them inking Tyler Allgeier during free agency, the days of Conner being a bell-cow back (when healthy) appear to be a thing of the past.
Allgeier has been stuck behind Bijan Robinson, but with two top-20 PFSN RB Impact seasons on his resume, he profiles as more of the running back of the present and future in the desert. I expect this to be a committee situation that proves frustrating at times, but one that gives us more viable weeks than not from Allgeier and one that could relegate Conner to waivers by the middle of the season due to health management.
Breece Hall is a loser in the sense that he was the most speculated RB in terms of the Chiefs, but that dream is obviously out the door now following the Walker signing. He’s ultra-talented, and his stock will rise if he leaves Gotham, but the odds of that landing spot hitting the upside of Kansas City are low, if not zero.
Suggesting that Mike Evans is a loser is a bit dependent on what you thought of the veteran’s value prior to this offseason.
He turns 33 this summer and has missed 12 games over the past two seasons. Players (and humans in general) rarely get healthier with time, so there’s the availability concern, but it goes deeper than that.
If you’re considering going in this direction, you’re projecting a Davante Adams-like aging curve where Evans is limited in a lot of ways but retains elite value around the goal line. That might be able to work given his red-zone pedigree, but you’re threading a thin needle. His yards per route run last season hit a career low, and just because it worked for Adams doesn’t mean it’ll work here.
The Kyle Shanahan offense is a fantasy machine unto itself. That said, Ricky Pearsall provides a vertical option, and Christian McCaffrey soaks up as much usage as any player in recent memory.
Evans is going to have his moments. He’s a big athlete with experience in creating windows and plenty of proof that he is a plus option in contested situations. Roster depth? Fine. He profiles as a great plug-and-play option in 2026 when you run into byes or injuries.
Counting on him to return to 1,000-yard form or provide stable PPR value on a weekly basis? That wasn’t going to be my stance regardless of where he landed, and now, with this offensive upgrade, I’m going to let my competition argue over who gets him and sit out of that draft-day fight.
