Rookie rankings are all about balancing immediate opportunity with long-term upside, and Jeremiyah Love sits at the top of this board as the clear 1.01. Carnell Tate follows as the first wide receiver off the board, while Jadarian Price, Makai Lemon and De’Zhaun Stribling round out a top five loaded with high-upside skill-position talent.
The biggest debate comes at quarterback — or, more accurately, the lack of one near the top. Fernando Mendoza doesn’t appear until No. 12, behind eight receivers and three running backs, while Kenyon Sadiq is the first tight end at No. 19. You can see how these rookies stack up against the full player pool in PFN’s overall PPR rankings, then test out different draft-day approaches with the PFN fantasy mock draft simulator.
Note: These rankings are a combination of both our fantasy experts, Kyle Soppe and Jason Katz.
Preseason Fantasy Rookie Rankings
1) Jeremiyah Love, RB | ARI
2) Carnell Tate, WR | TEN
3) Jadarian Price, RB | SEA
4) Makai Lemon, WR | PHI
5) De’Zhaun Stribling, WR | SF
6) Jordyn Tyson, WR | NO
7) KC Concepcion, WR | CLE
8) Denzel Boston, WR | CLE
9) Jonah Coleman, RB | DEN
10) Omar Cooper Jr., WR | NYJ
11) Ja’Kobi Lane, WR | BAL
12) Fernando Mendoza, QB | LV
13) Chris Bell, WR | MIA
14) Caleb Douglas, WR | MIA
15) Emmett Johnson, RB | KC
16) Mike Washington Jr., RB | LV
17) Kaelon Black, RB | SF
18) Ted Hurst III, WR | TB
19) Kenyon Sadiq, TE | NYJ
20) Nicholas Singleton, RB | TEN
21) Malachi Fields, WR | NYG
22) Cyrus Allen, WR | KC
23) Antonio Williams, WR | WAS
24) Kaytron Allen, RB | WAS
Should You Draft Fernando Mendoza in Fantasy Football?
Mendoza enters the league with about as much fanfare as a quarterback prospect can carry. He was the No. 1 overall pick after a storybook 2025 season at Indiana, one that ended with a national championship and the Heisman Trophy. His production was outstanding, as he threw 41 touchdowns against just six interceptions while leading the country in scoring passes.
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He offers a bit on the ground as well. Mendoza ran for 276 yards and seven touchdowns on 90 carries last season. Nobody is going to confuse him with a true dual-threat weapon, but he is mobile enough to fit the modern NFL and to occasionally chip in rushing points.
There is one meaningful caveat worth stressing. Mendoza’s résumé is built on essentially a single year of high-end college play. He was a solid but unspectacular quarterback before that breakout campaign, which introduces at least some risk that the elite version we saw is not the finished product. Both the talent and the fantasy upside are unquestionably there. The track record is thin.
Mendoza’s Redraft Fantasy Football Value
Here is the issue that overrides everything else. Mendoza is not going to start Week 1. Kirk Cousins is the guy for now, and the Raiders have made clear they would prefer to bring their rookie along slowly rather than throw him to the wolves.
That plan rarely survives a rebuilding season intact. This is a question of when, not if, Mendoza takes over the offense. My best guess is that it happens within the first two months of the year. The upside that comes with the job is real, and it is easy to dream on a Heisman winner handed the keys.
None of that changes the bottom line. You cannot draft a quarterback who is not an NFL starter in a one-quarterback league. It does not matter how tantalizing the long-term outlook happens to be. The roster spot is far too valuable to spend on a player who may not see the field until October or later.
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Even once Mendoza does claim the job, he is unlikely to be a high-priority pickup right away. Rookie quarterbacks tend to need time, and he projects as a situational streamer at best in 2026. I have him as my QB34, well beneath his QB27 ADP. In a one-quarterback format, he is simply not part of the conversation this year, at least in drafts.
