While finding the right 2026 Fantasy Football sleepers and picking the best values gets all the fantasy football glory, it’s just as important to dodge the landmines. Thus, you need to be aware of potential 2026 Fantasy Football Busts.
Two years ago, the six players featured in my 2024 Fantasy Football Busts were Anthony Richardson, Travis Etienne, Zamir White, Chris Olave, George Pickens, and Sam LaPorta. All 6 of them were overpriced, especially Etienne, Olave, White, and Richardson, and avoiding them was HUGE.
My 2025 Fantasy Football Busts featured one major miss, but otherwise were largely solid. Kaleb Johnson was arguably the bust of the year, Marvin Harrison was egregiously overpriced, Breece Hall didn’t pay off his ADP, nor did Sam LaPorta. Meanwhile, DK Metcalf was a push — he was priced as the WR22 and 47th overall player, and finished as the WR26; he didn’t kill you, but he also didn’t really help either.
My only real miss in two seasons of busts was Pat Mahomes, who was QB3 in FPPG last season.
Let’s keep the good times rolling! I dive into Seven 2026 Fantasy Football Busts who are overpriced and likely to fail at their fantasy football cost. As you’ll see, I like many of these talents, and even some of their fantasy outlooks… just not at the current price of admission.
Here are my 2026 Fantasy Football Busts and Fades for drafts this season.
For 25+ more 2025 Fantasy Football Busts, as well as Round-by-Round strategy, targets, and fades check out The Wolf’s 2026 Fantasy Football Guide! Support a small fantasy brand & dominate your draft.
Guide Previews
- Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Bijan Robinson
- Ja’Marr Chase vs. Puka Nacua
- Which Round 2 RBs to Target and Fade
- The Next JSN
- Fantasy Football Breakouts: The 10 Best Mid-Round Picks
- Round 1: The Wolf’s Top-12 Picks for 2026 Fantasy Football
- 2026 Fantasy Football Sleepers: 10 Late Round Picks Set to Explode
2026 Fantasy Football Busts: Quarterback
Jaxson Dart (96 ADP, Wolf = 112, -16!)
The QB8 in FPPG (20.5) once he became a starter, Jaxson Dart is tantalizing. He defines “Konami Upside,” as only Josh Allen ran for more TDs than Dart (9), who topped 20+ FPs in 8-of-14 starts. Even crazier, Dart averaged 22.5 fantasy points per start last year (would have ranked QB1) if you remove one weird game in which he attempted just 13 passes against the Vikings.
Dart’s production is especially insane considering he played with a bottom-five WRs corps and bottom-7 line all season. In 2026, Dart will get to play with superstar WR Malik Nabers, while the team also injected Top-10 draft capital into the offensive-line.
That all sounds great, Wolf! Why would we fad that? Well, at his ~90 ADP, QB7 price in Redraft, Dart is among the worst QB picks on the board.
For one, he should never go ahead of Justin Herbert or Trevor Lawrence, who both also offer similar Konami Upside, but in far more stable offensive environments. Herbert posted the second-most rush yards in the league last year, while Lawrence tied Dart for 9 TDs on the ground. I feel far safer investing in the Chargers and Jaguars than I do the Giants.
That’s especially true after the Giants hired Matt Nagy, among the worst playcallers possible.
In his last three seasons actually calling plays, his offenses ranked 29th, 26th, and 24th in yards and 29th, 22nd, and 27th in total points. For passing yards, his offenses ranked 25th, 22nd, and 30th, and for passing TDs 25th, 18th, 29th.
But what’s particularly damning has been Nagy’s tendency to rein in his rushing QBs. Given approximately 40% of Darts fantasy production came via his legs, this is a true concern.
Mitch Trubisky, who was considered a mobile, dual-threat QB coming out, never ran for more than 3 TDs with Nagy. His rushing stat lines:
- 2018: 68 ATT 421 YDS 3TD
- 2019: 48 ATT 193 YDS 2TD
- 2020: 33 ATT 195 YDS 1TD
But the far more damning case is Justin Fields, whose game was predicated on rushing and mobility.
In his only season with Nagy, Fields ran for just 420 yards and 2 TDs!
Fields posted a career-low 7.1% share of team carries inside the five-yard line under Nagy that season. For comparison, Fields went on to see 40.6% of his team’s goal-line carries over the next four seasons without Nagy, more in line with fantasy stars like Josh Allen (40.6%) and Jalen Hurts (46.2%) over that timeframe.
The year after Nagy left? Fields ran for 1143 rushing yards (2nd most all-time) and 8 TDs.
Dart himself saw 33.3% of the goal-line carries in 2025, scoring 4 of his 9 TDs on such looks.
No QB has ever topped 3+ TDs with Nagy, and if Dart drops to just 4 TDs, he falls down to the QB15 in FPPG last season.
Thus, I am concerned with Dart’s 2026 Fantasy Outlook under Nagy. Even in the best case, if Dart maintains his ceiling, it’s because he’s putting himself in harm’s way, and thus a greater injury risk. Shoot, he’s already visited the Blue Medical Tent after getting blasted in Preseason Week 1.
If he was going around Bo Nix, Jordan Love, or Jared Goff, then Dart would be a great buy. Sometimes in Best Ball drafts Dart will slip, and I will happily scoop him up in the ~110 range. Yet, the fact he goes 1+ round(s) ahead of any of those Nix and Goff, and even 5-10 picks ahead of Matthew Stafford (last year’s QB3) and Patrick Mahomes (it’s Mahomes!) makes Dart a fade for me in 2026 Fantasy.
CJ Stroud (QB-HOU): ADP = ~150 (125 on Yahoo?!), Wolf = 174, -24
I honestly don’t understand why CJ Stroud even gets drafted in most 1QB redraft leagues.
Since Stroud’s smashing rookie debut (QB7), he’s ranked as the QB33 and QB23 in FPPG. He has six total Top-12 games across his last two seasons (31 games, 19%), with just 4 above 20 FPs.
For context, Tyler Shough had five Top-12 games across his 8 starts last season (62%)… and Stroud goes ahead of him on Yahoo:
I don’t see why Stroud suddenly turns this around. New OC Nick Caley was extremely underwhelming in Year 1, rarely hitting the “easy buttons” that clearly helped Stroud thrive.
Maybe Caley recognizes this, grows, and uses far more “easy buttons” in 2026. I doubt it. Plus, could you have any less swag than Stroud showing up for Training Camp? My God:
He looks like a nervous middle-schooler on his first day. With the defense this strong, Stroud rarely needs to play from behind, and almost never finds himself in a shootout style game. The line should be better, but still ranks just 28th in preseason composite grades:
I also just think Stroud stinks. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he gets benched at some point in 2026. He’s a pure roster clogger, and I bet Aaron Rodgers outscores him in his swan song this year.
2026 Fantasy Football Busts: Running Backs
Bucky Irving (TB-RB): ADP = 47, Wolf = 57 (-10)
Bucky Irving is my most aggressive RB fade in the Round 3-5 Range, which sucks because I love the player. Remember, he was my Must-Hammer Sleeper RB just two years ago, and that helped me win many leagues.
Unfortunately, whether injury, line play, or simple regression, Irving was far from the same runner in 2025. His YPC fell from 5.4 down to 3.4. His explosive run yards fell from 35.7% (RB5) all the way down to 13.4%. He fell from the RB7 in Success Rate to the RB45. Ultimately, his FPPG only fell slightly, from 13.1 Half-PPR FPs down to 12.6 FPPG. However, this was on 5 more touches per game (and at a Top-20 overall pick, not a 150+ ADP!).
In fact, in 2025, there were only five running backs to average 20 or more touches per game, and play at least 10 games. One of them was Bucky Irving. Volume was not to blame. In games with 20+ touches, only Woody Marks averaged fewer fantasy points than Irving.
It’s where the volume came from. Bucky is perhaps the most classic example of “Stuck-Between-the-20s” fantasy purgatory of any RB in this range. Receptions and TDs are crucial for high-end fantasy production, and Irving looks likely to cede both all-season long yet again.
First, Kenny Gainwell joined the Bucs on a healthy 2-year, $14M contract with $9.83M guaranteed. Gainwell finished 4th among RBs in receptions last year and logged a whopping 85 targets. While Bucky was sidelined all offseason following shoulder surgery, Gainwell flashed throughout OTAs, leading the coach to label him as “interchangeable” and the “1B” rather than No.2 RB.
After an impressive Training Camp, some Bucs writers actually pegged Gainwell to lead this team in receptions!
Gainwell is like a souped-up Rachaad White. He honestly could just outplay Bucky and take over at some point this year. At minimum, Gainwell completely caps Bucky’s receiving upside, which is brutal because Bucky has been quite efficient through the air himself.
Then, Sean Tucker also returned. There were rumblings he could get cut, but ended up making the roster at a fairly healthy $3.5M. Last season, Bucky saw exactly ZERO carries from inside-the-five. Nearly all of those went to Tucker, who is phenomenal at punching in these short-yardage looks. Bucky fell from 8 TDs down to 1 last year, and he’ll struggle to top five scores in 2026 if the roles remain unchanged.
Granted, the line was doing Irving no favors. The intended starting five never took a snap together and the unit ranked 30th in ESPN’s Run Block Win Rate. Irving lost 1.24 yards before contact per carry compared to his rookie year. Yet, when healthy, the Bucs project to have the 5th best line in football per 2026 Preseason Composite Rankings. This could absolutely help him regain his efficiency.
Even if Irving does regain some of that juice, he faces an uphill climb to paying off his ADP if he loses receiving + goalline work again. Without an injury to either Tucker or Gainwell, Bucky seems likely to rely almost entirely on yardage for his fantasy value. If Irving regains his explosiveness and tackle-churning efficiency that he displayed during his rookie season, Bucky may come close to paying off this value. But what if he doesn’t?
Granted, I do actually like new OC Zac Robinson, who gets a bad rep but was dealt an ill-fitting hand with Michael Penix in Atlanta. He calls among the highest rates of pre-snap motion and brings his McVay inspired run-game to the Bucs, and Baker Mayfield previously thrived in Coen’s iteration of this offense. Robinson’s total Non-QB Fantasy Points have ranked 3rd, 1st, and 9th across the past three seasons, so there’s upside.
His backfield’s, in particular, have thrived. Obviously, having a talent like Bijan influences tendencies and results, but Zac Robinson ranks 2nd-best among active playcallers in backfield XFP/G (28.0, behind only Ben Johnson), 6th in rush attempts per game (28.6), and has been one of the most run-heavy playcallers inside the 10-yard line.
But Robinson even thrust Bijan into an RBBC, and has already pledged the dreaded “hot hand” approach here:
“One guy might get this amount one week, and the next week they may end up balanced — just kinda feeling the hot hand, we’ll see where it goes.” Granted, prior to signing Gainwell, Robinson did gush about Irving: “I see Bucky in a very similar light [to Bijan Robinson] there with what he can do in the passing game, and there’s not a run concept that he can’t run…So I’m excited to work with Bucky and know that there is a ton of meat on the bone in the passing game.”
Additionally, the Falcons then went out and signed the most prolific Free Agent receiving back, re-signed their goalline hammer, and have hyped up their committee backfield ever since. Stir in foot, shoulder, and a history of dings to Irving’s 195 pound frame, and there’s also some real injury risk too.
As such, I expect “1B” Kenny Gainwell to score very similarly, if not better due to the receiving work, but at a 6+ round discount. At the much cheaper price, Gainwell is my much-preferred path to any upside Robinson brings. In the range Irving goes, I strongly prefer Bhayshul Tuten and David Montgomery, who have cheaper price tags.
TreVeyon Henderson (RB-NE): ADP = 58, Wolf = 68
I love a good Fantasy Football Handcuff… but not in Round 5/6.
TreVeyon Henderson has such game-changing juice, and as a Patriots’ fan, I hate that he’s one of my fades. He actually led the NFL in 50+ yard rushes (4), on only 180 carries, and was absolutely electric in the three games Rhamondre missed; Henderson racked up 24.3 FPPG, which would’ve trailed only CMC in PPR Leagues last year.
Henderson’s season-long pace as a starter was 323 touches (57 rec), 1870 yards, and 29 (!) TDs.
As such, I won’t fully fade Henderson in Best Ball or Redraft. The upside is too mammoth.
Yet, barring another injury to Stevenson, I don’t see any reason the guard will change and Henderson would take over as the lead back. Stevenson will almost assuredly outsnap and outtouch him, but goes 2+ rounds later.
For comparison’s sake, Henderson’s season-long pace with Rhamondre: 192 touches (30 rec), 974, 6 TDs, 164 FPs (9.66 FPPG, RB35). If you include the playoffs, that number drops to 8.66, or RB41! He’s currently going as the RB25.
After Week 13, once Stevenson was firmly back, Henderson hit 50%+ snaps in only 1-of-9 remaining games, peaking at 53.1% – despite going nuclear as the starter. This was especially dreadful in the playoffs:
A major reason was pass-protection and overall receiving production, despite this being a supposed strength of Henderson’s as a prospect. Per Ian Hartitz & among 43 qualifying RBs:
- Yards per target: Stevenson (9.3, 1st), Henderson (5.3, 31st)
- Passer rating when targeted: Stevenson (123.5, 2nd), Henderson (96.5, 22nd)
- Receiving success rate: Stevenson (59.5%, 1st), Henderson (47.6%, 18th)
- PFF pass blocking grade: Stevenson (67.6, 5th), Henderson (23.6, 39th)
As such, in all their games together, Stevenson accrued 232 touches, while Henderson finished at 193. Given Stevenson’s dependability.
Stevenson also was among the top performers in nearly every advanced rushing metric too:
In fact, Stevenson tied De’Von Achane at No.1 in Explosive run rate last year! He’s not just some big plodder, Stevenson has real juice.
As such, I don’t expect a sudden take over for Henderson. I actually have Rhamondre ranked higher, and he goes after Henderson, sometimes by a full round+.
Based on the summer reporting, Rhamondre should absolutely be going ahead of Henderson. He’s listed as the clear RB1 on the Patriots’ official depth chart, while Henderson is lumped into RB2 with *checks notes* Lan Larrison?
Additionally, beat Mark Daniels suggests that there was “never a doubt” who the RB1 was all summer.
According to the Boston Globe, Rhamondre has been “top back in almost every situation… and Henderson has rarely wowed during practice.” Greg Bedard noted it’s “not even a discussion, Rhamondre is way better at everything.” Andrew Callahan echoed this, saying “Stevenson is clearly their RB1 and I don’t want to hear about 50/50 splits.”
Ultimately, the team was hoping to see improvement in Henderson’s vision, and especially his pass protection. Sadly, they’ve seen neither:
While Henderson’s upside is among the highest in all of fantasy if Stevenson goes down (again, the RB2 in FPPG, behind only CMC!), he still seems to be quite clearly a handcuff-with-benefits. As such, give me Stevenson over him, especially at the relative discount.
If you’re enjoying this content, please consider checking out The Wolf’s 2026 Fantasy Football Guide! For $25, you can support a small fantasy brand & dominate your draft.
Guide Previews
- Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Bijan Robinson
- Ja’Marr Chase vs. Puka Nacua
- Which Round 2 RBs to Target and Fade
- The Next JSN
- Fantasy Football Breakouts: The 10 Best Mid-Round Picks
- Round 1: The Wolf’s Top-12 Picks for 2026 Fantasy Football
- 2026 Fantasy Football Sleepers: 10 Late Round Picks Set to Explode
2026 Fantasy Football Busts: Wide Receivers
Emeka Egbuka (TB-WR): ADP 42, WR19; Wolf = 50, -8
Of all the “Next JSN” candidates I’m fading, Egbuka probably scares me the most.
Through five weeks last year, Egbuka was THE WR3 with 102.4 FPs. He averaged 20.5 FPPG, and looked like the next great Superstar WR.
Over his next 12 games, Egbuka went on to score… just 93.3 total points Yes, he scored more FPs in his first five games than his next 12 combined, and he dropped to 7.8 FPPG with just ONE TD & 1 Top-30 WR finish across those 12 games!
And we’re all pretending like it never happened?
I get it: both Egbuka and Baker got hurt. Yet, is this the only reason he fizzled?
Once Chris Godwin fully came back in Week 13, he outscored Egbuka in every game they played together. He projects to be in the more fantasy-friendly slot role once again.
I do think Egbuka being more focused on the “Z” role could simplify things and allow him to flourish. Plus, new OC Zac Robinson has already drawn Cooper Kupp comparisons, saying “The amount of work and preparation that [Egbuka] puts into it, he’s very similar to a Cooper Kupp just in terms of the way that his brain works with the game of football and natural instincts.”
Robinson uses a ton of pre-snap motion to get his players in advantageous looks, and I think that could help Egbuka greatly. He had 529 routes last season, but he was in motion at the snap on only 29 of them. Comparatively, in 2024 Cooper Kupp was in motion at the snap on 114 routes.
Yet, even with Mike Evans gone, this is still a crowded WRs corps. Chris Godwin has reportedly looked back to himself in OTAs and been described as the in-club leader. Egbuka could still outproduce him, but I don’t expect it to be worth 5+ rounds of cost. Instead, I’ll target guys I’m confident will be true No.1 WRs on their teams (i.e. Jaylen Waddle, or Luther Burden / Terry McLaurin 1+ Rounds later), and then scoop Godwin in Round 9 to get my share of Robinson cheat code usage.
Plus, Egbuka suffered a toe injury on August 12th, and still hasn’t returned to fully practice. As of yesterday (9/3), Egbuka did some work off to the side, but he still hasn’t rejoined the team. Bowles said they will “hopefully” have him back for Week 1:
Still, these type of toe injuries can annoyingly linger, and be easily re-aggravated. Ultimately, I am loading up on Godwin and targeting different WRs at Egbuka’s price.
Marvin Harrison (AZZ-WR); ADP 71, Wolf 98, -27!
Let’s kill two birds with one stone and cover why I absolutely LOVE Michael Wilson (my third highest drafted WR in 2026 Best Ball), and I am fully fading Marvin Harrison hard (drafted 1 time in 470 drafts, and it was an autopick).
According to @joshweinfuss, MHJ and Michael Wilson will be competing for the No.1 WR role during training camp, with the understanding that “Because of TE Trey McBride, whoever ends up as WR2 could be the third receiving option, and the third option doesn’t tend to get their fair share of passes.”
Under a new regime and now without any prior investment or “sunk cost fallacy” into Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson should dominate this “competition.” Wilson has clearly been the better, more consistent WR whenever given the opportunity, and he’s now set-up to play the far-more fantasy friendly role (the “Puka Z”) within Mike LaFleur’s Rams-inspired scheme.
Marvin Harrison Jr. has finished as the WR41 and WR39 in Half-PPR FPPG across his first two seasons. He has 4 total Top-12 WR games across his 29 career starts (14%), and has been below 9 PPR points a whopping 15 times (over half his games!), including 12 games outside the Top-50 WRs.
Yet, MHJ’s once again being drafted inside the Top-30 WRs, well-ahead of Michael Wilson, because… he was once an elite prospect?
I honestly don’t get why drafters continue giving Harrison more chances. Maybe it’s because his price keeps going down – from a 1/2 Turn as a rookie, to a 3 / 4 Turn as a sophomore, and now the 6 / 7 Turn. Now, he’ll be a value, right?! Based on his production, though, Harrison belongs after Round 10 at best.
Tape-wise, he plays incredibly soft. He quits on routes, gets eliminated from games, and has been force-fed targets just to try justifying his Top-5 draft pick status. MHJ also, unfortunately, seems to struggle mentally at times, and is incredibly hard on himself to a fault. He has many concentration drops, which are already plaguing him throughout camp, and seems to be quite easily rattled.
The data paints a similar grim picture. In terms of Worst WRs by Yards per Target Over Expectation across the past two seasons, Harrison ranks 4th-worst, with only Odunze, Troy Franklin, and Xavier Legette grading out worse. He is the WR53 in YPRR in 3-WR sets, and WR46 in general YPRR.
Meanwhile, Michael Wilson has been the definition of consistent whenever given the chance. As mentioned, Marvin Harrison has produced 4 total Top-12 WR games across 29 career starts. Michael Wilson produced five (5) Top-12 efforts in the final 8 games of last season alone, when the team finally gave him the keys.
During the 5 games MHJ missed, Michael Wilson averaged a 29% target share and 25.9 PPR FPPG.
When discussing their potential roles, HC Mike LaFleur compared MHJ to the Davante Adams “X WR role.” Unless Harrison is a completely different player in Year 3, he lacks the physicality or separation skills to do anything meaningful in an Adams-inspired role.
Meanwhile, Michael Wilson will “play ‘closer to the core’ in the Puka Nacua role as the Z receiver.” As Wilson himself has observed in camp, this “ puts him in “positions to succeed…You look at the history of the Rams with Puka [Nacua] and Cooper Kupp playing the Z role… the ball’s gonna find you a lot.”
Many made light of these comments, as Wilson can “clearly never be Puka.” While I agree that Puka is in a class of his own, Wilson can absolutely produce high-end numbers in this lay-up style role. Moreover, LaFleur doubled down on his comments recently:
“Talk about a guy who is cerebral, loves the game. Very smart. Puts in a lot of work. Tough as nails. Super competitive. Happens to be a really good receiver… Been a pleasure getting to work with him, he asks good questions.
“A lot was made when I said ‘Z and X,’ trying to paint a picture for you guys in terms of how it is somewhat going to work. They are all their own person, but there a re some similarities between a guy like you Puka [Nacua], Robert Woods, um and and and Mike Wilson. They’re strong guys, they’re sturdy, they can play in in between the tackles and insert and get on safeties and and they like mucking it up in there.”
Wilson was PFF’s No.2 receiver in contested catch rate, “tied with Pickens for second-most in the league,” and with significantly fewer targets. MHJ was the WR85 in this stat, and contested catches were supposed to be his specialty.
He’s never been a massive YAC guy, but MHJ ranked as the WR70 with just 119 YAC in 2025. Michel Wilson was the WR26, with 273 Yards after the Catch.
Since entering the league as the No.4 pick in 2024, Harrison has nine drops. Wilson, has four total in three seasons of work, despite having more targets (255) than Harrison (189). Wilson had just one drop last year despite the increased workload. Wilson’s far more consistent and reliable.
Essentially, Wilson is better before the catch, at the catch point, and with the ball in his hands than MHJ. Wilson plays the friendlier fantasy role, too. Yet, Wilson is going 1-2+ rounds later than Harrison. I don’t understand it at all.
Without the insulation of the prior regime trying to make it work, MHJ could be in some real trouble in 2025. Maybe he’ll splash up for his annual two Top-12 games. But nothing in the data nor film suggests MHJ will suddenly piece it all together and become a viable starter, in real-life or fantasy.
I am all the way out on him at these inflated prices. Meanwhile,I have been drafting far more Michael Wilson in Best Ball, where he falls to the 100+ range (compared to MHJ in the ~65-70 range). I would take Wilson straight up over MHJ, so I am especially into that discount.
In redraft, Wilson goes a bit earlier – in the 80-90s, where I do think he could pay that price off for sure. I am taking both Parker Washington and sometimes Chris Godwin, who have cheaper price tags, ahead of Wilson. But if I think one of those two would keep falling, I am happy to go Wilson + either WR later too.
2026 Fantasy Football Busts: Tight End
Harold Fannin (CLE-TE): ADP 72, TE7; Wolf = 94, -22
I am largely avoiding the TEs in this Round 6-8 range. I either want Bowers or McBride in Round 2, Loveland in Round 4, or I am most often punting the position unless I get a surprise value.
Tucker Kraft (late 6th) and George Kittle (late 8th) are definite exceptions. Kraft is my clear TE5, but is going behind Sam LaPorta, Kyle Pitts, and Harold Fannin.
For what it’s worth, I love each of those guys in Best Ball. They go between picks 95-110, and are phenomenal additions once I have 3 RBs + 3 WRs + an elite QB in place.
But in redraft, these TEs are going 60-75 – ahead of the better pick in Tucker Kraft, and 2+ rounds earlier than Kittle, who will match or beat their weekly upside once fully back (and that might be Week 1).
Granted, LaPorta playing within Drew Petzing’s super TE-friendly scheme does intrigue me, as does Kyle Pitts with Stefanski. If Kraft was gone and I had to take one of those 2, I’m not opposed.
The one I truly can’t get behind is Harold Fannin.
Fannin was absolutely incredible as a rookie. He proved that his gaudy college numbers at Bowling Green –an NCAA best 117 receptions and 1555 yards – were no flukes. Fannin was second in the nation in yards after the catch as a prospect, and those skills carried right into the NFL.
Per Jacob Gibbs, “Harold Fannin Jr. tied rookie-season Christian McCaffrey for most receptions (15) with more than five yards gained after contact for a player under the age of 22.”
He also posted some of the best team receiving stats accrued across the past 26 years:
His new HC Todd Monken, who coached Brock Bowers in college, compared the two, saying, “He’s a little like Brock Bowers…run after catch more than length, more as a C gap blocking Y. So you love his athleticism, you like his ability to run after catch, his ball skills like Brock, very similar in that regard.”
Plus, David Njoku is now gone without any serious replacement, giving Fannin legitimate zero competition at the tight end position.
I dump all this praise out to emphasize the risk that comes with fading Fannin. However, Pick 65, ahead of Kraft (last year’s TE1 before his injury with less competition in 2026) is just insane to me.
This is especially true after the Browns added KC Concepcion, who can work the same areas and route concepts at just as high of a level, and Denzel Boston, who’s been thriving in OTAs and is a monster Red Zone threat.
These are two very legit mouths to add. Do we really think Deshaun Watson, or eventually Shedeur Sanders, are capable of sustaining and feeding multiple mouths here?
Maybe Fannin is the true Alpha, in which case he is a solid pick at 70. However, Monken typically spreads the wealth in the passing game, and with these two bums at QBs, there’s not going to be much money to go around.
As such, despite loving Fannin both on film and in the data, I simply cannot take him at his current price. I think Concepcion is going to dominate the short-to-intermediate areas of the field, while Boston will gobble up Red Zone work.
As such, Fannin is a fade for me in redraft. I will always go Tucker Kraft ahead of him.
If you enjoyed this content and would like to support The Wolf and a small fantasy-brand like us, check out The Wolf’s 2026 Fantasy Football Guide! He gives plenty of more 2026 Fantasy Football sleepers, and so much more on the perfect Draft Strategy to feast in 2026 Fantasy Football!
Click the banner below or link above, and check out more Free Previews if on the fence!
Guide Previews
- Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Bijan Robinson
- Ja’Marr Chase vs. Puka Nacua
- Which Round 2 RBs to Target and Fade
- The Next JSN
- Fantasy Football Breakouts: The 10 Best Mid-Round Picks
- Round 1: The Wolf’s Top-12 Picks for 2026 Fantasy Football
- 2026 Fantasy Football Sleepers
