2026 Rookies to Know for Season-Long Drafts

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Rookies are the highest-variance group in fantasy football. They can win you your league, but many end up irrelevant, stuck behind incumbent veterans with no hope of seeing the field. Below, we’ve profiled 23 rookies to give you a better sense of the type of player you’re drafting when you’re considering one in a season-long fantasy draft. As season-long drafts approach, we’ll update this list with players who are on the radar in typical fantasy drafts. For each player, we’ll list their name, height (in inches), weight, NFL Combine 40 time, and a couple of paragraphs introducing them and explaining how they fit with their new team.

QB: Fernando Mendoza, Carson Beck

RB: Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price, Kaelon Black, Jonah Coleman, Mike Washington Jr., Emmett Johnson, Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen

WR: Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson, Makai Lemon, KC Concepcion, Omar Cooper Jr., De’Zhaun Stribling, Denzel Boston, Germie Bernard, Antonio Williams, Zachariah Branch, Ted Hurst

TE: Kenyon Sadiq, Eli Stowers

Fernando Mendoza (Indiana)

Height: 76.8

Weight: 225

40 Time: N/A

Mendoza was only a three-star prospect out of high school and redshirted during his first season at Cal before producing acceptably in his first season as a starter, averaging 7.0 yards per attempt with 14 touchdowns and 10 picks. He got better in Year 2 — 7.8 YPA, 16:6 TD-to-INT ratio — and drew the eye of now-legendary Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti. The success of his final college season is well documented: a Heisman-winning campaign with 41 passing scores and only six interceptions to go along with a national championship. Scouts praise his accuracy and poise, noting the mistake-free football he played down the stretch for the Hoosiers in 2025. Mendoza is not a burner by any means, but he had 90 carries for 276 yards (sacks are negative rushing yards in college) and nine touchdowns last season, and he’s confident in RPO actions.

Unlike many recent No. 1 overall picks, it seems unlikely Mendoza starts in Week 1. While every team gives lip service to veterans early in the offseason, Las Vegas seems quite serious about having Mendoza learn behind Kirk Cousins early, and having Tom Brady as part of the decision-making process further cements that decision. Of course, Cousins is on the tail end of his career and is almost certainly worse than Mendoza at this point, so we expect Mendoza to earn the starting gig sooner rather than later. But don’t expect 17 games from the rookie. Klint Kubiak also wants to pound the rock, and the Raiders are rolling out Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor at wide receiver, so don’t expect big things from the first overall pick as a rookie.

Best ball summary: Mendoza is pro-ready, but Las Vegas seems like they want him to sit and watch for at least a few weeks before throwing him into the fire. The Raiders will be a run-first ball club with minimal pass-catching weapons beyond Brock Bowers, making Mendoza a QB3 for fantasy purposes as a rookie.

Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame)

Height: 72.0

Weight: 212

40 Time: 4.36

Love is the unquestioned top running back in this year’s class. He never topped 199 carries in a single college season while sharing the Notre Dame backfield with fellow high-level prospect Jadarian Price, but Love averaged 6.9 yards per carry in each of his final two seasons in South Bend, finding the end zone 35 times as a rusher as well. Love is a high-level receiver, reeling in 55 catches over the last two years and averaging 9.4 yards per catch throughout his collegiate career. Lance Zierlein compared him to Jahmyr Gibbs, and Daniel Jeremiah noted he might be the best slot receiver in the class. Of course, we know better: Running backs translating into high-level slot receivers is a trope repeated ad hominem each offseason, but the point remains that Love is a major threat as a pass catcher out of the backfield. Between his multi-pronged production and elite draft capital, Love is immediately in the RB1 conversation in fantasy leagues this season.

The Cardinals quietly are loaded at the skill positions with Trey McBride and Love leading the way, along with Michael Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Tyler Allgeier in tow. Allgeier matched Bijan Robinson with seven carries inside the 5-yard line last year and could threaten Love near the goal line, but investing the No. 3 pick in a running back indicates Love will be the clear lead back here. The primary question is how many points can a Jacoby Brissett-led offense (and maybe down the road, a Carson Beck-led offense) generate? Arizona put up points with Brissett under center over the second half of last year, but they fell into pretty unbelievable game scripts at an abnormally high clip, and Mike LaFleur likely institutes a more normal offense here rather than the chuck-and-pray scheme deployed by ARI in 2025.

Best ball summary: Love is a special running back prospect whose draft capital locks him into a big role right away. His pass-catching ability also means he’s somewhat insulated from game script, but Arizona has the worst average spread in the league in 2026, and generating touchdowns could be a big problem.

Carnell Tate (Ohio State)