I - The First Round: The First Five
Jeremiyah Love, the most talented offensive prospect in this 2026 cycle. Has all the traits you want in a modern day running back & is an S Tier talent on film. Easy 1.01 with a Cardinals offensive environment that is only going to improve - they were 22nd & 23rd respectively in points per game & RedZone efficiency in 2025. After Love, you can go anywhere from Tate, Lemon, Tyson or Mendoza from 1.02 - 1.05.
Both Tate & Tyson have an upper-tier confidence index & for different reasons. Tate looks to get a shot at being a long-term WR1 in a Brian Daboll-led offense. Stefon Diggs had over 160 targets in 2020 & 2021 while Malik Nabers had 170 targets in 2024 & was on pace for 180 targets in 2025 prior to injury. Daboll historically likes to run a bulk of his passing offense through one primary receiver.
Jordyn Tyson comes into a fantastic schematic & coaching fit with the New Orleans Saints. The question that is being commonly asked is: Can Olave & Tyson both return WR2 value? The answer is a resounding, yes. When you look at Kellen Moore’s recent history you see how productive DeVonta Smith & A.J Brown were when he was an offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. Brown & Smith were on a 17-game pace of 2,500 combined receiving yards in 2024. Going even deeper into Kellen Moore’s past, you look at how he operated in Dallas. In 2021, Moore had 3 receivers over 800 yards with CeeDee Lamb, Dalton Schultz & Amari Cooper. Cooper & Lamb combined for 2,150 yards when you extrapolate their totals to 17 games. The Saints were bottom 6 in the league in both Points Per game & Red Zone TD % in 2025, however they led the NFL in plays run per game. With Shough as the cemented starter in year 2, alongside this has the makings of a potent offense in 26’ & beyond. On the low end, Jordyn Tyson will have 950 yards as a Rookie, barring injury.
Makai Lemon is going to have to fight for targets with Dallas Goedert & Eli Stowers, however with Sean Mannion as the new offensive coordinator, you can project at the WORST, a similar role to Jayden Reed in 2024, which was 850 yards & 6 touchdowns. I think a higher volume role is in store for Lemon than that as the "Robin" to DeVonta Smith’s "Batman" assuming that the Patriots pull the trigger on AJ Brown come June 1st. Some of the rhetoric is that Jalen Hurts can't support multiple receivers - let's look at the last 4 seasons.
2025
Brown - 1003 yards (15 games)
Smith - 1008 yards (17 games)
Goedert - 591 yards (15 games)
2024
Brown - 1079 yards (13 games)
Smith - 833 yards (13 games)
Goedert - 496 yards (10 games)
2023
Brown - 1456 yards (17 games)
Smith - 1066 yards (16 games)
Goedert - 592 yards (14 games)
2022
Brown - 1496 yards (17 games)
Smith - 1196 yards (17 games)
Goedert - 702 yards (12 games)
The third option in the Eagles passing attack has averaged 47 yards per game over the last 4 seasons which is 806 yards per season. That answers that question.
Fernando Mendoza is fascinating because he comes from the worst offensive environment in the league. The Raiders in 2025 were 32nd in Points Per Game, 26th in Red Zone Efficiency, and 32nd in Plays Run Per Game. Mendoza is a Tier A prospect, but there may be a couple year build up to him being a consistent fantasy starter. Kirk Cousins will begin the season in 2026 under center, and their receiving core may be the worst in the NFL. Brock Bowers is a high-level Tight End, but outside of him you get a bunch of tertiary-level playmakers. Mendoza is a 2027 & beyond bet, not CJ Stroud from a few years back.
How I would draft the first five:
1.01 - Jeremiyah Love
Ascension grade | 100
1.02 - Carnell Tate
Ascension grade | 95.36
1.03 - Jordyn Tyson
Ascension grade | 94.87
1.04 - Makai Lemon
Ascension grade | 95.75
1.05 - Fernando Mendoza
Ascension grade | 92.46
IV - The Second Round: And Then There Were… 3?
The Big 3 of Round 2. If I cannot select one of these three prospects, I am looking to trade for a Veteran presence that I know has one or two years of RB3/WR3 type production.
How I would draft the early 2nd:
2.01- Antonio Williams
Ascension grade | 86.30
2.02 - Germie Bernard
Ascension grade | 79.62
2.03 - De’Zhaun Stribling
Ascension grade | 77.88
Antonio Williams enters a Wide Receiver room in Washington that is lacking both a primary & secondary option now that Terry McLaurin is over 30 years old. McLaurin was only trending for 989 yards, which would have been his lowest total since 2019. Add in the fact that the Commanders didn’t even have an 800-yard receiver & Zach Ertz is working his way back from knee surgery at the age of 36.
De’Zhaun Stribling was a pre-draft favorite of mine with a game I compared to Jauan Jennings prior to the draft - he blocks his rear end off & could start from Day 1 if he picks up Shanahan’s system quickly. The 49ers didn’t have a single receiver over 650 yards, and their leading yardage man in Jennings looks to be taking his talents elsewhere as a Free Agent. In addition, George Kittle is coming back from an Achilles rupture & is approaching his 33rd birthday. Ricky Pearsall hasn’t played more than 11 games in a season entering year 3. In the short term, Mike Evans should have a sizable impact & command targets, but I do expect Stribling to be impactful after Thanksgiving for the stretch run to the post-season.