Fantasy Football Rankings Risers & Fallers: James Cook Smash-Season Loading In 2026

Obviously he’s projected to carry a majority of the backfield workload in an awesome offensive environment, so the floor and median outcome looks like one of the best across the position. But the receiving volume—one of the biggest keys to unlocking difference-making production at the running back position—was limited last season:

• 1.9 receptions per game (35th out of qualified 71 RBs)
• 1.11 yards per route run (26th)
• 0.15 targets per route run (42nd)

That said, he was extremely effective on his routes from a fantasy perspective—putting up 0.86 fantasy points per route run, which was top-five among all RBs.

The reason I’m higher on Cook this season than I was last year is due to the rumors of him getting more involved in the receiving game in 2026. Fantasy Life’s own Zain Dhanani has been all over it this summer, and multiple Bills insiders have indicated the same thing—expect to see more from Cook as a receiver this year.

If the intended usage rumors are true, I believe he’d absolutely thrive in this role. Cook was an awesome receiving prospect coming into the NFL (in fact, it was the only real enticing aspect of his prospect profile). He put up a best-season YPRR of 3.18 and a TPRR of 0.32, both of which are 92nd-plus-percentile numbers across all RB prospects in my model’s history. 

He clearly has the ability to be an effective receiver, and his fantasy ceiling is drastically raised if this increased receiving usage comes to fruition in 2026.

Cook has jumped up to RB4 (pick 7 overall) in my latest set of rankings.

Malik Davis | RB | Cowboys

With rosters being finalized over the last several days, we saw Jaydon Blue pop up as a surprising cut. Blue had been a reasonable favorite for the Cowboys’ RB2 role in 2026 up until a couple of weeks ago, when it started to appear that the team might not be as interested in him as the fantasy football community. The final roster cutdowns confirmed this suspicion.

Davis has been in the league since 2022 after coming in as a UDFA, so we have a pretty good idea what kind of talent he is at this point. There isn’t a whole lot to write home about. That being said, I want the RB behind Javonte Williams, who’s dealt with his fair share of injuries in the past, in one of the best offensive environments in the league.

I’ve moved Davis up to RB54 (pick 159 overall).

Eli Heidenreich | RB | Steelers

This is a fun one. I’ve been all over Eli Heidenreich in dynasty this offseason, as he’s one of my favorite RBs in the entire 2026 class. His receiving skill set is completely nuts. Across his college career, he averaged the following:

• 11.5-yard avg. depth of target (100th percentile among RBs since 2014)
• 14.2% avg. first downs/route (100th %)
• 43% avg. receiving yard market share: 43% of Navy’s receiving yards came from Heidenreich alone (100th %)
• 0.33 avg. targets/route (99th %)
• 3.92 avg. yards/route (98th %)

After final roster cutdowns, Heidenreich has officially locked up the RB3 spot behind Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle. While the path to playing time might be muddy (at least for now), I’m extremely confident in Heidenreich’s fantasy-friendly skillset if he finds himself on the field. 

I’ve moved him up to RB77 (221st overall) in my rankings. Not necessarily a guy I am drafting right now outside of the last round in large leagues, but considering half of my fellow experts at Fantasy Life do not even have him ranked, I figured it was worth highlighting!

Fallers In My Fantasy Football Rankings

Carnell Tate | WR | Titans

I am a massive fan of Tate’s talent, but man, am I concerned with what we’ve seen out of Tennessee as a whole this preseason. According to Football Insights, the Titans are projected to have the second-worst offensive line going into 2026.

One of Tate’s strongest attributes as a prospect is his downfield contested catch ability. Cam Ward already struggled in this area as a rookie, and I’m hesitant to believe he can make a massive jump in Year 2 with a poor offensive line. 

I’ve moved Carnell Tate down to WR32 (67th overall) in my latest rankings.

Tyrone Tracy | RB | Giants

The past several weeks couldn’t have possibly gone worse for Tyrone Tracy. After missing a pass-pro rep in Week 1 of preseason that led to Jaxson Dart taking a nasty hit, it seemed like the coaching staff lost comfort with him as the locked-in RB2. With the signing of Najee Harris last week, his role this season immediately becomes much harder to project.

After final roster cutdowns, the Giants elected to keep four RBs: Skattebo, Tracy, Harris and Singletary. I’m still extremely confident in Skattebo’s talent and outlook in 2026, but past him, it feels like an absolute mess.

I’ve knocked Tracy down to RB76 (216 overall) in my latest rankings.

Isiah Pacheco | RB | Lions

I was never particularly high on Isiah Pacheco going into this season. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Pacheco look like an effective rusher, and last year was especially poor:

• 67.4 PFF Rush Grade (61st out of 70 qualified RBs)
• 0.41 yards per route run (62nd)
• 0.10 targets per route run (62nd)
• 3.4 breakaway play % (67th)

After final cutdowns, there are four RBs behind Jahmyr Gibbs: Pacheco, Sione Vaki, Jacob Saylors and Jabari Small. While Pacheco probably leads the competition for RB2 behind Gibbs, I’m not sure he’ll be able to consolidate that role entirely given how poorly we’ve seen him play in recent years.

I believe the days of the "two-headed monster" backfield in Detroit are gone with the departure of David Montgomery, and Pacheco won’t be able to fill that role on his own—minimizing his fantasy value.

I’ve moved Pacheco down to RB68 (200 overall) in my latest rankings.