Fantasy Football Winners And Losers From Day 2 Of NFL Draft 2026
Adam Pfeifer uncovered the winners and losers from a fantasy football perspective for Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
I’ll admit it. Day 2 of the NFL Draft was not fun for all of our selfish fantasy football purposes. A wide receiver run in Round 3 certainly helped, but there’s a reason the 2026 draft class wasn’t as highly regarded as others.
Of course, plenty still happened to impact fantasy football values. Like we did yesterday, let’s highlight some winners and losers following Day 2.
Join Our Newsletter
Trusted by 400,000+ fantasy football players. Get access to Fantasy Life's free award winning newsletter and tools, all in one step.
By registering or logging in, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Winners for Fantasy Football From Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft
Jacory Croskey-Merritt | RB | Washington Commanders
Once Washington wasn’t able to draft Jeremiyah Love at seventh overall, Jacory Croskey-Merritt was a borderline winner. And with the Commanders lacking a second-rounder, the next chance they’d have to add to the running back room would be toward the top of Round 3.
It didn’t happen.
The Commanders don’t have a fourth-rounder either, making it very likely that Bill opens the 2026 campaign as the starting running back. As a rookie last year, JCM was efficient, ranking 10th among qualified rushers in rushing yards over expected per attempt (+0.8), 15th in yards per carry (4.6) and 23rd in runs of 10-plus yards (21). His fantasy ceiling was capped by the presence of Chris Rodriguez, but when he was sidelined Croskey-Merritt was much more reliable, averaging 12.4 PPR points per game. And keep in mind, two of those games came with Austin Ekeler active and logging 52% of the snaps.
Rachaad White will surely handle a chunk of the pass-game work. It’s the strength of his game and an area Croskey-Merritt has seldom been used in both the NFL and college. This past season, Bill handled just 25% of the routes, 1% of the two-minute snaps and less than 6% of third downs. But Croskey-Merritt can make up for it if he assumes the short-yardage role that Rodriguez is leaving behind. From Week 11 on, Rodriguez accounted for 70% of short-down-and-distance snaps and 48% of the inside-the-5 carries.
Croskey-Merritt is unlikely to have a massive fantasy ceiling in Year 2. But his value is on the rise following the first two days of the draft.
Chris Bell | WR | Miami Dolphins
Everyone knew the Dolphins were going to heavily address the WR position during this draft.
We just thought it would be earlier.
Nevertheless, the Dolphins selected two wideouts in Round 3: Bell and Caleb Douglas, whose stock could also be up. But let’s focus on Bell, who likely would have come off the board even earlier if it weren’t for a November ACL tear (and December surgery). Bell has a good frame (6-foot-2, 222 pounds), giving Malik Willis a reliable target on the outside. With the Dolphins moving on from both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle this offseason, nearly 30% of their 2025 targets need to be replaced. And given the current depth chart, Bell, even as a Round 3 rookie, could easily emerge as the top option in this Miami passing game.
Losers for Fantasy Football From Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft
Denzel Boston | WR | Cleveland Browns
As expected following Day 1, Boston went toward the very top of Round 2, but there were other more favorable landing spots. With San Francisco, Buffalo and the Giants all right there, it was Cleveland that double-tapped the WR position, selecting Boston after already drafting KC Concepcion in Round 1. Concepcion is one of the best separators in this class, and should earn more targets than Boston, who will also have to compete with Harold Fannin and Jerry Jeudy for looks. And on top of target competition, Boston will be playing in a below-average Cleveland offense that has plenty of question marks at the quarterback position.
Dallas Goedert | TE | Philadelphia Eagles
This is more for the future than 2025 necessarily, though don’t be shocked if the selection of Eli Stowers impacts the veteran in Year 1. Both he and Grant Calcaterra are on one-year deals, meaning this could be the final year of Goedert’s Philadelphia tenure. And at almost 32 years old, it’ll be difficult for Goedert to find a more fantasy-friendly situation than he’s currently in, especially with the Eagles set to finally trade away A.J. Brown after June 1.
Stowers projects more as a slot wide receiver than a true traditional tight end, while the addition of Makai Lemon could also change how this offense looks, especially with (once again) a new offensive coordinator in Philadelphia. It may seem like the departure of Brown could make Goedert a fantasy winner, but given all of the moves Philadelphia has made in preparation for the inevitable trade, I’m not so sure.
Go FantasyLife+
Your league is unique. Your advice should be too. Get personalized tools, rankings, and projections tailored to your fantasy football league settings.
