Three Late-Round Targets For 2026 Fantasy Football Drafts

Every single season, we’re looking for that home run player, the one who we can look back and tell ourselves that they helped lead us to a fantasy championship. We can talk about who could be this year's Jaxon Smith-Njigba all day, but I want to go a little deeper.

Trying to find draft values is an important step in creating your roster, because any time you hit on a later-round running back or wide receiver, it can change the trajectory of your team.

It's easier said than done, but I have a few names who could end up being values and outperform their ADPs once the season starts.

8th Round: Josh Downs

Josh Downs (WR43) isn't breaking the bank for you on Underdog.

Indianapolis went into a downward spiral once Daniel Jones was injured last season, and Downs was never given much opportunity with Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce on the field. I am buying the idea of Downs having a bigger 2026 season, though. With Pittman gone, we could see Downs with more targets in the underneath and intermediate areas of the field. Jones looks like he will be ready for Week 1, but will he be at 100%? Probably not. Which means he may try to get the ball out quicker. Fantasy Life has Downs projected for 109 targets, 77 receptions and 832 receiving yards for a total of 188.4 total fantasy points.

9th Round: Kenneth Gainwell

At this point, who isn't a little worried about Bucky Irving? When he returned last season from injury, he was not the same. Irving still handled 65% of the rushing attempts, but his route participation rate and targets dropped and he averaged only 11.1 PPG over the final six games.

Now, Kenneth Gainwell has the chance to hold a true role in this backfield alongside Irving and is going in the 9th round of drafts. He took off from Week 8 onward last season and was a huge factor in the passing game (85 targets, 73 receptions, 483 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns). Even though we don't like buying into potential three-way committees in fantasy, I'm buying into the team bringing in Gainwell for a reason and grabbing him at his 9th-round price tag.

10th Round: Rachaad White

There might be a few backfields this season where I just split my draft picks between two running backs, because we truly just don't know how it's going to look, like the Patriots and Vikings. The Commanders are in an interesting spot here, too.

Rachaad White's current projections at Fantasy Life versus Jacory Croskey-Merritt have both landing close in projected fantasy points for 2026

White: 98 rush attempts, 392 rushing yards, 44 targets, 37 receptions, 270 receiving yards, 5 total touchdowns
JCM: 141 rush attempts, 622 rushing yards, 14 targets, 12 receptions, 88 receiving yards, 5 total touchdowns.

Currently on Underdog, Croskey-Merrit is the RB41, and White is the RB38 off the board. White played with Jayden Daniels for two years at ASU—Forks Up!—and so familiarity is something to consider. White also has the experience as both a runner and pass catcher—according to ESPN, he's one of two players in Buccaneers history to notch double digits in career rushing touchdowns (14) and receiving touchdowns (11).

It's not the sexiest pick, and White won't catapult himself to a top-10 finish because he just is not that efficient, but he has the path to passing-down work and experience handling an every-down role.

FIND MORE LATE-ROUND GEMS TO TARGET

Get Draft Ready This Summer

It’s summer, which means that your fantasy drafts are right around the corner. That also means some really good spreads to enjoy with your friends as you pick your teams. Before you indulge, there’s another way to get ready for those drafts.

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Around the Watercooler

Your favorite football nerds are back and bringing you the latest news, content and memes from the NFL universe …

🤦🏻‍♀️ Make sure to avoid these 5 mistakes on draft day. What about rookies?

👑 Who will win NFL OPOY? This WR is a screaming value.

🧀 How to make sense of the Green Bay WRs? UR to the rescue!

🏃🏽‍♂️ Kyren vs. Javonte. Which Williams runs you to a title?

👀 Has this RB peaked before joining a new team? Have him march in to your team.

🦶 Time to panic on Rome Odunze? Get a foothold on his new normal.

🚗 This Carr could be riding to a Heisman. Plenty traffic, though.

🤫 If you look to sell the ranking on this RB, don’t tell Kendall.

🥈 Don’t anyone look at Bijan as a consolation prize. Second to none.

🤔 Hard to spend up on Malik Nabers. So much uncertainty.

Poking Holes In Every First-Rounder

We love first-rounders. Love them so much, we name fantasy teams after them. They are the foundations of our rosters. But we’ve seen all too often that when first-rounders flop, so do our teams.

It’s so hard to repeat great seasons, so Justin Carlucci made the case against every first-round pick for 2026 fantasy football drafts. Can Puka and JSN replicate monster years? Will there be enough targets for CeeDee in Bg D? Can the Sun God continue to be a TD monster? Please, just no injuries. ⤵️

CAN JAMES KEEP COOKING UP A BIG WORKLOAD?

Return To Fantasy Gold In San Francisco?

We don’t need much to tell the story that Mike Evans is one of the best WRs of his generation. He put up 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons to start his career. The GOAT Jerry Rice is the only player with more. So many contested catches and long bombs that his highlight reel would rival The Godfather in length. We could go on.

Now that he’s taken his talents to the Bay Area, Adam Pfeifer examined Evans’ outlook for him to strike gold with the 49ers. The passing attack and playcaller are definitely elite. Is this where Evans can find the Fountain of Youth in his age-33 season? ⤵️

PLEASE STAY HEALTHY. PRETTY PLEASE!

What Matters For Running Backs in Fantasy Football

Are there stats and factors that can predict fantasy football success for running backs? Dwain McFarland has been in the lab and has uncovered what matters most for RBs we should be targeting, and he gets together to talk about it with the Oracle, Matthew Freedman. Don’t miss an episode of Fantasy Football is Life Show by subscribing to our YouTube Channel.

IS THE AGE CURVE A REAL THING?