NFL Draft Landing Spot Reactions: Fernando Mendoza, De'Zhaun Stribling and More

We're in the home stretch of the NFL Draft and landing spots are just about set. See below for instant reactions on what these rookie landing spots mean for their outlook for 2026 in both redraft and dynasty fantasy football.

For all other content to guide you through the NFL Draft, be sure to check out our NFL Draft Guide.

Round 3 NFL Draft Skill-Position Player Landing Spots

Bryce Lance | WR | Saints

While he’ll start the year behind at least Olave and Tyson, neither guy has been the picture of health. There’s a scenario where both players hit the IR in 2026, which could open the door for Lance to take over as the team’s top receiver. We don’t typically think of “handcuffs” at the receiver position, but Lance stands out as a very interesting handcuff option.

READ MORE: Bryce Lance Fantasy Football Outlook With Saints

Skyler Bell | WR | Bills

Rookie drafts and dynasty are where Bell gets interesting. His closest Rookie Super Model comps in McFarland's piece are ironically Shakir and Jalen Royals—both guys who went later than their talent suggested and eventually found fantasy relevance in the right spot. Perhaps Brandon Beane was drawn to Bell’s Shakir-type traits.

READ MORE: Skyler Bell Fantasy Football Outlook with the Bills

Mike Washington | RB | Raiders

With Washington severely limited by his lack of usage in the pass attack, pass on him at his current ADP with Alvin Kamara and Tyjae Spears hovering near him. Even though his running ability is more than enough to keep him on the field, his lack of utility as a pass catcher diminishes his ability to help you compete in fantasy.

READ MORE: Mike Washington Fantasy Football Outlook with the Raiders

Elijah Sarratt | WR | Ravens

He grades out better than plenty of receivers who were drafted ahead of him in Dwain McFarland’s Rookie Super Model. Even with less draft capital invested in him than initially anticipated, Sarratt has simply produced at every level. I’m not betting against him in the NFL.

READ MORE: Elijah Sarratt Fantasy Football Outlook with the Ravens

Jonah Coleman | RB | Broncos

As far as landing spots go, it’s hard to imagine a much worse one than the Broncos. At best, Coleman figures to start the year as the No. 3 option on the depth chart. The Broncos brought back J.K. Dobbins after an impressive campaign in 2025-26, and the team took RJ Harvey in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie also remain as depth options, with Badie serving as a passing-down back last season.

READ MORE: Jonah Coleman Fantasy Football Outlook with the Broncos

Round 2 NFL Draft Skill-Position Player Landing Spots

Chris Bell | WR | Dolphins

Bell was one of the most talked-about post-Round 1 prospects because of his great college production at Louisville before he tore his ACL late in the season. After he recovers and returns to play for his new team, he will have a pretty open WR room alongside fellow third-round rookie Caleb Douglas.

READ MORE: Chris Bell Fantasy Football Outlook with the Miami Dolphins

Drew Allar | QB | Steelers

Seeing Allar get drafted by Pittsburgh is a bet that Mike McCarthy still has it when it comes to developing quarterbacks. The 6-foot-5 Allar is likely going to sit this season, even if Aaron Rodgers does not return to the Steel City. Allar is really only an option in rookie drafts for dynasty superflex leagues.

READ MORE: Drew Allar Fantasy Football Outlook with the Pittsburgh Steelers

Ted Hurst | WR | Buccaneers

With Egbuka and Godwin, among others in that WR room—it will be tough for Hurst to draw meaningful targets in year one. But we have seen this movie before, Bucs WR's just seem to have value at times depending on scenarios with injuries. Time will tell on his redraft and dynasty value.

READ MORE: Ted Hurst Fantasy Football Outlook with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Zachariah Branch | WR | Falcons

Zachariah Branch is a weapon, but there is only one football and he is on a crowded offense where targets will be hard to come by. Dynasty stash? No doubt, but that might be it at the moment.

READ MORE: Zach Branch Fantasy Football Outlook with the Atlanta Falcons

Malachi Fields | WR | Giants

There is no doubt that Fields has been productive in his career in college, but will he get on the field right away in New York? He will be battling Darius Slayton and Darnell Mooney for snaps, but likely will be on the field in obvious passing downs at worst. Once the targets are there, the production will come - but will they ever come?

READ MORE: Malachi Fields Fantasy Football Outlook with the New York Giants

Carson Beck | QB | Cardinals

There was speculation that Beck could go to the Cardinals or Dolphins earlier, but he does land in Arizona. He will be a popular draft pick in SF or 2QB leagues in dynasty for sure, but time will tell if he will be the Cardinals' QB1 in 2026.

READ MORE: Carson Beck Fantasy Football Outlook with the Arizona Cardinals

Antonio Williams | WR | Commanders

Williams is yet another talented player from the underachieving Clemson Tigers roster in 2025, but he has a real chance to make an impact in Washington. The only competition for playing time includes a trio of Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffery, and Dyami Brown. There is certainly a chance Williams ends up as WR2 in Washington, but how fast will that happen?

READ MORE: Antonio Williams Fantasy Football Value with the Washington Commanders

Germie Bernard | WR | Steelers

If you are in a deeper league, consider drafting Bernard with intentions of stashing him, buying yourself time to see if he can develop as a pass catcher to complement his rushing ability. If he can turn into a well-rounded weapon, then Bernard will jump up the depth chart, giving you a viable WR2/3 to lean on. In dynasty, target Bernard with the same philosophy, stashing him until he shows signs of consistency with his workload.

Eli Stowers | TE | Eagles

Perhaps Stowers becomes fantasy-relevant if Goedert misses time, especially with the impending departure of AJB. But this is more of a dynasty play, as both Goedert and Grant Calcaterra are on one-year deals. It wouldn’t surprise me if, at some point, Stowers headlined many waiver wire articles during his rookie season.

De'Zhaun Stribling | WR | SF

The 49ers kicked off Round 2 with a bang, as Stribling was the surprise pick to lead things off and put the Ole Miss product into one of the best environments for WRs in the league. Of course, Stribling is going to have to contend for targets with Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall and Christian McCaffrey. And when he returns from Achilles surgery, George Kittle is going to contend for targets. Are you ready to select him to your fantasy roster? Maybe a bench role to start.

Denzel Boston | WR | CLE

A top contested-catch artist in this draft class, Boston is 6-foot-4 and a very good player on jump balls in the end zone. Not exactly a burner, Boston will take some time getting acclimated in an offensive environment where the Browns have not named a quarterback between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson. Boston will have to contend for targets with Jerry Jeudy and phenom TE Harold Fannin.

Skill-Position Landing Spot Reactions For Round 1 Of The 2026 NFL Draft

Fernando Mendoza | QB | Raiders

Regarding fantasy, Mendoza (16.5 PPG) is projected to be in the same range as Cam Ward (16.4) and Bryce Young (17.2) in our per-game fantasy football projections. Two quarterbacks who have flashed their arm talent, yet are still in need of help in order to reach their ceiling.

Even with his group of pass catchers still underwhelming on paper, any boost in production at quarterback will help turn the Raiders into more of a well-rounded unit. If Mendoza is capable of stretching out the secondary, then this would open up wider running lanes in the middle for Ashton Jeanty, which would apply serious pressure to opposing front sevens on a weekly basis.

Fernando Mendoza: new Raiders QB1 ☠️

See where @kvalenzuela17 ranks the landing spot 📊 pic.twitter.com/zE2bZGLwA2
— Fantasy Life (@MBFantasyLife) April 24, 2026

Jeremiyah Love | RB | Cardinals

Of all the potential landing spots for Love, the Cardinals are probably one of the better ones. Their depth chart isn’t exactly barren at running back, but the Cardinals' offense at least put some points on the scoreboard last year. They were a top-12 unit in both points and yards per game, so Love should step into a decent offense. For comparison, the Raiders were a bottom-six unit in both yards and points in 2024-25, so it’s a much better landing spot than Ashton Jeanty had as a rookie.

Love will also get to operate behind a decent offensive line. Arizona was 15th in ESPN’s Run Block Win Rate last season, and they added Isaac Seumalo this offseason.

JEREMIYAH LOVE IS A CARDINAL @kvalenzuela17 gives the landing spot a __ grade 👀 pic.twitter.com/AsZzNolxFw
— Fantasy Life (@MBFantasyLife) April 24, 2026

Carnell Tate | WR | TEN

No doubt about it, there were certainly better landing spots for immediate fantasy production for Tate. But Tate is a talented player who, at some point during the 2026 campaign, should emerge as the top target in this offense. I could easily see Tate being a player you rarely plug into fantasy lineups during the first half of the season, but he becomes a viable starter following the infamous post-bye rookie bump.

Jordyn Tyson | WR | NO

Disregarding health, Tyson has the highest ceiling of any wideout in this draft class. And the pace of play in New Orleans allows for enough plays for Olave to remain a must-start fantasy wideout in our fantasy football rankings, while Tyson can truly enter fantasy lineups early and often.

I really enjoyed this Jordyn Tyson landing spot ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/yCF0JamXkX
— Kendall Valenzuela (@kvalenzuela17) April 24, 2026

Ty Simpson | QB | LAR

This is obviously only really fantasy-relevant for dynasty purposes, but it is a very interesting development. Simpson going in Round 1 would have made noise, but 13th overall will vault Simpson into the first round of rookie drafts. Matthew Freedman agrees, as he's bumped Simpson up half a round in rookie superflex drafts.

Kenyon Sadiq | TE | NYJ

This was a bit of a surprise, as many mocks had the Jets taking a WR with the No. 16 pick. But after watching Sadiq's freakish athleticism at the NFL Scouting Combine following his final season at Oregon, it's pretty clear that the Jets have a plan for the tight end. With Garrett Wilson the clear No. 1 target for New York, Sadiq could have some room to roam in the middle of the field.

Where does Kenyon Sadiq to the Jets land on @kvalenzuela17's draft day tier list 👀 pic.twitter.com/PAvrOxNDHI
— Fantasy Life (@MBFantasyLife) April 24, 2026

Makai Lemon | WR | PHI

It’ll be interesting to see how quickly Lemon adapts to the Eagles’ offense under first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. The Birds brought in Hollywood Brown and traded for Dontayvion Wicks. Brown is what he is at this point, and Wicks might have some untapped potential, but let’s be real here, aside from DeVonta Smith, Lemon is the other ceiling guy amongst this group. Additionally, Matthew Freedman bumped Lemon up from WR42 to WR38 in his 2026 redraft fantasy football rankings.

Makai Lemon to the EAGLES 🦅@kvalenzuela17 has it as a __ tier landing spot 👀 pic.twitter.com/8H4gvXJkhj
— Fantasy Life (@MBFantasyLife) April 24, 2026

KC Concepcion | WR | CLE

KC Concepcion walks into a WR room that is in need of reinforcments, as he could be vying to be the No. 1 target in the offense with Harold Fannin and Jerry Jeudy. That pair made up the only players on the Browns who hit 100 targets on the season. Concepcion has a good shot to be the biggest target earner in Cleveland next season. He moved up to WR38 in Matthew Freedman's rankings after this selection.

Omar Cooper | WR | NYJ

Can you say THREE first-round picks on Thursday night for the Jets? And they closed out the night with a national champion, as Cooper is on his way to the Big Apple after Indiana's magical run. Cooper enters what is now a pretty crowded pass-catcher room with alpha WR1 Garrett Wilson, along with fellow rookie Kenyon Sadiq and former Colt Adonai Mitchell. It may be tough to come across targets early, but if the Jets are in a number of shootouts because of a rebuilding defense, Cooper could become a factor in fantasy later in the season.

IMMEDIATE REACTION TO OMAR COOPER JR TO THE JETS ✈️ pic.twitter.com/lMay2fHan7
— Fantasy Life (@MBFantasyLife) April 24, 2026

Jadarian Price | RB | SEA

With Kenneth Walker taking his Super Bowl 60 MVP award with him to Kansas City and Zach Charbonnet rehabbing a torn ACL for much of next season, the Seahawks have some touches available out of the backfield. Enter Price, the consensus No. 2 RB prospect in this draft. Some may think this is early for this cycle's RB2, but the Seahawks were clearly not confident that Price would be available at the end of Round 2.

Jadarian Price sneaks into the first round 🤯

See where @kvalenzuela17 ranks the fit 📈 pic.twitter.com/ujutTg3tSO
— Fantasy Life (@MBFantasyLife) April 24, 2026

Players Mentioned in this Article

FernandoMendoza
QBLV
Proj
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Published Apr 25, 2026, 2:25 PM ETUpdated Apr 25, 2026, 2:28 PM ET