2026 NFL Draft Day Losers for Fantasy Football

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  • By Anthony Quaranta

    Last Updated on May 4, 2026 11:52 am by Jon Mosales | Published: May 4, 2026

    What a whirlwind of a week it’s been for football. The NFL draft recently wrapped up, and now we’ve had a few days to speculate, dream, and dread the idea of our favorite fantasy player’s changing value based on where these rookies landed. If you play best ball, your portfolio either already has an edge or you need to re assess during post draft tournaments. For you dynasty heads out there, hopefully your pre NFL draft trades were fruitful and the players you got didn’t get replaced. Redrafters, you’re likely not terribly worried about this right now. To you I say: it’s never too early to start talking ball. Specifically in this article, I’ll be highlighting the veteran players who are losers based on the outcome of the NFL draft. Check out my draft day winners by clicking here.

    Quarterback

    Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford

    Now, Stafford’s value hasn’t necessarily taken a hit, but the lack of offensive weapons drafted early was surprising for a team gearing up to try and win a super bowl. The receivers are thin beyond superstars Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, so taking their future QB1 now was questionable at best. Stafford is a loser in the sense that his value could have risen even further with a day one or two receiver.

    Las Vegas Raiders Fernando Mendoza

    Mendoza may not start right away, as the Raiders opted to add veteran passer Kirk Cousins to mentor the number one overall pick. I believe Mendoza plays sooner rather than later this year, so that’s a positive. However, with the Raiders doing nothing in the draft to address their need at receiver, the top two options are Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor. I would have liked to see the team add at least one of the higher end prospects to help give their rookie increased talent to work with. It’ll be tough sledding for Mendoza without a legit WR1, although having a stud like Brock Bowers at tight end and untapped potential in the running game behind Ashton Jeanty should help a bit.

    Running Back

    Cardinals Tyler Allgeier, James Conner, and Trey Benson

    Unfortunately for us, Jeremiyah Love will most certainly be the primary back used, and rightfully so. He can do it as a runner and a pass catcher. I fully expect Allgeier to have the same type of role he did in Atlanta backing up Bijan Robinson, but that doesn’t mean it’s a disappointment. We finally thought we were going to see him as the starter once again, where he performed admirably as a rookie with 1000 rushing yards. Certainly going to be draftable and rosterable, but in a much different light than was anticipated when he first signed in Arizona. James Conner and trey Benson will likely be fighting for mop up duty as RB3.

    Denver Broncos RJ Harvey and JK Dobbins

    This is a team that did not need to use a 4th round pick on a running back in a weak class, but here we are. This is going to muddy the waters in the Broncos backfield unless Coleman was drafted to essentially redshirt and play special teams year one. That may not be likely, as he profiles like a 3 down back with both rushing and receiving abilities. HC Sean Payton has a history of successfully having two fantasy friendly running backs with Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. Again, maybe Coleman is the third wheel this year, but we certainly cannot ignore the fourth round pick as a potential thorn in the side of this running back committee.

    Seattle Seahawks Emmanuel Wilson and Zach Charbonnet

    The addition of first round running back Jadarian Price out of Notre Dame cements Charbonnet’s committee designation once he gets back to full health (which honestly may not be this year, or at least not time to be fantasy relevant). His dynasty value cratered. The team signed Wilson to be the presumed lead back, but there was always the strong possibility that Seattle would add at least one more. We were just left speculating whether it would be a crusty old veteran such as Najee Harris, or through the draft which they ultimately did. It feels like Wilson will be on the short end of a split sooner than later despite the reports that Price won’t have a large workload out the gate. It’s hard for me to believe a team takes a round one back and doesn’t give him a majority of the touches in a hurry. Wilson went from potential RB2 value to a hit or miss flex option.

    Wide Receiver

     

    Cleveland Browns Jerry Jeudy

    I was expecting the Browns to add a high caliber receiver prospect, but I didn’t anticipate them adding two in the first two rounds. While its fairly likely that Jeudy will operate a top target early on, once the talented rookies get up to speed, the veteran could find himself towards the bottom of the proverbial totem pole. New head coach Todd Monken likes to feature the tight end position, further taking away from receiver opportunities as a whole. Its not an offensive system that has been able to support more than two pass catchers consistently, and neither Watson nor Sanders can be trusted to elevate multiple pieces to fantasy relevance without evidence otherwise.

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jalen McMillan and Tez Johnson

    Unless veteran leader Chris Godwin is toast, him and second year man Emeka Egbuka are locked into the top two spots in the pass catching pecking order. With the addition of 3rd round rookie Ted Hurst, McMillan is officially on notice for the WR3 spot and Johnson potentially pumping down to number five. McMillan thrived in the red zone his rookie season, scoring eight touchdowns, with seven of them coming in the last five games once more opportunities opened up. Hurst (6’4″ is an even more imposing red zone option, standing three inches taller than McMillan (6’1″). It’s a bit concerning that Tampa felt the need to add a third round receiver when the position was an assumed strength.

    New Orleans Saints DeVaughn Vele

    Vele came into the offseason sitting second behind just Chris Olave at the top of the target hierarchy. The Saints are a team that is widely believed to take step forward under second year HC Kellen Moore thanks in large part to QB Tyler Shough’s development year one. The expectation was always that the Saints would take one of the big three receivers in this draft, so that wasn’t the end of the world. Vele was priced as such, going at the end of drafts. Unfortunately, the Saints spent three of their first five picks (all in rounds 1-4) on pass catchers, including WR Jordan Tyson (1-8), TE Oscar Delp (3-73), and WR Bryce Lance (4-136). They even tacked on a 6th round receiver named Barion Brown, who could take up a spot int he receiver room for special teams purposes. He’s cutting slated as the WR3 on the depth chart, but that doesn’t mean he’ll crack the top three target earners with the added competition.

     

    Tight End

    Philadelphia Eagles Dallas Goedert

    Now maybe I am overreacting a bit, but drafting Eli Stowers in the second round smells funny. Prior to resigning with the Eagles on a one year deal, the veteran tight end made it known he was going to test free agency. Philly has a history of consistently strong tight end play, going from Brent Celek to Zack Ertz to Dallas Goedert. Presumably, Stowers is next in line. He’s an athletically gifted pass catcher who won the John Mackey award as the best tight end in the country, beating out the first tight end taken in the draft Kenyon Sadiq. Stowers led the Purdue Boilermakers in receptions the final two years of his college career. New OC Sean Mannion has a short coaching career with just two year experience in Green Bay prior to landing in Philly, so there’s not a lot to grasp as far as how they may utilize the tight end group. The Packers relied heavily on Tucker Kraft, so maybe they will lean towards one. At best, Goedert is a net neutral for 2026, but it feels like the beginning of a murky situation.

    New York Jets Mason Taylor

    It didn’t take long for Taylor’s value to completely bottom out, as the Jets took TE Kenyon Sadiq in the first round. New York traded back into round one to take another pass catcher, WR Omar Cooper Jr. After a disastrous season even by Jets standards, it’s clear that this is a coaching staff on the hot seat. HC Aaron Glenn completely revamped his offensive coaching staff, bringing in veterans at the OC (Frank Reich) and QB coach (Mike Musgrave). On an offense that includes WR’s Garrett Wilson, Cooper Jr., AD Mitchell, RB Breece Hall, and Sadiq with his first round draft capital, it’s going to be tough sledding for Taylor to find the ball.

    Rams Terrance Ferguson and Colby Parkinson

    I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the Rams tight ends collectively would be a top tier fantasy option, but unfortunately it’s split between 2-3 players. While Parkinson was the most productive of the trio, Ferguson was expected to rise the depth chart coming into his second year, leaving Higbee as a third option. Well, the Rams didn’t just surprise with the first round pick, they also did so in the second by selecting yet another tight end, Max Klare. Both Klare and Ferguson came out of college primarily as pass catcher, and Klare was actually more productive over his final two college seasons outside of touchdowns. (Klare: 26 games, 94 receptions, 1133 yards, 6 TD’s, 43/6 ypg; Ferguson: 26 games, 85 receptions, 1005 yards, 9 TD’s, 38.6ypg). Then you factor in Parkinson saw a whopping 22 red zone targets, aka the high value opportunities. That was good for third behind Nacua and Adams, who were the only three to see more than 10 red zone targets. They will all likely have their moment, but that is not conducive for fantasy purposes outside of picking your poison in best ball.

    May 4, 2026, 11:51 am