Must-Drafts
Draft season keeps moving, and so does our board. Four players I'm circling hardest right now, each locked into a different kind of opportunity. Let's get into it.
QB: Jaxson Dart (NYG)
Dart flashed real weekly upside as a rookie even while learning on the fly, and the pieces are now falling into place for a jump in Year 2.
He finished 2nd among QBs in rushing touchdowns and 5th in carries per game (6.14), giving him a rushing floor most passers simply don't have
New OC Matt Nagy is expected to lean into that mobility, with the staff drawing comparisons to Alex Smith's breakout under Nagy's spread elements
Dart scored as a fantasy QB1 in 8 of his 14 games as a rookie without Nabers and Skattebo for much of the year… and both are now back in the fold healthy, with an added Isaiah Likely.
Concussion history and a 28th-ranked true passer rating are real questions, but the rushing floor alone makes Dart a name worth chasing this summer.
WR: Ladd McConkey (LAC)
McConkey's counting stats dipped in Year 2, but the underlying profile says the talent never left, it just got buried in a crowded room.
His 2025 production was limited by a crowded room with Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston, and his 2026 outlook hinges on Allen now moved on to Indianapolis
New OC Mike McDaniel is walking in with a scheme built to prioritize McConkey's shiftiness and yards-after-catch ability
He still ranked 13th in target separation and 4th in total routes run in a down year, and posted a 76.5% success rate vs. man and 84.0% vs. zone… the top mark in Reception Perception’s dataset
If McConkey reclaims anything close to his rookie efficiency in a McDaniel offense built for him, this is one of the cleaner buy-low windows at receiver.
RB: Travis Etienne (NO)
Etienne just posted a career year and cashed in for it, and the backfield math is trending further in his favor than most drafters realize.
He rebounded for 1,399 scrimmage yards and a career-high 13 total touchdowns, finishing as the overall RB11 in 2025
The Saints signed him to a 4-year, $52 million deal… the highest total contract value for a running back in the NFL, and his 2026 outlook has RB1 upside written all over it
The team just reworked Alvin Kamara's deal, cutting his base salary down to $6M plus incentives from a possible $11.5M, a move that signals reduced role and more trust in Etienne
Kamara has already sprained his knee in joint practices, and may not be ready for Week 1. That would allow Etienne to seize a 3-down role early in the year.
Add in the league's most favorable RB schedule, and Etienne looks like a workhorse hiding at a discount.
TE: Colston Loveland (CHI)
This is the player I'm most in on for 2026, and the tape from the end of last season is exactly why.
He exploded for a 47-597-6 line over his final 10 games as a rookie, finishing as the overall TE12 despite the slow start
He's expected vie for the team lead in targets following the trade of WR DJ Moore, and coaches view him as the clear No. 1 pass catcher in the red area
HC Ben Johnson (who engineered Sam LaPorta's TE1 rookie year) remains in place, with Press Taylor promoted to OC to keep the scheme intact
A late-season role this dominant, paired with system continuity and a vacated target share, is exactly the setup that turns Year 2 tight ends into league winners.
That's the list… four different paths to value, four different reasons to trust them. Draft accordingly.
-Joe