Dynasty Fantasy Football Stock Watch: Mike Washington Rising, Oronde Gadsden Falling

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Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers

Mike Washington | RB | Raiders

After a relatively disappointing rookie season relative to lofty expectations, many are hoping for a much better Year 2 for Ashton Jeanty. Unfortunately, he recently suffered a low-ankle sprain, which has put his availability for Week 1 in doubt.

However, recent reports have suggested the Raiders feel good about his chances.

Regardless, Jeanty's injury and subsequent absence have paved the way for Mike Washington to assume lead-back duties over the last few weeks. A fourth-round pick out of Arkansas, Washington has an intriguing profile for dynasty fantasy football managers.

Washington spent five years in college—three at Buffalo, one at New Mexico State, one at Arkansas. In his final season, Washington tallied 1,070 rushing yards on just 167 attempts. That was good for 6.4 yards per attempt. At the NFL Combine, Washington posted some truly elite metrics:

4.33 40-yard dash (99th percentile)
126.9 Speed Score (100th percentile)
130.3 Burst Score (92nd percentile)

His athletic profile alone was already worth a look and now with Jeanty's injury, dynasty managers have even more reason to be optimistic about his fantasy prospects.

Even if we assume Jeanty is a full-go Week 1, the reports out of camp seem to suggest that Washington is going to have a role regardless. For what it's worth, throughout the preseason, Washington averaged 7.3 yards per attempt on 23 carries. That might not be the biggest sample size, but that's also not nothing.

Washington has immediately entered the top-end handcuff category for all Jeanty managers and even offers some level of stand-alone value in deeper dynasty fantasy football formats.

Malachi Fields | WR | Giants

The New York Giants spent a third-round pick on wideout Malachi Fields last spring in an effort to bolster their receiver room behind Malik Nabers. As it stands, it looks like the Giants will have Odell Beckham Jr., Darnell Mooney and Darius Slayton to rotate in alongside Fields.

It's certainly a unique group of players and, as of this writing, it sounds like Fields has done enough to separate himself from the pack. He appears to be on track to start as the WR2 opposite Nabers come Week 1.

That's a pretty solid development for the 6-foot-4 / 222-pound rookie.

However, it is important to keep things in perspective. The No. 2 wideout for other teams might be useful for fantasy purposes. That just isn't the case for the Giants. Here's how our projections are looking at this receiver room.

Our own Matt LaMarca summed it up well:

As long as Nabers is healthy, he figures to be option A, B and C for the Giants’ passing attack. Fields will also have to compete with Isaiah Likely as well as the rest of the team’s veteran pass-catchers, so he’s still not a particularly appealing sleeper.

Fields likely won't offer much, if any, fantasy value in 2026 unless Nabers suffers another injury. However, Fields does offer some level of intrigue in dynasty formats. He's someone I don't mind trading for or spending a late-round pick on in a startup draft while he develops.

Dynasty Fantasy Football Fallers

Eli Stowers | TE | Eagles

I'll admit, I was high on Stowers following the NFL Draft even though I knew he would have to compete with Dallas Goedert right away. I was high on him because he was going to have the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop behind a solid, veteran player who was entering the final year of his contract.

It was yet another example of smart roster building by the Eagles and their front office.

However, recent reports have suggested that Stowers (who has been dealing with a hamstring injury) might be a healthy scratch on game days even if he is fully healthy and medically cleared. That certainly put a damper on how optimistic I was feeling about Stowers and it appears as though others across the dynasty fantasy football landscape are feeling the same.

There are two ways we can look at this…

Stowers hasn't had a great offseason, and maybe isn't as ready to take the next step as we initially thought.
The Eagles spent a Round 2 pick on a TE who posted some truly elite athletic measurables and their current veteran (Goedert) is a free agent next year.

I still lean toward the latter. TEs can still take time to develop and I can't imagine the Eagles aren't going to get some level of production out of their second-round draft pick.

For now, Stowers becomes an intriguing waiver option to hold and stash if he becomes available. Otherwise, feel free to send out some offers to have him develop on your taxi squad as opposed to someone else's.

Oronde Gadsden | TE | Chargers

As a rookie, Oronde Gadsden posted a very respectable line of:

69 targets
49 receptions
664 receiving yards
3 TDs

All signs were pointing to a breakout campaign in 2026, but then the Chargers went out and signed David Njoku to add an additional weapon to their pass-catching room. Along with Njoku, the team also added Charlie Kolar, who has had himself a solid training camp.

The new arrivals, coupled with the news that his blocking may need some work, could result in fewer opportunities for Gadsden in Year 2.

However, a quick look at our fantasy football projections reveals something else entirely:

It's not all doom and gloom once you notice that we have Gadsden comfortably pacing the room in every receiving category.

This is one of those situations where I would feel comfortable going against the grain, at least from a value perspective. Gadsden is still projected to be the top TE for Justin Herbert and we know how fantasy-friendly this offense can be under new OC Mike McDaniel. Even if we don't get the same type of breakout season we were hoping for, the depressed value and price makes Gadsden an even more attractive dynasty stash for the time being.

Players Mentioned in this Article

Published Sep 7, 2026, 4:00 AM ET