Fantasy Football Rankings: Josh Downs Is A Post-Hype Sleeper For 2026
Dwain McFarland, Kendall Valenzuela and Matthew Freedman explain the nuances of some of their post-free agency fantasy football rankings updates.
Free Agency is essentially behind us, outside of a few of the remaining NFL free agents to watch, and our rankers have gotten together to answer some of the most pressing fantasy football rankings questions that have come up after their post-free-agency updates.
What player did you upgrade in your fantasy football rankings based on free agency that you are most excited about in 2026?
Dwain: Kenneth Walker climbed from RB14 to RB6 in my rankings after signing with the Chiefs. Last season, Walker averaged 24.9 fantasy points in three playoff games without Zach Charbonnet and won the Super Bowl MVP. In 2024, Walker averaged 16.3 PPG with a 64% snap share. He is a big-play threat with the size to handle the short-yardage work, creating massive TD upside. And here is the best part: Walker is an underrated receiver. He notched a 14% target share in 2024 as the starter and has posted RB1-worthy yards per route run (YPRR) marks over the last three years. No, the Chiefs offense isn't what it once was, but I will take a team with Patrick Mahomes at QB as a good bet to be at least an average offense with upside to erupt. Let's feed this man the rock, Andy Reid. Kookookachoo!
Kendall: Malik Willis went from an undraftable quarterback to the Miami Dolphins QB1 (and my QB19) after he signed a three-year, $67.5-million deal. The team might be actively trying to tank after trading away Willis' best receiver in Jaylen Waddle, but there is still fantasy football value there in Superflex formats. It can be somewhat daunting trying to trust anyone in this offense, especially considering no returning wide receiver surpassed 317 yards last season. But what was our real expectation with Willis in the passing game? He was always on the radar for his dual-threat rushing ability, and that's still there. It's a small sample of games, but in 2025, his 15% designed-rush rate led the NFL, and his scramble rate of 19.1% is over three times the league average, according to TruMedia. A handful of Green Bay coaches made their way to Miami, and even though it's not the sexiest wide receiver group, Willis will still be valuable in fantasy.
Who moved to a “better situation” during free agency … but you still aren’t sold it’ll translate to fantasy football production?
Freedman: It's great for Isaiah Likely that he now has a chance to be a real No. 1 TE with the Giants after lingering in production purgatory for four years with the Ravens behind Mark Andrews.
This is a clear improvement in circumstances.
The question is whether it's enough of an improvement. Relative to his previous situation in Baltimore, this move makes Likely likelier (no pun intended) to be a fantasy-relevant player. But is he actually likely to be a top-12 fantasy TE this year?
Probably not. In our Fantasy Life 2026 Player Rankings, I currently have Likely outside of my top 12 at the position … and so does everyone else.
Last year, he had a lowly 42 Utilization Score (per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report). He'll have a higher mark than that this year, but he's much more of a projection than a proven product in 2026.
What player, who did not change teams, got the biggest upgrade in your fantasy football rankings based on free agency?
Dwain: I am going to provide two names here. They aren't of the superstar variety, but both moved up the ranks.
- First: Jonathon Brooks of the Panthers climbed from RB5 status into the upside RB4 tier. He is coming off of back-to-back ACL tears in 2023 and 2024, but the Round 2 NFL Draft Pick is currently on track to play in 2026. We are depending on modern medicine to come through here, people, but there is a path to opportunities in Carolina with Rico Dowdle moving on.
- Second: Josh Downs of the Colts ascended from WR6 territory to the upside WR4 group. Michael Pittman Jr. is vacating the underneath and intermediate targets, where Downs and Tyler Warren can shine. Alec Pierce got the bag, and while he has been a great deep threat the last two years, he hasn't proven to be a full-route-tree player who can gobble up targets. Do you know who has flashed that ability? Josh Downs. Downs leading the Colts in targets in 2026 is in the range of outcomes. Post-hype sleeper alert, y'all.
What player moved to a new team, but got a downgrade in your fantasy football rankings?
Kendall: Michael Pittman Jr. wasn't in a good spot in my rankings already, but then he moved to Pittsburgh and dropped even lower. He's my WR45, and it's simply because I do not want a big part of this offense. Aaron Rodgers might be back, DK Metcalf is still there and there's a whole new coaching staff in town. Pittman didn't have a bad 2025, he finished as the WR18, but a lot of his production happened in the first half of the season. In a perfect world, Pittman and Metcalf can coexist, but what does that ceiling look like?
Freedman: This question kind of requires me to have a degree of self-awareness I don't currently possess. Phrased differently: My rankings—like deities of yore—exist outside space and time.
But I think the trade of Jaylen Waddle from the Dolphins to the Broncos has knocked him down in my rankings a little.
With the Dolphins, he was in a total dumpster fire … but at least he was the clear No. 1 WR on the team. With the Broncos, Waddle now must play alongside established No. 1 WR Courtland Sutton.
As overrated as I think Sutton generally is, the truth is that he has averaged a respectable 8.2 yards per target in his three seasons with HC Sean Payton, and over the past two years, he has put up 2,098 yards and 15 TDs receiving.
He might not be so easy for Waddle to overtake.
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