New Faces, New Places: Fantasy Football Outlooks for Travis Etienne and More
Adam Pfeifer breaks down five high-profile free agency changes that shook up fantasy football and what these players' outlooks are for 2026.
The free agency dominoes have nearly all fallen, with a handful of key fantasy contributors on brand new rosters for the 2026 campaign. The NFL Draft is still on the horizon, while a few veterans are still searching for their new homes. But for now, let’s highlight five faces in new places and how to project their fantasy football prospects this upcoming season.
Let’s go.
RELATED: See where the following five players rank in our 2026 fantasy football rankings.
Fantasy Football Outlook For Players On New Teams In 2026
Kenneth Walker | RB | KC
Throughout his career, Walker has been arguably the league’s best home-run-hitting running back. But at the same time, he’s also struck out at one of the higher rates, too.
A move to Kansas City is like heading to a hitter-friendly ballpark.
During his time in Seattle from 2022-2025, Walker was one of the most boom/bust running backs in the league. It felt like he either broke free for 20-plus yards or struggled to get past the line of scrimmage. Here are both his explosive rush and tackle for loss rates since entering the NFL:
Explosive Rush Rate Tackle For Loss Rate
2022: 10.5% (6th) 2022: 14.4% (1st)
2023: 8.7% (11th) 2023: 10.9% (13th)
2024: 5.2% (42nd) 2024: 13% (4th)
2025: 9.9% (5th) 2025: 11.7% (12th)
The high tackle for loss marks are partially due to Walker’s propensity to solely search for the haymaker, while passing up the jabs, so to speak. But it also didn’t help that he faced plenty of stacked boxes during his Seahawks tenure. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Walker saw stacked boxes (8-plus defenders) on nearly 22% of his carries over his first four seasons.
Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid will both be a welcome sight for Walker.
Playing running back in a Mahomes-led offense certainly has its perks. For starters, you know opposing defenses will rarely ever hone in on stopping you. This past season, Isiah Pacheco saw stacked boxes on just 14.4% of his carries, the third-lowest rate among qualified running backs. Secondly, scoring opportunities will always be present. Last season, despite logging just 47% of the snaps, ranked 10th in the NFL with 13 carries from inside the five-yard line, averaging nearly one such carry per contest. Walker, meanwhile, lost that role to Zach Charbonnet in Seattle, averaging just 0.5 inside the five carries per game, accounting for only 32% of the Seahawks’ total carries from that area of the field.
Now in Kansas City, Walker could be thrust into a true workhorse role, giving him top-10 fantasy upside.
Travis Etienne | RB | NO
I went in-depth on the Saints' backfield here if you wish to hear more.
The Saints are now paying Travis Etienne like a top-nine running back in the league, giving him $13 million per season. One would believe that would mean he’d be the starter right out of the gate. But Kamara is one of the best players in franchise history, who is also finishing a two-year, $23.5-million extension. And head coach Kellen Moore recently stated that Kamara would be “part of the running back room.” To what extent is the real question, but if he remains involved in the passing game, it could limit Etienne’s upside, especially following a season where he ranked third among running backs in screen routes (21), first in targets (12) and second in receptions (9).
Throughout his time as a play caller, Moore hasn’t really used multiple running backs all that much. But to be fair, he coached prime Ezekiel Elliott in Dallas from 2019-2021, as well as MVP candidate Saquon Barkley with the Eagles in 2024. Perhaps we could see Etienne and Kamara on the field together some this season. The Saints need more help at wide receiver after Chris Olave, so giving Kamara some slot snaps could be an intriguing idea.
If this does become a committee, at least the play volume will be there. Moore’s offenses have always been fast-paced, and that didn’t change in his first year in New Orleans. Last season, the Saints ranked second in no-huddle rate (22.7%), while no team averaged more plays per minute (2.2).
David Montgomery | RB | HOU
The full shift to Jahmyr Gibbs happened last season, as Montgomery took a backseat.
Once Dan Campbell took over playcalling duties, Montgomery’s usage fell off. From Week 10 on, Montgomery logged just 35% of the snaps, 33% of the rush attempts, 47% of the short down and distance snaps and averaged just 8.9 touches per game.
Now in Houston, that usage should climb right back up. Once he took over as the lead option, rookie Woody Marks averaged a healthy 17.5 touches per game for the Texans. Sure, the offense isn’t as potent as Detroit’s, but Montgomery is absolutely a better player than Marks, and will do more with the same opportunities.
Jaylen Waddle | WR | DEN
The Broncos gave up the 30th overall pick in next week’s draft for Waddle, as well as third and fourth-rounders. We saw Waddle thrust into a WR1 role once Tyreek Hill’s season ended after Week 4 last season, sporting a 25% target share and 25% TPRR from Week 5 on. The fantasy production was underwhelming (WR27), but that was in a slow-paced, run-heavy, low-scoring Miami offense. Last year, the Dolphins ranked 32nd in plays per minute (1.9), 31st in plays per game (55.6) and 24th in dropback rate over expected (-3%).
Waddle now joins a Denver offense that ranked third in dropback rate over expected (4%), and he should see far more designed targets in Sean Payton/Davis Webb’s offense. During his time in Miami, Waddle was mostly used on post routes, while the motion/screen/designed looks went to Tyreek Hill. Over the past two seasons, Waddle has seen a total of 10 screen targets. Expect that to change immediately, as Waddle is now playing in a Broncos offense that averaged 4.5 screen attempts per game, good for the third-most in football.
Considering Courtland Sutton doesn’t exactly dominate targets, Waddle should lead this team in year one, while the usage will be more consistent and fantasy-friendly. He has top-12 upside this season.
DJ Moore | WR | BUF
“Everybody eats.”
That’s the mantra the Buffalo passing attack has used since Stefon Diggs’ departure, but in reality, they’ve needed a true difference-making wideout to feed.
Enter DJ Moore.
Buffalo gave up a second-rounder to acquire Moore, who reunites with Joe Brady. After seeing just 85 targets in a crowded, run-first Chicago offense last year, Moore now joins another crowded, run-first offense, albeit a more high-scoring one. Khalil Shakir, who has been operating as Buffalo’s WR1 over the past two seasons, has seen 95 and 100 targets during that stretch. Also during that span, despite having Joshua Patrick Allen as their quarterback, the Bills have ranked 27th and 24th in dropback rate over expected. And I get it. James Cook and the run game have been dominant. But perhaps Joe Brady, now head coach, will have even more control of the offense, leading to a bit more reliance on Allen’s right arm.
Our fantasy football projections currently have Moore at 93 targets, which ranks just 43rd among all wide receivers. That would be a serious disappointment for Moore’s first season in Buffalo.
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