Three days and seven rounds later, the 2026 NFL Draft is complete! With plenty of rookie skill players added to offenses across the league, which fantasy football players were affected the most? Yahoo analyst Joel Smyth breaks down the six players who lost the most fantasy value.
The Cardinals weren’t done after signing Tyler Allgeier to a crowded RB room, as they selected Jeremiyah Love third overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. The move immediately made Love the highest-paid running back in the NFL, and with it, a feature piece of the offense. It virtually makes Allgeier’s ceiling what he was in Atlanta, outside of an injury occurring.
With both James Conner and Trey Benson coming back from injury, while Allgeier and Love are new additions, the rotation is tough to predict as a whole. The former Falcons RB will be the leader in the clubhouse to take the short-yardage role as a well-proven veteran. His success rate ranks seventh among RBs since entering the NFL, showing his ability to do what is asked of him rather than his home-run ability. His fantasy upside is ultimately stolen, though, with goal-line touches being the only true source of production.
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Through three seasons, Chris Olave’s best fantasy finish was WR19. Not bad, but not a game-changer. Last season, he finished as the WR7 with a new, perfect coaching fit and all the targets in the world. He not only finished fifth in total targets, but led the NFL in deep targets and ranked second in end zone targets. He’s able to produce without it, but the elite volume level is the main reason for his WR1 fantasy output.
That took a major hit on Thursday night with the Saints selection of Jordyn Tyson in the top-10. The Arizona State WR was seen by many as the No. 1 WR prospect if it weren’t for his history of injuries in college. Not only is it another talented WR to compete with, but the WR with one of the most prominent volume profiles in recent history, with a 97th percentile rank in targets per route in college, even while playing games through injury in the Power-5.
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As mentioned earlier, Kellen Moore is the perfect coaching fit for Olave, and I’d say the same for Tyson as well. It’s a high-pace, high-motion offense that resulted in the eighth-most targets to receivers last season. Olave will need an improvement in the offense to combat the volume being split in 2026. Even with a player like Rashid Shaheed last season, Olave saw an increase in his air yard share from 35% to 50% once Shaheed was traded to Seattle. Adding in Tyson will help Tyler Shough and the Saints, but will make it tough for Olave to keep his fantasy WR1 status.
After losing Kenneth Walker III in free agency, Seattle signed Green Bay RB Emanuel Wilson to pair with Zach Charbonnet. Ever since the Seahawks drafted Charbonnet in the second round of the 2023 Draft, dynasty managers have been waiting for the time where he could take over the backfield. If it weren’t for his ACL tear a few months back, that time may have been right now. Nevertheless, the Seahawks chose to bring in another RB to the room by using their Round 1 selection on Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price.
Charbonnet will be healthy early on in the season, but his playing time is likely to be limited with the support of the new running backs. When Walker entered the season hampered in 2025, the Seahawks famously lowered his snaps and maximized his health for the playoffs. Like Allgeier, it destroys Charbonnet’s upside long-term as he relies heavily on goal-line work for his fantasy production. Even with 12 touchdowns last season, Charb ended as the RB30 in fantasy football.
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Michael Pittman Jr. landing in Pittsburgh was bad enough for DK Metcalf, and now the Steelers used their second-round selection on Alabama WR Germie Bernard. After failing to land Makai Lemon on Day 1, Pittsburgh went WR with its next pick, making it clear that it wanted more firepower in the room.
In 2025, the Steelers ranked 29th in WR fantasy points, something that needs to change under the new coaching staff if either of these receivers is going to have a chance. Bernard has been touted as a reliable, smart WR that can be counted on in the quick passing game. Rodgers is not known for loving rookie wideouts, but that sounds exactly like what he looks for.
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At the end of the day, the Hall of Fame QB hasn’t averaged 250 passing yards since his 2021 MVP season with the Packers. At 43 years old, can Rodgers do enough to support Metcalf and Pittman, or will both fall back to fantasy WR3 status in 2026?
A Round 4 running back doesn’t often make a big impact, but it could affect RJ Harvey more than most. For the first time since 2003, zero running backs were taken in Round 2 of the NFL Draft. After that, I thought surely we’d see a mini-run in Round 3. Then the round ends with only Kaelon Black, a projected seventh-rounder, being selected by the 49ers as the lone RB from Rounds 2 and 3. The running back class as a whole is sub-par, yet there are some hopefuls, such as Jonah Coleman, who was looked upon highly in the pre-draft process.
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Coleman ended up in Denver at the top of Round 4. Sean Payton’s Broncos have had no shortage of rotations and committees in his Denver stint. Harvey’s fantasy breakout was fully halted by J.K. Dobbins and only came upon his injury late in the season. If Coleman begins to take carries on top of Dobbins, there’s little Harvey’s receiving can do to make up for it. Before Dobbins’ injury, Harvey only had 24% of the team’s carries. If rumors of Coleman’s short-yardage role become true, the short stretch of Harvey being a bellcow in Denver, which led to RB2 production, may be short-lived.