Week 1 gave us our first real look at how NFL backfields, target shares, snap counts, and offensive roles are taking shape in 2026. While one game shouldn’t completely change how we value a player, some performances and usage trends are too important to ignore. Here are the biggest risers and fallers in my updated fantasy football rest-of-season rankings following Week 1.
Full Rest-of-Season Fantasy Football Rankings
Looking for the complete rankings? Jump to the full rest-of-season rankings below to see where every QB, RB, WR, and TE currently stands in PPR, Half-PPR, and Standard formats.
[Jump to Full Rest-of-Season Rankings]
Rankings Risers
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence picked up exactly where he left off last season, completing 18-of-23 passes for 245 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions while averaging 10.7 yards per attempt against a Cleveland defense that I expected to give Jacksonville some problems. This isn’t just me overreacting to four touchdowns either. Lawrence finished 2025 as the QB6 in fantasy points per game and was the QB1 from Weeks 12-18, ranking third in yards per attempt and second in passing touchdowns during that stretch. Jacksonville’s offense now looks even deeper with Parker Washington continuing his breakout alongside Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers and Brenton Strange. Lawrence earned an 86.2 PFF passing grade and generated +0.82 EPA per pass play in Week 1 despite attempting only 23 passes because Jacksonville was up 24-0 at halftime. The rushing touchdowns from last season will probably regress, but the passing breakout increasingly looks real. I’m moving Lawrence up my rest-of-season rankings and treating him as a legitimate top-tier fantasy quarterback.
Kenneth Walker III, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Kenneth Walker couldn’t have made a stronger first impression in Kansas City. He handled 23 carries for 173 yards and a touchdown while adding three receptions for 18 yards and another score against a Denver defense that entered the season as one of the league’s best units. More importantly than the 191 total yards, Kansas City treated Walker like a legitimate workhorse. He received seven carries on the Chiefs’ first nine offensive plays and consistently dominated the backfield while the game remained competitive. That’s a massive development after there were questions throughout the offseason about exactly how Andy Reid would divide this backfield. Walker has always possessed elite big-play ability when healthy, and now he’s attached to Patrick Mahomes and an offense capable of creating considerably better scoring opportunities than he had in Seattle. If Week 1 is anywhere close to the workload we’re getting moving forward, Walker belongs firmly in the RB1 conversation for the rest of the season.
David Montgomery, RB, Houston Texans
I was probably too low on David Montgomery entering the season because Week 1 showed Houston didn’t sign him to simply split touches evenly with Woody Marks. Montgomery handled 20 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns while catching all three of his targets for another 19 yards and a score, giving him 23 touches in his Texans debut. The efficiency wasn’t anything special at 3.0 yards per carry, but that’s not what has me moving him up. Montgomery and Marks essentially split the snaps 51/49, yet Montgomery won the touch battle 23-10 and was consistently trusted in the high-value situations that have made him such a productive fantasy back throughout his career. Three touchdowns obviously aren’t repeatable every week, but his combination of early-down volume, goal-line work, and involvement as a receiver gives him more ways to score than I expected entering the year. As long as Houston continues giving Montgomery this type of opportunity, he’s moving comfortably up my rest-of-season running back rankings.
Kaelon Black, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Kaelon Black might be the biggest rankings riser who didn’t even have a huge fantasy performance in Week 1. The rookie played a legitimate role immediately and actually out-carried Christian McCaffrey 14-10, finishing with 65 rushing yards and another five yards through the air. PFF noted that San Francisco split its early-down snaps between McCaffrey and Black far more evenly than at any point during McCaffrey’s time with the 49ers outside of his first few weeks after arriving in 2022. That’s meaningful after Kyle Shanahan spent the offseason talking about reducing McCaffrey’s workload following more than 400 touches last year. I’m obviously not ranking Black anywhere near McCaffrey or expecting him to lead this backfield every week, but his role is considerably larger than a traditional handcuff. San Francisco gets Miami and Arizona over the next two weeks, which could create more opportunities for Black in positive game scripts. He already has standalone value in deeper leagues, and if McCaffrey were ever forced to miss time, Black now looks like the clear next man up in one of the best environments for running back production.
Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens
The only thing that stopped Zay Flowers in Week 1 was his hamstring. Flowers caught five of six targets for 150 yards and a touchdown despite running only 11 routes before leaving Baltimore’s win over Indianapolis. According to PFF, he produced an absurd 13.64 yards per route run and earned an initial 94.0 receiving grade. I obviously don’t expect that efficiency to continue, but the performance reinforced why I’m willing to move Flowers up once we know the hamstring isn’t a significant problem. Baltimore wasn’t just feeding him underneath targets either; Flowers consistently created explosive plays and looked like the clear difference-maker in this passing game. The hamstring remains the only thing preventing me from moving him even more aggressively, especially after it bothered him before Week 1 and forced him out of the opener. Assuming Flowers gets healthy, Week 1 gave us another glimpse of the ceiling he can reach as Lamar Jackson’s top wide receiver.
Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
Christian Watson is finally healthy, and Week 1 reminded everyone why his fantasy ceiling has always been so intriguing. Watson caught six of eight targets for 147 yards and two touchdowns against Minnesota, including an 81-yard score, after averaging 17.5 yards per reception in his return from a torn ACL last season. The touchdowns and 147 yards obviously won’t happen every week, but the underlying role was encouraging. Watson played more than three-quarters of Green Bay’s offensive snaps and commanded a 20% target share in an offense that no longer has Romeo Doubs or Dontayvion Wicks competing for opportunities. Matthew Golden actually led Green Bay in targets, so I’m not suddenly projecting Watson to dominate this passing game every week. What changed for me is that we now have a healthy Watson playing a significant role alongside Golden and Jayden Reed. His combination of Jordan Love, downfield usage, and touchdown upside makes him considerably easier to trust as a weekly WR2/WR3 than he was entering the season.
Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills
Dalton Kincaid’s 130-yard performance was impressive, but the biggest reason he’s moving up my rankings is that Buffalo finally gave him the playing time we’ve been waiting for. Kincaid caught five of six targets for 130 yards against Houston while playing 72.4% of Buffalo’s offensive snaps and running a route on 69% of the team’s dropbacks. That route participation was a major change from the limited role that consistently capped his fantasy production last season. According to Fantasy Points Data, Kincaid was already one of the NFL’s most efficient tight ends on a per-route basis, ranking near the top of the position in both target rate and yards per route run. The talent and efficiency have never really been my concern; Buffalo simply wasn’t putting him on the field enough. If the Bills are finally willing to combine that efficiency with a legitimate receiving role, his fantasy ceiling changes considerably. I’m not expecting 130 yards every week, but Kincaid is moving aggressively up my rest-of-season tight end rankings because the Week 1 usage looks like the role we’ve been waiting to see.
Rankings Fallers
Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
I’m not panicking on Jayden Daniels after one difficult matchup against Philadelphia, but I’m moving him down slightly because some of the concerns I had entering the season showed up immediately. Daniels completed just 18-of-34 passes for 164 yards, averaging 4.8 yards per attempt while adding five carries for 31 yards. The two passing touchdowns salvaged a respectable fantasy day, but his rushing workload was noticeably lower than what we saw when he was fully healthy last season. That’s important because Daniels’ rushing ceiling is what allows us to overlook inconsistent passing production, especially after all the injuries he dealt with in 2025. Philadelphia is one of the league’s toughest defenses, so I’m not treating this as evidence Daniels suddenly isn’t a QB1, and a much easier matchup with Dallas gives him an immediate opportunity to bounce back. I’m simply lowering him within that QB1 tier until we see the elite rushing usage and efficiency return.
Omarion Hampton, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Omarion Hampton scored in Week 1, but I’m more concerned about everything surrounding the touchdown. Hampton played only 58.2% of the Chargers’ offensive snaps while Keaton Mitchell handled 30.9%, and Mitchell was the preferred option on third downs and in the two-minute offense. Hampton dominated the normal early-down work and finished with 10 carries, but he wasn’t targeted despite running 17 routes. Even more concerning, Kimani Vidal entered for Los Angeles’ lone goal-line opportunity. That’s a difficult combination for fantasy because Hampton could lose receiving opportunities to Mitchell while also not having complete control of the most valuable carries near the end zone. I still think Hampton is clearly the best running back in this backfield and expect his workload to grow as the season progresses, so this isn’t a major collapse in my rankings. But I drafted him expecting a path toward a true three-down role, and Week 1 instead showed a potentially frustrating committee that lowers both his floor and ceiling.
Quinshon Judkins, RB, Cleveland Browns
There was actually one encouraging development for Quinshon Judkins in Week 1: his early-down role expanded significantly. Judkins played 83.8% of Cleveland’s normal early-down snaps after averaging just 61.1% last season, so I’m not worried about another back taking his primary rushing role. The problem is that his fantasy profile remains extremely dependent on game script. Cleveland fell behind Jacksonville 24-0 by halftime, and Judkins continued to come off the field on third downs and during the two-minute offense while Raheim Sanders handled those passing situations. That gives Judkins very little margin for error when Cleveland falls behind, which could happen frequently with how poorly this offense looked in Week 1. He also gets another difficult matchup against Tampa Bay before a much better spot against Carolina. The increased early-down share keeps me from making a dramatic adjustment, but I’m moving Judkins down because his lack of receiving work could make him much more volatile than his raw carry share suggests.
Travis Etienne Jr., RB, New Orleans Saints
Travis Etienne’s first game with New Orleans was a mixed bag, but the rushing rotation was considerably more concerning than I expected entering the season. Etienne finished with 16 touches, including seven receptions for 32 yards, so his involvement in the passing game was actually one of the most encouraging developments from Week 1. The problem was what happened on early downs. With Alvin Kamara inactive and much of the Saints’ running back depth already dealing with injuries, Etienne still received only nine carries for 46 yards while Kendre Miller matched him with nine rushing attempts. CJ Donaldson also handled much of the third-down work, and all three backs were involved in short-yardage situations. The seven receptions give Etienne a valuable fantasy floor, especially in PPR formats, but I entered the season expecting him to control more of the traditional rushing workload while Kamara was unavailable. If the Saints are already comfortable rotating Miller this heavily, Kamara’s eventual return could make this backfield even more difficult to project. I’m lowering Etienne slightly despite the excellent receiving usage because his path to consistent RB2 volume suddenly looks less secure.
Jaylen Waddle, WR, Denver Broncos
I’m not dropping Jaylen Waddle because he had one bad game against Kansas City; I’m dropping him because his first game with Denver gave us almost nothing encouraging about his role. Waddle caught just one pass for two yards and barely factored into the passing game as the entire Broncos offense struggled to generate anything consistently. Denver finished with only 176 total yards; the offensive line had problems protecting Bo Nix, and new offensive coordinator Davis Webb’s first game calling plays never found much of a rhythm. One ugly performance against Steve Spagnuolo isn’t enough for me to abandon Waddle, especially because his talent gives Denver plenty of reasons to manufacture more opportunities moving forward. The concern is that we’re now dealing with a crowded offense featuring Courtland Sutton, Evan Engram, and several running backs rather than the concentrated target environment Waddle had at his best in Miami. I still expect him to emerge as one of Denver’s top targets, but until the offense proves it can consistently support multiple fantasy receivers, Waddle has to move down my rest-of-season rankings.
Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
Courtland Sutton is falling for many of the same reasons as Waddle, but I’m more concerned about Sutton’s long-term ceiling. He finished with just two receptions for 11 yards against Kansas City and was barely involved during the first half, which isn’t what I wanted to see after Denver added Waddle to an already crowded group of pass catchers. Sutton has traditionally relied heavily on downfield opportunities and touchdowns for fantasy production, and those opportunities become harder to project if he isn’t clearly near the top of the target hierarchy anymore. The good news is that he still played a major role in the offense, so I’m not writing him off after one game against an excellent Chiefs secondary. But Sutton turns 31 this season, Waddle gives Denver another proven receiver capable of commanding targets, and the overall offense looked concerning in Week 1. I’m lowering Sutton until we see more consistent volume or a significant improvement from this passing attack.
Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Cleveland Browns
Harold Fannin Jr. is probably my most cautious faller because his playing time was actually fine in Week 1. He remained heavily involved in Cleveland’s offense, playing all of the Browns’ 12-personnel snaps, 90% of their third-down snaps, and the majority of the single-tight end sets on early downs. The problem was what happened when he was on the field. Fannin caught only two of three targets for 21 yards after emerging as a major part of the passing game during his rookie season. According to Fantasy Points Data, Fannin commanded a 19.4% target share and 22.3% first-read share last year, usage that helped make him such a valuable fantasy tight end. Cleveland added considerably more target competition this offseason, and Week 1 gave us our first indication that Fannin might not command that same percentage of the passing game. I’m not moving Fannin outside the group of tight ends I’d consider starting, but his combination of increased target competition and a potentially low-scoring offense lowers the ceiling I had projected entering the year.
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