Nine weeks into the 2026 season, the box score still only tells you part of the story. A two-touchdown game means a lot more when the player is also getting more goal-line carries. A quiet receiving day is less worrying when the targets are still there. Workloads, efficiency, injuries, and scoring chances are all shaping my rest-of-season rankings heading into Week 10, and so is Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Joe Burrow, Jonah Coleman and Matthew Golden are climbing because their roles back up their production. Coleman has taken over Denver’s backfield, and Golden has seen double-digit targets in three straight games. On the other side, Blake Corum keeps taking work from Kyren Williams, Nico Collins’ target share keeps shrinking, and Baltimore’s quarterback problems are dragging Derrick Henry down. Those trends go beyond one bad game. The deadline also contained rankings updates for Josh Downs, Justin Jefferson, and Keenan Allen, so I start with those three. After that come the biggest risers and fallers, with the numbers behind each move, in full-PPR scoring.
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]
Trade Deadline Movers
Josh Downs, WR (KC)
Downs got the trade he asked for. Indianapolis sent him to Kansas City for a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, and the Chiefs got a seventh-rounder back. His new quarterback is the main reason his value goes up. Downs had a decent role with the Colts. He ranked 21st among receivers in targets and was the first read on 75% of his targets, but he turned that into only 33 catches, 354 yards, and one touchdown in nine games. Now he’s catching passes from Patrick Mahomes, and he should step in as the No. 2 target behind Rashee Rice. He’ll be competing with Xavier Worthy for those targets, and his quick routes underneath give Mahomes something the Chiefs’ passing game has been missing. There’s some risk while he learns a new offense, but a secure slot role with Mahomes is worth more than what he had in Indianapolis. I’d treat him as a PPR flex with WR3 upside once he settles in.
Justin Jefferson, WR (MIN)
Minnesota fixed Jefferson’s biggest problem by sending a 2027 third-round pick to the Raiders for Kirk Cousins. Jefferson’s role was never the issue. He leads the Vikings with a 25.7% target share and is the first read on 68% of his targets. The offense just couldn’t get him the ball, and he’s averaging a career-low 56.1 receiving yards per game. Cousins played well in Las Vegas, ranking seventh among quarterbacks in fantasy points per game through nine starts. He also knows Jefferson better than any quarterback in the league does. From 2020 to 2023, they connected for 5,348 yards, including Jefferson’s 2022 season, when he led the NFL with 128 catches and 1,809 yards. I’m moving Jefferson back into the top tier of receivers, and Minnesota’s schedule the rest of the way is friendly enough to support it.
Keenan Allen, WR (SF)
Allen was traded to San Francisco for a 2027 sixth-round pick, and his ranking stays the same. The short-term setup is good. Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel are both out, so Allen could be the 49ers’ top receiver for now, and he has been the first read on 79% of his targets this season. The problem is how long that lasts. Once Evans and Samuel come back, he’s probably the third receiver in an offense that also feeds its tight end and running backs. And at 34, he’s averaging only 8.8 yards per catch, so he needs a lot of targets to help you. If he was dropped in your league, he’s worth picking up and starting while the 49ers are shorthanded. I’m not projecting him past that.
Rankings Risers
Joe Burrow, QB (CIN) — QB2
Burrow is the hottest quarterback in football. He went 24 of 29 for 271 yards and three touchdowns against Atlanta and ran in another score, and Cincinnati has now put up at least 30 points in four straight games. Over that stretch, he has 1,215 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, and three interceptions, with at least three touchdown passes every week. For the season, he’s completing 74% of his passes at 8.06 yards per attempt, and the offense keeps scoring even when defenses know he’s throwing.
Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are a big reason it’s working. Both can beat coverage deep and near the goal line, so Burrow doesn’t need one of them to explode for the offense to move. Cincinnati also doesn’t hesitate to throw to finish drives, which keeps his touchdown totals high. Josh Allen is still my QB1, but nobody has a better case for the second spot than Burrow does right now.
C.J. Stroud, QB (HOU) — QB11
Stroud threw for 384 yards and five touchdowns against the Chargers in Houston’s 44–22 win, completing 21 of 35 passes. He was already on a roll before Sunday. In his previous four games, he threw for 1,073 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception, including 347 yards against Dallas and 312 yards and three scores against Jacksonville. He has thrown at least 31 passes in four of his last five games, and the one exception, a 153-yard game against the Giants, still produced two touchdowns.
Tank Dell’s return gives Stroud another receiver who can turn a short throw into a long touchdown, and Kayshon Boutte has earned more targets too. The schedule has some good spots, with Indianapolis in Week 11, Washington in Week 14, and Philadelphia in Week 16. It also has Pittsburgh and a second Jacksonville game, though Stroud already handled the Jaguars once. His bye is out of the way. With this much volume and a deeper receiving group, he’s back in the low-end QB1 range.
Bucky Irving, RB (TB) — RB6
Irving ran 20 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns against Chicago and caught four passes for 28 yards, scoring 28.5 PPR points. The week before, he ran 27 times for 170 yards and a touchdown against Atlanta. That’s 295 scrimmage yards and three scores in two games. Kenneth Gainwell still got some work Sunday, but Irving took 20 of the backfield’s 25 carries, and Tampa Bay kept feeding him even while trailing. His big game against Atlanta came in a shutout win, so it’s encouraging to see the workload hold up when the script flips.
I wouldn’t count on four catches every week. Irving has 22 receptions for 106 yards this season, and Gainwell will keep some of the passing-down snaps. Irving’s value comes from the carries and the goal-line work. He scored both of the Buccaneers’ rushing touchdowns Sunday, and he’s averaging 4.94 yards per carry with 595 yards after contact this season. Baker Mayfield’s ups and downs can limit how often Tampa Bay gets close to the end zone, but Irving has produced anyway. He’s a weekly RB1.
Breece Hall, RB (NYJ) — RB14
Hall got the bigger workload back in his first game since a quad injury, running 15 times for 61 yards and catching three passes against Kansas City. Braelon Allen played more snaps, but Hall out-touched him 18–10 and got 19 of the 29 carries and targets that went to the two backs. Before the injury, Hall was averaging 17 carries and 3.3 catches a game. He came back close to that level even though Allen played well while he was out.
Allen’s third-down role is what keeps Hall at RB14. Allen took most of the third-down snaps Sunday, and that takes away the big receiving games that turn Hall from an RB2 into a top-five back. Hall can still catch passes on early downs, but he isn’t getting every passing situation, and that hurts most when the Jets fall behind. The good news is that he got the most touches immediately after a long absence. He’s back in lineups, and he has room to climb if his snaps go up.
Jonah Coleman, RB (DEN) — RB15
Coleman ran 17 times for 57 yards and a touchdown against Carolina, caught all four of his targets for 31 yards, and played 77% of Denver’s snaps. J.K. Dobbins played just 11. Coleman ran 27 routes and finished with 21 touches. The week before, he played 19 of Denver’s last 21 snaps. Sean Payton is using him on passing downs and near the goal line, so he can produce even when the running lanes aren’t there. He averaged just 3.4 yards per carry Sunday and still scored 18.8 PPR points.
RJ Harvey’s return will probably cut into Coleman’s work, so I’m not projecting 77% of the snaps the rest of the way. Payton likes to use more than one back when he has the options. Even so, Coleman has moved well ahead of Dobbins, and his receiving role means he doesn’t need 20 carries to be useful. Denver is off in Week 10, which gives you a chance to trade for him before he plays again. He’s an RB2 with RB1 upside until Denver shows us otherwise.
Blake Corum, RB (LAR) — RB21
Corum ran 11 times for 58 yards and a touchdown against Washington, out-gaining Kyren Williams on the ground on four fewer carries. Over the last three games, Corum has 39 carries for 224 yards and three touchdowns. Williams has 47 for 200 yards and two scores in that span. Corum’s share of their combined carries has jumped to 45.3% from 37% over the first six games, when he trailed Williams 80 carries to 47. Williams still plays more snaps, but this is close to an even split on the ground now.
Corum played 37% of the snaps Sunday and punched in a touchdown from the 1, which shows how he can pay off without taking over the backfield. He’s averaging 5.20 yards per carry this season, with 58.14% of his runs counting as successful, and the Rams keep giving him double-digit carries. His catches are the problem. He has one in his last three games, so he needs touchdowns, and an 11-carry game without one won’t help you. He’s a low-end RB2 or flex while Williams is healthy, with a much higher ceiling if he ever gets the job to himself.
Matthew Golden, WR (GB) — WR6
Golden caught all 10 of his targets for 164 yards and a touchdown against New England, scoring 32.4 PPR points. Christian Watson had a huge game too, but Golden led the Packers in targets and catches. He’d already seen 12 targets in Week 7 and 13 in Week 8, so this is 35 targets over three games and not a one-week fluke. For the season, he has 53 catches for 783 yards and five touchdowns, a 28% target share and 2.45 yards per route run. Those are WR1 numbers.
Jordan Love is playing well enough to keep both Golden and Watson productive, and Watson’s big games don’t have to come at Golden’s expense. Golden’s average target travels nearly 14 yards downfield, so some will fall incomplete, but he gets enough of them to absorb the misses. That steady double-digit volume, plus the deep shots, puts him ahead of receivers who need a touchdown or a soft matchup to have a good week.
Luther Burden III, WR (CHI) — WR13
Burden caught seven of nine targets for 97 yards and a touchdown against Tampa Bay before leaving late with a concussion. A lost fumble took some points away. The week before, he tied for the team lead against Seattle with a 26.5% target share. Chicago still isn’t playing him full-time, but Caleb Williams looks for him whenever he’s out there. He drew nine targets on 25 routes Sunday, a 36% rate. For the season, he has 49 catches for 644 yards and four touchdowns and averages 2.65 yards per route run.
His limited playing time is a real concern. He was on the field for 61% of the snaps Sunday, and his snaps were inconsistent even before the concussion. I’m ranking him this high anyway because he’s producing in that role. His 353 yards after the catch mean he doesn’t need Williams to hit a lot of tough throws downfield. More routes would cut down on his quiet weeks. The bye gives him extra time to recover, but he still has to clear the concussion protocol. Once he’s healthy, start him as a high-end WR2.
Rome Odunze, WR (CHI) — WR29
Odunze caught four of seven targets for 60 yards and his first touchdown of the season against Tampa Bay. He had 69 yards against New England and 87 against Seattle before that, so he’s at 216 yards over his last three games. He drew six targets against Seattle and seven Sunday, enough for solid PPR games without needing a long touchdown. He also ran 32 routes against the Buccaneers and led Chicago with 108 air yards. While Burden and Colston Loveland handle a lot of the short stuff, Odunze is getting the downfield work.
The competition for targets keeps him below the more reliable WR2s, but he’s still worth starting. He out-targeted Loveland seven to six Sunday, and his yardage has been steadier lately than his early fantasy finishes suggested. His 17.47% target share and 1.65 yards per route run for the season leave room to grow, and his 14.65-yard average target depth means some of those throws will be tough to complete. He’s a WR3 because Chicago is giving him steady routes and targets. More red-zone looks would turn those yardage games into bigger weeks.
KC Concepcion, WR (CLE) — WR30
Concepcion caught four of six targets for 85 yards against New Orleans, including a 64-yard touchdown, and added a 3-yard run to finish with 18.8 PPR points. He ran a team-high 42 routes. His last three games show both the upside and the risk. He caught eight of 10 targets for 129 yards against Tennessee, three for 37 against Pittsburgh, and then had Sunday’s long touchdown, which made up most of his yardage. His playing time is more reliable than his production.
Cleveland hasn’t named its Week 10 starter, but Concepcion runs enough routes to produce with either Shedeur Sanders or Deshaun Watson. He has close to a 20% target share this season and averages 1.62 yards per route run. That’s WR3-level work, even if it hasn’t added up to steady yardage yet. His short routes give him chances to make plays after the catch, and Sunday showed what happens when he breaks one. I’m moving him up because he plays a lot and has two strong games in his last three. He stops at WR30 because six targets in a shaky passing game can easily add up to nothing when the big play doesn’t happen.
Makai Lemon, WR (PHI) — WR35
Lemon caught six of nine targets for 61 yards against the Giants, leading Philadelphia in targets, catches and yards in Joe Milton’s first start. He also caught six of nine targets against Washington the week before, so that’s 12 catches on 18 targets over two games. DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks missed both games, which opened up far more work than Lemon had been getting. He has 37 catches for 312 yards this season, and roughly a third of both came in those two games.
Smith’s return would likely end Lemon’s run as the team’s top target, and Wicks would be one more receiver competing for routes. Lemon’s last two games help his case for a regular role, but his 0.97 yards per route run doesn’t make him hard to take off the field. Philadelphia also needs better quarterback play before any of its secondary receivers can be trusted. While the Eagles are shorthanded, Lemon is a deep-league WR3 or flex, especially in PPR. I’m not assuming the nine-target games last once everyone is healthy.
Rankings Fallers
Drake Maye, QB (NE) — QB6
Maye threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns against Green Bay, but he also threw three interceptions, all in the first half, and took four sacks. He has 11 interceptions this season. The touchdowns saved his fantasy day, and he still finished with about 18 points, but the turnovers cost points and killed drives that could have produced more. Quarterbacks who put up big numbers without giving points back had better weeks.
This is a small drop, mostly because Burrow passed him. Maye has thrown or run for at least three touchdowns in six straight games, and he has 219 rushing yards and three rushing scores this season, so you’re still starting him every week. But he needs a lot of touchdowns to make up for the turnovers, and Burrow has been just as productive lately without the mistakes. Maye is still a weekly QB1 with top-three upside. He’s QB6 because I’d take five quarterbacks over him the rest of the way, and the interceptions make him more of a gamble week to week.
Kyren Williams, RB (LAR) — RB9
Williams ran 15 times for 45 yards against Washington and caught three passes for 16 yards, finishing with 9.1 PPR points. Corum got 11 carries, gained more yards on the ground, and scored from the 1. Over the last three games, Williams leads Corum 47 to 39 in carries, but Corum leads 224 to 200 in rushing yards and three to two in rushing touchdowns. Williams played 63% of the snaps Sunday and still got more total opportunities. The issue is that Corum now takes enough carries, including at the goal line, to shrink Williams’ edge over other starting backs.
Williams’ receiving role keeps him ahead of Corum, but it has faded too. He caught 22 passes from Weeks 3–5, then nine from Weeks 6–9, including only six in his last three games. He has 36 catches for 258 yards this season, so the Rams clearly trust him as a receiver. It just hasn’t been enough lately to make up for losing carries. He’s still an RB1 because he leads the backfield in a good offense and averages 4.67 yards per carry. The drop to RB9 reflects a smaller workload edge, with Corum now able to take the touchdown that used to save a quiet Williams game.
Derrick Henry, RB (BAL) — RB18
Henry ran 17 times for 57 yards against Jacksonville with no touchdown and no catches. Over his last three games, he has 155 rushing yards on 45 carries, three catches for 11 yards and one touchdown. Baltimore scored 13, 10 and 10 points in those games, so he hasn’t had many chances to turn an average day into a good fantasy game. His touchdown against Buffalo got him to 14 PPR points, but the other two games finished under six. He’s still getting carries. He just isn’t doing much with them, and he isn’t getting near the end zone.
Jacoby Brissett is expected to start in Week 10 and should move the offense better than Joe Fagnano did against Jacksonville. The next two games, against the Chargers and Carolina, give Henry a chance to bounce back. After that come Houston, the bye, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh, which aren’t easy. Henry has just 12 catches for 75 yards this season, so he gives you almost nothing when Baltimore falls behind. He’s an RB2 for now, and he’ll look better if Brissett can get the offense into the red zone more often.
Chase Brown, RB (CIN) — RB19
Cincinnati has scored 112 points in its last three games, and Brown hasn’t scored in any of them. He finished with 9.8, 16.1 and 10.5 PPR points, and his best game came from eight catches against Tennessee, despite a lost fumble. He had 11, 12, and nine carries in those games. Against Atlanta, he ran for 57 yards and caught three passes for 18 yards, while Samaje Perine got 11 carries. Perine’s work came late with Cincinnati protecting a lead, so their split looks closer than it was.
That doesn’t fix Brown’s fantasy problem. He’s still the lead back and gets passing-game work, but the Bengals’ points aren’t turning into touchdowns for him. He hasn’t scored since Week 1, and on Sunday he was stuffed at the goal line before Burrow ran it in himself. He’s averaging 3.85 yards per carry this season, and only 35.92% of his runs have been successful. His 39 catches keep him useful in PPR, but with nine to 12 carries a game, he needs either those catches or a touchdown. I can’t keep ranking him on what this offense should do for him. He’s a low-end RB2, and if you have a more reliable back, bench Brown.
Ollie Gordon II, RB (MIA) — RB20
Gordon ran 16 times for 55 yards against Detroit and caught his only target for nine yards, scoring 7.4 PPR points. The week before, he ran 19 times for 69 yards with no catches against New England, scoring 6.9. That’s 35 carries over two games with very little to show for it. He played about 71% of the snaps Sunday and got 17 of the backfield’s 19 carries and targets. There’s no question who Miami’s running back is. The question is how much that job is worth in fantasy.
Gordon is averaging 4.33 yards per carry, but only 29.9% of his runs have produced positive EPA. His seven catches for 23 yards give you nothing to fall back on when the running game stalls. He does have four rushing touchdowns, which is why he’s still at RB20 and not on the bench. A workload this big can still produce good games, especially against weak defenses, but Miami has to move the ball to set them up, and it hasn’t done that often. Gordon is a volume RB2, and he’s easier to bench than a similar back who catches a few passes when his team falls behind.
Nico Collins, WR (HOU) — WR16
Collins caught all four of his targets for 55 yards and a touchdown against the Chargers, finishing with 15.5 PPR points. The touchdown hid another low target total. Over his last six games, his target shares were about 27%, 31%, 21%, 16%, 18%, and 11%. That’s four straight games under 22%, and the lowest came on the day Stroud threw for 384 yards and five touchdowns. Collins ran 31 routes Sunday, about 78% of Houston’s pass plays, so he was on the field plenty. The ball just went to other receivers.
Dell drew nine targets on 22 routes, and Xavier Hutchinson and Kayshon Boutte got five each. None of them has to replace Collins as the No. 1 option to hurt his value. They only need to keep taking enough targets that his big games come less often. Collins averages 2.09 yards per route run this season, so I’m still starting him. I just can’t project WR1 numbers from a roughly 20% target share that keeps sliding. He can still have good games on efficiency and touchdowns, like he did Sunday. At WR16, he’s a weekly WR2, not the eight-to-10-target receiver I want in my top tier.
Ladd McConkey, WR (LAC) — WR36
McConkey felt back spasms during warmups against Houston and never played a snap, leaving anyone who started him with a zero. Jim Harbaugh called him day-to-day on Monday, so he might not miss another game. His previous game, against the Rams, was better than the recent frustration suggests. He played 90.2% of the snaps, ran a route on 94.6% of the pass plays, and caught four of six targets for 86 yards. That’s a full workload. Still, he didn’t see a target in the second half, and one 54-yard catch made up most of his yardage.
His one-catch, 17-yard game against Kansas City came in the game where he got a concussion, so I’m not counting it against him. The bigger problem is that he hasn’t stayed healthy in a working offense for two weeks in a row. His 2.22 yards per route run says he’ll produce when he’s out there. But the Chargers’ pass protection, Justin Herbert’s hand injury, and McConkey’s own back make that hard to count on. Hold him if you can, because his Week 8 role shows the job is still his. Until he’s healthy, though, you need another receiver you can start without this much risk.
Sam LaPorta, TE (DET) — TE9
LaPorta caught four of five targets for 32 yards against Miami. Over his last three games, he has eight catches for 83 yards and no touchdowns on two, five, and five targets. Compare that with Week 4 against Carolina, when he caught eight of 13 targets for 84 yards, and the next game against Arizona, when he caught five passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. His production has clearly dropped. Still, his five targets Sunday came on just 25 Detroit pass attempts, a 20% share. The Lions are still throwing to him. They just aren’t throwing much, and he hasn’t done much with his targets.
LaPorta has an 18.22% target share and averages 1.56 yards per route run this season. That’s enough to expect a rebound and to keep him in the TE1 range. The problem is that Detroit can win games without giving him the kind of volume he got against Carolina. His recent yardage isn’t enough without a touchdown, and he hasn’t scored since Week 5. Right now he’s playing like a streamer. I’ll still start him in good matchups, but I’d take a tight end who has been producing lately over assuming LaPorta’s big week is coming.
| RK | Player | Pos | Bye | Best | Worst | AVG | Trend | Value | Rating |
|---|