Signings, departures, and trades shake up the NFL landscape each new league year. Now that the dust has settled, fantasy outlooks are finally coming into a clearer picture. Let’s take a look at three of the biggest benefactors of free agency.
Ashton Jeanty – RB, Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders fielded one of the worst offensive lines in recent memory last year. They led the league in yards before contact at the line of scrimmage and ranked dead-last in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Out of Jeanty’s 975 total rushing yards, 815 of those came after contact as the forgettable Pete Carroll-led Raiders sputtered all season long.
They wasted no time this offseason upgrading, signing C Tyler Linderbaum to a historic 3-year, $81 million contract — the richest ever for an interior offensive lineman. In addition, LT Kolton Miller, who missed most of last season, will be returning at full strength, and the addition of OL Spencer Buford provides a clear upgrade along the interior opposite G Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Not to mention, new HC Klint Kubiak should be eager to hit the ground running (literally) and utilize Jeanty as effectively as possible in his first year as a head coach. While the former Seahawks OC has mentioned adding a complementary back, I doubt it will be anything close to the frustrating split we saw between Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.
Even in a broken offense, Jeanty still led all rookie rushers in rushing yards in 2025 and finished as the RB13 overall (Half-PPR). With a revamped offense and a young, emerging offensive-minded head coach, expect Jeanty to be a solid RB1 in his sophomore season.
Kenneth Walker III – RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Kenneth Walker III’s RB22 finish in 2025 doesn’t come close to capturing how impactful he was when given lead-back volume. Stuck in a committee with Zach Charbonnet most of the year, his volume was capped, but when featured down the stretch, Walker delivered in a big way. He closed the year on a tear, ripping off 313 rushing yards and four touchdowns across three playoff games while averaging 23.4 Half-PPR points per game and taking home Super Bowl MVP.
The talent has never been in question—it’s been the usage. That should change in Kansas City. The Chiefs ranked 24th in rushing yards per game last season and clearly made it a priority to fix the ground game. Walker steps into a backfield with little proven competition for early-down work, and there’s a real path to the highest volume of his career. With Patrick Mahomes working back from injury, Kansas City could lean more on the run early in the season, further boosting Walker’s opportunity.
They could still bring in a passing-down complement, but this won’t be another frustrating committee. If Walker gets anything close to consistent feature-back usage, the talent will do the rest. This is the year he makes the jump into RB1 territory.
Romeo Doubs – WR, New England Patriots
Romeo Doubs has never been a volume-driven fantasy asset, but that could all change in 2026. Buried in a crowded Green Bay rotation for most of his career, Doubs still managed to post career-high numbers last year, hauling in 55 catches for 724 yards and six touchdowns.
Now he lands in New England on a four-year, $80 million deal with a clear path to the top of the depth chart. With Stefon Diggs out of the picture, the Patriots lack a true alpha, and Doubs is in prime position to step into that role and finally see consistent volume.
He’s a reliable route-runner with a 67% catch rate (14th) and a whopping 115.9 passer rating (6th) when targeted. More importantly, he’s shown the ability to command high-value looks, particularly in the red zone and on intermediate/deep routes on the perimeter.
New England could still add another receiver, but for now, Doubs is the clear focal point. If he sees anything close to a true WR1 workload, he has the profile to push past WR3/4 territory and emerge as a fringe WR2 option in 2026.
