12 Rookies Fantasy Football Owners Need To Watch On Tonight's NFL Preseason Schedule: Carnell Tate Looks To Wow

12 rookies that fantasy football owners should be keeping a close eye on in tonight's slate of NFL preseason games.

Tennessee Titans wider receiver Carnell Tate (14) makes a catch during training camp at Vanderbilt Health Football Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tonight we get our first full night of preseason football. We have six games on the schedule, and of course, while we are all excited to have NFL football back, we will be keeping a close eye on the newcomers to the league. It's the rookies that we want to see show out, especially fantasy football and dynasty fantasy football owners. These are 12 rookies to watch on tonight's slate of preseason games.

QB Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft is going to take the field tonight for the first time as a Raider. Coming off an outstanding Heisman Trophy-winning season, he is tasked with turning around the Raiders' fortunes. He has superstar potential and is definitely a player to watch tonight.

QB Carson Beck, Arizona Cardinals

Beck looked incredible last week in the Hall of Fame Game and will get another shot to show what he's got tonight. He has a legitimate shot to take over the starting role by the end of this season if things go sideways for the Cardinals, which they likely will. If you own Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison, or Michael Wilson, you should be keeping a close eye on Beck tonight.

QB Drew Allar, Pittsburgh Steelers

Allar is not a prospect I was high on, but he has the physical upside to be a star; he just so happens to be a terrible quarterback. Nevertheless, on rare occasions these players do develop, Josh Allen for example. When your starter is 42 years old, the starting job is never all that far away.

RB Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals

Love is the star of the 2026 fantasy football class. It doesn't matter what format you are drafting in, Love is the first rookie off the board. He has high expectations to meet, something even stars like Bijan Robinson and Ashton Jeanty have struggled to do in their rookie season. We can't wait to see what Love looks like on an NFL field.

RB Nicholas Singleton, Tennessee Titans

Singleton is one of our big-time sleeper rookies this season. We fully expect him to enter 2027 as the Titans' starting running back, and he could potentially take over the job by the end of this season. This is the player we will be keeping the closest eye on tonight.

RB Mike Washington Jr, Las Vegas Raiders

It's likely that Washington will be relegated to being Jeanty's handcuff, but that's still an important role in fantasy football. We need to see how much juice he has, just in case the Raiders are forced to turn to him during the season.

WR Carnell Tate, Tennessee Titans

This is the best wide receiver in this year's draft class and a potential Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate. Personally, I believe he's the favorite to win the award. All eyes will be on Tate. A monster performance could spike his ADP.

WR Germie Bernard, Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers have had a tendency to nail these second-round wide receiver picks, and that's exactly what Bernard is. While we don't expect a huge impact from him this season behind DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr, he could be the future in Pittsburgh.

WR Brenen Thompson, Los Angeles Chargers

All we have heard about Thompson is how fast he is and how much Mike McDaniel loves him. He ran an impressive 4.26 40-yard dash; now let's see what he can do on the field with pads on.

WR Colbie Young, Cincinnati Bengals

Young is a wide receiver who played for the University of Miami and Georgie during his college days, which is why a lot of people were excited to see him on the next level. He flashed a lot of big-play ability at Miami and will look to become that third option in Cincinnati.

WR Deion Burks, Indianapolis Colts

Burks was a popular sleeper in this year's draft, but he ended up falling all the way to the seventh round. Nevertheless, with Alec Pierce's health up in the air and a shallow WR depth chart in Indy, Burks seeing significant playing time early in the season isn't out of the question if he has a great August.

TE Eli Raridon, New England Patriots

Raridon could be the eventual replacement for Hunter Henry in New England. With Henry getting up there in age at 32, the Patriots drafted Raridon in the third round. He could be the future at the position as a top target for Drake Maye.

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