2026 Fantasy Football All-Rookie Team: The Best Rising Star at Each Position

A new season brings in a fresh batch of rookies in the National Football League. They all have immense upside. We will all fix our eyes on them as viable fantasy football assets. In my own analysis, I project an All-Rookie Team. This is how a perfect team would look based on my projections and risk ratings.

QB — Fernando Mendoza

Some years, there can be 5+ rookie quarterbacks making starts. In 2026, there are zero. Mendoza will start on the Raiders bench behind Kirk Cousins. Ty Simpson lies in wait until Matthew Stafford's retirement. Other warm benches include Cade Klubnik and Drew Allar.

Mendoza is the most likely quarterback expected to play a handful of games in 2026. By default, he earns the honor as our top rookie. Mendoza struggled in the preseason, with more interceptions and touchdowns. If he does get the nod midseason, Mendoza will not be a viable fantasy football quarterback. He should only be owned in dynasty formats.

RB — Jadarian Price

If you have been reading my publications, you will know that I believe: Price > Love. Not that he is better, but Price is in a far better situation. Zach Charbonnet will be out for more of 2026 than he will be active. Price runs this rushing offense.

The Seahawks have hinted that George Holani could see red-zone work. While that is concerning and does cause me to drop Price a few spots in his ranking, he is still a low-end and low-risk RB2 in fantasy football.

RB — Jeremiyah Love

The 4th overall pick in the NFL Draft is a legitimate talent. In his 2025 season with Notre Dame, Love ranked 3rd in the FBS for total touchdowns (21), while working in a majority split with Price. He also averaged 6.89 yards per attempt and achieved 1,652 scrimmage yards over 12 games.

I do believe that Tyler Allgeier, who is being paid $12 million over 2 years, gets a fair share of the work. Back in July, head coach Mike LaFleur noted, "We're splitting, and it's a great competition right now." Love has now missed a couple of weeks of practice due to injury, so clearly he gains no upper hand prior to Week 1.

WR — Carnell Tate

By all signs, Tate is everything that was promised. Yesterday, I made an anecdote that Brian Daboll had Malik Nabers lead the NFL in targets as a rookie, and he brought in a 2020 Stefon Diggs to lead the NFL in yards. By no means is this a bad or even average scheme fit for Tate. He will be fed a hefty dinner weekly and is among my lowest-risk assets in the position.

WR — Denzel Boston

In 2025, Boston was the No. 1 wide receiver in the FBS in man coverage. That is precisely the role he expects to leverage as a rookie. The Browns made Boston their primary starting X-receiver, playing out wide and on the line of scrimmage. Read more on Boston as a low-risk asset right here.

FLEX — KC Concepcion

The statistical output is a beautiful painting focused on Concepcion himself. Here is where he rated elite:

2nd in the FBS: YAC/Reception (7.9)
6th in the FBS: 17.7 Yards per Reception
9th in the FBS: 2.59 Yards per Route Run
1st in SEC: 9 Touchdowns

12thman.com notes that Concepcion was the first player since 2006 to average at least 15.0 yards per reception and 15.0 yards per punt return over a respectable sample size. So, yes, Concepcion is good. The common comparison for Concepcion has been to Zay Flowers, a former Todd Monken student.

I deem Concepcion to have more variance than Boston, but with higher overall upside. This is given that Concepcion has mild route sharing with Jerry Jeudy, whereas Boston stands alone.

TE — Kenyon Sadiq

It won't take much to earn the All-Rookie Tight End honor in 2026. Sadiq's counterparts include Eagles TE3, Eli Stowers, Patriots backup, Eli Raridon, and Dolphins back Will Kacmarek. Sadiq is the only player who expects to have an impactful workload.

Sadiq is still injured. He had been dealing with a hernia and recovering from it for about one month. Sadiq just returned to the Jets' practice field in a minimal role. Aaron Glenn does aim to have Sadiq back for Week 1, but likely in a very limited role behind Mason Taylor. Over the long term, Sadiq should have a great impact and a chance to surpass Adonai Mitchell and Omar Cooper Jr. as the team's No. 2 pass-catcher.

I project Sadiq to roughly have a 15% yard share when healthy, with outcomes varying. Amid variable outcomes, there is high upside, with Sadiq potentially reaching a 20% share in the ideal scenario.

In his final season at Oregon, Sadiq led college football in touchdowns at the position (8) and set a Ducks record with 51 receptions. If looking to visualize what Sadiq can bring to the table, he compares best to Evan Engram and Jonnu Smith, but with a ceiling they never quite reached.

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