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2026 Fantasy Football ADP Watch: Malik Nabers, Tucker Kraft and more players we're keeping an eye on to start August

By Matt Okada
August 4, 2026 7 Min Read
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It's fantasy football draft season.

What a glorious sentence. Training camps are underway in earnest, preseason kicks off this week and the season will be here before you can spell "Kyle Juszczyk" (which takes me about 25 business days on average). Whether you've been following the beats all summer or are just now tuning back in, one of your best tools for taking the temperature of the fantasy football community is Average Draft Position, or ADP.

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But that ADP is subject to change — quite a lot — over the next month. So, as we hit the heart of mock drafts (and eventually real drafts) and these ADPs continue to shift, here are 10 players whose draft cost I'm watching closely.

The closer we get to September, the more ADP shifts away from the brainchild of degenerates and diehards — like me — and closer to the consensus of the average fantasy player. Oftentimes, that comes with a notable shift in perception on rookies. Running back Jeremiyah Love was drafted third overall out of Notre Dame and is the top rookie in fantasy ADP — a potentially game-changing talent. But the Cardinals entered training camp with a lot of question marks on offense and have raised even more with recent comments about James Conner and Tyler Allgeier. Historically speaking, Love's draft capital suggests he will be a workhorse, but a long look at Arizona's roster raises some red flags about efficiency and scoring chances. The breakdown of snaps and touches will likely remain something of a mystery until Week 1 (or beyond), so fantasy drafters will have to work off conjecture for now.

Second-year running back Cam Skattebo is undeniably polarizing. He was polarizing as an NFL draft prospect: many saw him as an early-round talent, but he fell to Day 3. He was polarizing as a rookie, when he quickly took over the Giants backfield, but played with concerning recklessness and suffered a season-ending leg injury. And he remains polarizing entering 2026, as drafters weigh his RB1 overall upside against an apparent disregard for his own health and wellness (e.g. the infamous backflip video).

Ultimately, Skattebo is going to be the personification of a risk-reward investment, and it will be interesting to see how the fantasy community weighs the two sides of that scale. He's currently the RB18, going in the fourth round — that will almost certainly be a steal if the man can stay healthy all season.

The only rational explanation for Malik Nabers' heavily-depressed ADP is concern over his recovery timeline. The fact that Nabers was not placed on the PUP list to start training camp, and is looking good in practice, should start to change that tune fairly quickly. He has been an absolute monster to start his career, drawing 205 targets through 19 games and finishing as the WR7 as a rookie with abysmal quarterback play. A full offseason with Jaxson Dart should translate to higher quality targets, and the departure of Wan'Dale Robinson could boost the quantity as well. In fact, I would not be surprised to see Nabers lead the NFL in that category in 2026. Nevertheless, he is less than a year off a torn ACL and currently sits at WR15 at the 3-4 turn. As reports continue to trickle in from training camp, I'll be watching for the corresponding shift in Nabers' ADP.

When it comes to Jaylen Waddle's ADP, I feel like the scientists in Oppenheimer preparing to watch the Trinity test with welding glasses and sunscreen. I've been touting the new Broncos wide receiver as a major draft value and one of my 2026 "flag plants" all summer, as has Matt Harmon, who called Waddle "probably the most mispriced player in fantasy." I agree. He's an extremely talented receiver who profiles as the top volume option in a productive offense with a good quarterback. The growing hype has boosted him up to WR19 on Yahoo, but there's still room to rise as Denver head coach Sean Payton — and fantasy analysts like myself — continue to rave about his potential. I would not be shocked to see him climb from his current spot at the back of the fourth round closer to DeVonta Smith and Rashee Rice in the middle of the third.

Very similar to Nabers above, Tucker Kraft is recovering from an ACL tear early in the 2025 season but had flashed the upside to be a top-tier fantasy asset when healthy. Specifically, through seven games last season (before his injury), Kraft was the overall TE1 in total fantasy points (98.2) and points per game (14.0). And also similar to Nabers, Kraft's ADP seems to reflect concerns over his recovery timeline, as he sits at the very end of the fifth round as the fifth tight end off the board. However, recent reports suggest Kraft is very much on track to play in the season opener. While most of the fantasy community gnashes their teeth over which wide receiver will lead the Green Bay passing attack ... I'm eyeballing the tight end who was doing so just last season. Time will tell whether Kraft can close the ADP gap with Tyler Warren (4-5 turn) and Colston Loveland (middle of the fourth).

Of all the 250+ players worth considering in typical fantasy drafts, Bhayshul Tuten is the one that's hardest for me to pinpoint. He's currently going as the RB25 in the sixth round on Yahoo, but for some additional reference, he's going nearly a round later on ESPN and nearly a round earlier in FFPC leagues. Will he be the RB1 in Jacksonville? If he is, how much work will Chris Rodriguez Jr. command, particularly near the goal line? Will the Jaguars offense remain productive in 2026? Is Tuten even good?? There are myriad questions surrounding the former fourth-round pick and his situation, and it's making it very hard for fantasy drafters to determine his value. Perhaps more than any other name on this list, the pecking order in training camp and in the preseason could drastically sway Tuten's value heading into September.

If you haven't seen any of the discourse surrounding Marvin Harrison Jr. and his camp lowlights on social media ... it's been something. Apparent "yips" in practice have further exacerbated concerns over two (mostly) disappointing years from the much heralded prospect — on top of the uninspiring quarterback situation and the unbelievable breakout of Michael Wilson late last season. Fantasy drafters seem to be cooling quite quickly on the former fourth overall pick, as he's all the way down at WR31 in the eighth round, between Carnell Tate and Alec Pierce. That said, given his prospect profile, Harrison should theoretically have fantasy WR1 upside, so I'm curious whether a rash of actual highlights, rave reviews from Mike LaFleur or Jacoby Brissett or really anything else can course correct Harrison's draft price before the season.

I don't have an official tool for measuring hype in the fantasy community, but using pure intuition, Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington is currently topping the charts. I've heard nothing but glowing reviews out of Duval and every single comment I've seen from the fantasy community has featured his upside and draft value. (See below.)

The only questions now: Will casual fantasy drafters buy the hype, and just how high can Washington rise if they do? He's currently the WR39 in the ninth round in overall ADP, but the data from just the last week — as I write this — has him more than a round higher than that. We could realistically see that climb another round, two ... maybe three in the coming weeks. Buckle up (and buy low if you can).

The big story in The Bay has been the endless parade of injuries to the receiving corps, most recently resulting in the end of Ricky Pearsall's season, a quad strain to Mike Evans, a calf strain to Christian Kirk and the somewhat desperate signing of Deebo Samuel Sr. to plug the leak. Most eyes are on the infamous electrical substation. My eyes are on Brock Purdy and his ADP, as the Niners QB has lost all three of his top wide receivers from last season (Jauan Jennings, Kendrick Bourne and Pearsall) and is currently down a slew of 2026 starters as well. Are Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle enough to carry Purdy and the passing game if the WRs are M.I.A? Maybe. But I do wonder whether the injury issues will start to affect Purdy and his fantasy outlook.

Truthfully, Kyler Murray's inclusion in this article is one big raised eyebrow to Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings. When. Will. They. Decide. A. Starting. Quarterback?! When they do, if it's Murray, we should see his ADP absolutely skyrocket. If it's J.J. McCarthy, Murray will drop out of drafts entirely. Until then, he's sort of stuck in limbo, going as the QB16 around the 9-10 turn. Of course, there's no shortage of doubts in Murray's trustworthiness if fantasy even if he wins the job, considering his inconsistency the last few years in Arizona. I'm of the belief that in a KOC offense, with Justin Jefferson as his primary target and his uniquely electric rushing upside, Murray would be a QB1 as Minnesota's starter. But he probably has the widest range of outcomes of anyone at the position — possibly anyone at any position — in 2026 fantasy football, and his ADP journey could reflect that.

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Matt Okada

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