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Cyrus Allen leads 2026 NFL rookies already generating fantasy football buzz in training camps

By Ray Garvin
August 4, 2026 11 Min Read
Comments Off on Cyrus Allen leads 2026 NFL rookies already generating fantasy football buzz in training camps

Welcome back, Yahoo fam. I enjoyed my time with you all so much last year, both writing and on video, that they decided to have me back. I'm excited to return for what should be another incredible NFL season.

These are my thoughts, my opinions and the way I see the game. It is going to be strategic, entertaining and engaging. I'm excited to be back. Let's talk about it.

We have already seen plenty of twists and turns through the beginning of training camp. As we move through draft season, remember that everything you hear and read right now is extremely fluid. Injuries take shape, offenses change and new information arrives every day.

Camps represent our first real taste of football again, so let's stay locked in. Let's have some fun early in this process while remaining open to different situations and scenarios as they develop.

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Camp buzz is useful only if you know what to do with it. A positive report in August does not mean a player is automatically going to smash in September. We need the talent, the opportunity, the surrounding offense and ultimately, the price we are being asked to pay in drafts to be correct. It all has to make sense.

This first article focuses on some of the rookies generating buzz early in training camp and what we should do with that information.

Note: Anytime you see my rankings, those are my own rankings built for Yahoo default leagues: half PPR, 10 teams and 15 rounds.

Love went third overall for a reason. He is one of the cleanest running back prospects to enter the NFL over the past several years.

Here's the early problem nobody in fantasy football wants to hear. First-year head coach Mike LaFleur continues to mention a potential rotation with Tyler Allgeier and James Conner. Arizona also listed Allgeier as the RB1 on its initial depth chart. That is probably going to scare some people, cause them to panic and make them feel some type of way.

I'm telling you right now that it shouldn't.

Conner is working his way back from an injury-shortened season. Allgeier was signed in March because Arizona needed help at running back. The offense was terrible last season and did not have a running back rush for more than 400 yards while throwing the ball at a historic rate. All of that happened before Arizona knew it would have the opportunity to select Love third overall.

My concern meter when it comes to Love's talent is at zero. The concern is the offense around him.

Las Vegas currently has Arizona projected as a 4.5-win team with an implied 18.4 points per game, dead last in the NFL. The Cardinals are projected to be one of the NFL's lowest-scoring offenses this season after scoring 38 offensive touchdowns last year. That is the real cap here.

Love is going 26th in Yahoo drafts as a third-round pick. I have him ranked RB14 and 24th overall, so the market and I are closely aligned.

I am simply making sure I learned my lesson from Ashton Jeanty last season. I am not drafting Love while expecting a Christian McCaffrey-type workload on what is projected to be one of the lowest-scoring offenses in football.

Bottom line: Love is still a strong target. Just do not draft him with the expectation that the veterans disappear or that he receives a massive workload immediately.

Price was the other running back selected in the first round and he walks into a Seattle backfield replete with opportunity.

Kenneth Walker III signed with Kansas City. Zach Charbonnet is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in January's divisional round, with surgery taking place in February. He opened training camp on the PUP list.

Head coach Mike Macdonald has already praised Price's decisiveness and pass protection, although George Holani continues to take the first reps with the starters. Macdonald has not named a starting running back yet.

To me, that reads like a formality, not a threat.

If you are genuinely worried about Holani, then you probably need to stay far away from Jadarian Price. I'm not. Price was selected in the first round because he is a talented running back. Seattle has an excellent offensive line and should once again be one of the league's better teams after its Super Bowl victory over New England.

The honest concern is Price's receiving work. He caught six passes on seven targets during his entire final season at Notre Dame, so the third-down role may take some time. But he also forced 32 missed tackles on 113 carries, which speaks to the ability he brings as a runner.

The environment in Seattle is excellent. The Seahawks carry a 10.5-win total and an implied 24.8 points per game, ninth in the league. Klint Kubiak left to become Las Vegas' head coach, but new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury came over from San Francisco and has said his goal is to maintain what Kubiak built. We should still be able to depend on a strong rushing attack.

Price is going 65th in Yahoo drafts in Round 7. I have him RB25 at exactly 65th overall. The market and I agree completely.

Bottom line: Price does not need to be a superstar to beat his cost. I'm drafting the offense. I'm drafting the volume. I'm drafting the role and I'm drafting a backfield that does not scare me, even with Holani and Emanuel Wilson in the room.

I did not want to believe the Stribling buzz at first. San Francisco taking him 33rd overall felt like a reach.

Then the receiver room fell apart.

Ricky Pearsall is out for the season and needs surgery on a PCL injury. Mike Evans has a quad strain. Christian Kirk has missed multiple practices with a calf strain. Brandon Aiyuk is on the reserve/did not report list. Things have gotten so rocky that San Francisco brought Deebo Samuel Sr. back on a one-year deal.

Brock Purdy has already talked about Stribling's reliability and how much he trusts the rookie. Even Evans has been impressed. "Stribb" is what Evans calls him.

Two things keep this grounded.

First, Stribling is day-to-day with hamstring tightness as of Aug. 3. Go figure, San Francisco has another injury to monitor.

Second, he is an experienced player. Stribling spent five years in college across three schools and finished with 216 receptions for 2,964 yards. This is a polished 23-year-old receiver, not someone who needs several years of development before he can contribute.

That profile fits an offense projected to score 25.0 points per game, seventh-best in the league. I have him WR69, which is well past the final pick of a 15-round draft.

For the moment, he is free.

Bottom line: Stribling costs you almost nothing and is attached to an efficient quarterback with one of the best offensive play callers in Kyle Shanahan. If Evans or any of the other receivers miss meaningful time, the opportunity could be immediate.

Branch is generating a lot of buzz in a thin Atlanta Falcons wide receiver room.

This offense runs through Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts Sr. Behind them, you are looking at Olamide Zaccheaus and Jahan Dotson. Those are not players who should scare you away from an opportunity bet.

Branch has already earned first-team reps and caught a 50-yard touchdown from Michael Penix Jr. during his first training camp practice. Branch began his college career at USC before transferring to Georgia, where he set the school's single-season receptions record with 81 catches and led the SEC.

There is some concern that Branch may only be a gadget player, but he has explosiveness, juice and a spot where real opportunity could be available.

Eighty-one receptions is a volume profile, not a trick-play profile.

The offense may be the bigger limiter. Atlanta projects for 7.5 wins with an implied 21.1 points per game, which ranks 25th in the league. I have the Falcons projected to run roughly 62 plays per game. Kevin Stefanski is the new head coach, but Tommy Rees is calling the plays, so the scheme fit runs through Rees.

Branch is undrafted in Yahoo leagues. I have him WR78, outside the 15-round threshold. That tells you I want to see more before I am fully in, but we are talking about buzz right now and Branch is creating plenty of it in Atlanta.

Bottom line: Branch is a free upside bet in a room without an established second option. Buzz first, snaps later.

You cannot write an article about training camp buzz and leave out Cyrus Allen.

Kansas City selected Allen 176th overall in the fifth round. He was not invited to the Scouting Combine, which is remarkable for a player who had just performed extremely well at the Senior Bowl. Nobody really discussed him throughout the spring.

Then training camp opened.

Allen began receiving snaps with Patrick Mahomes and the first-team offense, then continued to stack positive days. Andy Reid says Allen has already earned Mahomes' trust.

At Cincinnati last season, Allen caught 51 passes for 674 yards and 13 touchdowns. That touchdown number is the part that should get your attention.

Allen was carted off the field Aug. 1 after colliding with Kaiir Elam during a punt-coverage rep. It was scary season for about an hour, but it turned out to just be a bone bruise on Allen's shin. He is day-to-day and Reid expects him to return this week.

The room may very well need him.

Rashee Rice has been cleared following a May knee cleanup. He served a 30-day jail sentence during his rehab, but he has looked less than explosive early in camp. Xavier Worthy is trying to get his career moving again after his second season was derailed by a shoulder injury in Week 1.

Mahomes was fully cleared July 24 after tearing his ACL and LCL in December and will play in a brace. Kansas City is projected for 43.7 offensive touchdowns, up from 38 last season. Allen remains undrafted in Yahoo leagues.

Bottom line: I am patiently waiting. I am not buying Allen yet, but I am buying the buzz. If you want one wild swing with your final pick, a Mahomes offense is the right place to spend it. This is a hell of a start for a fifth-round rookie.

Tate was the first wide receiver selected in the draft, going fourth overall. Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi called him the best receiver in the class.

The talent is real. The buzz is real. The situation is what fantasy managers have to come to grips with.

The chemistry with Cam Ward has carried over from OTAs into training camp. Robert Saleh is the new head coach and Brian Daboll is running the offense. We saw Daboll force-feed Malik Nabers from the moment he entered the league. Tate should lead Tennessee in targets. Calvin Ridley, Wan'Dale Robinson and the rest of the Titans' pass catchers should not stop that.

The bet is on Ward and the number of scoring opportunities this offense can create.

Tennessee scored 24 offensive touchdowns last season. The market now projects 36.1, an increase of more than 12 touchdowns. That is an enormous improvement resting almost entirely on Ward taking a step forward. The Titans are still 27th in implied points per game at 20.6.

Tate is going 76th in Yahoo drafts as a Round 8 selection. I have him WR30 and 109th overall, which places him in Round 11. That is my biggest disagreement with the market among this group of rookies.

I do not believe Tate and Nabers were the same caliber of prospect coming out of college. But if you are telling me Daboll is going to feature Tate in a similar way, we may all need to be in and potentially even higher than where he is currently being drafted.

At his Round 8 price, you also need to consider which other players are available instead of Tate. You are not just drafting the player; you are making a bet on Ward's development and the Tennessee offense improving in a major way.

Bottom line: Tate is an elite talent with a clear path to targets. The question is whether you are willing to buy Ward's development at a Round 8 price.

Tyson enters a more stable situation than Tate.

Chris Olave just signed a massive extension with New Orleans and is entrenched as the No. 1 option. After Olave, you are looking at Devaughn Vele and two Day 3 rookies. There is not much standing between Tyson and the No. 2 receiver role.

Kellen Moore has praised Tyson's feel for the game and his preparation. Tyson caught 61 passes for 711 yards and eight touchdowns at Arizona State before being selected eighth overall.

The hamstring is the only real concern. Tyson missed most of OTAs and minicamp as a precaution, but he was cleared for training camp in late July. Precautionary soft-tissue injuries that are resolved before August tend to be mispriced.

New Orleans projects for 38 offensive touchdowns after scoring 28 last season. I also have the Saints projected to run around 63 plays per game, making this one of the faster projected offenses in the league.

Tyson is going 87th in Yahoo drafts in Round 9. I have him projected as WR40, ahead of Josh Downs, Brian Thomas Jr. and Chris Godwin Jr. while sitting two spots behind DK Metcalf. I am lower than the market on Tyson.

That is not because I doubt his ability or his potential role. I am simply trying to remain cautious when projecting second-year quarterbacks. I have been burned by that before. With Olave established as the top option and a strong running game featuring Travis Etienne Jr. and Alvin Kamara, it may take Tyson a little time to get going.

Still, everything we have heard about his potential role has been positive.

Bottom line: Tyson has a clear path to playing time and real upside. I like the player, but I am not ready to pay the current Round 9 price.

Boston was the second wide receiver selected by Cleveland after the Browns took KC Concepcion 24th overall.

The early buzz has Boston operating as Cleveland's primary downfield threat. At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, he gives the Browns a size element they did not have in the receiver room.

Boston led Washington in receptions, yards and touchdowns last season with 62 catches for 881 yards and 11 scores in 12 games. Eleven touchdowns in 12 games is a legitimate scoring profile.

The environment is obviously the problem.

Cleveland projects for 5.5 wins with an implied 18.7 points per game, 30th in the league. The Browns are projected for roughly 32 offensive touchdowns and the quarterback job remains unsettled.

Boston has worked with the second team when Cleveland has split fields. Concepcion has also been banged up early in camp and there appears to be some cohesiveness developing between Boston and Shedeur Sanders.

I do not want to frame this as a player fantasy managers need to run out and draft right now. I like the role Boston is occupying and the long-term opportunity in a room Cleveland should spend the season evaluating.

Boston is going 164th in Yahoo drafts, past the final pick of a 10-team league, so he is effectively free. I have him WR67. Concepcion is WR61 for me, so I still slightly prefer the first-round pick.

Bottom line: Boston is a free late bet on talent, a defined downfield role and potential second-half opportunity. Keep monitoring whether the buzz turns into consistent first-team snaps.

Not all training camp buzz is equal.

For Love, Price and Tate, the talent is settled. The question is whether their offenses and immediate roles can support the expectations being placed on them.

For Stribling, Branch, Allen and Boston, we are watching to see whether opportunity turns into a real role. With Tyson, the role looks much clearer, but the question is whether his production will immediately justify his current draft price.

The goal is not to react to every positive practice report. The goal is to identify which reports confirm the talent, role and opportunity we were already looking for.

These are the rookies worth monitoring as Yahoo drafts begin to pick up during the early portion of training camp.

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Ray Garvin

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