STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 22: Kaytron Allen #13 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates after scoring a rushing touchdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium on November 22, 2025 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Now that a few days have passed since the 2026 NFL draft, it’s time to start looking into which rookies dynasty fantasy football managers should trade for.
If your dynasty rookie draft hasn’t happened yet, you can treat these players as targets so you don’t have to trade for them. That said, if the rookie draft is over and you weren’t able to walk away with these three players, they’re great trade targets.
With that being said, we’ll be using Keep Trade Cut as a rough estimate for where these 2026 rookies are being valued.
The Cleveland Browns don’t look like an extremely strong landing spot on the surface, which is fair. Last season, the Browns ranked 31st in passing yards per game, and the only quarterback they drafted in the NFL draft was Taylen Green in round six.
That said, Shedeur Sanders only started in seven games last year, and it seems as if he’ll be the Browns’ starter in 2026. You can read more about Sanders as a prospect, but coming out of Colorado, I was a fan.
To be fair, Sanders threw for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions as a rookie, which isn’t great. I’m expecting Sanders to take a step forward because of his prospect profile.
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Regardless of how you feel about Sanders, there's a clear opportunity for KC Concepcion to be the team's WR1 in 2026. Last year, Harold Fannin Jr. led the team in receiving yards with 731, while Jerry Jeudy led all wide receivers with 602.
It wouldn't shock me in the slightest if Concepcion had 800 receiving yards leading the team or at least wide receivers in yards as a rookie.
As for new target competition, the Browns drafted Denzel Boston with the 39th pick in the NFL draft. That said, Concepcion was drafted before Boston (24th), and I also like him more as a prospect.
If Concepcion can take advantage of the opportunity that should come his way, he can absolutely finish his rookie year higher than WR30.
There’s a significant gap between where Chris Brazzell and Concepcion are ranked, but the goal for these last two was to find two very affordable players. Brazzell was a day two draft pick, going 83rd to the Carolina Panthers.
The Panthers already have their alpha WR1 in Tetairoa McMillan, who is locked in to be the WR1 in 2026. That said, after McMillan, not a single receiver had over 400 receiving yards in 2025.
With Brazzell being the only wide receiver the Panthers drafted, I’m expecting him to take over the WR2 role as a rookie. Going back to the passing yards per game list, the Panthers weren’t great, ranking 25th in the NFL.
That said, Bryce Young is the former number one overall pick, he’s just 24 years old, and he threw for 3,011 yards in 2025. The reason this Panthers offense ranked this low seems not entirely on Young, but rather on his weapons.
Coming off a 2025 season at Tennessee, where Brazzell had 62 catches for 1,017 yards and nine touchdowns, he could be the reason this passing attack takes a leap.
The idea of betting on Kaytron Allen is that this Washington Commanders backfield doesn’t have an elite RB1. Rachaad White, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and Jerome Ford have never been top running backs in the NFL.
Croskey-Merritt is my favorite of the group, but after seeing the Commanders add White and Allen, it’s tough to feel confident in him getting a huge role.
Although Washington struggled in 2025, ranking 21st in PPG scored, this is largely because Jayden Daniels only played in seven games. Going back to 2024, when Daniels played in 17, this offense ranked 6th.