In a recent article I explained how the NFL Draft had increased the fantasy football value of many players in your dynasty leagues. However, not only did the NFL Draft cause some players to rise in draft rankings, but the landing spots of drafted players also caused others to drop in value. Here are my 5 fantasy football players who lost value after the 2026 NFL Draft.
1. Deebo Samuel Sr. (FA)
Previous Rank: WR 65
New Rank: WR 74
Movement: -9
Consensus Rank: WR 74
Deebo Samuel has been a superstar in this league, but there are just too many factors working against him this year. For starters, Samuel is 30 years old and at an age where most receivers start to decline quickly. Samuel’s age makes him a short-term asset at best.
Where Samuel was once a very strong play on your fantasy football rosters, that wasn’t the case the last couple of seasons. In 2023 Deebo averaged 16.2 fantasy points per game in ppr leagues, but that dropped to 10.2 points per game in 2024 and 11.8 points per game in 2025.
Last year was a great opportunity for Samuel to bounce back. He moved from a loaded 49ers team to the Commanders. At the time, Jayden Daniels was coming off an Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign and the only real competition for Deebo for targets was veteran wide receiver Terry McLaurin. Even with this being the case, Samuel didn’t come away with a very successful fantasy football season.
All of these factors already had Deebo Samuel ranked low at WR 65, but the NFL Draft has come and gone and still Samuel is sitting in free agency. The lack of interest in Samuel, mixed with uncertainty about where he will be playing next season, caused me to drop him 9 spots to the WR 74 rank.
2. Elijah Sarratt (BAL)
Previous Rank: WR 63
New Rank: WR 72
Movement: -9
Consensus Rank: WR 77
Elijah Sarratt entered the NFL Draft as one of my top receiving prospects. In my initial rookie rankings, I had him valued as my WR 7. But the NFL Draft can be a crazy process and afterwards Sarratt has dropped to my WR 12 amongst rookie receivers.
Sarratt is a very interesting prospect. At 6’2” and 210 lbs he is a big bodied wide receiver that uses that size to bully defenders on 50/50 balls. He has great hands and body control, giving him the ability to make big plays on the sidelines and in the red zone as well. Sarratt uses crisp cuts with very disciplined route running to create space.
Sarratt’s downfall is his athleticism. He lacks the track star speed to blow by defenders and hit the home run. This lack of speed also makes for more contested catches, however his strong hands and big body allow him to take advantage of those physical matchups.
Going into the draft Sarratt was projected to be a late second to third round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but he didn’t hear his name called until the middle of the fourth round. This alone was enough for me to drop Sarratt in my rankings, but to make things worse he was selected by the Baltimore Ravens.
I believe this is a great pick for the Ravens, but Sarratt comes into a bad situation as a fantasy football asset. He will, at least initially, be behind Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews when it comes to fighting for targets. After that he will still have to compete with Rashod Bateman, Tez Walker and 3rd round pick Ja’Kobi Lane.
To make matters worse, the Ravens are known for being a run-heavy team. With Derrick Henry leading the way and former MVP Lamar Jackson also using his legs, there are only so many balls to go around in a more limited passing game. Considering all these factors, I dropped Sarratt from my WR 63 in my overall rankings to my WR 72.
I am still higher than consensus on Sarratt. When I watch Sarratt’s film, he reminds me of Keenan Allen when he came out of college. I believe that this could be Rashod Bateman’s last year here if he is even here when the season starts. I also believe Sarratt is a better receiver than both Tez Walker and Ja’Kobi Lane. Sarratt comes into the league more NFL ready and I have Sarratt ranked 7 spots ahead of Lane in my rookie rankings despite where they went in the draft. I could see Sarratt having a bigger fantasy impact his second year in the league but probably seeing a slow start this season.
3. Zachariah Branch (ATL)
Previous Rank: WR 68
New Rank: WR 79
Movement: -9
Consensus Rank: WR 86
Zachariah Branch has athleticism that jumps off the charts. He saw a huge boom to his draft stock after putting up impressive numbers at the NFL combine. Branch ran a 4.35 forty-yard dash, but he measured in at only 5’8” and 177lbs.
Branch is a very fast receiver, with twitchy movements. He has the ability to hit a home run at any time and excels at making defenders miss with the ball in his hand.
Because he is a smaller receiver, Branch struggles to win 50/50 balls and doesn’t have a large catch radius. Branch has a very limited route tree as most of his catches came behind the line of scrimmage.
Zachariah Branch was taken in the middle of the third round by the Atlanta Falcons. He walks into a situation where he is likely the fourth option at best for targets. Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson will likely all be options ahead of Branch especially if he continues to be more of a gadget target.
When I watch Branch his tape kind of reminds me of Malachi Corley. A third-round pick from the Jets in 2024 Corley has had a rough time making it in the NFL. Gadget players can hit for big plays occasionally, but you likely aren’t going to see the consistency needed to be a reliable fantasy football asset from a player in this role.
A receiver who is used like this needs to be a focal point in an offense and have manufactured touches to truly contribute to a fantasy roster. With the situation Branch is in, I dropped him 9 spots from WR 68 to WR 79. I am still higher than consensus on Branch. I think his pure athleticism in a weak draft class makes him a guy worth taking a shot on later in fantasy drafts.
4. Tre Harris (LAC)
Previous Rank: WR 62
New Rank: WR 69
Movement: -7
Consensus Rank: WR 70
Tre Harris entered last season with higher expectations, and left fantasy managers disappointed. Harris was a second-round draft pick expected to come in and compete for the number two receiver spot behind second-year wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
Harris fell short, and instead of grabbing the number two role, he spent the entire season behind Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Keenan Allen. Allen is a free agent right now leaving the door open for Harris to move up to the third target and possibly even compete with Quentin Johnston for the number two role.
In the 2026 NFL Draft, the Chargers selected wide receiver Brenen Thompson in the fourth round and they recently signed tight end David Njoku in free agency. At 5’9” and 164 pounds Brenen Thompson is a small wide receiver with elite speed. He brings a deep threat to the chargers and is more of a complement to the bigger receivers that they have.
While Thompson will take some targets away from Harris, I don’t think it will be a lot. Njoku could pose a bigger threat as a big-bodied receiver himself.
All these circumstances could mean that there isn’t much of a change coming for Tre Harris this year. After the additions of Thompson and Njoku I moved Harris down 7 spots from WR 62 to WR 69.
5. Courtland Sutton (DEN)
Previous Rank: WR 35
New Rank: WR 41
Movement: -6
Consensus Rank: WR 39
Courtland Sutton has been a solid fantasy football asset throughout his career. He finished last season as the WR 13 in PPR leagues. However, when it comes to dynasty leagues Sutton is now 30 years old and is hitting the point in his career where most receivers start to decline.
Sutton is not a receiver who relies heavily on speed so I think his decline could be a little bit slower than most, but initially his age had dropped him to WR 35 in my rankings. However, recently the Broncos added wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to the roster. Waddle has averaged more fantasy points per game over his career and is three years younger than Sutton.
Waddle and Sutton should form a nice duo in Denver for quarterback Bo Nix. Sutton is still a talented player, but the addition of Waddle will take targets away from Sutton and may even move him to the second option in the offense. As a result, I dropped Courtland Sutton from WR 35 to WR 41 in my rankings.
These were the players that lost the most value in my rankings with the new update. However, there are still other players who had some solid drops in value themselves. Below is a table showing the remaining players and their drops in rank.
| NAME | PREVIOUS RANK | NEW RANK | MOVEMENT | CONSENSUS RANK |
| Jauan Jennings (FA) | WR 54 | WR 59 | -5 | WR 67 |
| David Njoku | TE 25 | Unranked | -5 | TE 34 |
| Terrence Ferguson | TE 19 | TE 22 | -3 | TE 21 |
Take a look at my latest fantasy football rankings here.
Check out more dynasty fantasy football related articles here.
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