Ready Player One | 2026 Fantasy Football Camp Collisions to Watch

by Kyle Lesti · Featured
2026 fantasy football camp battles

Teams around the league are gearing up for training camp. Indeed, the 2026 iteration of each squad will soon begin to take shape. As with every other part of the NFL “offseason” at PlayerProfiler, we’re here to dig into the fantasy football camp ramifications. Situations vary from “old faces in new places” and second-year players looking to step up, to rookies vying for a starting spot. Here are some key position battles to keep an eye on this summer.

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2026 Fantasy Football Camp Battles <Press Start>

Level 1 | The Contract vs. The Hype Train: Browns Starting Quarterback

It feels anticlimactic to lead with the Cleveland Browns. But this offense could put up some numbers if the downtrodden franchise gets good play from its quarterback.

Since making the regrettable decision to pay Deshaun Watson $230 million to be their “franchise quarterback,” the Browns have made positive roster-building moves. The latest example of this was sending perennial All-Pro Myles Garrett (age 30) to the Rams for Jared Verse (25), a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-round pick. This move, combined with recent draft “hits” like Carson Schwessinger, Harold Fannin Jr, Quinshon Judkins, and Mason Graham, has provided a talented, youthful core.

This past April, the Browns added what could be two dynamic new wide receivers in KC Concepcion (Texas A&M) and Denzel Boston (Washington). As has been the case in recent years, the question remains: who will step up as the starting quarterback?

Deshaun Watson

The embattled former Clemson Tiger is entering his 10th season in the NFL. Deshaun Watson finished in the top 5 in fantasy points per game for three years in a row. The problem is that the last of those was 2020, his final year in Houston. After missing the 2021 season due to a bevy of sexual assault/misconduct allegations, he was traded to the Browns and has been a non-factor since. Be it injury, bad supporting cast, a dropoff in talent, or bad karma, the production just has not been there whatsoever. I believe the talent is likely still there. But it has been so long, the Browns may be best suited to cut their losses and go “all-in” on the youth movement.

Which brings us to…

Shedeur Sanders

After falling to the fifth round in 2025’s draft, Shedeur Sanders got a shot at the starting job in the final third of last season. The results were mixed, with more bad than good. But there were moments where the rookie looked the part. Sanders made great plays in each game he started. These came against teams like the Ravens, Bills, and 49ers. The former Colorado Buffalo also displayed a little more rushing prowess than originally anticipated on draft day. Sanders is more of an opportunistic scrambler than a runner by trade. Nonetheless, he averaged over eight yards when he took off.

Level 2 | The “Heavy Set” Chess Match: Chargers Not Named McConkey

While Ladd McConkey does not boast the prototypical alpha wideout body type, we know he will be the Chargers’ No. 1 target in the passing game. The questions start right behind him on the depth chart. And how will second-year tight end Oronde Gadsden II fare with incoming veteran David Njoku joining the team? Indeed, there is much to suss out as the Bolts enter their third season with head coach Jim Harbaugh and their first season with new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.

Let’s take a closer look at three key players who will be competing for targets behind McConkey.

Quentin Johnston

The former first-round pick did not have the “third-year breakout” in 2025 that it seemed was in store for him at the start of the season. After finishing in the top six at his position in two of the first four weeks, Quentin Johnston‘s production got a little squirrelly in the weeks that followed. This was at least in part because a lingering hamstring injury hampered him, as they tend to do. Johnston would post two games in the top 24 and just one more top-12 finish the rest of the season. The result was only a slightly better finish than that of his second year in the league. Yet there is hope.

Clearly, the Chargers were onto something with their utilization of him early in the year. They saw enough to exercise his fifth-year option, extending him for another two years with the team.

Tre Harris

The second-round pick out of Ole Miss left a lot to be desired over his rookie campaign. Expectations waned drastically when the Chargers brought back veteran Keenan Allen. Tre Harris‘ 43 targets were good for fourth on the team.

Fast forward to June of 2026. 2025 target-leader Keenan Allen is no longer on the roster. Harris now has a full NFL season under his belt. Though he would never be mistaken for a Tetairoa McMillan or Emeka Egbuka, Harris was a solid prospect coming out of college. Even so, given his metrics from last year, it would take significant improvement coming into year two for Harris to command targets in this still-crowded offense.

Oronde Gadsden II (& Njoku?)

A fifth-round pick from Syracuse, Gadsden was a relatively popular rookie sleeper pick among dynasty analysts. Gadsden saw his first action in Week 3 last year. In that game, he saw seven

Oronde Gadsden’s Explosive Rating

targets, two of which came in the red zone. A couple of duds ensued, followed by a four-week stretch that put Gadsden on everyone’s radar. He cooled off again after that stretch, as the team sustained major injuries across the offensive line, hurting production across the board. He posted two more games in which he posted double-digit fantasy points. Even with the team bringing in veteran Njoku from Cleveland, Gadsden has earned a role in this offense.

The move signals an upcoming increase in the use of multiple tight-end personnel groupings and heavy sets. In which case, Gadsden, the more dynamic pass-catcher, will figure to operate primarily in the passing game. Njoku would play the more traditional, in-line, tight end role.

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Level 3 | Tennessee Triple-Threat Match: Titans’ WR2

After drafting prototypical “Alpha X,” Carnell Tate (Ohio State) with the fourth overall pick this April, the Titans’ wide receiver corps is going to change significantly in 2026. Calvin Ridley is still on the roster after taking a pay cut. So are the two receivers drafted last year, Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike.

Tate easily vaults to the front of the line. But what do we make of the rest of the group?

Calvin Ridley

Since coming to the Titans following his forced hiatus for violating the league’s gambling policy, Calvin Ridley has been OK. After two mid-to-low-end WR3 seasons in 2023 and 2024, the 2018 first-round draft pick played just seven games last year due to a broken fibula and high-ankle sprain. Ridley will turn 32 this December, but he’s still part of Tennessee’s plan this year, according to this article, which cites a conversation at the NFL Owners Meetings.

Elic Ayomanor

In Ridley’s absence, Elic Ayomanor emerged as the Titans’ top target-earner in 2025. However, he caught only 41 of them, dropping him to fifth on the team in receptions. While his advanced metrics from last year will leave you wanting, Ayomanor has the athletic profile to solidify a role for himself in Tennessee. I’ll be watching to see if he can build more rapport with quarterback Cameron Ward and take a step forward in his own development as a receiver.

Chimere Dike

Chimere Dike was drafted 33 spots ahead of Ayomanor in last year’s draft. His rookie counterpart got off to a better start, posting two double-digit fantasy outputs in the first four weeks. But it was Dike who began to flash as the season wore on. He operated out of the slot on 62.7% of his snaps, and ended up with seven more receptions on 15 fewer targets than Ayomanor.

The two rookies have similar profiles, the one glaring difference being Dike’s usage in the slot. It will be interesting to see if one will separate from the other this summer.

Level 4 | Mile-High Chaos, Final Boss: Broncos’ Running Backs

How will the rushing work be divided amongst veteran J.K. Dobbins, second-year back RJ Harvey, and rookie Jonah Coleman? The team also brought back Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie, one of whom will be a likely cut-candidate as we approach the regular season.

Here are the three to watch:

RJ Harvey

Last season, Dobbins out-touched Harvey on the ground, 153 carries to 146. Harvey, however, added another 47 receptions on 58 targets, establishing himself as having a big role in the offense. The addition of Jaylen Waddle will shake up the target distribution on this team, for sure. But if you’re reading a fantasy football article in the middle of June, you don’t need me to tell you that Sean Payton loves a receiving back.

J.K. Dobbins

The team obviously values Dobbins, who has been excellent for the Broncos when on the field. Back in March, they extended him for two more years, guaranteeing him $8 million and including incentives that could push the contract’s maximum value to $20 million. Running backs with comparable contracts include David Montgomery, D’Andre Swift, and Javonte Williams, to name a few.

Jonah Coleman

Jonah Coleman, then, seems to be a bit of an insurance policy/future investment at the position. The 5-foot-8, 220-pound former Washington Husky still has “got that dawg in him” and is a tackle-breaking machine.

The easy observation is that he will primarily serve as Dobbins’ replacement, should that damn injury bug bite the talented sixth-year back yet again. However, he is well-rounded enough to play Harvey’s role, even if he’s not quite as explosive. Should he show out during training camp, it would make for an interesting start to the year.

Coach Payton wouldn’t have it any other way… and he holds the controller.


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Many Successes,

Kyle

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