2026 Risers & Fallers | What We Learned from Training Camp

by Jon Machado · Featured
2026 Risers & Fallers

Training camp has a way of separating truth from conjecture. What we think will happen in the spring rarely survives August. Some players seize their opportunity in pads, while others watch their roles shrivel up in the summer sun. With final roster cuts looming, every practice rep and preseason snap carries a little more weight.

The blurred reality of who teams think they can rely on starts to come into focus. Training camp (and the preseason games that come with it) is where players with something to prove establish that they belong. Otherwise, they fall behind. Here’s a look at the players trending up and down as camps wind toward the 2026 NFL season kickoff.

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Sunrise or Sunset? 2026 Preseason Movers

Riser | WR Cyrus Allen, Kansas City Chiefs

Cyrus Allen had some buzz as a deep sleeper but wasn’t on the radar as a fantasy impact player. But much like prom night pregnancies, some unexpected things are just inevitable. Allen’s drumbeat started back in the Chiefs’ minicamp, where he was “the most-targeted player” over the three-week span.

Within three days, he was turning everyone into believers. He had risen above Nikko Remigio and Jalen Royals to WR4. That earned him an opportunity to stay in the huddle with Mahomes during the Chiefs’ first padded practice. Not long after, Allen was earning snaps over Tyquan Thornton in the WR3 role.

It seemed like it was every day that there was a new video of him making another exceptional play. Highlight after highlight, report after report— the drumbeat was deafening, and ignoring it was an intentional choice. The doubters would say, “We’ve seen this before… the Chiefs’ new flavor of the camp, à la Skyy Moore, Carson Steele, or Jalen Royals. Not this time, buddy.”

Yet somehow, this feels different.

Faller | TE Oronde Gadsden II, Los Angeles Chargers

Gadsden’s hot start has dwindled to a “full stop.” The Chargers brought in Charlie Kolar (BAL) and David Njoku (CLE) this offseason, and for a while, the community held onto the idea that Gadsden could rise above the newcomers on the depth chart.

Unfortunately for Gadsden, the offseason news had snowballed into a strong bearish case. It started getting hard to ignore when he consistently ran with the twos since Day 1 of camp, while Kolar and Njoku played ahead of him as starters.

And if that wasn’t enough, Gadsden only played in the preseason when Kolar and Njoku rested with the starters. Gadsden’s fall from grace deserves study, but his lack of blocking prowess seems to have earned him a bench role. As they say in the Shanahan-McDaniel coaching tree, “No block, no rock.”

Riser | RB Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers

Entering his third season, the Panthers could have given up on Jonathon Brooks and handed the job to Chuba Hubbard again. They haven’t. The Panthers still believe in Brooks’ talent, and they have big plans for him this season.

Per Cameron Wolfe, the lead story early in the summer was Brooks taking first-team reps at Panthers camp. That signals Brooks will play an early role this season, with the backfield run as a committee, much to Hubbard’s chagrin. Head coach Dave Canales has said many times that Brooks will be a huge part of the offensive plans.

I’m really burying the lead here. Since then, Hubbard sustained a serious hamstring injury and missed a lot of camp. That opened the door for Brooks to claim a substantial role out of the gate. Hubbard has since returned to practice, but if Brooks can stay healthy and deliver on his draft pedigree, he can be an absolute steal at his ADP in the seventh round of fantasy drafts.

Faller | TE Eli Stowers, Philadelphia Eagles

There was a lot of hope for Stowers given the weaker rookie class, but he has yet to capitalize.

Many saw this coming. As Jimmy Kempski wrote,

“Stowers is probably more of a big receiver at this point than he is a tight end. He has a long way to go as a blocker in the NFL. In other words, odds are that Stowers won’t have impressive numbers as a rookie even as a receiver, which is his strength. Part of that will be a result of a lack of playing time.”

Even with expectations already low for Stowers, the drumbeat has been nothing but negative. He has consistently played with the 2s and reportedly hasn’t stood out in practice. Asked about the biggest adjustment, he said, “Probably the mental challenge. I think the offense and the way that the defenses do their schemes at this level, it’s a little more complex than it was in college.”

That’s not something you’d expect from a converted quarterback who would typically have a stronger grasp of scheme. It gets worse: he’s also reportedly struggling with the physicality of the NFL, which tracks given his slender 6-foot-4-inch, 240-pound frame. And now, to add injury to insult, he’s out with a hamstring strain.

Riser | WR De’Zhaun Stribling, San Francisco 49ers

Even before camp opened, Brock Purdy was raving about De’Zhaun. Apparently, he’d made quite the impression at the 49ers’ minicamp.

Not many expected Stribling to contribute much in Year 1. The 49ers were counting on Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, and Christian Kirk to fill those roles instead. Well, the situation had other plans. Christian Kirk and Ricky Pearsall are on injured reserve (the latter is out for the season).

Mike Evans has been the “Simpsons meme” of coming in and going out of practice repeatedly with injuries. Quad, groin, ankle, foot — all in the same camp.

It’s been much more than Stribling seizing opportunity — he’s also looked good doing it. All camp, he has drawn praise from beat reporters, including strong showings in joint practices and preseason games. In both preseason games so far, he has 11 receptions on 13 targets for 109 yards. That includes a clutch grab on 3rd and 4, right when Purdy needed him most. 3rd and Jauan? Nah, 3rd and De’Zhaun! Ah-ooo! AHOOO! AHHH-OOO!

Faller | WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

Marvin Harrison Jr. enters the 2026 season looking for his third-year breakout. The Cardinals face the hardest strength of schedule in the league by projected win totals, making them a hot regression topic. Even with the updated strength of schedule post-draft and free agency, they dipped further into last place because many of their opponents improved significantly in the offseason. That means Harrison faces an uphill climb to a breakout — and he hasn’t exactly started off on the right foot.

Harrison has struggled with drops, tallying 9 over his 29-game career… several at moments that begged for a clutch catch. The concern carried into this camp. Theo Mackie described his first three weeks as a mixed bag, saying:

“Harrison opened camp with some concerning drops, but bounced back for an excellent stretch in the middle of camp, when he was consistently finding open space downfield. The final few practices were slightly more disappointing, including one session when he didn’t bring in any of his five targets.”

Drops aren’t the stickiest stat — they carry a lot of year-to-year variance and depend on plenty of factors. Even still, it’s worth noting that veteran scouting analyst Matt Waldman has criticized Harrison’s catching technique since he entered the league. He continues to do so today.

More condemning: Michael Wilson has continued to ball out in camp. The torches and pitchforks for Wilson as WR1 have been out in full force. Many beat reporters are saying the same thing; he’s been the more consistent, more impressive WR throughout camp.

Riser | WR Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars

Parker Washington is looking to capitalize on a career year in 2025, when he delivered 11.5 Fantasy Points Per Game. He ranked No. 16 in Yards Per Route Run, at 2.20. The crescendo came in a four-week stretch from Week 16 through the Wild Card Game: 26-454-3, averaging 22.2 FPPG. He was so good down the stretch that he changed the Jaguars coaching staff’s mind about who their real WR1 was.

The drumbeat this offseason has been so loud that you’d think John Bonham, Keith Moon, or Neil Peart were banging the skins for Washington.

It wasn’t enough to end the season hungry for more. Washington took that hunger and channeled it into this offseason. Beat reporters have praised him as the first one in and the last one out of the building. Washington has put in the work this offseason to earn the title of “Jaguars WR1.”

All the camp reports say Parker is Trevor Lawrence’s favorite target. Washington has been so good that he doesn’t come off the field. Jaguars beat reporter John Shipley believes “Washington will lead the Jaguars’ wideouts in routes and snaps this year, and I think he is the target who will often stay on the field when the Jaguars go to two- and one-wide receiver sets in 12 and 13 formations.”

Faller | QB Tua Tagovailoa, Atlanta Falcons

For most of camp, there’s been no real quarterback competition since Penix hasn’t been healthy enough to fully practice. With all the attention on Tagovailoa, the reports on his play have been especially harsh. Tua’s performance has been so bad, he’s made it “impossible” for Atlanta to take their time bringing Penix back to full health.

It now appears Tua may not even be on the roster in Week 1. Rumors suggest there’s no reason to keep him around if he isn’t contributing as a veteran starter. That rumor has gained traction after undrafted free agent Jack Strand’s standout preseason play. Peep the preseason Week 2 highlights here.

Riser | TE Terrance Ferguson, Los Angeles Rams

Ferguson has drawn plenty of praise dating back to draft day, when McVay mentioned Travis Kelce in the same breath. McVay has doubled down on that sentiment this year, noting Ferguson has similar mannerisms to Kelce. Beat reporters are backing that up and are excited to see Ferguson’s role expand.

We haven’t seen him in preseason action yet (some would argue that only cements his role as the starter). In a joint practice with the Cowboys, Ferguson had 6 targets across 2 periods of first-team reps and caught all 6. He had 4 modest gains between 3 and 10 yards and 2 bigger plays. He also had an incomplete red zone target and a reception in the two-minute drill.

Faller | WR Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars’ camp has been nothing but positive buzz all season, except for Travis Hunter. He started camp fresh off rehab from last season’s knee injury. He looks fast and like himself, but the news around his usage has been concerning. Reports had him running twice as many snaps on defense as offense on Day 1. The same story repeated on Day 2. By Day 3, the split was closer to 50/50 before trending toward a 2:1 ratio and, most recently, zero offensive snaps.

The Jaguars released their unofficial first depth chart, which listed Hunter as starting CB and WR4, behind Brian Thomas Jr. That only confirms what the practice snaps were already saying. Hunter is an outside, role-based WR who’ll see offensive snaps rotating in for Brian Thomas Jr. in certain packages.

It gets worse: Hunter took zero offensive snaps in joint practices. Jakobi Meyers recently injured his hand, and reports say Hunter won’t get an expanded role to fill in for him. Hunter’s role appears tied directly to the X receiver spot — he’s Brian Thomas Jr.’s counterpart, or backup.

Jon Machado is a fantasy football analyst and host of the Future 1st podcast for PlayerProfiler

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