After tearing his ACL last season, Tucker Kraft has made encouraging progress and is back on the field. The confidence in a Week 1 return has grown over the past few weeks, though the 25-year-old tight end is still likely to need a gradual ramp up before he’s fully back to 100%.
Don’t expect peak production right out of the gate, but given Kraft is still pre-age apex and coming off a massive breakout before the injury, the upside is palpable. His return should push Kraft back up draft boards, making him a prime mid round TE target for managers willing to bet on the comeback. He is PlayerProfiler’s TE5 in redraft and TE6 in dynasty coming off the board after the Big 4 (Bowers, McBride, Loveland, Warren).
San Francisco second-round rookie De’Zhaun Stribling demonstrated versatile alignment across slot and perimeter roles during preseason action. Armed with 4.36 40-yard dash speed (96th percentile) and strong contested-target skills, the rookie displayed full health following his early August hamstring strain.
Stribling (formerly Swindling) is poised for a significant Year 1 route participation rate, and his run-after-catch ability positions him for year-one fantasy FLEX viability. Stribling is ranked as PlayerProfiler’s WR66 in redraft formats and rising.
Drew Allar is currently locked in a preseason competition with Mason Rudolph and Will Howard to secure the direct backup role behind Aaron Rodgers. While his profile features prototype size and a 19.5 Breakout Age (91st percentile), his middling 7.7 College Yards Per Attempt (26th percentile) and 69.8 College QBR (26th percentile) reflect genuine developmental hurdles.
Under Mike McCarthy, the rookie remains a long-term developmental project who is not ready for meaningful 2026 snaps. Allar has a clear path to winning the starting job in 2027, and he is a clever selection in the middle rounds of superflex dynasty rookie drafts.
Beat reports suggest Jaxson Dart has mastered pre-snap procedural operations while continuing to struggle with downfield passing connections. His profile boasts elite efficiency markers—highlighted by a 10.8 College Yards Per Attempt (97th percentile) and a 5.66 NFL Yards Per Carry average (No. 4 among quarterbacks)—that point to a dynamic fantasy floor.
With several coaches from Matt Nagy to Brian Callahan to Greg Roman in his ear, Dart must rely on his improvisational playmaking to overcome potential schematic limitations once preseason action begins. Dart is a high-risk QB who can be safely sidestepped in fantasy drafts in favor of less expensive rush-first quarterbacks such as Kyler Murray and Malik Willis.
The Panthers’ backfield just got a whole lot more interesting, as “week to week” often means “month to month.” Chuba Hubbard’s injury opens the door for Jonathon Brooks, who is now primed to take over the Panthers’ starting RB role while Hubbard is sidelined. This is a massive opportunity for Brooks to prove he can handle a lead back workload.
For fantasy football, expect Hubbard’s ADP to slide while Brooks’ stock climbs. If Brooks looks explosive with the first team, he could quickly become one of the biggest late round risers of the draft season.
The Saints rookie exited Thursday’s practice with another hamstring issue, reportedly “not super serious.” For a rookie already battling a troublesome hamstring history dating back to his time at USC, missing valuable practice and preseason reps is far from ideal.
Tyson has sky high fantasy potential, but the risk/reward is starting to feel like a dice roll. With another setback threatening his development and early season availability, expect his ADP to take a hit as fantasy managers start asking the same question, how much risk is too much? Tyson is quickly becoming a redraft stayaway player, though he remains PlayerProfiler’s dynasty WR24.
