Top 5 Rookie Fits We Already Love for 2026 (Ep. 1964)

Summary

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FantasyPros Fantasy Football Podcast

Episode: Top 5 Rookie Fits We Already Love for 2026 (Ep. 1964)
Date: February 18, 2026
Hosts: Joe Pisapia ("Joey P") & Pat Fitzmaurice (“Fitzy”)

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Joey P and Pat Fitzmaurice break down their five favorite potential rookie landing spots for the 2026 NFL Draft and explain why these fits could supercharge both NFL rookie performance and fantasy football value. They analyze prominent rookie prospects, speculate on possible team fits, and share early opinions about 2026 redraft and dynasty fantasy football strategies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jeremiah Love to the Kansas City Chiefs

[00:46 – 02:34]

• Why the fit excites Pat:

  • Chiefs GM Brett Veach could redeem his past error (Clyde Edwards-Helaire over Jonathan Taylor).
  • "Love could give the Chiefs the star caliber running back they have lacked ever since the demise of Jamal Charles..." (Pat, 01:19)
  • Love’s explosive playmaking and acceleration would ease pressure off Patrick Mahomes, who’s coming off a major knee injury.

• Fantasy impact:

  • Love is a consensus number one pick in dynasty rookie drafts (One QB or Superflex).
  • With Mahomes likely missing the start, Love would be leaned on more but would lack Mahomes's supporting cast effect.
  • In redraft leagues: late second round feels about right.

• Quote:

  "Drafting Love would be a great way to take pressure off Patrick Mahomes as he recovers from a major knee injury."
  (Pat, 01:37)

• Memorable moment:

  • Joey and Pat reflect on tempered expectations given recent rookie RB misses, but agree the upside is hard to ignore.

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2. Denzel Boston to the Buffalo Bills

[02:34 – 04:18]

• Why the fit excites Pat:

  • Bills need a playmaking WR; Keon Coleman hasn’t panned out.
  • Boston is 6’4”, 209 – a true X receiver with red-zone prowess, dangerous after the catch.

• Potential role:

  • “It’s not hard to imagine him being a prolific red zone guy who threatens double digit touchdowns every year.” (Pat, 03:37)
  • Would immediately give Josh Allen the help he desperately needs.

• Fantasy impact:

  • Could operate as WR1 in Buffalo from day one if they move up or Boston falls to #26.

• Quote:

  "I would love to see Denzel Boston go to the Buffalo Bills... He would give Josh Allen the pass catching help he so desperately needs."
  (Pat, 03:24)

• Memorable moment:

  • Discussion about Bills possibly trading up to secure Boston’s services.

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3. Mike Washington to the Houston Texans

[05:21 – 06:42]

• Why the fit excites Pat:

  • Big-bodied (6’0”, 228), three-down back with good movement skills.
  • Not perfect (questionable vision, some fumble issues), but offers potential as a true early-down workhorse.

• Texans angle:

  • Existing RB Woody Marks “miscast as an early down guy”; Washington would let Marks reprise his natural third-down role.
  • Texans under DeMeco Ryans want a defense-strong, ball-control identity.

• Fantasy impact:

  • Could step into meaningful volume, especially in leagues that reward early-down work.

• Quote:

  "Let him go to work on early downs and let Woody Marks play his more natural third-down role."
  (Pat, 06:32)

• Memorable moment:

  • Joey P draws parallels between Washington and “Matt Forte or even a Steven Jackson-type if he grows a little bit more.” (05:03)

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4. Omar Cooper Jr. to the Las Vegas Raiders

[07:26 – 09:00]

• Why the fit excites Pat:

  • Undersized but sure-handed, tough receiver—“not going to melt stopwatches” but immensely skilled.
  • "Witness the game-winning TD catch he made against Penn State last fall which was one of the best catches I've ever seen at any level of football.” (Pat, 07:39)
  • Already has established chemistry with projected rookie QB, Fernando Mendoza; Raiders could double up on Indiana’s duo.

• Fantasy impact:

  • Pat sees him as a "Day One starter. And I think he leads the wide receivers in targets and is number two behind Brock Bowers." (Pat, 08:53)
  • Upside for instant fantasy relevancy—especially in PPR formats.

• Quote:

  "This guy is just a baller, man. And I am convinced that Omar Cooper Jr. is going to be a good NFL receiver."
  (Pat, 07:53)

• Memorable moment:

  • Pat candidly claims Cooper would “lead the WR room in targets as a rookie, right behind Brock Bowers.” Major praise.

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5. Eli Stowers to the New England Patriots

[09:29 – 11:09]

• Why the fit excites Pat:

  • Tight end from Vanderbilt; athletic background (former QB, Texas state high jump champ).
  • Patriots have aging TEs—Hunter Henry (31) and Austin Hooper (32)—and a massive hole in playmaking pass-catchers.
  • Stowers has "good route running, dangerous after the catch, really good hands, excellent body control."

• Developmental angle:

  • Pat especially likes the pairing with Drake Maye: "would love to see Eli Stowers paired with Drake May and have these two grow together..." (Pat, 10:33)

• Fantasy impact:

  • Potential to quickly become a favorite target, large red zone upside given athletic profile.

• Quote:

  "I want to give the Patriots Eli Stowers... he is a really good athlete... you can see that high jumping background when he high points the ball..."
  (Pat, 09:31 & 10:09)

• Memorable moment:

  • Pat admits the pick is “all about appeasing” Joey P, who is delighted to see New England get a weapon for Drake Maye.

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Notable Quotes & Speaker Attributions

• "Love could give the Chiefs the star caliber running back they have lacked ever since the demise of Jamal Charles..." (Pat, 01:19)
• "I would love to see Denzel Boston go to the Buffalo Bills... He would give Josh Allen the pass catching help he so desperately needs." (Pat, 03:24)
• "This guy is just a baller, man. And I am convinced that Omar Cooper Jr. is going to be a good NFL receiver." (Pat, 07:53)
• "Let him go to work on early downs and let Woody Marks play his more natural third-down role." (Pat, 06:32)
• "I want to give the Patriots Eli Stowers... you can see that high jumping background when he high points the ball..." (Pat, 09:31 & 10:09)
• “I hope they all come true and I hope they all play well in their rookie year.” (Pat, 11:19)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:46] — Jeremiah Love to Chiefs
• [02:34] — Denzel Boston to Bills
• [05:21] — Mike Washington to Texans
• [07:26] — Omar Cooper Jr. to Raiders
• [09:29] — Eli Stowers to Patriots

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Summary Table: Top 5 Rookie Fits

| Prospect | Desired Team | Projected Role/Value | |---------------------|---------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | Jeremiah Love | Kansas City Chiefs | Feature RB, late 2nd round redraft, 1.01 in rookie | | Denzel Boston | Buffalo Bills | Alpha WR, red-zone monster, double-digit TD potential | | Mike Washington | Houston Texans | Early-down workhorse, RB2 upside, complements Marks | | Omar Cooper Jr. | Las Vegas Raiders | Immediate WR1, chemistry with rookie QB, PPR sleeper | | Eli Stowers | New England Patriots| Dynamic pass-catching TE, early favorite for Drake Maye |

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Final Thoughts

Joey P and Pat Fitzmaurice deliver a brisk, enthusiastic look at 2026 rookie prospects and their fantasy ramifications, emphasizing how the right landing spot can unleash a young player’s value. They remind listeners to track rookie rankings at FantasyPros.com and subscribe to the Dynasty channel for more in-depth analysis.

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Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[B]

Welcome in everybody to Fantasy Pros. This is the Fantasy Football Podcast and it's me, Joey P. Joe P. Zeppia and today Pat Fitz Morris and I are going to have a little conversation about some players who are entering the 2026 NFL Draft, where they might land and what that might mean for our fantasy shares because that's what we're all about here. So if you're watching on Our Fantasy Pros YouTube channel or if you are checking things out on our Dynasty channel, where Pat Fitz Morris, you can see his lovely face all the time talking all these rookie prospects. Pat, let's get into it. Let's chat here about the first prospect that you're excited about, where you'd love to see him land and maybe if he did land there, how aggressive you might be drafting him.

[C]

We have to start with Jeremiah Love, don't we Joe?

[B]

The I think we do. If it's a Pat show, we do. Yeah.

[C]

Pretty much the consensus number one pick in dynasty drafts, whether one QB league or super flex league. I want to see Jeremiah Love go to the Kansas City Chiefs at number nine. And nothing against the Saints who could conceivably take him at number eight or even the Cardinals. I mean, there's been some talk about Arizona grabbing him at number three. But the Chiefs. First of all, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach might have a chance to correct the egregious mistake he made in the 2020 draft when he took Clyde Edwards a lair over Jonathan Taylor. Love could give the Chiefs the star caliber running back they have lacked ever since the demise of Jamal Charles, who played his last season for the Kansas City Chiefs a decade ago. And Love is just, he's an explosive playmaker, exceptional speed, acceleration, elusiveness. Drafting Love would be a great way to take pressure off Patrick Mahomes as he recovers from a major knee injury. Chiefs just have to hope he is still around at number nine.

[B]

All right, so let's say he lands there. Just out of curiosity, how aggressive would you be? I mean we've been burned by the rookie RBs, even just as early as last year. You know, we saw Ash and Genti and coming off a fantastic college career, can't miss prospect. But obviously different set of circumstances going to the Raiders as opposed to going to the Chiefs. But the Chiefs won't have Patrick Mahomes for the start of the season. So what would that mean should he land there? How aggressive would he be a first round pick? Would he be a second round pick in Fantasy Drafts.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, so obviously he's. He's one on one in rookie drafts, but like in redraft leagues, I think he'd still with the Chiefs. I think probably somewhere late in the second round. Does that sound right to you?

[B]

I think that does feel about right to me. But you know, look, the plus side is you do have to rely on the run a little bit more without Patrick Mahomes, but the downside is you don't have Patrick Mahomes. So yeah, I think, I think that's. I think we need to learn a lesson too, a little bit. It's still a rookie curve for even the best rookies coming into the league. Even in some good situations too. I mean, we were excited about Amarian Hampton. We were excited about a lot of things. You need, you need health to work out, you need situation to work out. But there's no doubt Love is certainly a fantastic talent that I think would be very excited to see. Next one is a guy that Debro and I just broke down on the twitch a couple days ago. Denzel Boston. I want to talk about him. Wide receiver. We broke down some tape of him. I'm a big fan. So let's talk about Denzel Boss and where would you like to see that wide receiver land in 2026? That would really pique his fantasy value.

[C]

So Boston I think is probably the last of the four receivers who are mortal locks for the first round in the draft. And I would love to see Denzel Boston go to the Buffalo Bills. Joe. And they are currently drafting 26th. We know how badly the Bills need a playmaker, a wide receiver. Keon Coleman has not worked out. And based on some of the things that have been said about him by people in the Bills organization in recent weeks, it's pretty clear that Keon Coleman is not a big part of the team's future plans. So Boston is 6 4, 209 pounds, a true X receiver. He's good in contested catch situations. It's not hard to imagine him being a prolific red zone guy who threatens double digit touchdowns every year. Surprisingly fast and dangerous after the catch. For a bigger wide receiver, he would give Josh Allen the pass catching help he so desperately needs. And they just have to hope he makes it down to them at number 26. Or maybe Brandon Bean actually makes an aggressive move to trade off.

[B]

All right, before we get to the next prospect on our list, don't forget Fantasy Bros Dynasty Channel up live. Doing rookie rankings, doing drafts, doing mocks, doing rookie drafts, doing everything right now so if you're into fantasy football dynasty version, make sure you go check it out, make sure you subscribe, make sure you ring that bell till it goes ding. So you never miss a piece of content. You can check it on the audio side as well. But the YouTube channel is up. It's growing very quickly as we expected it to do because we know how you all are about your football and you know how seriously we take it as well. Next guy on the list I want to talk about Mike Washington, a guy that I'm very excited about. We had this conversation on our last mock draft show a little bit. We haven't gotten to him yet because we only have done one round of that show so far, the 2.0. You could check out on the regular fantasy pros channel right now. But Fitzy, this is a guy I like a lot. I think he's got maybe somewhere between a Matt Forte, if he grows a little bit more. Could he be a Stephen Jackson? He's a bigger running back. He's a three down back. He's a guy that I think could really make an impact in fantasy. Where would you like him to land in 2026?

[C]

Yeah, I know he is a Joe piece of Pia guy and the Stephen Jackson comp is an interesting one. I hadn't thought of that. So I kind of want to see Mike Washington go to the Houston Texans. Joe. And so yeah, this is a big, big dude. Six feet, 228 pounds and he moves well for a big back. And that's where maybe the Steven Jackson comp kind of is easy to see. I think he's going to put up a good 40 time at the combine for a 228 pound back. He's not without his flaws like his run vision just okay. He's had some issues with fumbles and I don't know, like he had 28 catches I want to say for Arkansas last year. I don't know if there's a lot of pass catching potential. Like I don't know if he's ever a guy who catches 50 or 60. But I do think Washington has a chance to be a very effective early down back and that's kind of why I want to see him with the Texans Joe. They were using Woody Marks in that role for much of the season and I think Marks was just badly miscast as an early down guy like Marks, more of a third down skill set coming out of college. And yet Woody Marks didn't catch a lot of passes, but he handled a lot more carries I think that we thought he was going to handle in his rookie year. So I would love to see Houston draft Mike Washington, let him go to work on early downs and let Woody Marks play his more natural third down role.

[B]

I would love that landing spot too because I think to be go Ryan's is looking for defense and controlling the football. Don't turn the football over. Let's be smart on offense. Let's play defense, drain the clock a little bit. Let's see Jay Stroud make plays when he needs to make plays and I think that would be the recipe for them to get to an AFC championship game if not to the Super Bowl. I really do. I think that Texans defense is that good. They just need a little bit more help on offense and unfortunately they could not control anything offensively when they got into the playoffs there at the end and things really kind of fell apart for them a little bit. So that would go a long way. All right, we got two more names to go. You've got somebody you want to put on the Raiders? No, not Fernando Mendoza because that's a foregone conclusion. Somebody else. Pat, who is it that you'd like to see in silver and black in this year's upcoming NFL draft?

[C]

It's one of Fernando Mendoza's college teammates. It's Omar Cooper Jr. Also from Indiana University. I love Omar Cooper Jr. Joe, like he is not especially big. He's about 6ft 200 pounds and he is not going to melt stopwatches when he runs the 40 at the combine. But Cooper has great hands. He makes tough catches. Just witness the game winning touchdown catch he made against Penn State last fall which was one of the best catches I've ever seen anyone make at any level of football. Cooper is fantastic after the catch. He can play inside or outside. He's a great blocker. This guy is just a baller, man. And I am convinced that Omar Cooper Jr. Is going to be a good NFL receiver. So let's keep Cooper with his quarterback at Indiana, Fernando Mendoza. There's an outside chance that Cooper could sneak into the first round of the NFL draft, but I think he's probably going to be there for the Raiders early in the second round. So let's see them double tap the Indiana Hoosiers for their pitch and catch combo. Raiders badly need help at wide receiver and I think Omar Cooper could be productive for them right away, pretty much instantly passing like Jack Bash and Dante Thornton.

[B]

Well, that, that was my question to you, like where would he slot in, in your opinion in terms of the pecking order obviously you know you have Genti, who's going to catch the ball. You have Brock Bowers probably the number one target. But then you got Trey Tucker, Jack Besh and Thornton Jr. So where would Cooper fit him in terms of the pecking order for targets?

[C]

For your opinion, day one starter and I think he leads the wide receivers in targets and is number two behind Brock Bowers.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

You know he's already got that impressive sir. He's got that established chemistry already with Fernando Mendoza. So I think it's just an easy fit.

[B]

It would be nice. I like the coaching hire to get a guy who an offensive mighty coach in there to fix some things. Got to get some protection though. They got to get some offensive line help first and foremost too. You got to figure that out. It's got to improve. All right, last here on our list. Pat, you're giving somebody to my Patriots. I love this. So let's talk about this prospect, who it is and why you think it's a good fit for New England.

[C]

Well, this is all about appeasing you Joe.

[B]

So you know what, it's nice that someone tries. That's all I care.

[C]

So I want to give the Patriots Eli Stowers the tight end from Vanderbilt and we know the Patriots need help at wide receiver and that is talked about ad nauseum. But they could also add to their pass catching core by taking one of the best pass catching tight ends in this class on day two. Hunter Henry is 31 and going into the final year of his contract. Austin Hooper is 32 and he is about to become an unrestricted free agent. Stowers began his career in college as a quarterback at Texas A and M, transferred to New Mexico State and switched to tight end. Then he transferred to Vanderbilt and that's when he had his breakout as a an NFL prospect. Two really good seasons at Vandy. He is a really good athlete who was a Texas state high jumping champ in high school. Good route runner, dangerous after the catch. Really good hands, excellent body control. Like you can see that high jumping background when he high points the ball on some of his end zone red zone targets. I would love to see Eli Stowers paired with Drake May and have these two grow together because we've seen especially early this year for Drake May he was leaning on Hunter Henry a lot. Some weeks he was.

[B]

And Hunter, Hunter Henry is a little older now. You know he's. I think people forget he's been in the league a long time.

[C]

Yeah. So you know, and Henry certainly has been a really good tight end when healthy, but Stowers I think brings a touch more speed and athleticism to the party than Hunter Henry does these days.

[B]

64235 it's not a small human, that's for sure. That would be a presence there for sure. It would help Drake May out and anything that can help Drake May out. I am all for Pat. So these are some landing spots that Pat would be very excited for and obviously we're very excited to continue to give you all the content we can regarding the rookies. So of course the rookie rankings are available right [e-mail] rankings if you're looking to see where Stowers, Cooper, Washington, Boston and Love might fit it in those rankings. Well, get ready for your Dynasty drafts, get ready for your rookie drafts, get ready for your startups, all the above. But you can't do that unless you go to fantasypros.com rankings to see what the early ranks tell you and where the landing spots will be. And of course when they land, those will get updated for you so you can make the best decisions you can for all of your Dynasty leagues. And of course, don't forget to subscribe to the Dynasty podcast as well in the new YouTube channel over at Fantasy Football Fantasy Pros. Dynasty Podcast is out there on YouTube right now, so subscribe to the new channel. Pat, these were some fun landing spots. I hope they all come true and I hope they all play well in their rookie year. That'll do it for us. But the story of the game goes on. For Pat Fitzmorris, I'm Joey P. We'll see you next time, kids.

[D]

Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on apple [e-mail] review or on Spotify. Follow us on X Instagram and TikTok at fantasypros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros.

[A]

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.