Nine players got drafted in Round 1 last night that we’re going to be talking a whole lot about over the next three months for fantasy football (except for the surprise of the night, Ty Simpson).

Let’s recap every skill-position player who found a new home on Thursday night and what their initial fantasy outlook is …

1.01 - Fernando Mendoza (QB, LV): Mendoza’s early fantasy football projection has him in the range of Cam Ward (16.4) and Bryce Young (17.2) on a per-game basis, projecting for 16.5 points per game with 13 projected starts. More on Mendoza’s fantasy fit in Las Vegas.

1.03 - Jeremiyah Love (RB, ARI): Matthew Freedman dinged Love slightly in his rankings, going from RB8 to RB10, but we’ve seen James Conner have success in Arizona previously, and Love should step in as the team’s bell cow back from Day 1. He’ll also get to operate behind a decent offensive line. Arizona was 15th in ESPN’s Run Block Win Rate last season, and they added Isaac Seumalo this offseason. More on Love’s fantasy fit in Arizona.

1.04 - Carnell Tate (WR, TEN): There were certainly better landing spots for immediate fantasy production for Tate. But Tate is a talented player who, at some point during the 2026 campaign, should emerge as the top target in this offense. Plus, go routes made up over 26% of his deployment this past season. And when the ball is in the air? Good luck. Tate hauled in over 80% of his contested targets last year, the highest rate in college football. More on Tate’s fantasy fit in Tennessee.

1.08 - Jordyn Tyson (WR, NO): Disregarding health, Tyson has the highest ceiling of any wideout in this draft class. And the pace of play in New Orleans allows for enough plays for Olave to remain a must-start fantasy wideout in our fantasy football rankings, while Tyson can truly enter fantasy lineups early and often. More on Tyson’s fantasy fit in New Orleans.

1.13 - Ty Simpson (QB, LAR): Obviously, Simpson is more of a dynasty asset than even a thought in redraft after getting drafted by the Rams, but Freedman brings up a strong point …

1.16 - Kenyon Sadiq (TE, NYJ): With Sadiq going to the New York Jets, he gives them a versatile chess piece who can line up out wide or move into the middle. While his size handicaps his ability to combat against clogged front sevens, Sadiq can counter slow-moving bodies in the middle by using his blistering-fast speed to create space, widening the width of Geno Smith’s passing lanes on the outside while pulling defensive attention away from Garrett Wilson. More on Sadiq’s fantasy football fit in New York.

1.20 - Makai Lemon (WR, PHI): It’ll be interesting to see how quickly Lemon adapts to the Eagles’ offense under first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. The Birds brought in Hollywood Brown and traded for Dontayvion Wicks. Brown is what he is at this point, and Wicks might have some untapped potential, but let’s be real here, aside from DeVonta Smith, Lemon is the other ceiling guy amongst this group. Additionally, Matthew Freedman bumped Lemon up from WR42 to WR38 in his 2026 redraft rankings. More on Lemon’s fantasy football fit in Philadelphia.

1.24 - KC Concepcion (WR, CLE): Expect Concepcion’s price tag to rise following this development. How much it rises will ultimately impact his appeal in redraft. Matthew Freedman has moved Concepcion up from WR54 predraft to WR38 in Cleveland. He has a chance to be the team’s top receiver, so the time to target him is now. Until his price tag adjusts, he’s a clear value. More on Concepcion’s fantasy football fit in Cleveland.

1.30 - Omar Cooper (WR, NYJ): Adonai Mitchell flashed a ton last year, and Garrett Wilson should be healthy entering 2026. Oh, yeah, the Jets also took Kenyon Sadiq on Thursday. Let’s not forget Breece Hall is a good pass catcher as well. The pass-happy scripts should help, but there is quietly some target competition when everyone is healthy. More on Cooper’s fantasy football fit in New York.

1.32 - Jadarian Price (RB, SEA): With Kenneth Walker taking his Super Bowl 60 MVP award with him to Kansas City and Zach Charbonnet rehabbing a torn ACL for much of next season, the Seahawks have some touches available out of the backfield. Enter Price, the consensus No. 2 RB prospect in this draft. Some may think this is early for this cycle's RB2, but the Seahawks were clearly not confident that Price would be available at the end of Round 2. More on Price's fantasy football outlook in Seattle.

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The Best Players Available Heading Into Day 2

Round 1 of the NFL Draft was full of surprises—Ty Simpson to the Rams at 1.13, wtf??—and some of the biggest surprises were the players who didn’t hear their names called.

Jermod McCoy came into Thursday night as Matthew Freedman’s No. 13 overall player on his Big Board, but remains available after the first 32 picks.

Similarly, Denzel Boston was mocked as a Round 1 wide receiver in a significant number of recent mock drafts as the WR6 in the class, yet remains available for a WR-needy team in Round 2.

Who else missed the Round 1 cut but sits atop the board heading into Day 2? The best available players ahead of Day 2 are below. ⬇️

Around The Watercooler

The latest fantasy and NFL gossip, news, memes and more from our merry band of football nerds …

📈 Our 2026 fantasy projections are updated for Round 1 rookies. Who lands where?

😂 Feels like a pretty damn accurate preview of the Jets offense. Watch out!

🤗 Today at 3 p.m. ET in Steel Town, be ready to see someone DRAFTED BY THE FANS.

👀 Come for Jake’s Morgan Freeman impersonation, stay for a great deal.

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