If last season felt like a down year in fantasy football, it’s because it absolutely was.

A handful of star players underwhelmed last year, whether it be due to poor performance, poor environment or injury. 2026 offers bounce-back opportunities, while also creating potential value on draft day. 

Let’s take a look at four rebound candidates who stand out above the rest.

RELATED: 2026 fantasy football rankings

Fantasy Football Bounce-Back Candidates For 2026

Lamar Jackson | QB | BAL

• 2025 FPPG: 17.1 (QB16)

Weeks 1-3. Also known as the only time all season long when Jackson was fully healthy.

2025 was a struggle.

During that stretch, Jackson was, well, Lamar Jackson. He averaged 27 fantasy points per game (QB1) while handling 16% of Baltimore’s designed rush attempts. Jackson also averaged 240.7 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and 39.3 rushing yards per game in that span. The two-time MVP was, per usual, crushing.

And then Week 4 happened.

During a loss to Kansas City, Jackson suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him for three games. And when he returned in Week 9, he just wasn’t the same. Seemingly on the injury report every week, Jackson battled ankle, back and hamstring issues the rest of the way. From Week 9 on, Jackson was clearly not playing at close to 100%, and the per-game results showed.

Weeks 9-18:

• 186.7 passing yards
• 20.3 rushing yards
• 13.7 FPPG
• 8% scramble rate
• 7% designed rush rate

Post-injury, Jackson’s designed rush rate was cut in half, while he ranked as the QB19 in fantasy. Anyone who watched the Ravens would agree that Jackson’s down season was almost exclusively injury-related. A clean bill of health and potentially an uptick in pass volume from new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle will have Jackson once again contending for overall QB1 status in 2026.

David Montgomery | RB | HOU

• 2025 FPPG: 9.6 (RB35)

We knew Jahmyr Gibbs’ role would only increase, but halfway through the 2025 season, Montgomery was nearly phased out of the Detroit offense altogether. 

Once Dan Campbell took over playcalling duties, Montgomery’s usage fell off. From Week 10 on, Montgomery logged just 35% of the snaps, 33% of the rush attempts, 47% of the short down and distance snaps and averaged just 8.9 touches per game. Following the shift in offense, Montgomery and Detroit were destined to part ways, and the Texans made the move, acquiring the veteran running back. 

While the Houston offense isn’t as good as Detroit’s, Montgomery’s usage is set to skyrocket. I’d still expect Woody Marks to handle plenty of the pass game work, but Montgomery should be in line to eclipse the 14.1 touches per game he averaged in three seasons with the Lions. And for what it’s worth, once Marks emerged as the lead RB last year, the rookie averaged a healthy 17.5 touches per game. 

Terry McLaurin | WR | WAS

• 2025 FPPG: 11.4 (WR36)

Like Jackson, this is mostly health-related.

Not only did McLaurin himself miss seven games, but Jayden Daniels was sidelined for 10 games, too. Still, when McLaurin was on the field, his advanced metrics were once again strong. He ranked fifth in first downs per route run (0.13), 13th in yards per route run (2.29), 16th in yards per target (9.7) and ninth in yards per catch (15.3). McLaurin accounted for 38% of Washington’s air yards last season (13th among WRs with at least 50 targets), and I’m excited to see a healthy deep ball connection between him and Daniels. 

Entering the 2026 campaign, there is very little target competition for McLaurin, who could walk into the season with a target share of 25% or higher. And if new OC David Blough gets his wish of giving McLaurin 10 targets per game, a tremendous season is in store for the 30-year-old wideout.

Justin Jefferson | WR | MIN

• 2025 FPPG: 11.9 (WR30)

I’ll never forgive J.J. McCarthy or Max Brosmer.

Poor quarterback play limited Jefferson to just 11.9 PPR PPG (28th) and two (!) receiving touchdowns. His 67.4% catchable target rate ranked 63rd among wideouts, while over 21% of McCarthy’s attempts were deemed bad throws, the second-highest rate among qualified signal callers. But when he actually had serviceable quarterback play, Jefferson did Justin Jefferson things.

In five games with Wentz under center, Jefferson averaged 10 targets, 6.8 receptions, 95.4 receiving yards and 16.3 PPR points per game. And the fantasy production is even more impressive when you consider Jefferson didn’t score a single touchdown during those games. Jefferson should benefit from the addition of Kyler Murray, who helped DeAndre Hopkins haul in 115 passes for 1,407 yards back in 2020.

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