Fantasy Football Storylines To Watch During NFL OTAs: Malik Nabers' Health, Travis Hunter Usage and More
Adam Pfeifer breaks down the five things he is paying the most attention to as NFL OTAs get underway.
We finally made it.
Well, sort of.
It isn’t training camp, but teams are kicking off their OTAs, giving us our first glimpse of kinda-sorta football of the 2026 season. You know, it really is a treat to watch a player’s fantasy football ADP rise based on what he did in a t-shirt and shorts against zero defense. But I digress.
With teams reporting to OTAs, let’s take a look at five fantasy storylines that I’ll be keeping my eyes on over the course of the summer.
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Storylines To Monitor During 2026 NFL OTAs
Malik Nabers’ Health
Not only did Nabers suffer a brutal ACL tear, but he had meniscus damage, too. And while the Giants are hopeful their star wideout is ready by the start of training camp, Nabers himself hasn’t committed to being good to go for Week 1. At the end of January, Giants general manager Joe Schoen provided an update that didn’t exactly scream confidence either.
“Malik is trending to hopefully be ready for training camp,” Schoen said. “Things can change … but that’s the hope.”
Okay then.
Both the Giants and fantasy players will be tracking his status every single day over the course of the summer. And because he is coming off draft boards with the 17th overall selection as WR7, Nabers’ health should be one of the top fantasy storylines throughout camp. If we get positive updates regarding his Week 1 availability, wheels all the way up. Because when he’s on the field, Nabers isn’t just good.
He’s elite.
As a rookie in 2024, Nabers posted an absurd 35% target share, averaging just over 18 PPR PPG. Drafted sixth overall, the Giants made sure that Nabers was getting the football early and often:
- 35% target share (1st)
- 31% TPRR (2nd)
- 11.3 targets per game (1st)
- 9.1 first-read targets per game (1st)
Nabers’ target-earning ability is even more impressive when you consider 23.6% of his routes during that season were go routes, while just over 13% were slants or in-breaking routes. Through the first three weeks of his sophomore season, Nabers was once again dominating targets, sporting a 29% target share and 22% TPRR, while accounting for 55% of the Giants’ air yards. Of course, his season unfortunately ended after running just 10 routes in Week 4, robbing us of seeing really any connection between him and Jaxson Dart.
Keep tabs on the status of Nabers throughout the summer. If things are trending positively, fantastic. And if not, feel free to attack the expected ADP drop. Because when he’s on the field, we know who is getting the football in New York.
The Jacksonville Jaguars WR Room
Anyone else getting deja vu?
This time last season, the fantasy football world was anticipating just how often Travis Hunter would be playing wide receiver. In fact, it was so bad that it reached a point where Jacksonville beat reporters were providing positional snap counts for the Heisman winner. Following a disappointing rookie season cut short by injury, Hunter’s role in Jacksonville’s offense is suddenly in question, especially following the addition of Jakobi Meyers and the emergence of Parker Washington.
There have been all sorts of conflicting reports regarding where Hunter will play this season, but it appears the answer isn’t as confusing. Hunter will play corner and wide receiver in 2026, but how much will be the real question. Given the current makeup of the Jaguars roster, cornerback is the more pressing need. But you don’t trade up to select Hunter second overall, only to not maximize his potential. And while his route rate is unlikely to be insanely high, I’d be willing to bet that when he’s on the field, he’s getting the ball. Liam Coen is one of the best screen designers in the NFL right now, and during Hunter’s first seven games of last year, 13% of his targets came off screens.
Hopefully, we gain more clarity from this receiver room because Hunter still carries some insane post-hype sleeper appeal in 2026.
Quarterback Competition in Minnesota
The fact that the Vikings are even entertaining a true quarterback competition after watching J.J. McCarthy last year is … kind?
Yeah. Let’s go with kind.
To say McCarthy struggled last year would be a massive understatement. Among qualified signal callers, McCarthy ranked:
- 33rd in completion rate (57.6%)
- 1st in INT/ATT (4.9%)
- 25th in YD/ATT (6.7)
- 37th in EPA/play (-0.12)
- 33rd in on target rate (66.5%)
As a result, we saw Justin Jefferson vastly underwhelm, finishing as the WR28 in fantasy points per game (11.9). 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.
After watching their passing attack crater last year, the Vikings made a move, bringing in former first overall pick Kyler Murray. And while he’s had his own struggles as of late, he’s absolutely a massive upgrade over what Minnesota had at quarterback a year ago. It sure sounds like Murray is the favorite to start Week 1, but Kevin O’Connell is going to have him and McCarthy compete. If McCarthy is showing massive signs of improvement and really pushes Murray, great. As long as Jefferson has a lot more catchable passes thrown his way in 2026, we’ll all be happy.
The Seattle Seahawks Backfield
Seemingly, the entire fantasy community was waiting in anticipation for who the Seahawks drafted at running back this past April. And while 32nd overall was obviously in play, it was at least a little surprising they addressed the position so early.
Jadarian Price is set to lead the Seahawks’ backfield as a rookie, and given the draft capital, he should see plenty of work. Since 2016, running backs selected in the first round of the draft are averaging 17.9 touches and 89.6 scrimmage yards per game, while logging around 63% of the snaps. Price is a good player who would have made a lot more noise if he weren’t backing up the best running back in the country, in Jeremiyah Love.
But how involved will he be right away?
Of course, Zach Charbonnet probably won’t be suiting up until around Week 11 or 12, leaving Price to compete with George Holani and Emanuel Wilson. I look forward to seeing what the playing time looks like from this trio throughout OTAs and training camp, especially on passing downs. Price doesn't have a very lengthy track record as a pass catcher, hauling in just 15 passes over 41 collegiate games. But he’s also a middling pass protector, which could keep him off the field on key third downs, as well as the two-minute drill.
It sure feels like Price will be one of the highest risers or fallers over the course of the summer. We’ll see how this backfield shapes out.
More Snaps For Stud WRs
Two of my favorite wideouts to target in drafts this year are Josh Downs and Jayden Reed—two players we’ve seen awesome flashes of, but not sustainable production. Injuries have played a role for Reed, but a common theme has held both players back.
Playing time.
Primarily slot receivers, Reed and Downs have fallen victim to their offenses deploying a ton of 12 personnel. And despite both players having the ability to win on the perimeter, their teams just haven’t given them playing time in two-wide sets.
Last season, Downs ran just 17 routes out of 12 personnel, which ranked outside the top-100 wideouts in football. But in that very small sample size, Downs was targeted seven times. No matter what the personnel or situation, Downs simply earns targets, and following the departure of Michael Pittman Jr., 21% of the Colts' targets need replacing.
Reed, meanwhile, is perhaps even more ready for an uptick in playing time. Since entering the league in 2023, Reed has only logged 31 total snaps and run seven routes out of 12 personnel, which is why his route rate during that span is an underwhelming 69%. Bumping that to 75%-80% would do wonders for Reed, who, like Downs, also should be in line for more opportunities following wide receiver departures. With Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks gone, Reed should have every opportunity to finally run more routes. As a rookie in 2023, Reed ranked eighth in football in fantasy points per route (0.56). Don’t expect that level of efficiency to remain once the routes come up, but simply put? Reed needs to be on the field a lot more for the Packers and fantasy rosters alike.
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