7 Players Skyrocketing Up My Draft Board This Month

Brown will play his natural off-the-line Z flanker position this year rather than being typecast to the X position as a rookie, which should help his production.

Through five weeks, Baker Mayfield was the QB3 with 21.3 points per game before injuries derailed his season.

Baker Mayfield is second only to CJ Stroud in adjusted net yards per attempt increase on plays with snap motion, showing strong compatibility with new offensive coordinator Zack Robinson's system.

A bounce back is expected for Brian Thomas Jr. despite Parker Washington's emergence, suggesting continued upside for the Jaguars receiver.

Analyst believes a bounce back is coming for Brian Thomas Jr. in 2026 and plans to put most of his chips on him alongside Parker Washington.

Analyst is putting most of his chips on Brian Thomas Jr. in the Jaguars receiver room for 2026 fantasy football.

Akers is getting a 10-pick discount (ADP 43 vs. projection-based value around pick 33) despite his tightrope surgery recovery, as the injury risk is already baked into his draft price.

Akers suffered a broken ankle requiring tightrope surgery, a procedure that has historically been unkind to players like Godwin, Mark Andrews, Tony Pollard, and Cooper Kupp.

Akers is expected to be full go for training camp and week one, with positive recovery news emerging from his tightrope surgery.

Akers has a strong goal-line and receiving role on the Giants offense; in five games last year playing over half the snaps, he had 100% of backfield inside-the-10 carries and a 15.1% target share, averaging 20 points per game.

Chris Godwin is expected to take the slot role in the new Zack Robinson offense, with Egbuka moving to the Z receiver position.

Godwin is expected to take the slot role in Tampa Bay's offense, which represents a shift from his previous positioning and could optimize his usage.

Cyrus Allen is a late-round dart throw for the Chiefs at wide receiver, drafted in round five.

Chiefs' round five draft pick described as a fun late round dart throw option.

Moving him up from 510 to 503 (7 spots) as a reasonable round 4-5 pick after the Lions-to-Texans trade, offering RB2 value at a discount compared to his projected role.

Montgomery was initially considered for a fade video but the analyst reconsidered, suggesting he may be undervalued despite being a dead-zone back projected for high volume on a mid-tier Houston Texans offense.

Expected to receive 80%+ of rushing attempts and running back targets similar to Joe Mixon's 2024 role with the Texans, positioning him as the clear lead back in DeMeco Ryans' smashmouth football system.

Projected for approximately 18 points per game ceiling based on Joe Mixon's 2024 performance in a similar role, with upside from volume and goal-line work.

Underrated receiving talent with 50+ catches in 2020 (RB6 at 17.7 PPG on Bears) and 2.24 yards per route run on 30+ catches in 2023 with Lions, behind only Amon-Ra St. Brown among Lions pass-catchers.

Analyst sees potential for David Montgomery to have a strong year similar to a previous season where he was 'really good' with high touches.

Year-two breakout candidate moving up seven spots in analyst's rankings (from 405 to 310); analyst now wants him on teams as a target after being conservative early in the season.

Prospect analyst ranked Egbuka in the same tier as Tideroll McMillan and Travis Hunter as a prospect; five-star recruit from Ohio State with productive seasons alongside NFL-caliber players like Marvin Harrison Jr., Jeremiah Smith, and Carnell Tate.

Elite rookie receiver profile; through five games, Egbuka is part of an elite list for most PPR points ever by a wide receiver in their first five games, alongside Puka Nacua, Randy Moss, Malik Nabers, and Ja'Marr Chase.

Through five games, Egbuka's per-route production was strong and not fluky; analyst notes his production profile was elite during this stretch.

Year two breakout candidate mentioned in context of year three being the typical breakout year, with Egbuka representing the exception where year two shows promise.

Cook moved up three spots in rankings (from 112 to 109) due to deeper analysis and draft research. The analyst believes his RB6 points-per-game finish last year represents his floor and sees untapped receiving ceiling upside similar to other elite one-two turn backs.

Cook plays for the Buffalo Bills, who are sixth in implied points per game and have the sixth best offensive line, providing an excellent situation for sustained elite production.

Cook has untapped receiving upside and could earn back the receiving role he had in 2023 when he posted 44 catches and 445 receiving yards. His archetype as a pass-catching specialist (similar to Jahmyr Gibbs) suggests he's been underutilized in the passing game.

Cook was only 19th among running backs in routes run last year with 100 fewer routes than Jahmyr Gibbs and just two designed targets on screens (44th among RBs), suggesting significant room for increased passing game involvement.

James Cook has 1.95 career yards per route run from Georgia, indicating he's a highly efficient receiving back, yet has been treated like prime Nick Chubb with only 1.9 receptions per game over 2024-2025.

When Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator in 2023, he had James Cook on a 63-target pace with improved first read share and ADoA, demonstrating Brady's history of elevating receiving backs.

With Joe Brady now head coach and Pete Carmichael (who elevated receiving backs like Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram, and Alvin Kamara) as offensive coordinator, James Cook could challenge for 50-60+ catches and compete with 1.01-1.02 backs like Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson.

James Cook has 20-plus point per game upside if he catches footballs as he did in college, and the analyst wants to get ahead of market on him given the offensive coordinator change.

Unlike Xavier Worthy, Keon Coleman is a draft peer where you cannot explain away a down year with the same optimism for a year three breakout.

Analyst believes there's 'meat on the bone' for Vidal as a Chargers running back in Mike McDaniel's offense and thinks he can be drafted.

Moved up 14 spots (707 to 605) as an analytical darling day three pick from Penn State with early declare status, not a flash-in-the-pan like other day three receivers who popped off mid-season.

Analyst moved Parker Washington up 14 spots (from 707 to 605) on his draft board, rejecting the 'flash in the pan' narrative and believing his strong finish will carry over as the Jaguars' best receiver.

Parker Washington is now the best receiver on the Jaguars and remains with offensive coordinator Liam Cohen, who saw how dominant he was down the stretch of last season.

The Jaguars have one of the better passing offenses in the league (sixth in points scored last year), making Parker Washington an attractive target in a high-volume passing attack.

Parker Washington's per-route metrics are elite: 29% targets per route run, 33% team percent of receiving yards, 3.53 yards per route run (Puka Nacua level), 26% first read share, and 13.25% first downs per route run.

In a six-game sample after the bye week, Parker Washington averaged 16.8 points per game and was 'nails' and 'awesome,' with the analyst believing this strong finish will carry over into 2026.

Analyst moved Xavier Worthy up 11 spots (from 903 to 804) based on year three breakout candidate status, as year three is historically the breakout year for receivers.

Year three breakout candidate attached to Patrick Mahomes; Chiefs gave him a stamp of approval by not adding WR help in free agency and not drafting a WR until round five, signaling confidence in him after his game one labrum injury limited his routes in year two.

Xavier Worthy is a year three breakout candidate attached to Patrick Mahomes, and his down year can be explained away by circumstances.

The Chiefs gave Xavier Worthy a stamp of approval by not adding wide receiver help in free agency and not drafting a receiver until round five, indicating they plan to ride with him in year three.

Xavier Worthy is coming back healthy after a game one labrum injury last year limited his routes, which should open up the full picture of his abilities seen during training camp.

Coming back healthy opens up his route tree after the team limited his routes in year two to protect him post-labrum injury; Reid indicated they were afraid to do certain things with Worthy but now he can expand his role.

Over his last seven games of 2024-2025 (final regular season games through Super Bowl loss), Worthy posted 2.28 yards per route run, 24% targets per route run, 11.5% first downs per route run, 84.3 PFF grade, and 21.6 PPG, demonstrating upside potential.

Author wants to be drafting Xavier Worthy this season and is moving him up his rankings, positioning him as someone to target ahead of market expectations.

Unlike Xavier Worthy, Zay Flowers is a draft peer where you cannot explain away a down year with the same optimism for a year three breakout.