Fantasy football managers should target these bounce-back players in 2026

What goes up must come down. In fantasy football, many like to believe the inverse is true.

What goes down must come up.

It's in that area where value lies, something that is key to any successful fantasy football draft, trade negotiation or waiver wire pickup. People invest when they believe better days are ahead, no matter how bad the ones that preceded it were.

Injuries, coaching changes and more are all variables in how a player performs each year. Some of them inevitably change during the offseason. Those might just be the players you want to pounce on when the draft rolls around.

These aren't necessarily fantasy sleepers. These are players that have been there and done that. Now we're just looking for a return to form.

Here's a look at players primed to bounce back in fantasy football in 2026.

QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Despite Jackson's fall from grace in the eyes of his NFL peers, the two-time MVP is still elite – even if the 2025 season didn't always show it after he finished as QB20, according to FantasyPros. Luckily for Jackson, this is a new beginning and one that should be welcomed. John Harbaugh is out as Ravens' head coach and that means Todd Monken is also gone as the offensive coordinator.

In come Jesse Minter and, more importantly, Declan Doyle, to form a new-look coaching staff. Doyle's hire is particularly interesting, given that he comes from the Sean Payton and Ben Johnson coaching tree – which plays right into Jackson's strengths.

Consider the Johnson influence in this case. The use of pre-snap motion and play designs that mask run or pass better than anyone is a nightmare when defending an explosive athlete like Jackson. Guess wrong and you'll see him dancing in the end zone seconds later. As always, injuries are the primary concern for this quarterback. From a fantasy standpoint though, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone with a higher ceiling unless you're willing to pay Josh Allen prices early on.

QB Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings

Murray is just the latest quarterback that hopes to revive his career playing for Kevin O'Connell. Luckily for the former Cardinals' signal-caller, there is a history of success to work with – at least on an individual level. Murray's teams haven't been fortunate enough to find postseason glory, but he has done enough in the pros to reward fantasy managers for their investment.

The 28-year-old just finished as QB10 in 2024 before being limited to just five games in 2025. An average of fantasy points per game would see him finish as QB9 in 2023, QB7 in 2022, QB4 in 2021 among quarterbacks that started at least five games. And that doesn't include the QB2 overall finish in 2020.

Murray's rushing upside has always been his calling card in fantasy and that should be no different in Minnesota. Instead, Murray will be surrounded by talent in a way that he hasn't been before. Justin Jefferson, anyone?

His current ADP, according to CBS Sports, has Murray being selected as QB18 after Daniel Jones. That's a steal.

RB Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Irving was a breakout star for the Bucs in 2024. Then 2025 rolled around. An injury-plagued year for Irving limited him to just 10 games and it's anyone's guess how healthy he was in any of those. He saw his rushing yards per game drop from 66 in 2024 to 58.8 in 2025, while the receiving numbers got a boost from 23.1 yards per game in 2024 to 27.7 in 2025.

All in all, the Bucs had a miserable season that had no shortage of injuries. You name it, they had it. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and others weren't spared either. A rested Irving should be back to his usual antics in 2026, with the chance for a real boost after Evans departed for San Francisco.

Tampa installed Zac Robinson as the team's new offensive coordinator this offseason and you don't have to look far to see what that could do for an offense. Robinson was notably the OC for Bijan Robinson in Atlanta, so he has a history of coaching star running backs and getting the most out of them. Is anyone expecting a Bijan-like season from Irving? Probably not. However, he should be closer to 2024 form and should play a big role in Tampa's potential bounce-back season.

RB David Montgomery, Houston Texans

It wasn't long ago that "Sonic and Knuckles" was the talk of the NFL. Then Sonic stole the show and Knuckles faded into the background. Jahmyr Gibbs became a solo act in Detroit last season, relegating Montgomery to a fantasy afterthought. Gone were the days of goal-line touchdowns, which became part of a larger trend.

Montgomery was being phased out more and more each year as Gibbs took on more responsibility. That is what paved the way for Montgomery to be traded this offseason and the Texans jumped at the opportunity. Houston wasn't just a running back-needy team after Joe Mixon's disappearance. The Texans were a team in need of some physicality and attitude on offense.

The former Lion will share the backfield with Woody Marks, but make no mistake – Montgomery is the one who should be dancing in the end zone more often. Given C.J. Stroud's struggles in 2025, Houston will want to avoid being too one-dimensional this season. After all, the Texans are dreaming of something bigger. That starts with a solid rushing attack to pair with a stingy defense. Montgomery will be a major factor in that.

WR Mike Evans, San Francisco 49ers

Hamstring, concussion, collarbone. Those were the three defining injuries of Evans' 2025 season. Eight games wasn't enough for the receiver to keep his streak of 1,000-yard seasons alive, but that was always going to be difficult given the circumstances.

Now he gets a fresh start in Kyle Shanahan's offense, which should give Evans a renewed energy in 2026. History tells us that as long as Evans is healthy, he'll produce in a big way.

WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

It was a season to forget for Jefferson, arguably the worst of his career. The All-Pro was plagued by bad quarterback play all year long and the hope is that Murray's likely insertion as the starter goes a long way in righting that wrong.

Murray has never been shy about looking for his best pass-catchers, whether it was DeAndre Hopkins or Trey McBride in Arizona. Jefferson is on another level though and the Vikings would be wise to make sure he gets the ball early and often this season. Considering the massive failure that was 2025, Minnesota can't afford to put Jefferson in a spot where he starts thinking about a trade.

WR Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders

McLaurin's 2025 season was doomed from the start. An offseason contract dispute that kept him away from the team brought a slow start to the year. Then a quad injury led to a lengthy absence, leaving McLaurin on the field for just 10 games in 2025.

Prior to that, the veteran had been a model of consistency regardless of quarterback play, posting five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in his first six years. Provided McLaurin and Jayden Daniels stay healthy, then it should be another good season for the receiver in a Commanders jersey.

TE Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders

Some will point to a knee injury. Others will point to tanking. Whatever the reason, both of those things are behind Bowers as he prepares for the 2026 season. The tight end received plenty of rest while the Raiders prioritized their draft pick and now there is no reason for Vegas to willingly lose.

This is a development year for all included, especially Fernando Mendoza. Bowers has already proven to be one of the league's best tight ends and he should be used like that in Klint Kubiak's offense. If he's healthy, you can pencil in some big numbers for Bowers. Don't overcomplicate it.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football managers should target these bounce-back players in 2026