The Fantasy Football Roundtable runs each week during preseason, with RotoWire football writers answering the most important questions facing fantasy managers this draft season. Their advice and insights will help you win your leagues.
The top few rounds of fantasy football drafts get a lot of attention from analysts and fantasy managers. Everyone loves to debate players, draft strategy, roster builds and more. The middle rounds, by contrast, are easy to gloss over. But, even with strong early picks, it's in the middle rounds where advantages often are built. Find the mid-round player this year who will be an early round pick in 2027 and you'll be on your way to winning your league. Which brings us to the question at hand ...
This week's question: Who is your favorite middle-round league winner for 2026?
Jaylen Waddle, WR, Broncos
Average ADP: 49.08 - 5th Round
Everyone seems to agree DeVonta Smith (ADP WR11 on Yahoo) is poised to take a big step forward without A.J. Brown around. Why doesn't that same optimism apply to Jaylen Waddle, who is now freed from working with most people's idea of a top-three receiver of the last half-decade? Unlike Smith, Waddle actually has multiple seasons of high-end production (WR15 in 2021, WR12 in 2022). Also unlike Smith, we should also feel a bit more confident in the overall pass-game volume considering Bo Nix just led the NFL in pass attempts.
Sean Payton is pretty unanimously considered one of the brighter offensive minds of the 21st century. Maybe we should be in on the electric receiver for whom he traded a first-round pick?
Broncos WR Jaylen Waddlepic.twitter.com/BKIQHcZGut
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) March 17, 2026
Many have pushed back on Waddle being a boom candidate due to his constant ventures to the injury tent over the years, but it's worth remembering he's still managed to play in 80 of 87 games since entering the NFL in 2021. Where I could go wrong is Courtland Sutton continuing to be a force and splitting the targets more evenly than expected, but the soon-to-be 31-year-old veteran saw his yards per route run (1.52) and targets per route run (19.3%) slip to four-year lows last season.
Ultimately, Waddle has proven capable of supplying WR1 production even as an overqualified No. 2 WR, and now he sure looks a lot like the engine of this high-volume Broncos passing game. Not a bad Round 4-5 target in home leagues!
-- Ian Hartitz
Ian's 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings
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Parker Washington, WR, Jaguars
Average ADP: 87.79 - 8th Round
Parker Washington might look like a slot guy, and he is, but he also proved himself on the perimeter last year with 2.59 yards per route and 497 receiving yards across 192 routes. He's unusually strong for his size, accurately described as a poor man's Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Given the way he played late last year, Washington has a good shot at consistent snaps in 12 personnel while also handling much of the slot work in three-wide sets. His target volume won't match last year's surge if things go according to plan for Jacksonville, but he can handle double-digit targets if the team's other receivers struggle with injuries or alligator arms.
-- Jerry Donabedian
Jerry's 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings
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Chris Godwin, WR, Buccaneers
Average ADP: 94.05 - 8th Round
Chris Godwin is considered a major injury risk, and he's being drafted around pick 90. The receiver is a hidden gem who will win your league. Yes, in the last two years, Godwin missed 18 of 34 games while also missing five games in 2020. But details matter. Those 18 missed games were the result of a single leg injury that cost him time over two seasons. He's being penalized twice for one major injury. Otherwise, in his previous seven seasons, he's missed 1.6 games per season. That's durable, if you ask me.
When Godwin's on the field, he's highly productive. The last seven seasons, Godwin has averaged eight targets, six receptions, 71 yards and 0.4 touchdowns per game. Once Godwin got comfortable with Baker Mayfield in 2024, before the aforementioned leg injury ended his season, he was up to nine targets, seven receptions, 82 yards and 0.7 touchdowns per contest. Going back to Mayfield's days with Jarvis Landry in Cleveland, he has always thrived with receivers like Godwin who can work out of the slot. Going into his age-30 season, time is starting to run out on Godwin, but there is little reason to think he doesn't have one last big season in him. Buy him and win your league.
-- Jim Coventry
Jim's 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings
Check out our fantasy football ADP report for a comprehensive tool with live-updated ADP data for multiple league formats and sites.
Jordyn Tyson, WR, Saints
Average ADP: 85.85 - 8th Round
Rookie wide receivers have provided us with some of the greatest ADP wins at the position in recent memory. Who can forget true league-winning seasons from players like Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase, followed by a record-breaking year from Puka Nacua? 2024 was a banner year for this trend, with Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. both finishing as WR1s, and Ladd McConkey right behind them. This season, there is an exceptional rookie value who can be had in the seventh round or later in every format, and that's Saints rookie Jordyn Tyson.
Tyson will benefit from advantageous coverage, with defenses having to account for Chris Olave. His potential to put up immense spike weeks in Kellen Moore's offense is there for the taking. Even with Olave settling in with 150 targets or so, Tyson has the ability to defy expectations and earn 125-plus of his own. He has been compared by some to CeeDee Lamb, DeVonta Smith and Olave. He has great size (6-foot-2, 203), athleticism and route-running ability. A top-20 WR season is within his range of outcomes this year. Enjoy this current ADP. By this time next year, it could look like a massive discount.
-- Theo Gremminger
Theo's 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings
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Jordan Addison, WR, Vikings
Average ADP: 107.17 - 9th Round
Many seem to have forgotten just who Jordan Addison is. Perhaps J.J. McCarthy prevented the masses from seeing Addison's high-end talent last season, so let me refresh your memory. Addison totaled 19 touchdowns his first two seasons in 2023-24, finishing as a top-20 fantasy wide receiver both seasons. Last year, he sunk to three touchdown catches in 14 games and WR43, one of McCarthy's many victims.
This season, he'll catch passes from new QB Kyler Murray and his fantasy production should rebound accordingly. Addison has always been a "boom or bust" type of fantasy asset, similar to receivers like Jameson Williams, Christian Watson and Alec Pierce. But he has more "spike week" potential than any of those, and while I like those receivers at their current prices, I am absolutely smashing Addison at an ADP that is multiple rounds cheaper.
