The Fantasy Football world loves young players and players with the potential to do big things for the first time. The Fantasy Football world fears aging players, who have had some sort of drop-off in production. Recency bias is huge in the Fantasy Football world, and emotions are often tied to players who did not help Fantasy teams in a specific season. Too many people will write players off in the coming year due to what happened in the previous one, along with the veteran fears of falling off the cliff. That is where you can find values.
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Veteran players can be defined as players who have played multiple seasons in the NFL, for this article. For the most part, these players are all above the age of 25. I have identified nine players who were not very useful for fantasy football in 2025, but could bounce back to Fantasy relevance in 2026. These players may be returning from injury, have a new team, or some sort of other environmental factor that can support them bouncing back. For Dynasty, these players could be looked at as “contender buys” for those managers who have their redraft glasses on for this coming season.
9 Veterans Who Can Bounce Back for Fantasy Football in 2026
1. Kyler Murray (QB, Vikings)
Kyler Murray played just five games in 2025, and some of that could have been due to a “soft benching” for Jacoby Brissett. Before 2025, Kyler finished four seasons with 3,700+ passing yards, four seasons with 20+ passing touchdowns, three seasons with 500+ rushing yards, six seasons with 18+ Fantasy PPGand two seasons of 22+ Fantasy PPG.
Kyler Murray received a one-year, $1.3 million contract from the Vikings this offseason, on top of his guaranteed money still with the Cardinals. JJ McCarthy did not look the part in a good offense that includes the likes of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and TJ Hockenson. This is an extremely good trio for Kyler to walk into. With Kyler’s weapons in Minnesota, his high rushing upside, and a history of Fantasy Football impacts, he has clear top-12 upside in 2026.
2. DJ Moore (WR, Bills)
DJ Moore’s 85 targets from 2025 rank the second lowest of his career, and his 50 receptions for 682 receiving yards were the lowest of his career. DJM did come alive in the NFL Playoffs with 116 yards and two touchdowns through two games, but it was a down year in general. Before 2025, Moore finished six seasons with 118+ targets, four seasons with 87+ receptions, four seasons with 1,100+ receiving yards, and four seasons with 14+ Fantasy PPG.
The Bills traded a 2026 second-round draft pick and swapped fifth-round picks with the Bears this offseason. This gives one of the league’s best quarterbacks, Josh Allen, a true WR1 again. Allen has lacked a true WR1 since Stefon Diggs, who finished four straight seasons in Buffalo (2020-2023) with 1,100 receiving yards and finished two seasons with double-digit touchdowns. DJ Moore leaves a Chicago team that had rising talents for target competition and heads to Buffalo, where he should be the premier piece for Allen through the air. The Allen to Moore connection can be huge in 2026.
3. Chris Godwin (WR, Buccaneers)
Chris Godwin has been limited to 16 total games over the last two seasons due to injuries, making him feel like a long-lost and forgotten Fantasy Football asset. Through Godwin’s career, he has finished four seasons with 120+ targets, three seasons with 83+ receptions, four seasons with 1,000+ receiving yards, and three seasons of 17+ Fantasy PPG.
Mike Evans is now a 49er, which will vacate his target share from Baker Mayfield. Godwin will compete with sophomore Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, and Cade Otton primarily for targets in 2026. As long as Godwin is healthy, there is a case to be made that he could earn the most targets in 2026, or at least a high total. We have seen so much production from Godwin in Tampa Bay through time, and now he is set to bounce back to relevance in 2026.
4. James Conner (RB, Cardinals)
James Conner played just three games in 2025 due to injuries, which reignites the “injury-prone” tag he has had, as he has finished six seasons with under 14 games. In the two seasons before 2025, Conner produced over 1,000 rushing yards and scored nine total touchdowns in each of them through 29 combined games. Conner has an 18-touchdown season under his belt (2021) and has also finished three seasons with 46+ receptions.
James Conner restructured his contract this offseason, and the Cardinals brought in Tyler Allgeier on a two-year, $12.25 million deal. Trey Benson, who was a former third-round draft pick (2024), is also still rostered. While the money speaks to Allgeier being the RB1, a healthy Conner should still demand plenty of touches in an offense he has previously thrived in. Conner can create a committee in Arizona, and with his touchdown upside, he can have plenty of useful weeks in 2026.
5. Mike Evans (WR, 49ers)
Mike Evans played in just eight games in 2025 due to injuries, after playing in 14 games the year before. 2025 officially ended Evans’ streak of 11 straight seasons with 1,000+ receiving yards. Evans has seven seasons with 120+ targets, seven seasons with 74+ receptions, six seasons with double-digit touchdowns, and nine seasons of 15+ Fantasy PPG.
The 49ers signed Evans to a three-year, $42.5 million contract this offseason. George Kittle could miss time in 2026 due to his Achilles injury from January, and both Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk should no longer be part of the team in 2026. Brock Purdy missed time in 2025, but was averaging 240.8 passing yards per game and still managed to throw 20 touchdowns through just nine games played. Evans could step in and be the #1 target for Purdy in 2026 and display the touchdown upside we have seen through his NFL career.
6. Chuba Hubbard (RB, Panthers)
Chuba Hubbard played two fewer games than Rico Dowdle in 2025, and trailed Dowdle 240 to 134 rushing attempts, 1,076 to 511 rushing yards, and six to one rushing touchdowns. Hubbard ended the year on a positive note in the NFL Playoffs, totaling 59 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in that Wild Card loss. In 2024, Hubbard rushed for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns, caught 43 balls for 171 yards and a touchdown, and averaged 16.1 Fantasy PPG.
Rico Dowdle signed with the Steelers this offseason, which vacates 275 touches from 2025. Hubbard will compete with Jonathon Brooks, who is a former promising second-round draft pick from 2024, who has struggled to stay healthy. Hubbard could earn 270+ touches in 2026 and regain RB2 type of Fantasy Football upside for Fantasy Football managers.
7. Rachaad White (RB, Commanders)
As a third-round rookie in 2022 for the Buccaneers, Rachaad White caught 50 balls, which was top-12 for the position. White would then operate as a workhorse back in 2023, rushing 272 times for 990 yards, catching 64 balls for 549 yards, scoring nine touchdowns, and averaging 15.8 Fantasy PPG (#10). Bucky Irving was drafted the next season and earned a major role, but White still rushed for 613 yards, caught 51 passes for 393 yards, and scored nine touchdowns. White capped off his 2025 season with 572 rushing yards, 40 receptions for 218 receiving yards, and four touchdowns.
The Commanders could certainly draft Jeremiyah Love, but if not, I would predict White to lead this team in running back touches for 2026. Washington had a vision for Austin Ekeler before his injury that White can also fill for this team. If White is consistently catching passes from Jayden Daniels, he will be a solid asset for Fantasy Football in 2026.
8. TJ Hockenson (TE, Vikings)
TJ Hockenson was once a dominant Fantasy tight end, but the last two seasons have greatly impacted that with the context of poor quarterback play in 2025 and playing 10 games in 2024. In 2023 and 2022, Hock earned 127/129 targets, caught 95/86 of those for 960/914 yards, and averaged 14.6/12.7 Fantasy Points.
Hockenson now gets a solid quarterback upgrade in Kyler Murray for 2026. In Kyler’s last full season in 2024, Trey McBride caught 111 of his 147 targets for 1,146 yards. This should be encouraging for Hockenson in 2026. We have seen too much out of Hockenson through time not to believe in a bounce-back when the new situation can emphasize it more.
9. Jerry Jeudy (WR, Browns)
Jerry Jeudy had a completely useless 2025 on a poor Browns offense. Jeudy still earned 106 targets last season, but only caught 50 of those for 602 yards and two scores. The year prior, Jeudy exploded with 144 targets, 90 receptions, 1,229 receiving yards, four touchdowns, and 14.2 Fantasy PPG. Back in 2022, through 15 games, Jeudy produced 972 yards, six touchdowns, and 13.6 Fantasy PPG.
The Browns quarterback room is a question, and they can certainly draft a solid wide receiver, but I am hanging onto my skillset perception of Jeudy, which can again translate into Fantasy production. If this Browns offense takes some steps forward in 2026, Jeudy can pop as a Fantasy Football FLEX option at least again.
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