Whether the start of your fantasy football draft has gone perfectly according to script with a full roster of “my guys,” or if you had to pivot and react to multiple detours, the middle rounds are where leagues are often won or lost. Everyone knows the players at the very top tend to stick and many late-round picks land on the waiver wire, but finding players from the middle rounds who become every-week starters and top producers can be key to carrying your team to the title. In this post, we’re looking to swing for the fences with some middle-round picks who have the potential to be the difference-makers to help you claim the trophy.
We’ll be looking at players with ADPs (average draft positions) outside the top 75, so depending on your league size, these options are worth targeting in the eighth to 12th round or later. These picks are not always the safest players on the board, but they have the potential to turn the corner and be elite producers if the season goes their way.
Let’s hunt some fantasy football picks to win leagues in the middle round at a variety of positions.
RB Rico Dowdle, Pittsburgh Steelers
Several of the players on this list are playing their first year with a new team. A new environment can help a player take off and become a next-tier producer, but it also increases the volatility of the player since it’s more of an unknown how they’ll fit. Dowdle is with a new team for a second straight year after moving from the Cowboys to the Panthers before last season.
His move to the Steelers is a reunion with coach Mike McCarthy, whom he played for in Dallas. In 2024 with McCarthy, Dowdle racked up 1,079 yards on 235 carries. He started last year behind Chuba Hubbard on the depth chart, but he stepped up when Hubbard went down with an injury and finished with 1,076 yards on 236 attempts.
In the middle of his big year last year, he showed his high ceiling with two weeks of dominant performances against beatable run defenses. He lit up the Cowboys and Dolphins for a total of 389 rushing yards and a touchdown at an average of 7.3 yards per carry while tacking on 84 receiving yards and another score on seven catches. When Hubbard returned, Dowdle’s production dropped back to more normal levels, but he definitely showed he brings a top-10 RB ceiling.
The Steelers have a new offense in place for the last run of QB Aaron Rodgers, who may not be able to take as many downfield shots at this point in his career. They could rely heavily on the running game and defense in the always-tough AFC North. Dowdle will again be in a timeshare, this time with Jaylen Warren. The uncertainty of his role is part of the reason he’s sinking into the middle rounds, but he has the upside to be a top running back if he takes most of the workload and serves as one of the focal points of the offense.
WR De’Zhaun Stribling, San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers drafted Stribling at the top of the second round in the NFL Draft, which was a surprise to many experts who expected him to slide further down the board. However, the 49ers definitely saw something they liked in the 24-year-old from Ole Miss, and Stribling has lived up to their expectations this preseason, becoming one of the buzziest receivers in the whole league.
He’s not a sleeper for the end of your fantasy draft anymore since there’s no way he falls that far, but he still has league-winning potential in the middle rounds, where he is currently going off the board shortly after pick 100.
Stribling has stepped into a clear top-three WR role in the 49ers’ offense after the season-ending injury to Ricky Pearsall (knee). Christian Kirk (calf) will also miss at least four weeks before he figures into the mix, leaving Stribling to carry more of the load with veterans Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel Sr. alongside him in three-wide sets. Both those veterans have extensive injury histories and have battled issues in camp, along with George Kittle, who is also coming back from injury. With so many question marks around him, there’s a chance that Stribling could be the top target on the team for part of this season.
After going off in training camp, Stribling impressed in his two preseason appearances as well. He hauled in 11 of his 13 targets in those two contests for 109 yards and looked like a great fit as a YAC monster in Kyle Shanahan’s always-productive offense.
Stribling is a name on the rise, but he’s worth taking a flier on in the middle rounds, especially if you have more established options in the rest of your wide receiver corps.
WR Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers
Reed is a more established option who still brings nice upside from his ADP, which is shortly after Stribling’s. Reed is the one player on this list coming back to his same team this year, but he has the upside to be a league-winner if he can avoid the injury woes that derailed him last year.
In his rookie year in 2023, Reed established himself as an explosive big-play threat with 10 total touchdowns. He posted similar numbers in 2024, totaling a career-high 1,020 rushing and receiving yards with seven touchdowns. Last year, he fractured his foot in the preseason and hsi collarbone in Week 2.
He missed almost three months with the injuries but did return in December. In his four games in December, he caught at least three passes in each game, averaging 4.25 targets per contest. He also had four catches on seven targets in the playoffs for 43 yards and a touchdown.
This offseason, the Packers lost Romeo Doubs to free agency and traded away Dontayvion Wicks, leaving a clear top three of Reed, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden at receiver. While Watson and Golden are definitely solid, Reed has the potential to re-emerge as the team’s most explosive option and have a great bounce-back season.
He has been a definite starter for fantasy in the past when healthy, and if he’s back to 100% and one of Jordan Love’s top targets, he has a great chance of out-performing his mid-round ADP.
TE Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders
Eight tight ends have an ADP in the top 75, so in the later middle rounds, it’s fringe starters and backups that are left on the board. Whether you grabbed a starter already or not, Okonkwo is a great option to target. He’s going off the board right now after almost 20 other tight ends, but he could be an excellent starting option as the season goes on.
Okonkwo is in his first season with the Commanders after playing four years with the Titans. The former Maryland Terrapin should be a fan favorite right away, and he could also quickly become a safety valve for Jayden Daniels, who has made tight ends fantasy relevant in the past.
Okonkwo flashed big-play potential in his time with the Titans but never settled in as a weekly starter, which is why he’s so affordable this season. Last year, he split time with rookie Gunnar Helm but still set career highs with 56 catches and 560 receiving yards while working with rookie Cam Ward. He also played all 17 games for the fourth straight year, so his durability could be huge for a Commanders team that is thin on proven pass-catchers.
Behind veterans Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs, the team doesn’t have a lot of depth to work with Daniels and new offensive coordinator David Blough. Okonkwo has the raw tools to produce even though he is a little undersized compared to some tight ends. He has speed to make big downfield plays, though, and has clicked with Daniels in training camp.
He could be set up to be a regular weekly top-10 option, so getting him at this point in drafts as your second tight end or after you’ve stocked up on other positions is a move that could potentially set your team up for a title run.
RB Emmett Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs missed the playoffs last year and will look to turn things back around in 2026. One of the biggest places they tried to upgrade the roster was in the backfield. They signed Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker to a big three-year contract and also drafted Emmett Johnson out of Nebraska with their fifth-round pick.
Johnson competed with free agent Emari Demercado this training camp and won the backup role so convincingly that Demercado was waived at the end of camp. The Chiefs will start the year with just Walker, Johnson and converted receiver Brashard Smith as running backs on the roster. Chiefs coach Andy Reid praised the rookie’s work in pass protection as well, saying, “We knew he could run the ball. But the thing we had to see was pass protection for him to be that No. 2 back. You’ve got to be able to do that.”
Opening the year as the No. 2 back, Johnson should mix in right away on passing downs. He caught 46 passes for 370 yards and three touchdowns out of the backfield as a Jr. for the Cornhuskers last season, and he could play a key role in the team’s screen game.
If Walker struggles with any injuries, Johnson could step in as a true fantasy stud in a very good offense. Even if Walker is healthy, Johnson could earn enough work to be a FLEX play since Reid has a history of rotating running backs successfully.
Like most of these potential league-winning picks, Johnson is a boom-or-bust play that comes with real risk, but his potential upside makes him a great value. Johnson is a great handcuff if you get Walker early, but whether you do or not, he’s definitely a name to watch as running backs fly off the board in the middle rounds.
The Bottom Line
The five players in this post all have league-winning upside in 2026, so be sure to keep their names in your queue and be ready to aggressively add them in the middle rounds as you build the core of your season-long squads in drafts ahead of next week’s season kickoff.
