The NFL season kicks off next Wednesday night and many still have fantasy football drafts to attack before kickoff. Hitting on some of your mid-round picks can be the key to winning a fantasy championship and below, I have featured two of my favorite mid-round targets.
Let’s break them down.
WR Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
Christian Watson is going around the sixth-round in most drafts and he is a stellar choice in that range. Watson is the Packers’ unquestioned No.1 wideout this season, after the team let both Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks walk in free agency.
Getting Watson more looks was likely a part of letting Doubs and Wicks go, and Green Bay showed it’s confidence in Watson this offseason by inking the receiver to a four-year, $92 million contract extension.
After tearing his ACL in January of 2025, there were concerns about Watson heading into last season, and while he did miss the first six games, the receiver was strong following his return, scoring 13.5 FPTS per game. After getting a few games under his belt, Watson really looked comfortable, scoring 18+ FPTS in four of his final seven contests of the regular season.
Watson saw a target on 23% of his routes and he ranked sixth among receivers in YPPR last season (2.51), ahead of Ja’Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown and CeeDee Lamb, just to name a few.
Watson was heavily utilized down field, racking up 18 targets over 20 yards in just 10 games, and ranking third among skill players in aDOT (18.0). The 27-year-old was also busy in the red zone, seeing 15 targets.
Watson finished ninth among receivers in FPTS per snap (0.33) and he did this playing alongside both Doubs and Wicks in most of his games. Doubs led the Packers with 83 targets, while Wicks ranked third with 44, so their absences create a large void. Watson’s target share absolutely is going to grow and he should lead Green Bay in volume.
A target share north of 25% is possible for Watson and he has the potential to finish as a top 10 receiver this season.
QB Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
Dart is a player you can get around the ninth or 10th round in most formats and I love taking a chance on the dual threat quarterback in this area of drafts.
The Giants used a first-round pick on Dart last season and he displayed big upside once he took the starting job from Russell Wilson. Dart started 12 times and he supplied 20.7 FPTS per game under center. Dart topped 20 FPTS in seven games, peaking with 27.3 FPTS vs. the Bears in Week 10. Dart averaged an elite 0.6 FPTS per drop back, which ranked fifth among all quarterbacks.
Dart’s passing was suspect, averaging just 6.7 YPA and completing just 64.7% of his attempts, but he still threw 15 touchdowns to just five picks. Dart’s arm absolutely could improve in his second season, especially with some new weapons around — more on that below — but the main sell with the 23-year-old is his rushing ability.
Dart rushed for 487 yards and nine touchdowns on 86 carries, and he ranked seventh in YPC among quarterbacks (5.7). Furthermore, Dart led the position in rushes of 10+ yards (18).
Now, Dart enters his second season as the Giants’ locked-in starter and with a new HC in town in John Harbaugh, who guided another dual threat quarterback in Lamar Jackson to many huge fantasy seasons with the Ravens.
Dart has some new weapons to work with, too. New York brought in Darnell Mooney and Isaiah Likely this offseason, and most importantly, Malik Nabers is back, after tearing his ACL only 25 snaps into Dart’s first start last season.
Having an elite playmaker like Nabers at his disposal should result in much better passing numbers for Dart, and him easily outperforming his ADP as a top 12 quarterback season is firmly in play.
