Early-Season Fantasy Football Schedules To Target in 2026 Drafts: David Montgomery Should Start Hot

Matchups play a large part in a player's overall production week to week across the NFL. In fantasy football, this remains especially true, particularly when we look at the crops of players who are not quite in that superstardom tier. 

Here are a few players you can look to target in your fantasy football drafts who will look to start off the season hot, leading your team to dominant performances and bolstering their trade value. 

*For reference, I looked at the projected strength of schedule by each position group for each team through the first five weeks of the NFL season.*

3 Players to Draft with Appealing Early-Season Schedules To Target In Fantasy Football

David Montgomery | RB | Houston Texans

Through the first five weeks, Houston faces the third-easiest schedule for fantasy running backs. Buffalo, who they face in week one, and Cincinnati, who they will play in week two, both found themselves in the bottom five in yards allowed to running backs last year, with the Bengals actually coming in at league-worst. In week four, they face Dallas at home, a bottom-seven team in fantasy points to running backs. 

In the other two games within this sample, they take on Indianapolis and Tennessee in weeks three and five, respectively, two teams who are emerging but still have a number of question marks around their ability to put up points this upcoming season. At first glance, look for both of those matchups to be positive game scripts for Houston and for David Montgomery to be toting the rock early and often. Monty should come out of the gate firing, so look to scoop him up in the 5th round. 

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Kyler Murray | QB | Minnesota Vikings

Kyler Murray will look to have a bounce-back year in 2026 after a foot sprain derailed the majority of his 2025 season. Last week, Kyler was named the starter for the Vikings for the upcoming season, a system under Kevin O’Connell that has led quarterbacks less talented than Murray to fantasy relevancy, if only for a brief moment. 

Kyler faces the eighth-best fantasy schedule for quarterbacks through the first five weeks of the NFL season. The Vikings will travel to Tampa Bay in week three before taking on Miami in week four, two teams who were bottom ten in fantasy points allowed to signal callers last season. 

While the rest of the schedule doesn’t immediately jump off the page in terms of passing defenses, the rushing floor for Kyler should be consistent throughout. The Dolphins, the Buccaneers, and the Bears, whom he will meet at Soldier Field in week two, were all particularly weak against rushing quarterbacks in 2025. Murray presents immediate QB1 upside and should look to be a mainstay on your team, especially when taking into account his incredible fantasy playoff schedule. 

Harold Fannin Jr. | TE | Cleveland Browns

Harold Fannin is coming off an impressive rookie campaign where he notched 731 yards and 6 TDs on 72 targets, a stat line that saw him finish as the TE6. While there might be questions around the quarterback battle in Cleveland as well as increased target competition in the form of two talented rookie receivers, the one thing that cannot be questioned is his strength of schedule. 

All five of his matchups are bottom 13 in the league for fantasy points allowed to the tight end position, with two of them ranking bottom five—Tampa Bay in week two and the Jets in week five. Four out of the five defenses, including Jacksonville, Carolina, and Tampa Bay, who they play in weeks one, three, and four, all ranked significantly better against wide receivers, meaning whoever is at the helm for Cleveland should look in Fannin's direction early and often. Fannin will look to top his rookie campaign with a strong start, which will have him headed in the right direction early on.

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