Is De'Zhaun Stribling The Best Buy In Fantasy Football For 2026?

We have a lot of strong contenders for the buzziest player of the preseason—Parker Washington, Ja’Kobi Lane, Denzel Boston—but 49ers rookie WR De'Zhaun Stribling moved into the pole position after his performance Thursday night.

He tallied 5 targets, 4 receptions and 46 yards in the first quarter vs. the Chargers, fresh off a 7-63 line on 8 targets in his preseason debut vs. the Titans.

Of course it is a small sample size, but it's resulted in some pretty hilarious nuggets:

• He has run 21 routes and been targeted on over 50% of them (h/t Cody Main)
• He has the highest targets per route run (59.1%) of any WR since 2015 and joins some legendary company (h/t JJ Zachariason)
• He is the first player in at least 20 years to total 11 catches within the first 20 minutes of two consecutive preseason games (h/t Ryan Pagnetti)

I saw someone on X say he looks like "Jauan Jennings with a rocket up his ass", and I don't think I can disagree with the sentiment, even if the delivery is problematic.

Stribling is still available in the triple-digit rounds on most sites, but it's hard to envision that lasting much longer.

Both Matthew Berry and Dwain McFarland have pushed him up 20+ spots in their ranks. Go see just how high they have Stribling, and start packing your bags before the Stribeye costs more than Wagyu.

Watch Your Fantasy Team In Action On Fire TV

On football Sundays, isn’t it best when you can watch your fantasy players live? Josh Allen throwing and galloping his way to multiple TDs. Ja’Marr Chase taking the top off the defense on a long bomb. Jahmyr Gibbs blazing past defenders as if they’re standing still. Even better, how about watching without endless scrolling to get to the correct apps? If so, you need Fire TV. 

It organizes all your live games from your favorite teams in one place across apps, right on the home screen. No more searching. 

Find where the game’s playing and easily subscribe to that streaming service (as needed)—all from one tab on your home screen.

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Around the Watercooler

Your favorite football nerds are back and bringing you the latest news, content and memes from the NFL universe …

🤩 ICYMI: Matthew’s Ride or Die is primed to FLY HIGH in 2026.

🤔 Could Tyreek return? Here’s the latest.

👀 Want to have the perfect draft? It starts with the strategy.

🚨 1 Day Left! Save 30% on FantasyLife+ with code MB30.

📝 Bye week guide for every one of the top 100 players for fantasy.

🏆 Drafting this weekend? Dwain brings you his perfect draft strategy just in time.

🤣 You’ll also need a team name if you’re drafting this weekend. Here are the best.

🤔 Why draft Omarion Hampton when you can get XXXX 2-3 rounds later?

✍️ Bookmark these trade targets … and make a move in dynasty before Week 1.

It’s Never Too Early To Stream A Defense

We’re officially in prime draft season, and you might be drafting your home league TODAY … In those home leagues, the standard approach is likely to draft a DST with the second-to-last pick and a kicker in the final round. It’s a time-honored tradition in home leagues, dating back to our forefathers.

However, some choose to stream a DST based on that week’s matchup, and while it takes work to pull off, it could win a matchup if done right.

We’re going to look at fantasy DSTs based on these rankings. They may be available on the waiver wire and streamable early in the season …

Streamer 1: Chicago Bears

The Bears finished as the DST13 and were the best at forcing turnovers, with a league-leading 33 takeaways last season. However, when they couldn’t force opponents to cough up the ball, they were dragged all over the field. Last season, they ranked 27th in yards allowed per completion (11.5) and 29th in yards allowed per carry (5.0).

The best thing for a defense like that is to face opponents who don’t gain many yards.

Chicago’s first four games are against opponents who struggled to move the ball last year.

In Week 1, they face the Panthers, who ranked 27th in yards per completion (9.3) and 16th in yards per carry (4.3).

Week 2 is against the Vikings, who ranked 23rd in yards per completion (9.5) and 12th in yards per carry (4.5).

Week 3 is against the Eagles, who were 16th in yards per completion (10.4) and 20th in yards per carry (4.2).

Lastly, it’s Week 4 against the Jets, who finished last in yards per completion (8.0) and now have QB Geno Smith, who ranked 29th in yards per completion last year (10.0), and RB Breece Hall will be coming back from a groin injury.

What other DSTs are worth early-season streamer status? ⬇️

Editors’ Picks

Feeling like normal with football on the weekend as part of your plan? Now if only we had some fantasy content to get us ready for our drafts this weekend … Check out our rankings, projections and Fantasy Life Draft Guide. Also, ICYMI, enjoy these articles.

Wide Receiver Tiers

Dwain updated his WR tiers to account for the recent injury to Jayden Higgins, ambiguity around Mike Evans and more. Dive in before your drafts.

Ceiling Cases For The Rookies

The CUPPS model has been hard at work, and Alex has identified the ceiling projection for all the skill-position rookies … and some may surprise you!

Draft Companion By Your Side

Want a little help during your draft? Fantasy Life Draft Companion brings our experts into YOUR draft room while it’s happening in real time.

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Finding Sleepers At The Wide Receiver Position

Fantasy drafters are partying like it’s 1999. The running back position is back, and the top end of the position is getting pushed well up the draft board. 19 running backs have an ADP inside the top 44 picks across the industry, so more and more drafters are attacking the position early.

As a result, wide receivers are sliding a bit. That is creating some solid value with the position, which is already pretty deep. You can get guys outside the top 30 at the position who have the potential to be regular contributors throughout the year.

That’s the premise of this segment. We’re going to look at three guys who are going outside the top 30 at receiver who could provide significant value. Let’s dive right in.

Sleeper 1: Parker Washington | Jaguars

Is it fair to even call Washington a sleeper at this point? He certainly doesn’t qualify if you’ve been taking part in Underdog drafts this offseason. His ADP is inside the top 60 picks, and he’s coming off the board on WR30.

That said, not everyone is a fantasy sicko who spends the entire summer doing drafts. There are still plenty of leagues where Washington is slipping through the cracks. His ADP is a very reasonable 88.4 on Yahoo (WR35), and he’s a downright steal at 102.7 overall on ESPN (WR37).

Washington broke out down the stretch for the Jaguars last season. From Week 12 on, he led the Jaguars’ receiving corps with a 25% target share, and he averaged 14.2 PPR points per game. In the team’s final four games (including playoffs), his target share jumped to 31% while averaging 18.5 PPR points per game.

The Jaguars have a lot of mouths to feed at receiver, but it’s possible that Washington emerges as their clear No. 1 option. After all, both Brian Thomas Jr. and Jakobi Meyers were active for Washington’s four-game outburst to close out last year, while Travis Hunter seems focused primarily on defense for the time being.

Washington has continued his production into the start of the new year. ESPN’s Michael DiRocco reports that Washington has been Trevor Lawrence’s favorite target throughout training camp, and that he “always seems to be open.”

Ultimately, Washington is priced like a WR3, but he proved that he has much more upside in 2025-26. He is currently day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, but he’s expected to return to the lineup next week. As long as that happens, draft him with confidence.

TWO MORE WIDE RECEIVER SLEEPERS TO CIRCLE