RELATED: See Underrated Rookies here.
Rookies are the shiny new toys, and it's often fun to add them to your roster. Sometimes, though, the chase drives up their value to the point that drafting them is too expensive to pay off. In these cases, they are simply overvalued. Avoiding those overrated players is what keeps your roster contending for a championship.
We asked the Footballguys staff which 2026 rookie they think is the most underrated. Here's what they said.
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A quick note on staff opinions: One of the strengths of Footballguys is the range of opinions across our staff. Features like this one are designed to show you where individual analysts differ. But we don't waffle. For our final say on where we see a player, check the Footballguys Consensus Rankings, where we bring the staff together and plant a flag on how we think the players should be ranked.
Overrated Rookie With 6 Votes
RB Jeremiyah Love, Arizona
Meng Song: Arizona ruled out Jeremiyah Love for two weeks of the preseason due to a high ankle sprain, and his Week 1 status is up in the air. Even if Love were to miss minimal time, high ankle sprains can linger and hinder a running back's efficiency and production all year long. On top of the injury concerns, the Cardinals signed Tyler Allgeier to a two-year, $12 million deal this offseason, which isn't nothing. There's a real possibility that, whether due to injury or just rookie growing pains, Love won't be a reliable fantasy starter for most of 2026.
Will Grant: Fantasy managers love a rookie RB, and Jeremiyah Love is the one everyone wants to break out this season. However, between the competition for touches with Tyler Allgeier and James Conner, Love's upside seems very limited. Add in some serious questions at quarterback, and you expect the Cardinals to be playing from behind a lot this season. Love might be a great talent, but he's not much more than an RB3 or RB4 this year.
Gary Davenport: Fantasy managers should have been out on Jeremiyah Love at cost from the jump—we literally just watched Elite Talent Toils in Poo on Netflix last year with Ashton Jeanty. Then Mike LaFleur decided it would be a good idea to give Love 14 touches in one half of a game that didn't count—a strategic masterpiece that leaves Love headed into his first season with a bum ankle on arguably the worst team not named the Miami Dolphins. The Cardinals have committed $54 million in guarantees to Love and have Tyler Allgeier behind him. He's either headed toward a committee on a last-place dumpster fire or something even worse.
Andy Hicks: The competition around Jeremiyah Love has faded with Trey Benson and James Conner going onto I/R, but Tyler Allgeier is going to start. With the team projected to struggle, the running game will underperform no matter who starts. Love represents a long-term investment for this franchise. The 2026 season will likely focus on adapting, developing chemistry, and planning for 2027 and beyond. Ḻove is projected too high for likely returns.
Bob Harris: Even after the team used the third pick overall in April's NFL Draft to land running back Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Sports' Tyler Drake isn't sure fantasy managers are going to like the Cardinals' backfield usage. Drake believes there's a very good chance we see something like the 2023 split between Bijan Robinson (214 carries) and Tyler Allgeier (186) when it comes to the one-two punch of Allgeier and Love. While Love could separate himself as a pass catcher, will he separate enough to justify his current RB13 ADP? The sprained ankle he suffered in the exhibition opener doesn't lend confidence.
Jeff Blaylock: Jeremiyah Love was deservedly the 1.01 in dynasty rookie drafts this offseason, even in Superflex formats, but dynasty value spans multiple seasons. For redraft, only 2026 matters. Love begins the season recovering from an ankle injury. Even when fully healthy, he has a mediocre offensive line blocking for him on an offense likely to be behind in the second half, neither of which is conducive to a high rushing ceiling. I've seen Love go as early as the second round in redraft leagues, but I wouldn't take him until the seventh at the earliest.
Overrated Rookie With 5 Votes
WR Jordyn Tyson, New Orleans
Dave Kluge: Despite a great production profile and film, it's impossible to ignore the injuries that have plagued Jordyn Tyson throughout his young career. A hamstring injury in his final college season lingered through the pre-draft process, OTAs, and training camp. After returning to training camp, he instantly generated buzz as a big-time playmaker. But a hamstring reinjury will keep him out of the rest of training camp and the start of the season, pushing him way down my draft board.
David Zacharias: Jordyn Tyson has a ton of raw talent, but his frequently balky hamstring is problematic. If the Saints rest Tyson sufficiently to fully recover, the rookie first-round pick may easily miss half the season. If they bring him back too quickly, Tyson will run the risk of season-ending re-injury.
Jeff Tefertiller: Jordyn Tyson is expected to miss two months with his problematic right hamstring. This is his third hamstring injury (second on the right hamstring) in the past twelve months. He is a talented player, no doubt, but missing a large portion of his rookie training camp and season may stunt growth for 2026.
Jeff Haseley: Jordyn Tyson feels like an excellent candidate for a rookie who fails to live up to expectations; however, his severe hamstring injury is the main reason behind that. You can say the same for Makai Lemon, but other factors lead me to believe that it could be a frustrating rookie season for him. Philadelphia's low-volume passing attack already flows through DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, leaving Lemon as a third, or fourth option if we include Saquon Barkley in the equation. Taking him in the middle rounds pays for a heavy-volume role that just isn't there.
Maurile Tremblay: Jordyn Tyson's hamstring is an obvious concern, but even putting that aside.... Chris Olave just caught 100 passes, signed a $132 million extension, and ran at a 1,250-yard pace with Tyler Shough; Juwan Johnson drew 44 of Shough's 221 completions last year; Devaughn Vele closed 2025 as one of Shough's favorite targets; and Travis Etienne Jr. arrives having caught 36 passes with six receiving touchdowns. That leaves Tyson competing for targets in an offense that averaged under 20 points per game in Shough's starts, with a quarterback who attempted about 30 passes a game across his 11 appearances. Shough's strength is the intermediate throw that feeds the slot and the tight end; his game is not built for a downfield attack that would turn a rookie boundary receiver into a weekly fantasy starter.
