Post Draft Clarity: The 4 Players Whose Stock Drops Most After The Draft

The NFL Draft has passed, and we are eagerly beginning our preparations for the 2026 season in earnest. While we are excitedly figuring out how the newest additions to all the rosters will fit into the grand scheme of our fantasy plans, we must acknowledge that often successful rookies mean displaced veterans. Players we may have been very excited about pre-Draft may now be expendable, or diminished. Below are the four players who I believe are most hurt by rookie arrivals.

Tyler Allgeier, RB, Cardinals

No player’s stock took a bigger hit than Allgeier’s which was a damn shame for him because his inability to become a rock-solid fantasy back has nothing to do with his own ability. Allgeier became the Atlanta Falcons’ lead back as a rookie, turning in a 1,035-yard rushing season with 1,174 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. He hasn’t come close since, because in that offseason the Falcons spent a first round pick on superstar Bijan Robinson. Annually, Allgeier ranks near the top of multiple metrics, and works his way onto the field despite the cries of Bijan managers across the world. Why? Because he’s damn good. After four seasons of contributing well when given the chance, Allgeier signed a contract with the Cardinals to become either a lead back, or at least the better part of a time share. Then…history repeated itself and his new team drafted the highest-ranked RB on the board, this time in the Top 3.

Jeremiyah Love is going to be Arizona’s lead back from Day 1, and he’s a three-down back who is going to take the lion’s share of snaps from Allgeier. I have little doubt that Allgeier will get series to himself, and be in the mix on passing downs, but he has no path to leading this backfield without an injury. He’s thrust, once again, into the role of the highest-ceiling handcuff in fantasy. It is pure bad luck that he’s been on two teams, and both have drafted superstar running backs to block his path, but it is what it is. Allgeier, as much as I love his talent, will now tumble down draft boards and it’ll be the right thing.

Khalil Shakir, WR, Bills

Shakir was a player I was very excited about last season because there was a clear need for the Bills’ offense to have someone step up and be the alpha. Shakir had been a mostly slot-oriented receiver, but with vacancies all over the place he had shown enough that he could move around the formation and be a prominent target. Instead, Shakir’s usage didn’t seem to change a single iota, his stat line was nearly identical to 2024, and now the Bills have traded for D.J. Moore, who will be the alpha, and drafted Skyler Bell out of UConn who could potentially threaten the role Shakir currently has. Life comes at you fast!

Moore had a down year in 2025, but when called upon he still rose to the challenge for the Bears. Moore has proven to be extremely productive throughout his entire career, largely doing it with subpar quarterbacking on bad offenses. His best season came with Justin Fields, which tells you all you need to know about what Moore is capable of. Now that he’s paired with Josh Allen, damage will be done. I broke that all down here. While Moore can play the X receiver spot, he’s more likely to live opposite Keon Coleman on the flank, and mix into the slot as well. The slot is where Shakir lives, so when Moore kicks in, that likely kicks Shakir to the sideline. Enter Bell, who was incredibly productive at UConn – 101 catches, 1,278 yards, 13 touchdowns – and profiles as a slot/flanker. He could displace Shakir if he shines this summer, and even if he doesn’t he is a better bet to take over from Moore in the event of an injury than Shakir is. At the end of the day, Shakir was productive at times for fantasy managers in 2025, but those hoping for more – I have my hand raised – had to swallow the bitter pill that this is likely who Shakir is, and will be.

Dallas Goedert, TE, Eagles

Goedert had one of his best seasons in 2025, ranking as one of the top TEs in fantasy amid a year of disappointing options drafted near the top of the heap. He notched career-highs in receptions (60) and touchdowns (11), with the touchdown total more than doubling his previous peak. Goedert has long been a talented player underperforming his true ability due to the offense he is in, his ability to help block, and the limitations of his passing offense due to having Jalen Hurts at QB. The Eagles are expected to trade WR A.J. Brown this offseason, which should open up looks for Goedert, but they Eagles added TE Eli Stowers to the mix who is standing directly on Goedert’s real estate.

Stowers put up big numbers as a senior for Vanderbilt, hauling in 62 receptions for 769 yards and four touchdowns. He is arguably the purest pass-catching TE in this draft class, someone who was crisp on outs and digs last year while also routinely stinging teams deep down the field on corners and nines. He ran a 4.51 40-yard dash, and posted a vertical leap of over 45 inches so on top of him being better suited to threaten defenses on high-efficiency targets deep, he can easily eat into Goedert’s red zone target share. There is a lot of buzz about the Eagles’ offense undergoing a sea change; while that may well be true, we can’t be sure how that will reorganize the target pecking order, and we’ve only seen Hurts put up prolific passing numbers once in his career. At best, we’re looking at a team with a superstar running back, an elite WR1 (DeVonta Smith), a first round rookie WR who figures to demand heavy targets (Makai Lemon), and a rookie TE who is a younger version of Goedert. At best, Goedert is looking like a fourth option in a limited pass attack, and maybe the fifth. Based on the numbers last season, Goedert might become a glaring ADP bad value when Draft season nears.

Tyjae Spears, RB, Titans

Spears is another talented player whom fantasy managers have wanted to see with expanded opportunity. The Titans have never trusted him with it despite high efficiency whenever he does get work, and this draft solidifies him as a part-time back only. While many of us expected at least an even split with Tony Pollard entering 2025, Pollard acquitted himself well in a truly low-ceiling offense. Pollard is back, so that already nerfed optimism for Spears, and the selection of Nick Singleton out of Penn State signals that even if Pollard were to get hurt or decline, they like Spears in the role he currently has.

Spears has never been a high-ADP player, but some of us have held out hope that he can emerge either by injury or by finally wresting the top spot for himself a la Jaylen Warren in Pittsburgh. That’s not happening here it seems, and it leaves us with a very talented RB limited to spot start status in full-PPR formats.