Fantasy Football: 5 veterans who are worth drafting despite carrying a considerable amount of risk

Taking risks with your early fantasy football picks might feel like a stressful endeavor, but it can also produce a massive reward that can propel you towards a championship.

If you’re willing to roll the dice a bit, here are five players capable of having league-winning fantasy performances this season.

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Justin Jefferson, WR, Vikings

Perhaps it was foolish of me, but I really believed we would get a slight AP discount on Jefferson this season after he posted career-lows with 1,048 yards and only two touchdowns last season.

Fantasy managers have accurately put the majority of the blame on his 2025 environment, which included disappointing quarterback play and a banged-up offensive line. So, he’s still going off the board as a top-10 pick and for good reason.

Prior to last year, Jefferson put up at least 1,400 yards and seven TDs in four of his previous five campaigns. He had also finished as a top-five fantasy wideout in four straight seasons.

Kyler Murray has his flaws as a quarterback, but he should provide an immediate veteran upgrade at the position. We can also hope for better injury luck across the offensive line.

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This all points to an obvious bounce back for Jefferson, who is still in his prime, turning 27 before the season.

Don’t be surprised at all if he gets back to competing for the fantasy WR1 overall crown in 2026.

D’Andre Swift, RB, Bears

Swift has quietly been one of the biggest winners of the offseason after the Bears decided not to add anyone significant to their backfield depth chart.

While he’s often underrated by the fantasy community, it’s impossible to ignore that Swift is the unquestioned starter in Ben Johnson’s ascending offense.

The 27-year-old back was the RB14 in fantasy points per game last year, racking up 1,386 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns.

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His running mate Kyle Monangai had a successful rookie season in a complementary role, generating 947 yards and five TDs, but he doesn’t appear to be a threat to Swift’s starting job.

If you’re concerned about him earning more work and eating into Swift’s touches, just know that from Week 6 on when Monangai was the RB26 in fppg, Swift was the RB10 during that same span.

With no one else challenging for touches, I expect a similar roll out in 2026 with Monangai playing a supporting role.

However, Swift is being drafted as the RB24 in the fifth round, while Monangai’s ADP sits in the eighth as the RB32. There’s value to be had by selecting either Bears back, but Swift seems like a clear fantasy RB2 with a path to low-end RB1 numbers in a contract year.

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Terry McLaurin, WR, Commanders

McLaurin is another interesting veteran who is being undervalued in early fantasy drafts.

The concern is understandable, coming off the lowest output of his career and now entering his age 31-season. However, prior to last year, McLaurin delivered five consecutive 1,000 yard campaigns.

His downturn in 2025 can easily be attributed to a summer contract dispute that derailed his preparation, seven games missed due to injury and only sharing the field with Jayden Daniels for three contests.

The year before during Daniels’ impressive rookie debut, McLaurin caught a career-high 87 passes for 1,118 yards and four scores en route to being the WR14 in fppg.

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The Commanders’ passing attack needs him now more than ever, following the departures of Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz. As much as I like the potential of rookie receiver Antonio Williams or veteran tight end Chig Okonkwo, they have a lot to prove before we can consider them strong contributors in this offense.

That means McLaurin is positioned for heavy volume once again. When both he and Daniels are healthy and firing on all cylinders, McLaurin is a fantasy WR2 with fringe low-end WR1 upside, which is a nice gamble to take on a player with an ADP of WR25 in the fifth round.

Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens

There’s no denying that last season was a massive letdown for Jackson, who struggled with injuries and failed to get the Ravens into the postseason.

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Jackson also disappointed his fantasy managers by going from the QB1 overall in 2024 and averaging 25.7 fppg to the QB19 in 2025 with just 16.7 fppg. That included being held under 10 fantasy points in four of his final seven games and only cracking the top-12 at his position twice during that time.

We talk about league-winners often, but Jackson was a true league-loser last year.

Even so, a new season brings a blank slate and the promise of better health for the Ravens star. When Jackson is himself on the field, there simply aren’t many players who offer the fantasy ceiling he can provide and he’s done it mainly with the likes of Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews as his top pass-catchers in recent years.

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Baltimore also invested in some mid-round receiver help with Ja’Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt joining the mix. We’ve seen the team double dip at a position before (ie: Andrews and Hayden Hurst), with the hope that at least one of them can become a meaningful contributor on the offense.

Regardless, Jackson is poised to rebound in 2026, but is now coming at a sizable discount, getting drafted two rounds behind Josh Allen. While there are plenty of good receivers and a couple intriguing running backs to target in that range, Jackson should be on your short list given the dominance he displayed just one year ago. Don’t let recency bias cloud your judgement on one of the best fantasy assets at any position.

Mike Evans, WR, 49ers

Whether it’s due to his age (33 in August), injury history (12 missed games over the last two years) or decision to change teams this offseason, Evans doesn’t seem to be getting much hype as the 49ers’ new No. 1 target.

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It’s hard not to feel optimistic about his outlook in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, since we’ve seen a variety of journeymen types from Jauan Jennings to Kendrick Bourne to Demarcus Robinson all turn in big games when asked to be a significant part of the Niners’ passing attack over the last couple seasons.

Evans is far more talented than that bunch and will be lining up with Ricky Pearsall (durability questions of his own), George Kittle (returning from torn Achilles), Christian Kirk (hasn’t had a meaningful fantasy campaign in multiple years) and De’Zhaun Stribling (unproven rookie who they reached on).

If Evans can avoid another hamstring issue, he has a chance to be a fantasy WR2 with an even higher weekly ceiling thanks to his touchdown potential.

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I’m more than willing to draft him in Round 5 or Round 6, with the expectation that when he’s healthy he will produce like a top-24 fantasy wideout and if he misses time, I’ll be able to fill in the gaps with my bench players or a waiver wire addition.