Fantasy football 2026 rankings, draft prep: Model unveils QB, RB, WR, TE picks, cheat sheets, ADP, tiers
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- SportsLine's model simulated the NFL season 10,000 times to produce 2026 fantasy football positional rankings, building on past calls that nailed Daniel Jones' 2025 breakout, Terry McLaurin's down year, and Derrick Henry's 2019 sleeper season.
- Josh Allen tops the QB rankings after finishing 1st or 2nd in positional points each of the last six years, carrying an ADP of #22 overall and 41 rushing touchdowns over the past three seasons.
- Bijan Robinson leads all running backs in the rankings after posting 1,478 rushing yards and a league-leading 79 receptions for 820 receiving yards in 2025, securing a huge contract extension during camp.
- Puka Nacua ranks #1 WR after leading the NFL with 107.2 receiving yards per game in 2025, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba — last season's Offensive Player of the Year who led the league with 1,793 receiving yards — sits third.
- Trey McBride holds the top tight end spot, averaging 8.1 catches for 80.3 yards with 10 total touchdowns in 12 games started by Jacoby Brissett, compared to just 1 touchdown in five games with Kyler Murray.
- Lamar Jackson lands at #2 QB despite a down 2025, with a new Baltimore offensive coordinator in Declan Doyle — who helped unlock Caleb Williams last year — expected to fuel a bounce-back.
Why it matters: Fantasy managers drafting in 2026 now have a model-driven consensus across all four positions, with Allen, Robinson, Nacua, and McBride as anchor picks. The rankings also flag values further down — like Drake Maye's third QB slot off a runner-up MVP season — giving drafters a full cheat sheet rather than just headline names.
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