SportsLine Model Releases 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- SportsLine's model simulated the 2026 NFL season 10,000 times to release Fantasy football positional rankings, cheat sheets, sleepers, breakouts and busts for every position ahead of drafts.
- Josh Allen tops the QB rankings with an ADP of No. 22 overall, having finished first or second in positional points for six straight years; his 41 rushing TDs over three years rank second in the NFL regardless of position.
- Bijan Robinson headlines the RB rankings after leading all running backs with 79 receptions and 820 receiving yards while rushing for 1,478 yards, which ranked fourth in the NFL.
- Puka Nacua leads the WR rankings after pacing the NFL with 107.2 receiving yards per game in 2025, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba — the reigning Offensive Player of the Year and league leader with 1,793 receiving yards — ranked third.
- Trey McBride is the top tight end, averaging 8.1 catches for 80.3 yards and 10 total TDs in 12 games with Jacoby Brissett as Arizona's starter, compared to 5.8 catches and 1 TD in five games with Kyler Murray.
- The model has a proven track record, correctly calling Daniel Jones' huge 2025 in Indianapolis, Terry McLaurin's down year, Tetairoa McMillan's breakout, Derrick Henry's 2019 emergence and C.J. Stroud's 2024 step-back.
- Drake Maye checks in at QB3 after a runner-up MVP season in which he threw for 4,394 yards and 31 TDs and ran for 450 yards and 4 scores; New England added A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs to its wideout group.
Why it matters: Fantasy managers get a data-backed draft tool built on 10,000 season simulations, with the model's top picks reflecting six-year track records — Allen's top-two QB finish streak, Robinson's 79-reception pass-catching back ceiling, and Nacua's 107.2 yards-per-game pace — making the rankings a direct counterweight to gut-feel draft boards. Managers passing on Allen at his No. 22 ADP are betting against the longest sustained QB production in fantasy.
