SportsLine Model Names 2026 Fantasy Football Top Picks
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- SportsLine simulated the NFL season 10,000 times and released its 2026 Fantasy football positional rankings, with Josh Allen atop QBs after finishing first or second in positional points in each of the last six years; Allen is the only QB in the top 40 in ADP at No. 19 overall.
- Bijan Robinson ranks as the model's top RB after leading all running backs with 79 receptions and 820 receiving yards while rushing for 1,478 yards (fourth in the NFL); he just received a huge contract extension during camp.
- Puka Nacua tops the WR rankings with a career 95.3 receiving yards per game average — the highest in NFL history — after leading the league with 107.2 yards per game in 2025.
- The model breaks from consensus by ranking Dak Prescott third among QBs, ahead of Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye who are typically picked higher in ADP, citing Prescott's receiver duo of George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb as a potential middle-round steal.
- Lamar Jackson slots in at QB2 despite a 2025 down year marked by injuries and attrition, with the model citing new Ravens OC Declan Doyle — who "unleashed the best of Caleb Williams last year" — as a bounce-back catalyst.
- Trey McBride leads TEs after 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 for 55 yards and one TD in five games with Kyler Murray.
- The model cites a track record of accurate calls including Daniel Jones' huge 2025 season in Indianapolis, A.J. Brown as a 2020 sleeper, Jonathan Taylor's 2021 monster season, and predicting C.J. Stroud would take a step back in 2024.
Why it matters: The model makes contrarian calls — Prescott ahead of Daniels and Maye, Jackson at QB2 despite a 2025 injury dip — that target middle-round value where consensus ADP rankings are weakest. Its track record (Jones' 2025 Indy breakout, Brown's 2020 sleeper, Taylor's 2021) gives drafters a credibility-tested alternative to gut-feel picks during live drafts.
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