Tier 1: The Milk and Honey Tier
These are the players who can take you to the promised land.
1. Bijan Robinson, RB, ATL
You could make an argument for about five guys (no burgers or fries) as the top fantasy option in 2026, but for me, for now, it’s Bijan Robinson. He’s a legitimate threat to reach 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards and is one of four backs to average over 4.50 yards per carry over the past three seasons (minimum 100 carries). The others are Jahmyr Gibbs, James Cook, and De’Von Achane (okay, technically, Achane was at 4.47 in 2024, but we round up here). I could pepper you with an array of stats that show Bijan’s awesomeness, but I think these two paint the perfect picture: Robinson averaged a league-best 3.06 yards after contact in 2025, and despite ranking fifth in carries, he was first in forced missed tackles. Fantasy points, rushing yards, yards per carry, receptions, and receiving yards have all gone up in all three years of his professional career, and he’s yet to miss a game as a pro. Perennial thorn in the side Tyler Allgeier is a free agent, and his return to Atlanta could put a damper on the rocket ship emoji upside offered by Robinson. But if Allgeier ends up elsewhere (which I think he will), Bijan could have the type of fabled fantasy season that’ll be talked about for generations.
2. Ja’Marr Chase, WR, CIN
It’s hard to imagine a world where Joe Burrow stayed healthy all season and Ja’Marr Chase didn’t finish as the WR1 overall for the second straight season. But despite a trio of starts from Jake Browning and a one-game suspension (for an uncharacteristic spitting incident), the stud receiver still finished in the top five at the position in total points and in the top three in points per game (getting targeted 42 times over a two-game span by Joe Flacco certainly helped the cause). The reason I have to put Chase over the likes of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Puka Nacua, and Amon-Ra St. Brown is that he has arguably the most stable situation among them. Does the soon-to-be 38-year-old Matthew Stafford retire? Who’s the offensive coordinator in Seattle? Will new OC Drew Petzing be a good fit for the Lions? Who’ll be throwing the ball to Justin Jefferson? Give me the guy who’s a lock for 150+ targets with his BFF at quarterback and smack dab in the middle of his prime.
3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, SEA
All it took for Jaxon Smith-Njigba to break out was for both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to leave town. OK, there was a little more to it than that, but it certainly played a major role. Improvements to the O-line gave Sam Darnold enough time to prove 2025 wasn’t a fluke, and JSN was the main beneficiary. The former Buckeye wideout was one of two players to average over 100 receiving yards per game (Puka Nacua being the other) and one of two receivers to average over 3.7 yards per route run (guess who – Puka again). Since 2021, there have been only two other instances of receivers averaging over 3.5 YPRR, let alone 3.7. But probably the most remarkable part of it all is that Seattle had the fourth-fewest pass attempts per game. Smith-Njigba was aided by an absurd 32.6% target share and accounted for 44.1% of his team’s total yards, yet another feat that’s only been accomplished two other times since 2021. All impressive, yes. Also, all highly unlikely to be repeated. I’m not saying you shouldn’t treat JSN as a WR1 for fantasy. But I am saying I doubt I’ll be buying all the risk and drafting him first overall.
4. Puka Nacua, WR, LAR
In the two seasons Puka Nacua played at least 16 games, he’s seen at least 160 targets and caught 100+ passes for over 1400 receiving yards. With Sean McVay calling plays and Matthew Stafford at quarterback, Nacua is poised for another top-five fantasy finish in 2026. Stafford could realistically retire at season’s end, as he turns 38 in February. But even if there’s a new quarterback under center for the Rams in ‘26, McVay should scheme Puka to an at worst low-end WR1 finish.
5. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, DET
If you were hungry for fantasy points from your running back in 2025, Jahmyr Gibbs fed you a diablo sauce-covered RB3 season with spike weeks that hit like that first sip of Baja Blast. But the lows were low, like biting into that Beefy 5-layer Burrito and realizing they added sour cream when you specifically asked them not to. There was plenty of good. Gibbs set a career-high 16% target share and handled over 50% of the team’s carries for the first time in his career. At first glance, it doesn’t look like he wore down over the second half of the season.
Gibbs’ efficiency and elusiveness increased from Week 10 onward. But if you dig a little deeper into the grade of the ground beef at Taco Bell, much of that can be attributed to two nuclear games against the Giants and Commanders, where he averaged a combined 12 yards per carry. Outside of those two games, Gibbs had just one game over 3.5 yards per carry. Now, don’t hear what I’m not saying. Gibbs is easily an RB1 in 2026 and should be one of the first backs off the board. But that efficiency drop is certainly concerning. Yesterday, the Lions hired Drew Petzing, formerly of the Arizona Cardinals, as their OC. While it’s not a sexy hire on paper, Petzing has shown to have some decent run schemes, and Gibbs is by far the most talented back he’s worked with. It’s not Arthur Smith, so Gibbs should still be a top-tier RB for 2026.
6. CeeDee Lamb, WR, DAL
CeeDee Lamb is a perfect example of why it’s so important to look at a player’s points per game finish versus their total points. Lamb missed four games early in the season, so it’s not like he was expected to finish as the WR1 overall in total points. But a WR22 finish has some spooked that the emergence of George Pickens spelled the end of Lamb’s days as an elite fantasy receiver. Yes, Pickens finished as the WR6 in points per game after a career year in Dallas. But Lamb wasn’t far behind, tied for WR12 with Malik Nabers and Zay Flowers. Pickens’ impact has been overestimated, and if he returns to Dallas, there’s a solid chance Lamb goes into draft season undervalued. If there’s any sort of discount, keep things in sync and buy, buy, buy. If Pickens is back, consider Lamb a low-end WR1. But if Pickens is gone, I have no hesitation vaulting Lamb right back into the top five.
7. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, DET
Mr. Sun God, I’m sorry. I was dumb. I doubted you after Ben Johnson’s departure, and you proved you’re more than just a scheme. You are one of just five receivers to catch eight or more touchdowns in each of the past two seasons and have three straight top-five fantasy finishes. Buuuuuuuut… I do have an ever-so-slight concern. Well, two. First, your teammate Sam LaPorta. You indeed put up some monster performances before his season-ending injury in Week 10. But your 8.7 targets per game before the injury increased to an enormous 10.6 after. Don’t get me wrong, Amon-Ra St. Brown is a top-10 fantasy receiver. But his situation is similar to teammate Jahmyr Gibbs. With a healthy LaPorta, would ARSB have finished top five, or more toward the back end of WR1s? I guess we’ll never know.
8. Jonathan Taylor, RB, IND
You know that horse-drawing meme? The one where it starts off beautiful but ends looking like it was drawn by a four-year-old who just shotgunned a Wild Cherry Pepsi? That’s kind of what Jonathan Taylor’s season was, but better. Think more along the lines of it starting as a drawing by Picasso and being finished by your local high school art teacher. JT was in early MVP talks after scoring three total touchdowns in 50% of his games through the first ten weeks, helping him produce seven games with 23 fantasy points. He set career highs in targets, receptions, and receiving yards, in part because 60% of Daniel Jones’ passing attempts were nine yards or fewer (including behind the line of scrimmage). But Jones’ Week 14 season-ending injury derailed more than the Colts’ playoff hopes; it slammed shut the ceiling on what was shaping up to be a legendary fantasy season. Taylor was still solid down the stretch, but after scoring less than 18 points just five times through Week 13, he failed to surpass that mark in the five games after. Had Indiana Jones stayed healthy, JT likely would have carried fantasy teams straight through the playoffs, with his early-season dominance delivering them there. Jones is a free agent, so the Colts’ quarterback situation is still in flux. But Taylor can put up RB1 numbers with just about anybody under center, and if Jones returns and stays healthy all season, JT is right back in the RB1 overall convo.
9. Malik Nabers, WR, NYG
Oh, what could have been. Malik Nabers didn’t get to play a full game with Jaxson Dart under center, and he was still tied for WR12 in points per game (mainly thanks to a monster game against Dallas). Dart did enough to make Wan’Dale Robinson a high-end WR2, and with the hiring of John Harbaugh and the assumed hiring of Todd Monken (at the time of writing), a WR1 overall finish isn’t out of the question for Nabers. Although Monken didn’t do it with Zay Flowers, he’s been known to force-feed his WR1s. The only question now is Nabers’ health, as there have been questions about his Week 1 availability while recovering from his torn ACL. Whenever Nabers is able to get on the field, he’s immediately a top-five, maybe top-three fantasy wide receiver.
10. Christian McCaffrey, RB, SF
It was yet another season with an avalanche of injuries for the 49ers, but somehow, Christian McCaffrey was the lone fantasy-relevant player to stay healthy the entire season. That led to a YUGE workload, with a career-high in targets and over 100 catches for the first time since he joined San Francisco. CMC came within 100 yards of becoming the first player in NFL history with two seasons of 1,000 rushing AND receiving yards in the same campaign. But he was not the same ol’ CMC. He ranked 39th in yards per carry among qualifying backs and 37th in explosive run rate. For context, Chris Rodriguez and Kimani Vidal were higher. No matter what, McCaffrey turns 30 in June, but he’s the type of talent like Derrick Henry who can and likely will buck the trend of production dropoff over 30. He’s no longer efficient or explosive, but he has the pass-catching chops to continue to be an RB1 for multiple years. His floor isn’t what it once was, but he sure does have that same sky-high ceiling.
Tier 2: The “Skip Intro” Tier
You know the plot, just start them.
11. Justin Jefferson, WR, MIN
Alec Pierce. Quentin Johnston. Michael Wilson. Those are three of the 31 receivers who finished the 2025 season averaging more fantasy points per game than Justin Jefferson. Obviously, nobody’s questioning the talent of one of the most dynamic active receivers in the NFL. But everyone’s questioning who his quarterback will be in 2026. J.J. McCarthy’s injuries and struggles didn’t help, but even as his play improved toward the end of the season, his connection with Jefferson didn’t. Jefferson ranked outside the top six for the first time in a full season, scoring ten or more points just three times after Week 9. There’s a wide range of outcomes for where JJettas’ final preseason rank will land as the offseason moves along. Until we have a clearer picture of what that looks like, I can’t rank him among the top 10 receivers where he belongs. I know. I know. It hurts me too.
12. Drake London, WR, ATL
Drake London ranked sixth with 2.61 yards per route run. Even though he played in only 12 games, he nearly reached 1,000 receiving yards, catching 68 of his 108 targets for 919 yards. Another ACL injury to Michael Penix Jr. threw Kirk Cousins back under center, and Penix’s career could legitimately be over. Penix underwent his third ACL reconstruction at the end of 2025, and although he has a chance to be ready for the start of next season, the Falcons almost assuredly will have some sort of insurance. Another team that will have a new head coach, OC, offensive system, and maybe a quarterback. It’s hard to properly place a guy like London until we know who his quarterback will be and what the offense’s strategy entails. His propensity to get nicked up also leads London’s floor to further fall, my fair lady. He’s Nico Collins with a wider range of outcomes.
13. De’Von Achane, RB, MIA
De’Von Achane was the only running back in the NFL with a double-digit explosive run rate this season, handling a career-high 238 rushing attempts to reach 1350 rushing yards, his first 1,000-yard season. A second consecutive top-five fantasy finish, yes. But there are some concerns heading into 2026. Mike McDaniel and his running-back-friendly offense are out the door, as is Tua Tagovailoa and the tendency to dump off passes, with 74% of his attempts under nine yards. So much of Achane’s fantasy value comes from the passing game, where he’s averaged 72 catches, 540 receiving yards, and five receiving touchdowns over the past two seasons. At the time of writing, Miami was still searching for a head coach, and some of the names being interviewed were not conducive to fantasy production. The talent is elite and will remain so, but his role could change drastically if the offensive philosophy shifts to one that doesn’t pass the ball or one that is pass-happy. I’m afraid that Achane will be priced too high for my liking and carries a significant risk of being a bust in 2026.
14. Rashee Rice, WR, KC
Rashee Rice is facing domestic violence allegations about a year after criminal charges stemming from a high-speed car accident in Dallas. When Rice is on the field with a healthy Patrick Mahomes, he’s an elite fantasy option, as made evident by his league-leading 7.98 yards after the catch. But his 2026 status is impossible to predict given his off-the-field issues and the unclear timeline for Mahomes’ return from a torn ACL. If both are good to go for the start of the season, Rice is easily a WR1.
15. Nico Collins, WR, HOU
Nico Collins started 2025 inconsistently, as did the Texans offense, but finished the season strong thanks to a boost from… yes… Davis Mills. Collins scored 14+ in six of his final nine games and 20+ in four. Tank Dell is expected to return from injury, and rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel are taking a step forward. That may reduce the target share available. But even if that’s so, the smaller percentage of the pie should be offset by the pie being bigger thanks to an improved offense (and hopefully offensive line). Considering the defense, multiple mouths to feed, and at times inconsistent play, I don’t think Collins has a top-three fantasy ceiling like some others. But don’t let that cause you to discount him as one of the safest WR1s in fantasy, with a sky-high floor and plenty of spike weeks mixed in.
16. Trey McBride, TE, ARI
The ultimate edge in fantasy football this season was easily Trey McBride after Jacoby Brissett took over as the Cardinals’ QB. McBride blew away the competition to finish as TE1 and averaged 18.6 points per game, 11th among non-quarterbacks. Arizona is among the plethora of teams that cleaned house and will have a new head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback. Brissett is still under contract, but Kyler Murray is expected to be traded. I do think Brissett winds up starting a few games for the Cards next season, but I expect another long-term option on the roster. How drastic were McBride’s splits with Brissett under center? He saw an additional two targets per game, but the main factor was end zone targets. McBride had two in Murray’s five starts and a whopping 16 from Week 6 on with Brissett. McBride averaged nearly 10 more points per game after the QB change. He’s no doubt worthy of coming off the board as the TE1 next season, but I won’t be drafting him. I expect McBride to be around a late first to mid second-round pick, and while replicating his 2025 production would make him worth that capital, it’s a classic case of buying all the risk.
17. Cam Skattebo, RB, NYG
The equivalent of a slobbery English bulldog puppy, Cam Skattebo had his rookie season cut short due to injury, but that didn’t stop him from becoming an instant favorite among Giants fans and football fans in general. Skattebo had the fourth-highest yards after contact among running backs with at least 100 rush attempts at 2.8, unsurprisingly, as Skatt actively sought out contact during his tenure as the lead back. The Giants’ offensive line improvements played a part, as did having Jaxson Dart at quarterback. But with Todd Monken expected to become the team’s offensive coordinator once the Harbaugh deal is finalized (still in talks at the time of writing), Skattebo will have an OC who has produced monster fantasy seasons for running backs. As much as I love Skatt, don’t buy into all the risk and draft him as an RB1. But if you’re able to get him at an RB2, you’re buying at his floor with upside for more.
One thing you should know Dom…
DON'T MESS WITH CAM SKATTEBO!!! 😤@Giants pic.twitter.com/4tFeiwnS5k
— WWE (@WWE) November 18, 2025
Bump him up a few spots for shoving big head J.D. McDonagh to the ground.
18. George Pickens, WR, DAL
George Pickens enjoyed a career year in Dallas, finishing as the WR6 in points per game and WR5 in total points. Pickens set career highs across all receiving stats, proving he has the WR1 upside we saw flashes of in the Steel City. But that upside also came with bouts of disinterest, putting a damper on what should have been a positive season. If he re-signs with Dallas, slot Pickens right back in the low-end WR1, high-end WR2 range with a chance to go nuclear each and every week. If he signs elsewhere, his upside depends on the situation. On a pass-friendly offense as the top target, Pickens has top-five potential, as we just saw this past season. Our very own Brett Ford has Pickens as his top free agent in the 2026 class, and you can check out the rest of his rankings here if you so choose.
19. James Cook III, RB, BUF
James Cook heard what you said about touchdown regression. He said you can take it, shine it up real nice, turn it sideways, and [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [ILLEGAL TO SAY OR TYPE IN 48 STATES] [REDACTED].
Anywho… Cook is the stud fantasy back nobody seems to want to draft come August and regrets the decision come September. Yeah, the Bills back scored four fewer touchdowns than in 2024, but that doesn’t really matter when you get an additional 102 carries and two extra targets. He was one of seven backs to average over five yards per carry, finishing as an RB1 for the third consecutive season and recording his second straight top-10 finish.
20. A.J. Brown, WR, PHI
With all the drama surrounding A.J. Brown and the Eagles, you’d think he had the worst season of his career. However, the dude was still a WR1, catching 7+ touchdowns and gaining 1000+ receiving yards for the fourth straight season while finishing one spot ahead of CeeDee Lamb in points per game. Brown is getting a little long in the tooth, turning 29 in the offseason. But he has plenty of juice left in the tank, and whether it’s in Philadelphia or another city, I’ll be willing to buy the dip on Arthur Juan. There’s little to no risk drafting him as a WR2.