21 Questions about the 2026 Fantasy Football Season

It is that time of year when fantasy footballers are seeing each other for the 1^st time in 8 months. Some sickos, like me, have been doing research and drafting since the NFL combine. Others have no idea who the #1 WR for the New England Patriots is (Hint: It’s not Mack Hollins). For those of you in the latter group, I have compiled a list of questions that I have answered to help you draft the best fantasy football team EVER!

This is for Full PPR, 1 QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1TE, 1 Flex rosters

General Strategy

1) What is my ideal draft strategy through the first eight rounds?

I feel like there are fewer super elite and elite WRs this year than normal so my preferred start with one of the S-tier WRs in round, followed by 2 at least 2 Workhorse RBs in rounds 2-4. If Josh Allen or Brock Bowers falls to round 3, I will happily take either of them, and the same goes for Lamar Jackson (which happens a lot in best ball drafts currently) or Trey McBride in round 4. In rounds 5 to 8, I would love to build out the rest of my WR/RB spots as well as my flex. If I have a QB or TE, I’m waiting until round 9 to take the other, as I will not take both before round 9. This would leave me at 3 RBs, 4 WRs, and either Elite QB or TE through 8 rounds.

2) How many elite players can realistically separate from the field?

QB – Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson

RB – Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor

WR – Ja’ Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Justin Jefferson

TE – Brock Bowers, Trey McBride

QB Strategy

3) Where does the elite QB tier end?

Josh Allen is in a tier of his own based on his consistency the last few years. Lamar Jackson has the most upside of all QBs given his efficiency as a passer and a rusher. Drake Maye has the potential to enter the elite tier with the Patriots’ addition of A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs and being in his second year in Josh McDaniels’ system. That’s the end of my Elite tier.

4) Which quarterbacks provide elite rushing upside?

Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jaden Daniels, Jayden Hurts, Kyler Murray, Malik Willis, Jaxson Dart

Rushing has long been the cheat code to finding QBs who can dominate in fantasy football, and that will not change in 2026. 4 of the top 6 QBs (and 7 of the top 12) in PPG in 2025 ranked in the 80^th percentile in the league in rush attempts, rush yards, rush TDS, and rush 1^st downs, and that doesn’t include Lamar Jackson or Jayden Daniels who had injury riddled 2025 seasons. 9 of the top 12 QBS in 2025 had at least 18% of their total fantasy points come from rushing. Target the runners at QB. 

5) Which late-round QBs could finish top 5?

When considering 10^th round or later (according to FantasyPros ADP) as “late round”, my Top 5 candidates would be….

·         Patrick Mahomes – ADP 10.07

·         Jared Goff – ADP 11.06

·         Kyler Murray – ADP 11.11

·         Malik Willis – ADP 14.09

Running Back Strategy

6) How Many True Workhorse RBs exist?

I would say based on percentage of carries I would have 12 true workhorse RBS and 3 honorable mentions.

Bell cows - Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor, De’von Achane, Chase Brown, Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Kenneth Walker, Ashton Jeanty, Javonte Williams

Honorable mentions – James Cook, Omarion Hampton, Kyren Williams

7) Which RBs can catch 50+ passes?

Based on my handcrafted projections, I have 9 RBs with 50+ receptions.

Christian McCaffrey – 93

Jahmyr Gibbs – 69

Devon Achane – 67

Chase Brown – 62

Bijan Robinson – 58

Jeremiah Love – 55

Jaylen Warren – 55

Omarion Hampton – 52

Ashton Jeanty – 51

8) Which Backups become RB1s with an injury?

Handcuff RBs are always a hot commodity in fantasy football, given the draft cost for some of them compared to the potential upside if they become starters. Here are my top 5 backups with the most upside.

Rico Dowdle, TreVeyon Henderson, Kyle Monangai, Black Corum, Brian Robinson

Wide Receiver Strategy

9) Which WRs have WR1 overall upside?

Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Nijgba. Amon-Ra St, Brown, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown

All of these WRs are locked in #1 WRs on their own teams, have the potential to lead the league in WR target share & score double digit TDs.

10) Which WRS are ascending into Year 2 and/or Years 3?

Year 2 and Year 3 breakout WRs have been the biggest source of mid round league winners. Here my 3 favorite year 2 and year 3 breakout candidates for 2026.

Year 2 – Tet McMillan, Emeka Egbuka, Luther Burden

Year 3 – Lad McConkey, Malik Nabers, Marvin Harrison

11) Which WRs gained significant opportunity through offseason departures?

Devonta Smith – A.J Brown traded

Zay Flowers – Deandre Hopkins released, Isaiah Likely released

Emeka Egbuka/Chris Godwin – Mike Evans released

Rome Odunze/Luther Burden – D.J. Moore traded

Christian Watson/Jayden Reed – Romeo Doubs released, Dontayvion Wicks traded

TE Strategy

12) Which TEs provide an elite weekly advantage over the field?

Brock Bowers – 16.62 Projected PPG; 5.8 PPG better than Projected TE12

Trey McBride – 15.2 Projected PPG; 4.5 PPG better than projected TE12

13) Which late round TEs have top-5 upside?

When considering 10^th round or later (according to FantasyPros ADP) as “late round”, my Top 5 candidates would be….

·         Dallas Goedert – ADP 10.06

·         Mark Andrews – ADP 11.07

·         Dalton Schultz – ADP 15.07

·         Greg Dulcich – ADP 19.10

14) Which TEs will be featured heavily in their team’s offense?

Historically speaking Tight ends who are aa top 2 target in their offense have the highest chance to finish top 5 at the position. Here are the TEs I have projected to be top 2 in target share on their team.

·         Brock Bowers – 27% projected target share

·         Trey McBride – 26%

·         Travis Kelce – 22%

·         Colston Loveland – 21%

·         Harold Fannin – 23%

·         Tucker Kraft – 20%

·         Kyle Pitts – 20%

·         Dallas Goedert – 19%

·         Isaiah Likely – 18%

·         Greg Dulcich – 16%

·         Dalton Kincaid – 18%

·         Mark Andrews – 19%

·         Tyler Warren – 24%

·         Dalton Schultz – 18%

This long list of TEs with big projected involvement supports the belief that the position is deep this year, which I agree with. If I don’t take a top 4 guy, I am waiting late and taking 2 guys.

Tier-Based Strategy

15) Where is the QB cliff?

Josh Allen based on his consistency can be considered a tier of his own. Lamar Jackson has the highest upside of any QB in the league with his rushing and passing ability. After those 2, there is a big tier of about 7-8 QBS from rounds 5 to 8 for the rest of the top 10 QBs. The next tier is also about 10 QBs deep from rounds 9 to 13 ending with Tyler Shough, and that marks the cliff of QBs I would be comfortable having as my QB1 in a 1 QB league.

16) Where are the major RB tier breaks?

According to FantasyPros ADP, the first big tier break is around the middle of round 2 with Derrick Henry as the RB12. The next tier break is around RB 30 at the end of round 7, where you leave the land of week 1 starters.  The final tier break for me is in round 15 with Dylan Sampson ending the RBS with stand-alone value without an injury.

17) Where are the major WR tier breaks?

The 1st ADP tier break is after round 1, when the tier of proven WR1 overall players ends.  The next major tier break for me is in the middle of round 6 ending with WR29 Christian Watson.   The last big WR tier break is around WR 46 in round 10 with Wan’Dale Robinson. That marks the end of WRs I would feel great about being in my flex spot.

18) Where is the TE cliff?

There are 3 TE cliffs for me in 2026 at the TE position. The first is after the top 2 guys, Bowers and McBride, in the beginning of round 3.  The next cliff is after the 2 second year studs, Loveland and Warren, in round 4. The next 13-15 TEs are all part of the big tier of guys I would be comfortable with as my TE 1, ending with Juwan Johnson in round 13. 

19) Which players belong one tier higher than consensus?

QB – Malik Willis – has the rushing ability to finish as a top 10 QB but is currently QB21 in ADP.

RB – Jaylen Warren – Receiving ability should have him in the top 20 instead of RB 27 in ADP.

WR – Chris Godwin Jr. – Can easily lead the Bucs in receptions with Mike Evans gone. WR37 is too low.

TE – Greg Dulcich – Should be the target leader in a very poor Dolphins’ receiver corp. Being drafted as TE26.

20) Which top Tier Players have the biggest injury concerns?

QB – Joe Burrow – He has only played more than 10 games in 3 of his 6 NFL seasons.

RB – Christian McCaffrey – Had 400+ touches in 2019, played 3 games in 2020, and 7 in 2021. Had 400+ touches in 2023, played 4 games in 2024. Had 400+ touches in 2025, will be 30 in 2026. Has the ultimate upside, but buyer beware.

WR – Rashee Rice – Legal issues aside. Rashee Rice tore his ACL in 2024 and recently had surgery to clean up his knee while recovering in jail just a few months ago.

TE – Sam LaPorta - Missed 8 games due to a herniated disc in 2025 and is currently nursing a hip injury going into 2026.

21) Which player would I regret leaving my 2026 drafts without?

Tet McMillan – There is an admitted bias here, but I saw him in person at the Jaguars vs Panthers joint practice in training camp and he was unguardable.

Check out the rest of the site for rankings, tiers, and more!

Let's dominate in 2026!