Fantasy Football: 3 must-draft players for 2026

• Tony Pollard remains the Tennessee Titans‘ lead back: Pollard should improve in an up-and-coming offense, but he is currently being drafted after several backs in committees.

• Alec Pierce looks to build on his breakout: The Indianapolis Colts wide receiver posted the best season of his career and was rewarded with a new contract and less competition for targets.

• Lingering injuries mask Dalton Kincaid‘s elite utilization: When healthy, Kincaid's underlying metrics rival the league's elite, producing a stellar 2.12 yards per route run and a premier 24.9% target rate as a favored over-the-middle weapon for Josh Allen.

It’s exceptionally rare for a player to be a true “must-draft player,” someone who makes sense for your roster regardless of draft strategy or team build. Last year, Trey McBride earned a spot in this article and ended up on a high percentage of championship teams, creating a significant gap between himself and the rest of the tight end position.

While no player has emerged as a true must-draft this early in the offseason — and likely won’t until ADP stabilizes — the three names below are players I’m consistently drafting, even if it means reaching slightly ahead of ADP. They’re the kind of players I’m comfortable selecting regardless of how my roster is taking shape.

Pollard is one of two running backs who have produced four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons, finishing as a top-23 fantasy running back in each of those years across stints with the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans.

Most of Pollard's rate stats have been average, but there are signs he is a very good running back held back by his situation. He has averaged 3.3 yards after contact per carry over the last four seasons, tied for fourth-best among running backs with at least 500 carries, behind only De'Von Achane, Derrick Henry and Bijan Robinson. His 1.1 yards before contact per carry rank tied for fifth-worst over that span. He has also generated explosive plays at a high rate, earning a +1.0 run grade on 4.2% of his carries, eighth-best among running backs.