- Jaxon Smith-Njigba takes the top spot: The Seattle Seahawks wide receiver gained at least 90 receiving yards in all but three games this season.
- Two tight ends crack the top 10: Brock Bowers and Trey McBride have consistently ranked among the top five fantasy tight ends as starters, and they could remain the top two tight ends in the league for the next five seasons.
- 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 20 minutes
With most of the major free agents signed to new contracts, these 2026 fantasy football dynasty rankings for one-quarterback leagues provide an initial look at how players might be ranked this summer.
This list includes only quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends, and it is designed for single-quarterback, PPR dynasty leagues. Analysis for the top 10 players can be found at the bottom of the article. You can also click on the analysis column for one of those 10 players to jump to that section.
Last updated: 5 a.m. Thursday, March 26
1. WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
Two elite running backs and two elite wide receivers from the 2023 NFL Draft are at the top of these rankings. They are four of the top six players in redraft, and the other two options are older players. No one from the past two draft classes has played consistently well enough to be drafted higher than them.
In recent seasons, young wide receivers have been considered better long-term assets than young running backs because running back careers are shorter. While fewer wide receivers have remained fantasy starters in their 30s because there are too many good young wide receivers, wide receivers rank highest because it’s easier for them to maintain their role over time than a running back. Running backs are more likely to see their touches per game change from one season to the next, whether due to coaching changes or changes to the depth chart.
Smith-Njigba led the league in receiving yards (1,793) despite the Seahawks throwing the fourth-fewest passing attempts (481). Seattle earned the fourth-best team PFF defense grade. That unit will likely regress a bit next season, as is common for top defenses, which could lead the offense to pass more frequently. While Puka Nacua owns the better PFF receiving grade to this point, Smith-Njigba is the younger option by nearly one year.
2. WR Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
Nacua takes the second spot because he’s been the NFL's best wide receiver over the past two seasons. His 96.3 PFF receiving grade is much higher than that of any other wide receiver. He is tied with Amon-Ra St. Brown for the second-most positively graded receptions over the past two seasons, despite running nearly 400 fewer routes. He has nine receptions with a +1.5 grade or better, the most among wide receivers.
He also stands out with his ability to dominate the most difficult opponents. Nacua faced three teams in the top eight at preventing fantasy points to wide receivers this season. He caught 10 passes for 130 yards against the Houston Texans, logged 11 receptions for 112 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles and notched 19 receptions for 300 yards and two touchdowns over two matchups against the Seattle Seahawks. He similarly gained 90-plus receiving yards against all three top-10 opponents in 2024.
The Rams are in a great spot for next season. They own a league-leading 96.2 team PFF grade, rank in the top six in effective cap space, according to Over The Cap, and have very few notable free agents. This will allow them to re-sign their key players, such as Nacua, to long-term contracts. Sean McVay is very likely to remain the head coach, providing Nacua with significant continuity.
The main concern is that Matthew Stafford will be 38 years old next season. Stafford played at an MVP level in 2025, earning a career-high 93.5 PFF overall grade. There is a reasonable chance he will regress next season. His backup was 34-year-old Jimmy Garoppolo, so the Rams' long-term solution at quarterback is not currently on the roster. The only other Los Angeles wide receiver with at least 350 yards was 33-year-old Davante Adams. The Rams will likely need to invest in more wide receivers in the next year or two, and if they are good enough, they could cut into Nacua’s target share.
3. RB Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Robinson ranks ahead of Jahmyr Gibbs due to his potential for improvement in 2026. The Falcons fielded a top-10 run-blocking unit by PFF grade last season, despite missing right tackle Kaleb McGary throughout the year. McGary was a top-10 run-blocking right tackle in 2022, 2023 and 2024 by PFF run-blocking grade. He and the rest of the projected starting offensive line are under contract for 2026. Robinson should be able to break off more long plays with an improved line.
Atlanta swapped out backup running backs this offseason, as Tyler Allgeier left in free agency for a bigger role with the Arizona Cardinals, and Brian Robinson Jr. came in to replace him. Like Allgeier, Brian Robinson is a bigger running back who could take some of the goal-line work away from Bijan Robinson. Allgeier graded better than Brian Robinson, so this will either be a lateral change or an improvement for Bijan Robinson.
The Falcons hired Kevin Stefanski as their new head coach, and he has typically utilized a two-man rotation at running back. That was at least partially because of Nick Chubb’s lack of receiving ability with the Browns. In 2019, when Stefanski was the Minnesota Vikings‘ offensive coordinator, Dalvin Cook typically played more than 70% of the team's offensive snaps when healthy and was the RB2 in PPR points per game that season. Kareem Hunt had multiple games where he played 85% of the offensive snaps or more when Chubb was injured. Stefanski’s history of prioritizing running backs should be more of an asset than a liability for Robinson.
While the gap between Robinson and Gibbs remains razor-thin, the edge currently goes to Robinson due to having the better PFF grades over the last three seasons.
4. RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
The main reason Robinson is ahead of Gibbs is each player's offensive line. While Robinson will have an injured player returning, Gibbs has lost two of his linemen. Left tackle Taylor Decker and center Graham Glasgow were released. They have added a trio of veterans in Larry Borom, Cade Mays and Juice Scruggs, but none of them have graded particularly well at run blocking. If anything, we should expect the Lions' offensive line to take a step back in run blocking rather than forward.
However, there is room for optimism for Gibbs after the Lions traded away David Montgomery. Montgomery became less of a problem for Gibbs’ fantasy value in 2025 compared to the previous two seasons, but Gibbs could be in store for a similar bump in rushing touchdowns. The Lions added Isiah Pacheco in free agency to be Gibbs backup, which shouldn’t be a problem for Gibbs’ volume.
Another minor concern is that the Lions still have more players to target in their offense, as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta and Isaac TeSlaa are all noteworthy, young options under contract next season. Robinson’s primary competition for touches remains Drake London and Kyle Pitts.
While Dan Campbell remains head coach, the Lions hired former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing to helm their offense. The Cardinals generally used a two-back committee with an early-down back and a third-down back, but when James Conner was younger, he had multiple games with a 75%-plus snap rate under Petzing. We shouldn’t expect a significant change in usage with the change at offensive coordinator.
5. WR Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
Chase has been a great, but not excellent, NFL wide receiver. His PFF receiving grade hovered between 84.9 and 86.7 in each of his first four seasons, before he reached a career-high 90.1 PFF receiving grade this season. He’s closed the gap between himself and the elite receivers thanks to having Joe Burrow at quarterback, in addition to Cincinnati‘s passing volume. Burrow’s 94.2 PFF passing grade over the past two seasons is notably higher than that of any other quarterback.
The key members of the Bengals who have helped Chase will remain in place, including head coach Zac Taylor, fellow great receiver Tee Higgins and most of the offense. The Bengals are among the league leaders in cap space and have a top-10 draft pick.
No wide receiver dominates a favorable matchup as well as Chase. He has put together five games with double-digit receptions for 160 or more yards and at least one touchdown over the past two seasons. The rest of the league has combined for nine.
The primary reason Chase isn’t ranked first is that he hasn’t played nearly as well as Nacua in tough matchups. He played three games against teams in the top eight at preventing fantasy points to wide receivers. He caught five passes for 50 yards against the Minnesota Vikings, secured two receptions for 26 yards against the Cleveland Browns and tallied five receptions for 23 yards against the Denver Broncos.
Chase is also a year older than Nacua and two years older than Smith-Njigba. While he’s only a tad older, he also has over 200 more receptions than either of the two other receivers, giving him more career wear-and-tear.
6. TE Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Ten players have averaged at least 14.5 receiving PPR points per game in each of the last two seasons, and two are tight ends. Bowers is one, despite the Raiders' 57.0 team PFF passing grade over the past two seasons, the third-worst mark in the NFL. None of the other nine receivers accomplished that with a team PFF passing grade in the bottom 12.
The top tight ends are worthy of being ranked here because we can be confident that they will still be elite fantasy options in a few years. There is a higher correlation between fantasy points and PFF overall grades at tight end than at other positions. Bowers, Trey McBride and George Kittle have recorded PFF receiving grades of 90.0 or better over the past two seasons. No other tight end has logged more than 50 targets and a PFF overall grade between 85.0 and 90.0, leaving a large gap between the top three and the field. Kittle is 32 years old, so there is naturally a large gap between him and the 23-year-old Bowers or the 26-year-old McBride.
While McBride was the superior fantasy option in 2025, that won’t necessarily be the case going forward. Both teams will have new head coaches and will likely have new quarterbacks. McBride has benefited from better quarterback play and a higher target rate, but the gap between those two should change with new players and coaches in place. Bowers also gets the nod in these rankings for being the younger player.
7. TE Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
McBride enjoyed a historically great 2025, setting a single-season record for receptions by a tight end. He averaged 18.6 PPR points per game, which would have ranked sixth best among wide receivers. He scored over 100 more points than the next-best tight end.
There is a huge gap between Bowers and McBride and all other tight end options. It’s much more likely that Bowers and McBride will be top-five options at their positions in five years from now than the top running backs, wide receivers or quarterbacks.
That being said, there is significant room for regression for McBride in 2026 and beyond. The Cardinals attempted a league-high 649 passes last season, and their defense allowed the fourth-most points (488). Arizona lost its top two running backs to injuries in September, James Conner and Trey Benson, leading the offense to stray away from the run game for most of the season.
Among Arizona’s top eight wide receivers on the active roster and practice squad from the start of the season, five ended the year on injured reserve. Another two were Xavier Weaver and Tejhaun Palmer, who combined for less than 100 receiving yards, leaving Michael Wilson as the only notable and healthy wide receiver. This helped McBride maintain an exceptionally high target rate.
The good news is that McBride is keeping Jacoby Brissett for at least this season, and McBride’s fantasy value excels with Brissett at quarterback. However, they added Tyler Allgeier while keeping Conner and Benson, and added Kendrick Bourne to improve the depth of the wide receiver room. McBride will still be one of the top two or three tight ends in target rate, but it won’t be as exceptional as last season.
8. WR Malik Nabers, New York Giants
Nabers was the sixth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, entering the NFL with lofty expectations. He instantly began living up to the hype, finishing with 100-plus yards in two of his first four games and three touchdowns during that stretch. He proceeded to miss two games due to injury. From Weeks 7 to 18, he averaged 16.5 PPR points per game, 12th best.
He ranked around the 90th percentile in most situations for wide receivers. He was targeted on 29.7% of his routes, first among 72 wide receivers who ran at least 355 routes last season. That equated to a league-leading 11 targets per game. The elite volume and very good quality of play added up to the seventh-most fantasy points per game last season.
Nabers' high target rate gave him a high floor, and he scored at least 8.0 PPR points in every game. However, that also meant he didn’t have many games with a high ceiling. After returning from injury, he had only one game with more than 85 receiving yards.
Nabers was healthy for just three games in 2025, all with Russell Wilson at quarterback. He averaged 17.7 PPR points per game in those outings and will ideally perform better going forward with Jaxson Dart at quarterback. His 86.4 PFF receiving grade over the past two seasons is by far the best from any wide receiver in the past two draft classes. Ladd McConkey’s 80.2 mark ranks second best.
There is some uncertainty around the Giants' offense. They hired John Harbaugh as head coach and Matt Nagy as offensive coordinator. Cam Skattebo’s health will be a concern at running back. New York added Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin III at wide receiver, as well as Isaiah Likely at tight end. Those players won’t be a major detriment to Nabers’ target rate, but it might not be as high as his rookie season. If all goes well, Nabers could be the top dynasty wide receiver by the end of the season, but there is also a concern that the Giants offense could hold him back.
9. RB De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
Achane has ranked in the top six in fantasy points per game among running backs in each of the past three seasons. Achane’s 91.0 PFF rushing grade this season ranked first among all running backs, but his situation wasn’t as good as that of the top three running backs.
The Falcons, Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers ranked in the top 12 in PFF run-blocking grade in each of the past four seasons. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins ranked in the bottom six in each of the past two campaigns. The 49ers and Lions have been among the highest-scoring offenses, while the Dolphins have been in the bottom 12 in scoring each of the past two seasons. This has made it harder for Achane to match the other backs' touchdown totals.
The Dolphins moved on from Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle this offseason. This is bad news for Achane’s touchdown potential, but he will be more of a focal point of the offense than nearly any other running back in the league. He should continue to see enough volume and play well enough to keep him a top-five fantasy running back for the foreseeable future.
10. RB Jeremiyah Love, Rookie
Love is a top-five player on PFF's predictive big board and is generally expected to be drafted among the first 10 picks. Generally, running backs in that range have found immediate fantasy success. If a team is willing to spend that high of a pick on a back, it will often receive significant volume in its rookie season, regardless of efficiency.
Ashton Jeanty, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs are the only running backs who have been selected among the first 20 picks in the last five seasons, and all three finished in the top 12 in their rookie season. The other first-round picks include Najee Harris, who was RB3 his rookie season, in addition to Omarion Hampton and Travis Etienne, who dealt with injuries during their rookie seasons.
One reason why Love stands out so much is his receiving. While others have compiled larger stat totals over the last few seasons, Love has a 79.2 PFF receiving grade, which is second-best among the top 20 running backs. This will help whichever team drafts him, as well as his fantasy value.
Love is the clear top pick in dynasty rookie drafts, assuming he gets selected among the top 10 picks of the NFL draft. He will also be considered a top 15 running back in redraft leagues.
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