2026 Fantasy Football Dynasty Startup Mock Draft: 12-Team, Single-QB, PPR Mock

February 9, 2026

John's latest 2026 fantasy football dynasty startup mock draft for 12-team, 1QB, PPR leagues. His two-round dynasty mock draft for new dynasty startup leagues.

Dynasty fantasy football never sleeps. While fantasy managers who play only in redraft leagues likely won't be thinking much about their favorite pastime during the offseason, dynasty managers tend to stay informed throughout spring and summer.

It's early, but it's never too early to break down hypothetical mock drafts for all manner of dynasty leagues. Superflex is the most widely accepted competitive format for dynasty leagues, but 1QB leagues are popular as well.

There might be a few surprises here, especially at the top of the board. But keep in mind that (big hint here) the NFL had a record-low number of pass attempts in 2025, at least over the past 14 years. That's significant. So, let's dive into a 1QB 2026 dynasty startup mock draft!

Round 2 - Dynasty Startup Mock Draft

24. Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers

He tore his ACL in 2025. That's unfortunate. But he was carrying the Packers offense on his back and putting up monster numbers in his meteoric campaign before the injury, and should continue once he's fully recovered.

23. Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets

Will the Jets get a good quarterback? Who knows. Wilson should be an early second or late first-round pick, but he just never gets good play from the guys throwing him passes. We just have to hope they draft a good QB or figure out that situation some other way.

22. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

The best fantasy football quarterback in the game should be taken inside the first two rounds. Allen keeps his offensive coordinator from last year as his new head coach, and still has a great offensive line. His rushing upside is impressive, and he's a high-volume passer.

21. Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs 

Rice can't seem to stay out of trouble and is dealing with another brewing legal situation. He had good moments in 2025, but the offense as a whole regressed massively from its peaks just a few years ago. Perhaps the departure of OC Matt Nagy will help.

20. Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans

It would give me physical pain to draft Collins in a startup league. It doesn't look like the Texans will upgrade their offensive coordinator. And their QB, C.J. Stroud, constantly makes horrible decisions and holds back the offense.

19. Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals 

McBride absolutely crushed it last season. Perhaps new head coach Mike LaFleur will be a boost for the Cardinals constantly lacking offense. McBride is one of the NFL's elite tight ends and has age on his side.

18. James Cook III, RB, Buffalo Bills

So long as the Bills keep winning games, Cook should keep cooking. They have a great offensive line and one of the NFL's best quarterbacks, and promoted their offensive coordinator to head coach for 2026. This good offense is likely to stay good, and Cook thrives in wins.

17. Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints

This might be a slight reach, but the potential target volume for the upcoming season could be huge for the Saints WR1. They traded away their WR2, Rashid Shaheed, during the 2025 season. Olave saw a massive jump in volume. He has elite PPR potential.

16. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Without the clear WR1 role and a massive number of targets, Lamb's 2025 season was relatively pedestrian. As long as George Pickens sticks around, Lamb is at best the WR1B and might just be the WR2. He had issues with drops and had fewer high-quality targets than his counterpart.

15. George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys 

Pickens appears to have seized the WR1 job from Lamb. He easily outproduced the former Cowboys WR1 last season. Pickens is the better downfield threat, has better hands, and is more physical at the catch point than Lamb.

14. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

Jefferson tumbles down the list because the Vikings offense looks mostly hopeless with quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Jefferson often didn't seem to be putting much effort into winning his routes and making catches. Maybe that turns around soon.

13. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts 

Taylor finally turned in a fully healthy season. But at 27 years old and without a lot of pass-catching upside, combined with his penchant for serious injuries, he falls just outside of the first round here.

Round 1 - Dynasty Startup Mock Draft

12. Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders

I like this pick even outside of tight-end premium leagues. Bowers is easily a top-5 NFL TE with the highest single-game upside of them all. And the Raiders will likely soon have an elite offensive mind as their head coach with a first overall QB pick on the way.

HOW DID BROCK BOWERS MAKE THIS CATCH 😳

LVvsLAC on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/RhN24iTIx6

— NFL (@NFL) November 30, 2025

11. De'Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins

It wasn't ideal that the Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel. That was probably a mistake. Achane is still massively talented and a unique player at his position. He's a monster athlete, and the team's offensive line took a big step forward in 2025.

The Dolphins just need to figure out their quarterback situation for the long term, and they'll probably be fine.

10. Omarion Hampton, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

This might seem like a reach. But we saw the aforementioned coach, Mike McDaniel, help Achane maximize his talents and become one of the best fantasy running backs in the league. Hampton now has McDaniel as his offensive coordinator. I expect Hampton to have a monster season.

9. Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants

The Giants hired Matt Nagy as their offensive coordinator. That's pretty bad news. He somehow made quarterback Patrick Mahomes look like just an above-average NFL quarterback. But Nabers has elite talent and should still be highly selected. He's still very young and got a big quarterback upgrade in Jaxson Dart.

8. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions

Death, taxes, and ARSB being the WR3 in PPR fantasy leagues year after year, apparently. St. Brown has shown no signs of slowing down. Even when playing through serious injuries, he tends to perform very well. He's a great player to take in the middle of the first round in dynasty startups.

7. Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons

London lands higher on this list because of raw upside. The quarterback situation isn't great in Atlanta, but he's an elite target hog who is one of the few WRs in the NFL who still simply "Mosses" defenders. He could lead the NFL in targets per route run one day.

Awesome catch by Drake London over the top

NOvsATL on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/L9o6WEShkO

— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026

6. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks

JSN's meteoric rise in the 2025 season was no doubt driven in part by the wizardry of his offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak. He's expected to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I worry that the Seahawks offense will regress without him.

The Art of Route Running

By Jaxon Smith-Njigba pic.twitter.com/cPozMno5Lf

— 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝘼. 𝙆𝙞𝙙𝙙 (@CKidd206) January 26, 2026

JSN is an elite route runner, though, and quite strong at the catch point. He'll be fine.

5. Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

Nacua had his best season in 2025 with WR Davante Adams joining the team. QB Matthew Stafford isn't likely to play for much longer, though, as he's set to be 38 years old during the 2026 season. Nacua will probably be fine without him, but could undergo a dip in production.

Puka Nacua has been inside releasing these Go Balls all year! pic.twitter.com/NA1KdCIEEF

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) January 25, 2026

Nacua is mostly not guardable thanks to his strength, catch-point prowess, and route-running skills. He doesn't need elite speed to win.

4. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Cincy fans will have to suffer through another year of head coach Zac Taylor's vanilla (and not particularly good) offense, but Taylor will likely be fired after the 2026 season. Bengals owner Mike Brown is just too cheap to fire him yet.

JA'MARR HIT THE SPIN CYCLE 🔁

📺: #ARIvsCIN on FOX pic.twitter.com/gP04jHzWWd

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 28, 2025

Chase has more long-term stability at quarterback than does Nacua. Both are among the NFL's elite receivers.

3. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions

The Lions offensive line regressed heavily in 2025, unfortunately. Gibbs had some monster games, showing that he has elite potential. If the OL and offensive coaching staff can improve, Gibbs could surpass his 2025 performance in the coming years.

JAHMYR SCORES IMMEDIATELY.

NYGvsDET on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/HzyzjRsr4d

— NFL (@NFL) November 23, 2025

Gibbs could be thrust into a workhorse role with even more receiving usage if the team moves on from RB David Montgomery, too.

2. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders haven't made an official head coach decision yet, but I'm ranking Jeanty here thanks to the expected hire of current Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak for their top job. Jeanty will likely explode in his new role -- he had a solid season in 2025, but was held back by the incompetence of the rest of his team.

Kubiak's scheme is so good that it makes bad offensive lines look good, revives the careers of "failed" quarterbacks for the long term, and elevates the production of every player on the roster by a measurable degree. Jeanty will be a workhorse in his system, too.

Two pairs ✌️
#LVvsHOU | 📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/nhg49ZIcCL

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) December 22, 2025

He won't go this high in startup drafts, but if you can get him in the middle of the first round, it would be a good pick to make. Elite fantasy running backs have been better picks than the best receivers for a few seasons now.

1. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

THE league winner of the 2025 fantasy football season was Robinson. There were some ups and downs over his year, but he delivered in the most important games of the season. He scored 29.5 and 29.8 PPR fantasy points in Week 15 and Week 16, helping his teams advance to the championship.

And in Week 18, he exploded for 39.9 PPR fantasy points, helping his managers take home 2025 trophies. A big proportion of fantasy managers can likely check the results of their 2025 leagues and see that most of them were won by whoever had Robinson. That was the case in my leagues.

Bijan Robinson 21 TOUCHES , 181 YDS, 1 TD Today vs. WAS pic.twitter.com/K5uTmSua3m

— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) September 28, 2025

Robinson is everything he was drafted to be and more. He is just 24 years old, has a workhorse role that he's likely to keep for the next five or more seasons, and has been durable since entering the league. He's put up monster numbers when given the volume to do so. There's no reason not to pick him first overall.

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