2026 Fantasy Football Draft Guide: Where To Target Each Position

August 14, 2026

Quincy outlines how he is approaching fantasy football drafts in 2026 with a primary focus on when to draft which positions in standard redraft formats.

Fantasy football draft strategies can vary each season depending on how the crop of players shapes up. Sometimes running backs hold the most value. Other times it is wide receivers who receive the most attention early. Do you wait on quarterbacks and tight ends or strike for an elite one? Each of these factors is part of the fun of coming back every year.

While your fantasy football draft may not automatically set you up to win your league, missing throughout your draft can set you up for a season of misery. As such, it is important to have a good balance of proven players and upside shots to help carry you through your season. You will, of course, make tweaks along the way, but the foundation is important.

In 2026, several players are aging out of fantasy stardom, with young players filling the void in a big way. In this article, we will be using the FFPC ADP available on rotoballer.com for our assessment. Additionally, we will be assuming a 12-team league with a single quarterback to go along with running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, flex, D/ST, and kickers. Let's dive into the 2026 fantasy draft toolkit.

All Positions on the Table in Rounds 1 and 2

The first two rounds of fantasy drafts set the tone for the rest of your draft, and frankly, your season. Missing on one or both of these picks can spell doom unless you are a magician on the waiver wire or a wizard on the trade block.

Taking elite running backs and wide receivers is a tried-and-true strategy in the first two rounds of fantasy drafts. However, with quarterback Josh Allen going in Round 2, and tight ends Brock Bowers and Trey McBride going off the board in this range as well, you can grab one and still ultimately feel good about the rest of your draft.

Let's start at the top. Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are near consensus at the top of drafts right now. They will give you an advantage over just about every other running back this season. It gets interesting behind them, and I lean towards a first-round wide receiver if I do not pick in the first two picks.

Jahmyr freakin' Gibbs 🔥

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Aging running backs such as Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor are going in the middle of Round 1. Both players are coming off huge volume seasons and carry real injury risk. Ashton Jeanty is also being pushed back into the first round despite an inefficient rookie year. In this range, look at Ja'Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Round 2 presents fantastic running back value. Chase Brown, Kenneth Walker III, James Cook III, and Derrick Henry are all in this range. This is a major discount on players such as Cook and Henry who could finish as top-5 options at the position. No matter what, these second-round running backs are all going to be volume hogs. That is exactly what you want from a selection in the first two rounds.

The second round also presents the opportunity to take a look at Allen or McBride. Both players would present a clear multi-point advantage over opposing teams every week. Picking one of these players this early would force you to hit solid running backs and wide receivers later in your draft. More on these guys later.

Overall, you can never go wrong with a combination of running backs and wide receivers here. There is great value on quarterbacks and tight ends later in the draft - but not that much later.

So, When Do I Draft a Onesie Position?

Quarterbacks and tight ends are often referred to as "onesie" positions because most leagues only have one starting spot for each. As such, gaining an advantage at either position can be a game-changer in fantasy. However, whenever you do choose to take one, you are sacrificing other talent at running back and wide receiver.

I am personally bypassing Allen and Bowers this season. They won't be bad picks, but the price is a bit rich. McBride is doable if he falls into the back of the second round, but the Cardinals' quarterback situation is precarious. Tyler Warren has become one of my favorite tight end targets in the fourth round. He has legitimate No. 1 overall tight end upside.

Tyler Warren on 4th and 2!!!

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— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2025

I have settled on Warren because I am not thrilled about the quarterbacks in this range outside of Lamar Jackson, who should bounce back in a new system. Joe Burrow carries serious injury risk, Jayden Daniels may not be able to recreate the unbelievable magic of his rookie season, Drake Maye has a tougher schedule, and Jalen Hurts has question marks around his weapons.

I have always been one to find value at the quarterback spot. You can put this decision off to Rounds 7 through 10, where you can find Dak Prescott, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert, and Tyler Shough in that order.

Prescott will likely throw for 4,500 yards and 35 touchdowns if he is healthy all season. Lawrence looks like he is blossoming under head coach Liam Coen. Lastly, Herbert could receive a nice sprinkle of magic from new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. Each player has top-5 upside, with Prescott and Lawrence representing my favorite selections at the position.

Shough is an interesting prospect. He presents a solid rushing floor, with the potential to surpass 300 yards on the season. It is his passing that could take a huge step forward, however. Head coach Kellen Moore runs a very fast-paced offense, and he loves to air it out. With seriously upgraded weaponry, Shough could throw plenty of touchdowns and surpass 4,000 passing yards as well.

If you pull the trigger on a quarterback earlier than Prescott, you will still have options at tight end later in your draft.

Tucker Kraft may begin the season slowly, but all accounts suggest that he is pretty healthy following an ACL tear. He was quite dominant in 2025. Isaiah Likely also presents solid upside as you approach double-digit rounds. As it stands, the Giants do not have a lot of high-end targets in the offense. Travis Kelce may be boring at this point, but he is a great floor-play in the later rounds if you just want consistency at the position.

GOLD in the Middle of Drafts

Rounds 5 through 8 are a great time to flesh out your depth. I want to enter this part of the draft with a pair of wide receivers, a running back, and a tight end. There are solid RB2s in this range such as Travis Etienne Jr., D'Andre Swift, TreVeyon Henderson, and Jaylen Warren.

Some of the wide receivers in this range are a bit less attractive. I am staying away from the likes of Luther Burden III at his current price, Terry McLaurin, and D.J. Moore. However, that still leaves Tetairoa McMillan and Jaylen Waddle at the top of the fifth round. If you wait another 20 picks or so, you can grab Jameson Williams, Christian Watson, or Parker Washington. All of those players could be solid WR2s.

Parker Washington scores and makes his tee time! 🏌

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— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026

The running back depth turns into a bit of a dead zone beyond Henderson, so definitely make sure you snag your RB2 in this range or higher. Drafting any of the aforementioned WR2s would be great players for either a wide receiver or flex spot, but I wouldn't feel comfortable grabbing one of them at the expense of a potential RB2.

Late Rounds: UPSIDE, UPSIDE, UPSIDE

Once you fill out your starting lineup, you can begin fishing for upside in the double-digit rounds. Many of these picks will not be on your Week 17 roster. Those that are will have been fantastic picks.

In the later rounds, you can stock up on a handful of running backs and hope that some of them are serviceable. Kenny Gainwell, Blake Corum, Kyle Monangai, Jordan Mason, and Jacory Croskey-Merritt are all entering the season with question marks around their volume. However, one or multiple of these guys will have fantasy value.

Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt goes by "Bill"

Bill just went 27 yards to the 🏠

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Gainwell seems like the most likely. He should see plenty of targets, and is a definite target of mine in drafts. Monangai presents excitement as the potential 1B in a Ben Johnson-led offense. Those two are my favorite later-round running backs because I am confident that I will be able to roster them all year.

Filling out your wide receiver depth should be simple in this range. Quentin Johnston and Alec Pierce are both their team's No. 1 wide receiver. They are downfield threats, so their volume will not be elite, but they should deliver flex value at minimum. Michael Pittman Jr. should be a steady producer in Pittsburgh. Behind them, Stefon Diggs and Makai Lemon are going to play big roles for their respective teams.

Michael Wilson is a big name to watch in double-digit rounds. He is being drafted multiple rounds behind teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. However, Wilson looked like the second coming of Larry Fitzgerald towards the end of 2025. It may have been a mirage, but you cannot ignore what we saw on the field. He is practically free in drafts, and we will know within the first couple of weeks whether he is worth rostering.

Use Your Head: Defenses and Kickers Last - Always!

Having a difference-making defense or kicker does provide legitimate value. However, you can always find one or the other on the waiver wire each week depending on matchups. Not to mention, half the kickers in the league will be dropped and swapped for someone who turns into a weekly starter.

There are enough good defenses and bad offenses around the league that there are bound to be multiple streaming options each week. If you find a defense with a stretch of good matchups, you can even ride them out for a couple of weeks. Look at the schedule for the first two to three weeks for each team and draft a defense that has the most favorable matchups, but do not look at them before the final two rounds.

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