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RotoBaller's staff fantasy football rookie rankings for 2026. These tiered top 100 rankings are for RBs, WRs, TEs, and QB. Use this rookie rankings to dominate your rookie and dynasty drafts.
It's the last few days of fantasy football draft season, and we're about to see several NFL rookies make their debuts! Ahead of Week 1, check out these final rookie fantasy football rankings for 2026, with September updates.
These updated 2026 rookie rankings are put together by Matt Donnelly, Phil Clark, Jackson Sparks, and Andrew Lalama. These are RotoBaller's final rookie rankings ahead of the 2026 regular season. Below, see where key first-year players such as Mike Washington Jr., Carnell Tate, Jadarian Price, Makai Lemon, Cyrus Allen, Chris Bell, and more rank.
On top of these rookie rankings, in our 2026 fantasy football rankings dashboard, you will also find our team's Dynasty League rankings. Bookmark that page so that you can swiftly use it to prepare for all of your 2026 fantasy football dynasty league drafts.
Bookmark our updated and revamped fantasy football rankings portal for all league formats!PPR rankings | Half-PPR rankings | Non-PPR (Standard) rankings | Rookie rankings | Superflex rankings | Best Ball rankings | Underdog rankings | Dynasty rankings | IDP rankings | Injuries
NFL Rookie Rankings for Fantasy Football (Post-NFL Draft)
Check out our PPR fantasy football rankings and standard (non-PPR) fantasy football rankings as well:
Fantasy Football Rookie Outlooks, News
Ted Hurst III, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Ted Hurst III is trending up in fantasy football after a consistent and impressive summer. While Emeka Egbuka (toe), Jalen McMillan (knee), and Tez Johnson (groin) all missed portions of camp due to their injuries, Hurst was consistently available for the duration of the summer. Not only did he stay healthy and get consistent reps, but he also had an impressive performance in training camp and the preseason, during which he caught two passes for 19 yards.
Head coach Todd Bowles and quarterback Baker Mayfield have both been outspoken about Hurst's reliability this year, so we wouldn't be surprised to see him take on a significant role this year, despite the fact that the Bucs have a somewhat crowded receiver room. The rookie out of Georgia State currently ranks as the WR83 in RotoBaller's redraft rankings, but we could see him jump into the top 50 by midseason.
Kaytron Allen, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders running back Kaytron Allen could struggle to earn meaningful snaps during his rookie season. The Commanders spent their sixth-round pick this year on Allen, who finished his collegiate career as Penn State's all-time leading rusher. Despite his impressive NCAA track record, he may struggle to carve out a significant role right away in the NFL. He's currently third on the running back depth chart behind Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White.
Croskey-Merritt made a great impression as a rookie last season with 805 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns, and White was signed this offseason as a perfect complement because of his prowess as a receiver. The Commanders have two very strong options for passing and receiving downs, leaving Allen in more of a depth role. He'll get some opportunities to handle change-of-pace snaps, and he'd presumably take on a bigger role if Croskey-Merritt or White get hurt. For now, though, he's likely off the fantasy radar in redraft leagues. His ADP of 231.3 confirms that he's an afterthought in most drafts at the moment.
Nicholas Singleton, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans running back Nicholas Singleton is losing some of his fantasy football appeal after a relatively uninspiring preseason. Throughout the preseason, he rushed for 57 yards on 15 carries. That equates to just 3.8 YPC, despite the fact that Singleton was often facing other defenses' backups. He also caught two passes for 18 receiving yards. Singleton was taken in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, so perhaps we should have known that it would take a little while for him to get acclimated.
Nevertheless, the post-draft buzz was that Singleton was one of the more pro-ready picks to come out of Day 3. Instead, he has buried himself in the No. 3 role and could have trouble digging himself out without an injury to Tony Pollard or Tyjae Spears. Singleton, who went from 1,474 scrimmage yards at Penn State in 2024 to 768 in 2025, ranks as RotoBaller's RB75 in redraft leagues. He has an ADP of 208.1, making him the 61st running back off the board.
Makai Lemon, Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles told rookie first-round wide receiver Makai Lemon to mirror the preparation of WR1 DeVonta Smith, who has been noted for his strong preparation in advance of games, according to Zach Berman of The Athletic. "I basically told him, 'Whatever Smitty does, you do.' And he's taken to that a little bit. I know that Smitty's done a good job of going out of his way to help him with some of that stuff," wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead said. The 22-year-old 20th overall pick from USC had a quiet summer in training camp and missed valuable development time due to a nagging hamstring injury.
He caught three of his five targets for five yards in the preseason finale against the Cincinnati Bengals last week. With Dontayvion Wicks rising to become the clear WR2 for Philly to start the 2026 campaign, Lemon is penciled in as the team's No. 3 wideout to begin his pro career. Lemon caught 79 passes for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games in his final collegiate season with the Trojans and could easily leapfrog Wicks at some point this year if he reaches his true potential. Despite his quiet summer, Lemon deserves attention as a late-round WR pick in upcoming drafts for his upside.
Who Should I Draft Fantasy Football Tool
Read more about the free Who Should I Draft tool here.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to draft...
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? You may have noticed our Who Should I Draft? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your 2026 fantasy football drafts. You'll see NFL player tiles with bye weeks, stats, and projections, ADPs, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research and updates them constantly throughout the preseason. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for Mike Washington Jr., Carnell Tate, Jadarian Price, Makai Lemon, Cyrus Allen, Chris Bell:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
