The NFL preseason and roster cuts are officially done, which means we’re just eight days out from the 2026 NFL season kicking off! Building a fantasy football championship roster isn’t just luck; it takes serious research, especially with injuries being an inevitable part of the game. You need a rock-solid set of rankings to build real depth at every single position.
The Model That Knows All: Don’t Sleep on These Projections
Forget your gut feelings for a minute, because there’s a proven computer model at SportsLine that just simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times, and its 2026 fantasy football positional rankings and cheat sheets are out. This thing has a track record that’s just insane. Last year, it nailed Daniel Jones’ huge season in his first year in Indy. It also accurately called Terry McLaurin’s down year, predicted Tetairoa McMillan’s breakout campaign, and projected De’Von Achane to be one of fantasy football’s elite running backs in 2025. This isn’t a fluke, folks.
Think back: this same model tabbed A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020. It absolutely crushed Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous 2021 season, and even correctly predicted C.J. Stroud would take a step back in 2024. Remember those absolute steals? Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. If you’re serious about your fantasy draft, you have to pay attention to what this model is spitting out.
QB1 Still Crushing, and a Comeback Kid to Watch
So, who’s at the top of the 2026 QB rankings? It’s still Josh Allen, despite what some might call a “down” year in 2025. He posted his fewest passing yards, 3,668, and lowest passing touchdowns, 25, over the last six years, but he still finished as the No. 1 fantasy quarterback. That stat alone tells you everything about his ridiculously high fantasy floor. The 2024 NFL MVP has 41 rushing touchdowns over the last three years, which is second most in the entire league, regardless of position! Plus, he’s topped 500 rushing yards in an incredible seven of his eight NFL seasons.
Right behind him is Lamar Jackson, and he’s poised for a massive rebound. Yeah, 2025 was tough with injuries and attrition, but Lamar thrives when he has something to prove. After his injury-plagued 2022 season, he bounced back by winning the MVP the very next year. Now, with Declan Doyle, who just unleashed the best of Caleb Williams last year, as the new offensive coordinator in Baltimore, Jackson is absolutely primed to explode and reward anyone brave enough to draft him.
With approximately 15 rounds to navigate in your drafts, these decisions are crucial. We are less than ten days from kickoff! Get your research done, check those rankings, and be ready to dominate your league. The season is about to begin!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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