This article is part of our NFL Draft series.
This article contains pre-NFL Combine fantasy football rankings for the rookie class in the 2026 NFL Draft.
These top-50 players are grouped into tiers, and players within a single tier are more or less meant to be seen as equal, with some minor exceptions. This might be a weak class, but it's still important to make the right rookie picks, no matter whether you're drafting in a dynasty, best ball or redraft format. These rankings are meant to pertain to each of those formats mostly equally.
Tier 1 Fantasy Football Rookies
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (6-0, 214)
Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State (6-2, 200)
There's a case to make Jeremiyah Love a one-man first tier and there are debates about where Jordyn Tyson ranks at receiver in this class. For me, a lot could change quickly with the first three tiers depending on combine/pro day results.
Love is not a slam-dunk prospect, though primarily in the volume sense. His center of gravity is fairly high, reminiscent of otherwise highly dangerous from-scrimmage threats like Darren McFadden and Ryan Mathews, so limiting Love's exposure from scrimmage makes sense, especially regarding carries between the tackles. Love's abilities from scrimmage are plainly evident otherwise, including as a receiver. DeMarco Murray had to rebrand as a 230-pound back at this build before he could withstand volume, but it's not often a running back packs on 20 pounds and still keep his wheels.
Perhaps I overestimate Tyson or overlook fellow receivers like Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon, but Tyson's statistical profile is plainly better than both of them. If the case against Tyson rests strictly on durability concerns then fair enough, but on the talent question I'd need Tyson to tank at the combine or for Tate or/and Lemon to go nuts before moving Tyson out of the WR1 spot. Lemon shows an extremely high floor from the slot while Tate shows some boundary ability including downfield, but Tyson offers a combination of those two things in a way that neither Tate nor Lemon have to this point.
If you're concerned that Tyson is somehow a system product at Arizona State then check out his also-great true freshman season at Colorado. To me Tyson projects as a 100-catch flanker at his NFL peak.
Tier 2 Fantasy Football Rookies
Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State (6-3, 195)
Makai Lemon, WR, USC (5-11, 195)
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (6-5, 225)
Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon both appear to be near first-round locks, which at wide receiver is major automatic currency in fantasy. They can catch Tyson if Tyson disappoints in athletic testing or/and Tate and Lemon do well, but in the meantime neither Tate nor Lemon can match Tyson's production profile. Tate because he didn't draw the target/reception count that Tyson did, and Lemon because he probably can't make as many plays from the boundary as Tyson can. The athletic testing variable could even things out between the three, though, or even Tate or Lemon catapult to WR1.
Fernando Mendoza is the easy 1.01 in superflex and 2QB formats. In 1QB dynasty formats he's plenty valuable too, though, or at least he can only slide so far in the rankings with such weak competition as this year. It's not all just the lack of competition, though – Mendoza really does seem to have the necessary components to eventually register as an above-average starting NFL quarterback, including in fantasy.
Tier 3 Fantasy Football Rookies
Emmett Johnson, RB, Nebraska (5-11, 200)
Jonah Coleman, RB, Washington (5-9, 220)
Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State (6-0, 221)
Jadarian Price, RB, Notre Dame (5-11, 210)
Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt (6-4, 235)
Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon (6-3, 235)
Elijah Sarratt, WR, Indiana (6-2, 213)
Josh Cameron, WR, Baylor (6-1, 223)
Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, USC (6-4, 196)
Emmett Johnson caught a lot of passes and withstood major volume in general at Nebraska, looking rather fast doing it. Jonah Coleman isn't very fast but he's a three-down player with some real burst and stop/start to work with, especially for such a stocky back. Nick Singleton has uneven (though mostly good) rushing production, and he's a plus pass catcher who might run a sub-4.4 40 at 220 pounds or more. Jadarian Price is also a candidate to log a sub-4.4 40, albeit probably at a lighter weight than Singleton, and unlike the other running backs in this tier Price has not demonstrated any pass-catching ability to this point.
Pending athletic testing there might be a case for ranking the tight end duo of Eli Stowers and Kenyon Sadiq in the first rounds of dynasty rookie drafts. Both of them are light, though – Sadiq is light and short – which makes it important that they earn their playing time on the basis of their pass-catching upside. The better they test athletically, the easier it will be to take that leap of faith.
Elijah Sarratt appears slowish and therefore probably won't be a consistent downfield threat in the NFL, but his ability to identify open zones and snatch the ball from tight spaces gives him a solid possession wideout projection, including at starter-level volume.
There was a tendency in Draft World last year to compare Luther Burden to Deebo Samuel, but a better candidate for that particular comparison might be Josh Cameron. Although his age-adjusted production isn't good, it does just enough to check the box and on tape you can quickly see that Cameron is not a typical player at all. He looks like a 20-carry running back, but he doesn't look like a running back playing wide receiver. Cameron is a hands-snatcher who can make gnarly catches over the middle or above the rim, and he's as tough as you'd expect running after the catch.
Ja'Kobi Lane might struggle to break the 4.60 mark in the 40 – a lot of his catches at USC were contested – but Lane's ability to win at the catch point is convincing and his per-snap, per-target numbers were quietly excellent the last two years. If you prorate Lane's per-snap numbers over the same two-year snap count as Lemon (1,455) rather than Lane's 1,061 snaps you'd get 204 targets, 126 receptions for 1,739 yards and 22 touchdowns. Lemon had 131 receptions for 1,920 yards and 14 touchdowns in his own sample.
Tier 4 Fantasy Football Rookies
Eric McAlister, WR, TCU (6-3, 205)
KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M (5-11, 190)
Denzel Boston, WR, Washington (6-4, 210)
Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama (6-2, 208)
Eric McAlister might face character questions but he has convincing boundary production both at Boise State and TCU, and at this point he has a statistical profile that could arguably grade as well or better than Quentin Johnston or Jack Bech did in mostly similar conditions. You don't see many receivers with a production profile this solid so if McAlister tests well athletically it will be tough to fade him.
Kevin "KC" Concepcion certainly catches your eye with his burst, change of direction and stop/start ability. He loses you while you wait for him to expand his route tree, especially in the form of downfield or contested targets. Concepcion's numbers went from incredible as a true freshman at North Carolina State to almost equally bad the second year – the downturn the result of defenses realizing Concepcion was only drawing targets underneath. It's true that Concepcion shows uncommon explosiveness from scrimmage yet his suspiciously low catch rate raises the fear of an Az-Zahir Hakim sort of outcome. Concepcion is clearly a unique threat with the football, though – the only question is how much he can get going from scrimmage in the NFL.
Denzel Boston definitely seems to move well for a taller receiver – it's not often you see one run as gracefully as Boston did on his punt return touchdown from 2025 – yet his statistical profile raises serious concerns with his catch rate and to a lesser extent his per-snap target rate. Boston's target rate only reached that of an expected NFL starter when he was in his third season, and in that season Boston's catch rate registered 11.8 points beneath the Washington baseline (60.6 versus 72.4). The yards per target was also 0.2 lower than the team YPA of 8.2. Based on the usage thresholds at which Boston's efficiency fell below team baseline, he might project more like a WR3 than a top-65 NFL wideout.
Ty Simpson seems likely to be the second quarterback selected, and there's a good chance that occurs somewhere in the first round. His statistical profile at Alabama is plainly not good, but Simpson does have some good tape from 2025, his one starting season in college. The objective case for him ranking so far ahead of the likes of Carson Beck and Luke Altmyer is elusive, though.
Tier 5 Fantasy Football Rankings
Dean Connors, RB, Houston (5-11, 208)
Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State (5-11, 220)
Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia (5-10, 180)
Skyler Bell, WR, Connecticut (5-11, 187)
Germie Bernard, WR, Alabama (6-1, 204)
Ted Hurst, WR, Georgia State (6-3, 207)
Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame (6-4, 218)
Chris Brazzell II, WR, Tennessee (6-5, 200)
Chris Bell, WR, Louisville (6-2, 220)
Luke Altmyer, QB, Illinois (6-2, 215)
Carson Beck, QB, Miami (FL) (6-4, 225)
Don't laugh at Dean Connors – he's pretty easily one of the best sleepers in the draft. It's a thin line between a Dylan Laube and a Danny Woodhead, or even an Austin Ekeler, and if Connors tests well enough at the combine he might be closer to the latter two. At 208 pounds Connors seems like a decent bet to log a sub-4.5 40, and when he runs routes he looks more natural than some wide receivers.
Kaytron Allen looks like a 50- or maybe 55-grade runner and a 40-grade pass catcher. The things Allen is good at are things that a lot of running backs are good at. Highly opportunity-dependent prospect who is unlikely to dictate said opportunity by compelling playing time.
Zachariah Branch might be the second or third-fastest wide receiver in the draft behind track merchants Brenen Thompson and Barion Brown. Unlike those two Branch seems to have some amount of ability with the football, but as a route runner he's at best untested and to this point he's shown little ability to get open even in the intermediate, let alone downfield.
Skyler Bell had weird production at Wisconsin – high target rate but with abysmal inefficiency – and then as an over-aged player (turns 24 in July) he posted all-around blistering numbers at Connecticut. Bell's NFL projection should probably split the difference between his production at the two schools, but he needs to test well athletically to hold that line.
Germie Bernard notably played far ahead of Denzel Boston when the two played for Washington in 2023, with Bernard transferring from Michigan State (2022) to catch 34 receptions for 419 yards and two touchdowns on 45 targets. Boston caught five passes for 51 yards on eight targets that season. Bernard never posted great numbers himself otherwise, but he made meaningful contributions at three different schools over his collegiate career and he could make himself interesting with good athletic testing.
Ted Hurst has an uphill climb as a small-school guy but his production at Georgia State was fairly convincing and if he tests well athletically he might have a real shot of emerging a viable starter in the NFL. Hurst had an extremely high target rate in his two years with Georgia State, especially for a player with a clear boundary skill set.
Malachi Fields produced in a way befitting a fringe prospect rather than a coveted one, but he was reasonably effective at both Virginia and Notre Dame. Fields has some big fans in draft media – perhaps the NFL agrees with them – and in any case he could quickly push for Day 2 consideration with good athletic testing.
Chris Brazzell II almost has to be better than Dont'e Thornton, though that bar might be too low to prove meaningful. Like Thornton, Brazzell is a taller receiver who will likely need to specialize downfield and from the boundary. His production was a mess in 2024 but he seemed to clean his game up in 2025. If Brazzell tests well enough athletically then he might be able to emerge a big-play oriented WR3 type from the boundary.
Chris Bell would slot into Tier 4 at worst if not for the ACL tear he suffered Nov. 29. Bell's production was merely good rather than great at Louisville, but his numbers were solid enough that, especially in a class this weak, he might have made a case for selection as early as the first round. Knowing how NFL teams valuate Bell in that particular frame would do a lot to clarify how much his draft stock might be able to withstand the injury. It's a bad injury and worse timed for a draft prospect – there's a real chance Bell can't contribute meaningfully in 2026 – but at least it's the right draft class in that teams might have fewer viable alternatives than in most other drafts.
Carson Beck and Luke Altmyer have their likely limitations, yet their profiles don't seem objectively any worse than Ty Simpson's. Perhaps the NFL will rationalize the concerns in both cases if only because to me it's difficult to objectively watch the three quarterbacks and declare any of the three clearly inferior. To be fair to them, both Beck and Altmyer have clear positives to offer and worse prospects than them have turned out viable NFL starters in the past. Altmyer might have a Jeff Garcia kind of game.
Tier 6 Fantasy Football Rankings
Justin Joly, TE, North Carolina State (6-3, 251)
Tanner Koziol, TE, Houston (6-7, 245)
John Michael Gyllenborg, TE, Wyoming (6-5, 251)
Cyrus Allen, WR, Cincinnati (5-11, 180)
Caleb Douglas, WR, Texas Tech (6-3, 198)
Aaron Anderson, WR, LSU (5-8, 177)
Omar Cooper, WR, Indiana (6-0, 204)
Eli Heidenreich, WR, Navy (5-11, 197)
Seth McGowan, RB, Kentucky (6-0, 215)
Robert Henry, RB, New Mexico (5-9, 197)
At tight end there is still a lot to sort out for Justin Joly, Tanner Koziol and John Michael Gyllenborg, but all three have a chance to push for Day 2. Joly and Koziol have highly encouraging target rates, while Michael-Gyllenborg has dealt with a lot of injuries but otherwise flashed pass-catching upside on a legitimate inline frame.
The wide receiver group of Cyrus Allen, Caleb Douglas, Aaron Anderson, Omar Cooper and Eli Heidenreich has various selling points between them, and all produced well enough in college that they should be followed closely in the pre-draft process.
Allen and Anderson are small receivers who would likely need to make it as role-playing specialists – Allen as a downfield guy and Anderson as an underneath target, likely from the slot. Anderson is unlikely to emerge a starter but could draw targets rapidly enough from the slot to make occasional fantasy impacts.
Douglas and Cooper have mostly clean production but neither projects as much better than a WR3 type.
Heidenreich was an all-purpose monster for Navy but probably will need to make it as a slot wideout in the NFL. If he tests decently he'll project credibly in that role.
Seth McGowan is a former blue-chip recruit who was off to an excellent start at Oklahoma in 2020 but then got kicked off the team following an arrest for felony armed burglary. McGowan wouldn't get back to the D1 level until 2024, when he played one year at New Mexico State before transferring to Kentucky for 2025. McGowan's past looms large but by all accounts he has kept himself clean since then and his talent with the football has been apparent the entire time. At 6-foot-1 McGowan is a little high but he runs effectively with a hunch and doesn't get hit high as much as you might expect at a glance. I think he's one of the best sleepers in the late rounds of dynasty rookie drafts, though character questions mean McGowan has no floor at all.
Robert Henry is a firecracker who could be something like another Keaton Mitchell, but that is still a narrow path since the NFL tends to overlook undersized small school players. Mitchell even burned up the Combine track and the league barely cared.
Tier 8 Fantasy Football Rankings
Michael Trigg, TE, Baylor (6-4, 240)
Roman Hemby, RB, Indiana (6-0, 210)
Sieh Bangura, RB, Ohio (6-0, 216)
Rahsul Faison, RB, South Carolina (6-0, 218)
Chase Roberts, WR, BYU (6-3, 216)
Reggie Virgil, WR, Texas Tech (6-2, 188)
Eric Rivers, WR, Georgia Tech (5-10, 179)
Michael Trigg might be a good athlete and flashed some decent production at the collegiate level, but his production was merely not bad rather than good, and if his suspension history is any indication there might be character doubts circling him.
Roman Hemby caught lots of passes before he played for Indiana, and that might be his best means of ever drawing NFL playing time. Sieh Bangura put up big rushing numbers at Ohio and could interest teams as a developmental power back if he tests and interviews sufficiently well. Rahsul Faison runs high and has no history as a pass catcher, but as a pure runner he seems to have some speed and power to work with.
Chase Roberts posted very good production at BYU but his advanced age cheapens the value of that production. Testing well athletically is important for a player like him. Reggie Virgil arguably is an equal to former teammate Caleb Douglas, but as the skinnier player with flimsier production Virgil is probably the worse prospect pending athletic testing. Eric Rivers will probably need to function as a big-play specialist WR3 but if he tests sufficiently well he could project credibly for such functions.
Tier 9 Fantasy Football Rankings
Adam Randall, RB, Clemson (6-3, 233)
J'Mari Taylor, RB, Virginia (5-9. 205)
Kaelon Black, RB, Indiana (5-10, 208)
Mike Washington, RB, Arkansas (6-2, 220)
Adam Randall played admirably in 2025, his first at running back after previously playing receiver, but he's too tall. They need to move him to tight end.
J'Mari Taylor is smallish and probably slowish but he was a consistent chunk-gain running back at North Carolina Central and Virginia. If he can earn some team's trust on passing downs a guy like him could stick around a bit.
Kaelon Black is probably rather slow and his production throughout college simply doesn't grade as high as Indiana teammate Roman Hemby.
Mike Washington has the build to pick up the blitz and as a runner he seems to have a notable top speed. The problem is that Washington is 6-foot-2 and looks every bit of it when he opens up his stride, and that can pose a serious issue with inside running at the NFL level. He also fumbles way too much.
