Top NFL Fantasy Football Players to Watch in 2026

The 2026 NFL season is approaching, and fantasy football managers are preparing for drafts with several familiar stars again sitting near the top of draft boards.

Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are battling for the No. 1 overall spot in many formats, while elite receivers such as Ja’Marr Chase and Puka Nacua remain attractive early-round selections. ESPN’s updated PPR rankings have Gibbs, Robinson, Chase, Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the top five overall players entering the season.

Production from 2025 provides plenty of evidence for those rankings. Christian McCaffrey led NFL-managed fantasy scoring with 416.6 points, while Nacua, Robinson, Gibbs and Josh Allen were also among the league’s highest-scoring fantasy players.

Top 10 Fantasy Football Players to Watch

• Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions: Gibbs rushed for 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding 77 catches for 616 yards and five more scores in 2025. His dual-threat ability makes him a legitimate candidate for the first overall fantasy pick.
• Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Robinson produced 1,478 rushing yards and added an impressive 79 receptions for 820 yards. That receiving workload makes him particularly valuable in PPR formats.
• Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals: Chase caught 125 passes for 1,412 yards and eight touchdowns last season. ESPN currently ranks him as its WR1 and third overall in PPR formats.
• Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams: Nacua finished 2025 with 129 receptions, 1,715 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns despite playing only 16 games. He averaged 23.44 NFL-managed fantasy points per appearance.
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks: Smith-Njigba exploded for 119 catches and 1,793 receiving yards with 10 touchdowns in 2025, establishing himself as one of fantasy football’s elite receivers.
• Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers: McCaffrey remains an elite option after accumulating 1,202 rushing yards, 102 receptions, 924 receiving yards and 17 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns last season.
• Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts: Taylor rushed for 1,585 yards and an NFL-leading-level 18 rushing touchdowns while adding 378 receiving yards and two receiving scores.
• Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions: St. Brown delivered another high-volume season with 117 catches, 1,401 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
• CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys: Lamb remains a first-round fantasy candidate because of his combination of target volume, receiving talent and central role in the Dallas passing offense. ESPN currently ranks him fifth among receivers and ninth overall.
• Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills: Allen remains fantasy’s premier quarterback option after throwing for 3,668 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 579 yards and an extraordinary 14 scores in 2025. CBS notes that Allen has finished first or second among quarterbacks in fantasy points for six consecutive seasons.

Fantasy Football and NFL Betting

Fantasy analysis can also provide useful information for NFL bettors. High-volume fantasy players often overlap with attractive NFL player prop betting markets because touches, targets and red-zone opportunities are critical to both fantasy scoring and betting projections.

A running back such as Robinson or Gibbs receiving consistent rushing and receiving opportunities may warrant attention in rushing-yard, receiving-yard and anytime-touchdown markets. The same applies to receivers such as Chase and Nacua when evaluating receptions and receiving-yard props.

There is also a connection to season-long betting markets. Strong fantasy projections for a quarterback and his top receivers can signal expectations for an efficient offense, potentially supporting team win totals, division futures betting and individual MVP or Offensive Player of the Year markets.

Fantasy rankings shouldn’t determine a wager by themselves, however. Betting markets incorporate opponent strength, game scripts, injuries and prices that aren’t relevant in the same way to season-long fantasy drafts. The strongest overlap comes from identifying workload and opportunity and then determining whether the sportsbook’s number accurately reflects that projection.