Tue Feb 10th 2026

My 2026 Rookie Rankings Are Up

• I find this class to be much weaker than those in recent years. I did not anticipate this, but I’m much happier about trading away my first-round pick in six of my nine dynasty leagues. I essentially traded a first-round pick in these leagues for the likes of Derrick Henry, Drake London, A.J. Brown, Courtland Sutton, Davante Adams, and Michael Pittman (less pleased with this last player). They were all picks 9 or later, except in one league, where it ended up being pick 4. Overall, it was a fine year to trade first-round picks for players that contributed to finishing in the money and winning two dynasty championships.

The first five picks will be chalk, but after that, things will vary.

• That’s not to say there are not a few top players. The consensus top five players will almost certainly be Fernando Mendoza, Jeremiyah Love, Carnell Tate, Jordan Tyson, and Makai Lemon, and likely in that order, though Makai Lemon is my 3rd-ranked player and favorite wide receiver. After those five players, I expect rookie drafts to vary widely unless a few players end up with more draft capital than expected or land in a perfect spot.

Draft capital and landing spot will significantly change rankings.

• Draft capital and landing spot will change rookie ranking more than normal this year. There won’t be a ton of dynasty players drafted in the first round, but a lot will get drafted in the second and third rounds. There are a lot of positional players in the second and third tiers of my rankings, and I assume they will rise and fall in their tiers based on draft capital and landing spot this year, more than most years. Additionally, free-agent signings will change rookie rankings, especially at quarterback, as I expect many veterans to sign with teams that offer opportunities to compete for starting roles.

The quarterback class will hurt superflex leagues.

• Mendoza and Ty Simpson should be the only quarterbacks drafted in the first round. The rest will get drafted later on teams that seek to develop them into starters or career backups. Thus, it is a terrible year to attempt to rebuild at quarterback in superflex leagues. Drew Allar is my favorite second-tier quarterback, but I expect to be on an island with that thought.

The running backs are mostly future committee backs.

• Jadarian Price is the only other running back besides Love that I expect to get drafted early and be seen as a team’s future lead running back. The others in this class look more like committee backs. Emmett Johnson is the only other running back that I think could become an every-down back for an NFL team. Draft capital and landing spots for running backs could change my mind; however, I am eager to see where the running backs get drafted.

There are solid second-tier receivers, but it may be difficult to hit on the right ones.

• I’m more intrigued by the second and third-tier wide receivers in this class. I believe many of them could become productive WR-2s on teams and on dynasty rosters. There are receivers of all body types and skills, from typical big-sized X receivers to smaller and speedy slot receivers. Many of them can do well depending on which teams select them. While draft capital and landing spot will change things, I currently have many of the bigger, typical X receivers ranked ahead of the small slot guys. I expect to rank Elijah Sarratt and Chris Brazzell higher than most analysts.

Don’t chase tight ends after last year’s class.

• Don’t let last year’s incredible tight end class fool you into drafting tight ends higher this year. It’s not a great tight end class with only one player, Kenyon Sadiq, predicted to get drafted in the first round, and I did not like him nearly as much as his hype warranted. The next tier of tight ends is significantly distanced from him in my rankings. They include many five-star high school prospects with unproductive collegiate careers and a converted quarterback, Eli Stowers, and an untouted recruit, Justin Joly, who were far more productive and rank much higher in my rookie rankings than the five-star recruits.

Even though this is not the best class, it’s still one of the most enjoyable parts of the season. I hope you stick with me as I study the players more and read and listen to countless professional scouts to tweak my rankings. The Combine and the NFL draft loom in the distance as the final datapoints for my rankings process. It will be a blast to keep studying the class until then.

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