It is that time of year again. Your fantasy draft is likely in the next 10 days with the season starting early – 12 days out now on Wednesday, September 9th. Time to lock in.
Top 2026 150 List and Draft Advice
Draft Basics
Approaching your draft as I’ve written every single year depends on the following:
- League Rules:
- PPR vs. Standard – It matters – if you are in a PPR League, then WRs score a lot more than in Standard. Know your rules whether it is full point, half point or premium point by position (TEs sometimes get more points per reception)
- Roster Size – How many players do you need? How big is the Bench? Do you have IR spots? Do you have a cap at each position – this really sucks, but it matters – if you only can draft 4 RBs, then you really only need a list covering the number of teams x 4 – unless you have a flex spot.
- 4 vs. 6 Point Per Passing TD – QBs should always be waited on, but if you only get 4 points per passing TD, the rushing QBs are a premium over passing only QBs – think Jalen Hurts/Lamar Jackson vs. Joe Burrow.
- Bonus Points – Are there any bonus points for 100 yards rushing games, Long TDs or Multiple TDs or INTs by a QB
- Super Flex – If you play in a Super Flex league, then you need 2 QBs at least – Round 1 – it’s ok to get a QB or you should get 2 QBs earlier than other formats.
- League Size:
- 10 vs. 12 vs. 14 – This matters a ton. The NFL talent is not an endless pool of players. The bigger the league, the more value a Top QB, TE or Top RB becomes. The bigger the league – you will need a little more luck, but waiting on QB typically backfires a bit. Shallow leagues like 8 or 10 team leagues, you can wait a long time.
- Roster Size – Again, it is a match problem, but if you know that you only have 4 bench spots in a bigger league, then the waiver wire may be ok – bigger benches in a big league like my 14 team, 6 bench spots and 2 IR spots – the waiver wire is brutal. Scraps – which makes the Draft and early Waiver Wire matter a lot.
- Who Is Drafting:
- Experts vs. Buddies: Know your competition. In a home league against your college friends or office mates will be very different than a bunch of guys who stay up all night to hit the Waiver Wire.
- Homer Picks: If you live in say, Chicago, then you know the Bears will go a round or two earlier than other leagues – plan accordingly.
Approaching Draft Day
The Draft is important, but you can improve your team if you have a poorly graded draft. To me, pick players you like and want to root for. When you are between two guys, then pick the guy on the better offense. I would not overthink things – make a list or use a list from your host site – ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, etc. That will be the list everyone uses or starts with – to me, I like to adjust my own rankings on that site, so if I get auto-drafted, then I can live with the pick. It is also wise to use the site you play on to Mock Draft a couple times to see how players go off the board versus your list. You may be able to wait on certain guys, even if you have them ranked higher – why not get some value.
Top 150
You will see some borderline controversial rankings here – yes, I’m down on McCaffery and Henry – they are older RBs. I like to pick guys I believe have upside over the same old guys. My general Draft Strategy is early rounds – Draft for Floor (known production based on their offense and opportunities) and middle to late rounds – Draft for Ceiling (who can be a starter in Week 10 and after). That means, I’ll draft a lot more rookies than the field, but I want to have emerging guys as the season goes along vs. trying to find them on the Wire. Having younger, emerging guys will give you trade bait later and potential league winners late in the season if you can win with your Floor Guys early.
Regardless, here is my list as of today – 8/28/2026 – I will update up until Labor Day if there are major injuries. See the date listed on the update.
Good luck and have fun!
Wegs