2026 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - First 12 Picks: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, De'Von Achane, Trey McBride and More
Morgan puts together a first-round fantasy football mock draft for 2026.
The 2025 fantasy football season just ended, but it's never too early to start looking ahead to 2026. In this article, I will put together my top picks for next season.
I am looking at things from a PPR perspective. I will go over my first 12 picks.
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1. Puka Nacua
I have Nacua as my top fantasy football pick for 2025.
He ended 2025 averaging the second-most fantasy points per game (among flex players, which are numbers I will use the rest of this story). Nacua really only posted one fantasy dud all season.
The outlook for Nacua will be predicated on whether Matthew Stafford sticks in LA another season. If he doesn't, the Rams are going to need another good quarterback to help Nacua be among the fantasy leaders again. Right now, I expect one of those two things to happen.
Nacua just feels like the safest pick at No. 1, and I'm going to roll with him right now.
Robinson gets my No. 2 draft slot for 2026 right now.
He finished third in fantasy PPR points per game in 2025. Robinson figures to be a huge part of the Falcons' offense again in 2026, and maybe even take on more.
His fantasy outlook will be altered by who the Falcons have at quarterback going into next year. An upgrade from Michael Penix could help Robinson overtake Nacua for the top spot eventually.
3. Jahmyr Gibbs
Gibbs gets my No. 3 spot for 2026. He finished fourth in fantasy points per game in 2025.
He was still a major part of the Lions' offense this year, despite the unit taking a step back from past years. I see Gibbs' role growing as they adjust things and try to get back into the playoffs in 2026.
As a PPR asset, Gibbs is one of the top assets in the game. I don't see that changing with anything that happens during the offseason.
Chase gets my No. 4 draft slot. He finished eighth this season on a per-game basis.
Chase wasn't the top-end fantasy talent many expected him to be, but the injury to Joe Burrow really hurt his cause. Ideally, Burrow is back and stays healthy for 2026, or the Bengals replace Burrow with another high-level quarterback.
Regardless, I see Chase being a big-time fantasy wideout again in 2026, and being worth a top-five pick again. We'll see if the offseason changes that.
Smith-Njigba was one of the biggest fantasy surprises in 2025. He finished as the No. 6 fantasy finisher on a per-game basis.
I see him starring again in 2026, even as defenses look to take him away. I think the Seahawks will keep enough talent around him to let JSN shine every week.
The only thing I'd really be worried about is Sam Darnold regressing in his second year in Seattle, but even then, I still believe JSN can be a high-end fantasy finisher.
McCaffrey was the No. 1 fantasy finisher in 2025. He wasn't super efficient on the ground, but starred as a pass catcher to end up as the top flex guy.
I think San Fran will add more offensive weapons in the offseason, so that will take a little work away from CMC. He's still going to be the workhorse back if he can stay healthy.
After a fully healthy 2025 season, fantasy owners should be more willing to spend a first-round pick on McCaffrey going into 2026.
Taylor gets my No. 7 draft slot after finishing fifth on a per-game basis among flex PPR options. He could have been even higher if not for the injury to Daniel Jones.
The Colts' quarterback situation is what will determine Taylor's fantasy outlook for 2026. If he can get good play alongside him, like he had with Jones most of this season, Taylor could push for the top overall spot.
There's a chance Taylor ends up moving up or down my list as the offseason moves along, but he should be a late first-round pick, or early second-round pick at worst.
St. Brown also took a slight step back this season, but he still was a top-10 PPR flex option.
There's really no reason to expect anything different in 2026, so I'm comfortable placing ARSB in my top-10 draft picks again. The only thing that could take him out is an injury to himself, or maybe a quarterback change in Detroit, which I don't expect.
St. Brown is almost underrated at this point, but he's a great value pick late in the first round. If he's healthy all season, he's got a great chance of being a top-10 fantasy asset - his fantasy floor is still extremely high too.
Achane is my No. 9 draft pick going into 2026. He was the No. 7 PPR finisher on a per-game basis this year.
It's really pretty amazing how well Achane did, considering the Dolphins lost Tyreek Hill to injury early and had inconsistent play from Tua Tagovailoa before he was eventually benched.
If the Dolphins can lock in a better quarterback and get more offensive talent around Achane, the running back could push for the top overall PPR spot in 2026.
10. CeeDee Lamb
Lamb dealt with an injury in 2025, but was pretty good when he was active and on the field.
Yes, it was a disappointing fantasy season for those that took Lamb, but I have faith in him bouncing back in 2026. The Cowboys' offense will still run through him, and the emergence of George Pickens should open more up for Lamb.
Lamb might end up being a value pick, as I expect his average draft position to be lower than 10th. I think he's a good first-round pick, and is capable of even more.
11. Trey McBride
McBride is the first and only tight end who appears in my top-12 draft list for 2026. He was the No. 11 PPR finisher on a per-game basis in 2025.
It's always a risk taking a tight end this early, but his situation feels safer than the one we had with Brock Bowers to kick off the 2025 season. Arizona does still need to lock in a quarterback, so that could make or break McBride's fantasy outlook, and determine just how many fantasy owners would be willing to spend a top-end pick on him.
Bowers should go into the 2026 season with a great chance at being the top Arizona pass catcher again, even with Marvin Harrison and Michael Wilson around. As long as he's in the conversation for being the team's top pass catcher, I'm fine spending this early of a draft pick on him.
12. Malik Nabers
Nabers' 2025 season was cut short due to injury. If there was a bright side to that, it's that the injury occurred very early in the season, giving Nabers ample time to recover and be ready for the 2026 season.
New York found its franchise quarterback in Jaxson Dart, so Nabers' outlook already looks better next season than it did going into 2025. The only thing holding Nabers back will be the injury concern.
A lot of NFL players have come back from his injury and succeeded, and I believe Nabers will be the next to do it. He will be a bit risky to draft this early, but I believe the payoff will be big, and that he will outperform this draft slot even.
