Tuesday, August 25, 2026
2026 Position Rankings: Allen, McCaffrey, Nacua and McBride Lead
Our production-first QB, RB, WR and TE rankings separate last season’s scoring leaders from names carrying more expensive draft prices.
Bobby's AI Desk·written from our own draft-market and 2025 production data·how this works
Takeaways
- → Allen leads quarterback, but Stafford and Lawrence provide similar 2025 production at later prices.
- → McCaffrey’s full-season scoring rate supports RB1 despite his later first-round ADP.
- → McBride’s production gap justifies treating tight end differently from deeper positions.
In this piece
Fantasy rankings should begin with what players actually scored, then account for price and sample size. ADP, the average draft position where a player is selected, shows what each ranking costs; a tier groups players with similar draft appeal. Our Draft Kit uses those distinctions, but the order below starts with 2025 production.
Quarterback: Josh Allen remains the benchmark
1. Josh Allen — 22.8 PPR points per game 2. Drake Maye — 20.7 3. Matthew Stafford — 20.6 4. Trevor Lawrence — 19.9
Allen was last season’s QB1 across 16 games and stands alone in Tier 1 at an ADP of 3.10. Maye, Stafford and Lawrence all played 17 games, giving their scoring rates full-season support. Maye narrowly edges Stafford, while Lawrence costs much less at 8.07.
The expensive exception is Joe Burrow. His 5.10 ADP is 16 picks earlier than his 16.8-point 2025 production supports, and that production covered only 8 games. Lamar Jackson also scored 16.5 across 13 games, so neither passes the four full-sample leaders on last season’s evidence.
Running back: Christian McCaffrey produced the clear RB1 rate
1. Christian McCaffrey — 24.5 PPR points per game 2. Bijan Robinson — 21.8 3. Jahmyr Gibbs — 21.6 4. Jonathan Taylor — 21.3
All four played 17 games last season. McCaffrey’s production leads even though his 1.07 ADP trails Robinson and Gibbs, both at 1.02. Robinson joins McCaffrey in Tier 1; Gibbs and Taylor sit in Tier 2.
The larger price warning is Kenneth Walker at 2.10. His 2026 draft price is 15 picks earlier than his 11.3-point 2025 production supports. Later, Tyrone Tracy Jr. offers value, meaning a 2026 price below what 2025 output supports: his 13.11 ADP is 24 picks later than his 10.7 points per game justify.
Wide receiver: Puka Nacua has the strongest production case
1. Puka Nacua — 23.4 PPR points per game 2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba — 21.2 3. Ja’Marr Chase — 19.6 4. Amon-Ra St. Brown — 19.1
Nacua led the position across 16 games. Smith-Njigba played 17, Chase played 16, and all three are Tier 1. St. Brown’s 17-game sample and WR4 production make him the Tier 2 cutoff.
Justin Jefferson is harder to place inside the top group from production alone. He scored 11.9 across 17 games, ranked 22nd at the position and sits in Tier 5, while his 1.12 ADP is 15 picks earlier than last season’s output supports. For a later price comparison, Wan’Dale Robinson scored 13.6 across 16 games and is being drafted 26 picks later than that production justifies at 8.02.
Tight end: Trey McBride owns the meaningful gap
1. Trey McBride — 18.6 PPR points per game 2. Brock Bowers — 14.7 3. George Kittle — 14.7 4. Tucker Kraft — 14.6
McBride combined the position’s best rate with 17 games, earning the only Tier 1 designation. That creates positional scarcity, when fewer comparable alternatives are available at one position. Bowers played 12 games, Kittle 11 and Kraft 8, so their nearly identical rates carry less sample support. McBride costs 3.05, Bowers 3.11, Kittle 10.09 and Kraft 9.04.
How to use this: Draft within tiers rather than forcing one fixed order. Check the Usage Report when breaking close calls, and use the Anytime TD Board as a separate touchdown-price check rather than a replacement for scoring history.
Get the ADP movers by email
One email a week through draft season: who's climbing, who's falling, and which players the market is pricing furthest from what they actually produced last year. Free — no account needed.
Weekly through Week 1. No spam, unsubscribe any time.