2026 Fantasy Football Season is Just Around the Corner

With training camps getting underway, the 2026 NFL season is set to kick off on September 9. For fantasy football owners, this means it’s time to begin draft preparations. The key to success remains finding sleepers and rookies who outperform their fantasy football ADP, while avoiding drafting players that end up being fantasy football busts.

According to the latest fantasy football rankings from SportsLine, veterans like Josh Allen, Jahmyr Gibbs, Ja’Marr Chase, and Bijan Robinson are all set to headline the 2026 fantasy football rankings. However, it’s the sleepers and rookies that can make all the difference in a fantasy football draft.

The Importance of Fantasy Football Rankings

Fantasy football rankings are a crucial tool for any serious fantasy football owner. They provide a comprehensive overview of the top players at each position, including their projected performance and potential for breakout seasons. By studying the fantasy football rankings, owners can gain a better understanding of which players to target in their drafts and which to avoid.

One of the most important factors to consider when evaluating fantasy football rankings is the ADP (Average Draft Position). The ADP is a measure of how often a player is selected in fantasy football drafts. Players who are consistently being selected in the early rounds are often considered to be top-tier players, while those who are being selected in the later rounds may be considered sleepers.

In 2025, the fantasy football model at SportsLine accurately predicted that Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin would fall well short of his top-50 ADP. The result was a season after piling up nearly 1,100 receiving yards and a career-high 13 touchdown catches, McLaurin had career lows in receiving yards (582) and receiving touchdowns (3). Injuries were a factor, but his per-game averages were down across the board as well, so anybody who avoided him in fantasy drafts dodged a major headache.

The same model has a proven track record of providing fantasy football tips, identifying sleepers, and calling past fantasy football busts. It’s called past fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. In 2020, it identified A.J. Brown as a sleeper, and in 2021, it nailed Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous season. Additionally, it correctly predicted C.J. Stroud would take a step back in 2024.

Now, the same model has simulated the entire 2026 NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest fantasy football rankings. Along with the rankings, the model has identified plenty of sleepers, breakouts, and busts. One of the 2026 fantasy football busts the model is predicting is New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers. He’s going off the board around pick No. 30, but SportsLine’s model doesn’t even have him as a top-15 receiver. In fact, it has players such as DeVonta Smith, Nico Collins, and Zay Flowers above him.

Nabers isn’t a lock to be ready to start the season after tearing his ACL last season and then undergoing a follow-up procedure in the spring. The Giants are also expected to lean heavily on the run game under offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, making Nabers a risky pick in the second or early third round. Another bust that SportsLine’s fantasy football rankings 2026 have identified is Bills running back James Cook. Cook is going off the board with an ADP around No. 12 overall and is the fifth running back being taken on average. SportsLine’s model, however, ranks him as RB No. 10, behind players such as Derrick Henry and Chase Brown, saying that he should be more of a late-second or even third-round pick.

Cook has stacked two impressive seasons, so it’s understandable why he’s getting first-round consideration in many drafts. He did fumble at a higher rate last season, however, and he’s not an elite target out of the backfield, both factors in why the model is leaning to other high-end backs early.

So, which 2026 fantasy football busts should you be steering clear of, and which high-end WR should you completely fade? The answer lies in the latest fantasy football rankings from SportsLine, which has simulated the entire 2026 NFL season 10,000 times and identified plenty of sleepers, breakouts, and busts.