Fantasy Football Rankings: Malik Willis Highlights Freedman's 2026 Favorites

Now that I'm back from paternity leave and have updated my fantasy football rankings, it's time for me to dive into fantasy football ADP, adjust my draft strategy and revisit my official Freedman's favorites for the 2026 fantasy football season.

Here are 12 of the players I like the most for redraft, best ball and Guillotine Leagues™.

To see more players I'm high on, check out our fantasy football ranks, accessible with the FantasyLife+ package (20% discount available with the promo code FREEDMAN).

Quarterbacks I'm Higher On In My Fantasy Football Rankings For 2026

Josh Allen | Bills

You don't need to be an oracle to know that Josh Allen has a good chance of scoring lots of points this year: The dude has been a top-two fantasy QB in every season since 2020.

But I think it's easy still (in the current era of the late-round QB) to underappreciate just how dominant Allen has been. As Dwain McFarland (our Fantasy Life Director of Analytics) notes in his excellent QB tiers breakdown, Allen has taken 62%, 58% and 58% of his fantasy investors to the playoffs in ESPN leagues over the past three years.

That's remarkable stuff, especially considering that he has been without longtime No. 1 WR Stefon Diggs over the past two seasons, and in that stretch, he has actually improved as a passer (8.2 AY/A vs. 7.2 in first six years)

With his current playcaller (OC-turned-HC Joe Brady), Allen has had 12+ TDs rushing in each of the past three campaigns, and last year he was the No. 1 QB with 23.2 points per game.

I typically don't like taking QBs in the early rounds, but if I am going to select one, it's gonna be Allen. He's worth every bit of the premium.

Malik Willis | Dolphins

Generally, rushing production is what matters most for fantasy QBs, and Malik Willis is a runner.

He might not be a good passer, and the Dolphins are widely expected to be one of the league's worst teams: They have the second-longest odds at DraftKings to win the Super Bowl (+35000).

But Willis might be a better passer than expected. In his two years as the No. 2 QB for the Packers, Willis had an elite 12.3 AY/A (albeit on limited playing time).

And Willis' ability as a runner (12-174-3 rushing in three starts with the Packers) might be enough to offset the impact of the probably putrid offense in which he'll operate.

Plus (and just hear me out on this), there's the possibility that the Dolphins might not be as bad as people project: OC Bobby Slowik is a Kyle Shanahan disciple, and it has usually been the playcallers from the trees of Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay who have helped their QBs the most over the past few years with play action and motion.

As I mentioned on a recent episode of Fantasy Football Is Life, Willis is probably my favorite QB to draft this season.

Tyler Shough | Saints

When I went on paternity leave, I was the highest on Tyler Shough among all the Fantasy Life rankers. Now I'm not. I assure you, I will rectify this breakdown of the natural order soon.

I like Shough almost as much as I like Willis.

He doesn't have quite the pocket-passing prowess of Joe Burrow or Jared Goff, but last year (as a second-round rookie), he passed for 256.9 yards per game after the Week 11 bye. Based on the effortlessness with which he throws the ball and the likelihood that he will enjoy the typical improvement most second-year QBs see, Shough has a chance to elevate himself into a tier with the league's best passers.

But on top of that, Shough can also run. At the combine, he ran a 4.63-second 40-yard dash at 6-5, 219 lbs., so he has some legit athleticism, and that manifested itself in surprising rushing production last year: 25.0 yards per game after the Week 11 bye.

Now, let's stack on top of that the fact that the Saints improved Shough's surrounding cast this offseason with the additions of WRs Jordyn Tyson and Bryce Lance, TEs Noah Fant and Oscar Delp and RB Travis Etienne.

As I put it in our NFL Draft grades recap: "Shough is about to fornicate."

Running Backs I'm High On In My 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings

James Cook | Bills

Let's start with the apparent negative: James Cook has only 78 targets in his two full seasons with former OC and new HC Joe Brady as the playcaller, and that relative lack of pass-catching usage theoretically caps his ceiling.

Here's the thing: We know that Cook can catch the ball. In 2023, he had 44-445-4 receiving on 54 targets, and over the past three seasons, he has 7.5 yards per target. If you watch his 2025 highlights, you'll see a number of receiving plays.

QB Josh Allen doesn't have an established No. 1 WR on the team, and now with Brady moving up to HC, it's possible he could choose to feature Cook more in the pass game.

And now let's get to the clear positive: Cook is an awesome player. Last year, he led the league with 1,621 yards rushing in 17 games, and over the past two seasons, he has 3,179 scrimmage yards and 32 all-purpose TDs in 33 games.

Over the past four years, the Bills have been No. 1 in the league in offensive EPA (0.134) and success rate (48.5%, per RBs Don't Matter), and I have them projected for the NFL's best offense once again this season.

If the No. 1 RB on the No. 1 offense is actually a good player, and if I can get him at the turn of Rounds 1-2, I'll be inclined to do it.

D'Andre Swift | Bears

The Bears didn't address RB in the draft, which means it's now time to do the no-pants dance.

Maybe No. 2 RB Kyle Monangai will threaten D'Andre Swift's role in 2026, but Swift was the more efficient player last year (4.9 yards per carry vs. 4.6; 6.2 yards per target vs. 5.5), and he has 1,200+ scrimmage yards, 220+ carries, and 40+ targets in each of the past three seasons.

Swift isn't a full-blown workhorse, but he's coming off a career-best 1,386-yard, 10-TD campaign and is still just 27 years old. Plus, there's a chance that the Bears' offense is still ascending with QB Caleb Williams and HC Ben Johnson.

I like the odds that Swift will outperform his ADP for a fourth straight campaign.

Kenneth Gainwell | Buccaneers

I've become increasingly bullish on Kenneth Gainwell throughout the offseason.

Last year, Bucky Irving and Rachaad White were the top RBs in the Bucs backfields.

If the team had wanted to keep White, it almost certainly could have, since he signed with the Commanders for just $2M on a one-year deal.

Instead, the Bucs signed Gainwell to a two-year, $14M contract with $9.83M guaranteed.

So what might that mean?

The Bucs don't want to use Irving in a full workhorse role.
They badly wanted an upgrade on White

Implication: Gainwell could be the top RB for the Bucs this year.

He had an unremarkable first four NFL seasons as a rotational RB for the Eagles (1,906 yards, 13 TDs), but in 2025 he broke out with the Steelers as a strong No. 2 RB (1,023 yards, 8 TDs on 114 carries, 85 targets).

Now, he has the opportunity to compete for the No. 1 role, and even if he simply remains the No. 2 option, the 27-year-old Gainwell could still enjoy a workload (and thus production) similar to last year's.

Wide Receivers I'm Higher On In My Fantasy Rankings For 2026

Ja'Marr Chase | Bengals

It probably seems unnecessary to highlight Ja'Marr Chase, but I'm nothing if not needlessly loquacious.

Here's why I'm mentioning him: He's my 1.01.

And I know I'm the only Fantasy Life ranker who has him in the top spot, but I think it's warranted. At a minimum, it's arguable.

Dwain McFarland and I talked months ago on an episode of Talk Data to Me about how passing is down, which has especially impacted non-elite WRs, and in my thinking, that makes the best WRs (guys like Chase, Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba) even more valuable.

So I want to take a WR at 1.01, and I think it's more than reasonable for that guy to be Chase: As I noted in my article on the season-long prop market, over the past two seasons he is No. 1 in targets (360), receptions (252), receiving yards (3,120) and receiving TDs (25), and that was without QB Joe Burrow for nine games last year.

Since he entered the league in 2021, Chase is No. 2 in targets (767), receptions (520), receiving yards (6,837) and receiving TDs (54), and he has had 1,200+ yards receiving in four of five NFL campaigns.

If we look at the receiving prop market, Chase has the highest yardage over/under at DraftKings (1,324.5), and he's also No. 1 in odds to score 8+ (-450), 10+ (-155), 12+ (+155), and 15+ (+550) TDs.

The dude is as safe as a pass catcher can get, and at the 1.01, I want security.

Davante Adams | Rams

Davante Adams is cheaper than he has been in years, and it's for good reason: In 2025, he had his lowest yardage total (789) in a decade, and over the past three years (after he turned 30), his efficiency has disappeared (7.0 yards per target).

But Adams is still (to my eye) a good professional receiver, and the Rams relied on him heavily last year where it mattered most, with an NFL-high 27 targets in the end zone and 23 inside the 10-yard line.

My logic is simple, but if I can get a future Hall-of-Famer as my No. 2 WR when he's attached to a top-eight QB and a top-eight playcaller and coming off a season in which he scored a league-leading 14 TDs last season in just 14 games, I'll put that guy in my queue all the time.

Alec Pierce | Colts

I'm higher than the rest of the Fantasy Life rankers on Alec Pierce, and I'm OK with that.

He has been the NFL's most explosive WR over the past two seasons (11.9 yards per target), and last year he popped off with a career-best 47-1,003-6 receiving.

With his strong development, Pierce secured a four-year, $116M contract from the Colts and pushed the team to part ways with WRs Michael Pittman and Adonai Mitchell over the past 12 months.

Now poised to emerge fully as the team's No. 1 receiver (a role he has secretly held in the shadows since 2024), Pierce is likely to see his efficiency decline, but he's also in line for 100+ targets for the first time in his career.

I think his floor is the 824 yards he got in 2024 and the six TDs he got in 2025. His ceiling, though, is 1,200+ yards and 10+ TDs.

Tight Ends I'm High On In My 2026 Fantasy Rankings

Harold Fannin | Browns

Harold Fannin led the Browns last year in targets (107), receptions (72), receiving yards (731) and receiving TDs (6). And he did that as a 21-year-old third-round rookie.

That's the blurb.

Even with the team adding WRs KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston in the draft, Fannin still could be a straight-up league winner in 2026.

Dalton Kincaid | Bills

Dalton Kincaid had just 49 targets in 2025, but he missed five games and was super efficient with a 24% target rate, 11.7 yards per target, and 10.2% TD rate.

With playcaller Joe Brady now serving as HC, Kincaid might see an increase in playing time, which could lead to him functioning as the No. 1 receiver for the Bills in 2026.

And any TE who has a shot to be his team's top pass catcher (especially when he's catching passes from QB Josh Allen) needs to be strongly on the radar.

Dalton Schultz | Texans

I wish I were joking, but … let's say you're in a TE premium league, or you're in a league with a bunch of sickos who draft backup TEs early and you missed out on getting your starter early … then in that case, I think Dalton Schultz is a more-than-livable option.

He's not elite. But he's the embodiment of consistent cromulent, and he's almost always undervalued because drafters chase sexiness more than sufficiency.

Since 2020, just three TEs have 500+ yards receiving in each season.

Two of them are Travis Kelce and George Kittle.

And Schultz is the third.

It's gross to say, but Schultz has an outsized chance of providing production comparable (if not superior) to that of several TEs selected ahead of him.