Whether you play fantasy football for fun, bragging rights, or bundles of your coworkers' or cousins' hard-earned cash, winning the league makes all the difference. But it's hard to do. Typically, there's a one-in-10 or one-in-12 chance of claiming the title, and luck plays a much bigger part in determining outcomes than most would like.
Yet, each and every year, there are a handful of "cheat code" players who make winning a whole lot easier. Last season, Christian McCaffrey, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Trey McBride and Drake Maye fell into that category -- all finishing top two in their respective positions after being undervalued in drafts. Finding these players in advance isn't easy, but with careful research and a little elbow grease, it can be done.
Lucky for you, I've already done the work. These are my 10 favorite targets for the fantasy league winners of 2026. May they find their way to your roster and may your roster find its way to the trophy.
Let's get into it.
NOTE: Average draft position (ADP) is via and all fantasy scoring uses PPR totals.
Waddle was my No. 2 wide receiver value and I (boldly) compared him and quarterback Bo Nix (under head coach Sean Payton) to former Saints combo Michael Thomas and Drew Brees (also under Payton). That Saints duo thrived on quick-hitters, accuracy and efficiency. While different physically from Thomas, Waddle is an excellent fit for Payton's scheme and could unlock Nix's potential in those areas.
This prediction would also require Waddle to unseat Courtland Sutton as the WR1 in Denver, but considering what the Broncos spent to acquire the former Dolphin, that already might be in the current regime's plans. With Sutton working down the field and in the red zone, Waddle could become a PPR stud in a breakout offense. I'm not projecting him to break the single-season receptions record Thomas set (149) in 2019, but roughly 75 percent of Thomas' prime production would equal league-winning numbers in 2026.
As a rookie, playing with three quarterbacks and competing with veteran David Njoku, Fannin finished as the TE6 in fantasy, three points from being the TE4. There's no guarantee that this year's starting QB -- Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders -- will perform better than last year's QB group, but the bar is not high. And while Cleveland drafted two wideouts in the first 40 overall picks, KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston, Njoku hit free agency and Fannin has the inside track to the top target share, with room for the rookies to fill out the unit.
It's worth noting that while new OC Travis Switzer is inexperienced, he spent his prior years coaching in Baltimore, where Mark Andrews was a perennial top-six tight end and the TE1 overall in 2021. Fannin obliterated college tight end records in his junior year at Bowling Green and has that kind of upside as a focal point of Cleveland's offense in 2026.
Brown has scattered pieces of top-tier production throughout his career, posting 1,400-plus receiving yards twice, 11 touchdowns also twice and 106 receptions in 2023, but he has yet to put it all together. I like his chances in New England. In Brown's first couple seasons in Philadelphia, he thrived on a rare fusion of 12.2 air yards per target, a 64 percent catch rate and an average of 5.5 yards after the catch.
Brown will now receive passes from Drake Maye, who led all qualified passers in completions, success rate and passer rating on downfield throws last season, per Next Gen Stats. Brown will be Maye's best weapon in an area where the QB is already elite and New England's best YAC threat off the rip. He has career-year upside as the top dog in the high-flying Patriots offense.
The top fantasy RB value enters his second season with a vastly improved offensive line -- regarded as one of the league's best when healthy -- and new OC Mike McDaniel. Hampton is an excellent fit for McDaniel's scheme, which emphasizes outside runs and explosivity that should make the Los Angeles run game one of the most efficient in football.
While Kimani Vidal had some nice moments in Hampton's absence last year and free-agent signing Keaton Mitchell is fun change-of-pace back, Hampton is going to be the Chargers' bell cow and should comfortably crest 300 touches. Back in 2021 and 2022, undrafted breakout Austin Ekeler was the RB2 and RB1 overall, respectively. Hampton has the same sort of league-winning ceiling.
There's a lot of hesitation around Murray in the fantasy world right now, and I get it. He has yet to be named Minnesota's starter (though he’s the favorite), he's played only one full season in the last five years and his one finish as a top-three fantasy QB was all the way back in 2020. However, there are extenuating circumstances worth working through. Murray has suffered a rash of unrelated injuries, and his weaponry and offensive scheme since DeAndre Hopkins departed Arizona after the 2022 campaign were less than ideal.
Now, he'll be playing in Kevin O'Connell's quarterback-enhancing offense with a stronger supporting cast that features Justin Jefferson. All six players to finish QB1 or QB2 in fantasy the last three seasons logged 3,600-plus passing yards and 450-plus rushing yards. In the elevated Minnesota offense, Murray is one of the few quarterbacks capable of posting those numbers in 2026.
Kraft was averaging 16.2 fantasy points per game through seven games in 2025 before his season ended prematurely to a torn ACL. The only tight end to outstrip that mark last season was Arizona's Trey McBride, who averaged 18.6 per game in one of the greatest seasons in fantasy history. Both Brock Bowers and George Kittle averaged 14.7 fantasy PPG, and Kyle Pitts, the overall TE2, averaged just 12.4 PPG.
Yes, Kraft was on pace for 15 touchdowns, which might be an unrealistically high expectation, but even if you cut his TD production in half, he was on pace to finish as the TE2 last season. He's on track to be fully recovered by Week 1 and will contend to be Jordan Love's top option in Green Bay's offense -- in the mix with Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden. Kraft isn't just my No. 2 TE value, he's a dark horse to be a top-two tight end overall in 2026.
°Õ³ó±ðÌý´Ú²¹³¦³ÙÌý³Ù³ó²¹³ÙÌý±·²¹²ú±ð°ù²õÌý³ó²¹²õÌý²¹±¹´Ç¾±»å±ð»åÌý³Ù³ó±ðÌý±Ê±«±ÊÌý±ô¾±²õ³Ù and could be ready for action in Week 1 is huge news for the third-year receiver coming off a torn ACL. It also makes him an even more enticing prospective league-winner. Nabers' 205 career targets are the most through a player's first 19 career NFL games, second only to new teammate Odell Beckham. As a rookie, Nabers was the WR6 catching passes from Daniel Jones, Drew LockÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýTommy DeVito. With Jaxson Dart under center for Big Blue in 2026, Nabers is an elite PPR fantasy asset. There are concerns of a slow start coming off the injury, which are baked into his draft price (WR15). But, I'm confident he will be a league-winning WR1 down the stretch and in the same conversation as Jaxon Smith-NjigbaÌý²¹²Ô»å Amon-Ra St. Brown this time next year.
It's becoming harder to classify the Bills quarterback as a league winner simply because his otherworldly ability makes that threshold an expectation and his draft price is starting to reflect that. Still, the 2024 MVP and perennial top-two fantasy QB earns the No. 3 spot for 2026. Since 2020, Allen has outscored the QB1 median by more than two fantasy PPG in every season and outstripped that median by an average of 3.35 PPG over those six years. In other words, Allen on average has logged nearly a touchdown advantage over the typical NFL QB1.
Moreover, the addition of DJ Moore could push Allen closer to his fantasy peak from the Stefon Diggs era than his (still elite) output the last couple years. Positional advantages at quarterback and tight end are key to winning leagues. Once again, this key wears No. 17.
Some people will tell you a player has to be a draft value to be a fantasy league-winner. I disagree. When Christian McCaffrey scored the second-most fantasy points in PPR history in 2019, he had been the second overall pick. Fantasy managers still rode the dual-threat back to the championship. Gibbs, typically the first or second pick in 2026 drafts, has a chance to replicate that success this season.
Gibbs topped 360 fantasy points each of the last two seasons despite David Montgomery amassing 403 touches, 2,024 yards and 20 touchdowns over that span. Montgomery's gone and, with all due respect, Isiah Pacheco is not touching those numbers. That gives Gibbs a legitimate shot at 2,000-plus scrimmage yards and 20-plus touchdowns. The last four running backs to hit those marks all finished as the RB1 overall. Expect Gibbs to win Offensive Player of the Year and fantasy MVP in 2026.
Bowers' ability justifies his place at the top of every list. He was the overall TE1 as a rookie in 2024 before finishing as the TE2 in points per game amid injury and far less than ideal offensive circumstances last season.
Entering 2026, the path to 150-plus targets, 110-plus receptions, 1,100-plus yards and position-leading touchdown production has been paved. Whether it's Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza or some combination of the two under center for Las Vegas, Bowers will be the unquestioned top target for the offense. New head coach Klint Kubiak has proven his offensive acumen in recent seasons and should be able to squeeze the absolute maximum out of the All-Pro tight end. Like Josh Allen, Bowers offers the type of positional fantasy advantage that wins weeks and eventually championships.
