5 Must-Have Players Experts Draft (2026 Fantasy Football)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and which to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few players our fantasy football experts love to draft.

2026 Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Must-Have Players

Here are players our experts love to pick in fantasy football drafts.

Malik Willis (QB – MIA)

Is Malik Willis in a tough spot in Miami? Sure. Could this offense outperform expectations in several ways? Absolutely. Greg Dulcich was outstanding on a per-route basis last year. Their receiver room is unproven and full of castoffs, but talented rookies like Chris Bell and Kevin Coleman Jr., along with Willis, could open some eyes in 2026. I know Willis’s starting resume is limited. I get it. What we have seen in limited doses over the last two years has been outstanding, though. Over the last two seasons, Willis has posted a 5.6% big-time throw rate (118 dropbacks, per PFF), 10.9 yards per attempt, and averaged 44.8 rushing yards per game. Last year, among all quarterbacks with at least 110 dropbacks, that big-time throw rate would have ranked eighth-best behind Caleb Williams, and his yards-per-attempt mark would have led the NFL. That rushing yardage mark per game over the last three years would have ranked first, fourth, and third among quarterbacks. Willis’s running prowess should have him flirting with QB1 production this year alone. If he and this offense surpass lowly expectations through the air, Willis would be a strong QB1 with upside in 2026.

Javonte Williams (RB – DAL)

Last year, Javonte Williams was a massive surprise in fantasy football to everyone, including me. I was very bullish on his 2025 outlook, but I was hoping, at best, for a volume-driven RB2 in an explosive offense. Well, Williams crushed even my expectations as the RB11 in fantasy points per game, finishing with a career high 1,201 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns. Among 49 qualifying backs, he ranked 16th in explosive run rate and third in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). His season was also a tale of two halves as he faded some down the back half of the year. In Weeks 1-8, he averaged 18.5 touches, 90.7 total yards, and scored nine total touchdowns as the RB8 in fantasy points per game. In Weeks 9-17, he averaged 17.4 touches, 76.5 total yards, and scored only 4 touchdowns, finishing as the RB25 in fantasy points per game. Much of his fantasy stock’s drop was related to the fall in touchdown production, which could simply be variance. His deeper analytics back up the fact that his play didn’t fall off from a per-touch efficiency standpoint. In Weeks 1-8, he had a 4.8% explosive run rate, an 11% missed-tackle rate, and 3.52 yards after contact per attempt. That yards-after-contact-per-attempt mark is otherworldly. In Weeks 8-17, he posted a 5.5% explosive run rate, a 13% missed-tackle rate, and 2.33 yards after contact per attempt. He improved his marks down the stretch in two of those three categories. If Williams can post production as he did over the first half of the 2025 season for an entire year, he is a locked-in top-10 back with top-5 upside. At his floor, he looks like a low-end RB1 or top 15 fantasy back.

Check out all of DBro’s top fantasy football draft picks to target

Trevor Lawrence (QB – JAX)

It took Trevor Lawrence a while to digest the scheme implemented by first-year Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, but once Lawrence got it down, the results were dazzling.

Over his first 10 games of 2025, Lawrence averaged 215.1 passing yards, 1.1 touchdown passes and 16.7 fantasy points per game. He averaged 6.4 yards per pass attempt over that span, and his passer rating was 79.4.

Over his last seven regular-season games, Lawrence averaged 265.1 passing yards, 2.6 touchdown passes and 26.3 fantasy points per game. He averaged 8.4 yards per pass attempt over those seven games, and his passer rating was 108.6. Lawrence was the fantasy QB1 over that span.

Lawrence also had his best season as a runner, establishing career highs in attempts (82), yards (359) and touchdowns (nine).

It took Lawrence a while to fully arrive, but with Coen’s help, the splendidly long-haired quarterback has finally become a top-10 quarterback. There’s high-end QB1 potential here — as we saw late last season — and yet Lawrence is being drafted as a low-end QB1, according to average draft position (ADP).

Kyle Pitts (TE – ATL)

The Falcons don’t have a lot of firepower at wide receiver beyond Drake London, so Kyle Pitts could very well be Atlanta’s No. 2 target-earner this season.

Pitts tried to dispel his reputation of being a perennial fantasy tease with a strong 2025 performance. The former No. 4 overall draft pick had 88 catches for 928 yards and five touchdowns, finishing as the TE2 in half-PPR fantasy scoring. It was Pitts’ best season since his 1,026-yard rookie campaign in 2021.

The Falcons’ quarterback duo of Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. doesn’t seem appealing, but it’s worth remembering that Mike Gesicki and Jonnu Smith had the best fantasy seasons of their careers with Tagovailoa as their primary quarterback.

If you miss out on Bowers and Loveland, grab Pitts before the sharp drop-off at the tight end position beyond the top eight.

Check out all of Fitz’s top fantasy football draft picks to target

Chase Brown (RB – CIN)

The Bengals RB finished the year on an absolute heater, despite ceding touches/snaps to Samaje Perine. After a slow start in a Joe Burrow-less offense, Chase Brown finished as the RB7 in PPG from Week 7 onward (18.3). Overall, he was fifth in xPPG.

Once Burrow returned to the lineup, Brown’s production spiked, averaging an impressive 20.6 half-PPR points per game and ranking as the RB3 across Weeks 13-17 (averaging a 61% snap share).

Even with a projected snap split with Perine (70-30%) based on preseason Week 1 usage…Brown should still smash versus the Bengals’ third-easiest league schedule.

He rushed for over 1,000 yards and finished 5th among RBs with 69 catches for 437 yards. Through the last two years, Brown has averaged just shy of 1,000 rushing yards and nearly 1,400 yards from scrimmage. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, the former 5th-round draft pick will be looking to finish 2026 on his highest note to date.

So far this offseason, there has been no additional backfield competition besides Perine. Keep in mind that he split with Perine last year and was still smashing.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow loves him.

“He does everything. He’s a complete back,” Burrow said recently of Brown.

Bengals HC Zac Taylor loves him. He’s a talented ball-carrier. The former Illinois standout has improved as a pass blocker and receiver. Brown is the new, more explosive version of Kyren Williams.

List of RBs last season with at least 400 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards: CMC, Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, De’Von Achane, and Chase Brown.

Check out all of Erickson’s top fantasy football draft picks to target