2026 Playoff Fantasy Football Primer

The 2025 fantasy football season has come to an end. Trophies have changed hands, payouts have been made, trash has been talked.

And for those of us with fantasy football withdrawals, the next season seems so very far away.

Luckily there is a cure.

Playoff fantasy football features all of the things we all love about fantasy…draft day, stat watching on game day, the competition…the payouts.

Yes, playoff fantasy football is back, and it is glorious.

For those who have never taken part in playoff fantasy football, here’s what you need to know—

1. Playoff fantasy football leagues at DataForce are draft-only. Like season-long draft-only leagues, there are no waiver wire pickups and no head-to-head matchups. The winner is determined by who accumulates the most total points from the start of the Wildcard Round to the conclusion of the Super Bowl.
2. Successful owners must not only be good at ranking players based on talent and opportunity but will need to determine just how many games they expect each team to play. Players from teams that are likely to be “one and done” are less valuable than those that are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Studying the Super Bowl odds of each of the teams, as well as having an idea of how to value the two teams that received first-round byes for their regular season excellence (but means their players earn one less week of potential points) are keys for building a contending roster.
3. Overall player rankings traditionally look different for playoff leagues than for season-long leagues. This is due to not only the draft-only nature of the leagues, but because of the settings as well. Leagues consist of six owners with rosters being made up of two players from each position, except for wide receiver, which drafts four. Understanding how to value players from each position is critical.

I have broken down how owners should approach each position on draft day as well as created rankings for every draft-worthy player. Remember, the key to winning playoff fantasy football leagues is rostering players from teams that play multiple games. Players I have ranked at the top are there not only due to talent and opportunity but also based on their playing for teams I expect to survive deep into the post-season. I suggest you use your judgment to divide the rankings into drafting “tiers”—clusters of players at each position that you consider roughly equivalent.

Quarterback

In no other format are quarterbacks as valuable as they are in playoff leagues. They are the most consistent performers and if you can land a pair of quarterbacks that play three to four games each, you will be tough to beat. Because of this, expect the signal callers from the favored teams to be gone quickly.

The fact that there is such a large number of balanced attacks puts a premium on the quarterbacks that put up gaudy numbers such as Matthew Stafford—as long as Stafford and other top options play multiple games.

Keep in mind that there will be two starting quarterbacks (along with kickers and defenses) that will go undrafted. If your final tier is large, you can hold off on taking that second QB if you do not see a significant difference between those in the 10^th-12^th range.

Rank	Name	Team
1	Matthew Stafford	LAR
2	Drake Maye	NE
3	Jalen Hurts	PHI
4	Bo Nix	DEN
5	Trevor Lawrence	JAC
6	Josh Allen	BUF
7	Brock Purdy	SF
8	Sam Darnold	SEA
9	Caleb Williams	CHI
10	Jordan Love	GB
11	Justin Herbert	LAC
12	C.J. Stroud	HOU
13	Aaron Rodgers	PIT
14	Bryce Young	CAR

Running Back

Historically, I have taken a flexible approach to the running back position. I typically wanted to be one of the first to take a back or one of the last. This strategy was based on the fact that so many teams employed a running back by committee approach that there will always be solid receiving or goal line backs that go undrafted, meaning that if you waited until the final rounds, there would still be strong options, OR you could secure one of the few three-down backs early and enjoy that advantage.

This year, however, it is time to adjust. The field is full of teams that feature a clear, three-down, lead back, on offenses that want to feature the run. This means that rostering a running back from a team that plays multiple games is likely to be one of the keys to winning your league. Don’t be afraid to target both of your running backs within the opening rounds.

Rank	Name	Team
1	Christian McCaffrey	SF
2	Saquon Barkley	PHI
3	Kyren Williams	LAR
4	RJ Harvey	DEN
5	Travis Etienne Jr.	JAC
6	TreVeyon Henderson	NE
7	James Cook III	BUF
8	Kenneth Walker III	SEA
9	Josh Jacobs	GB
10	D’Andre Swift	CHI
11	Blake Corum	LAR
12	Rhamondre Stevenson	NE
13	Omarion Hampton	LAC
14	Woody Marks	HOU
15	Zach Charbonnet	SEA
16	Jaylen Warren	PIT
17	Kenneth Gainwell	PIT
18	Kyle Monangai	CHI

Wide Receiver

Because every team features several receivers that are likely to accumulate stats, at first glance it seems as though one would be wise to wait until several rounds have passed before targeting receivers. However, owners that wait to select their wide outs neglect one important detail—you need to roster four wide receivers (every other position requires two). Owners should select their receivers at various spots throughout the draft, aiming to assemble a collection made up of high-volume pass catchers from teams that are favored to win their opening game. Securing 2-3 receivers with clear roles that play multiple games would go a long way in helping secure a championship.

There are two receivers, Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, whose potential ceilings are so great that they need to be considered as early as the first round, alongside the top quarterback options. Multiple games of production from either receiver could provide their managers with a significant advantage over the rest of the league.

Rank	Name	Team
1	Puka Nacua	LAR
2	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	SEA
3	Davante Adams	LAR
4	A.J. Brown	PHI
5	Nico Collins	HOU
6	DeVonta Smith	PHI
7	Stefon Diggs	NE
8	Jakobi Meyers	JAC
9	Courtland Sutton	DEN
10	Khalil Shakir	BUF
11	Jauan Jennings	SF
12	Christian Watson	GB
13	Parker Washington	JAC
14	Ricky Pearsall	SF
15	DJ Moore	CHI
16	Ladd McConkey	LAC
17	Keenan Allen	LAC
18	Luther Burden III	CHI
19	Brian Thomas Jr.	JAC
20	DK Metcalf	PIT
21	Troy Franklin	DEN
22	Kayshon Boutte	NE
23	Quentin Johnston	LAC
24	Rashid Shaheed	SEA
25	Cooper Kupp	SEA
26	Jayden Reed	GB
27	Jayden Higgins	HOU
28	Rome Odunze	CHI
29	Brandin Cooks	BUF
30	Romeo Doubs	GB
31	Tetairoa McMillan	CAR
32	Kyle Williams	NE
33	Pat Bryant	DEN
34	DeMario Douglas	NE
35	Joshua Palmer	BUF

Tight End

We all know how maddening tight ends can be in traditional leagues with their inconsistency and overall lack of depth at the position. The collection of tight ends on playoff teams largely mirrors that description. There are several options that could provide an advantage at the position, such as George Kittle, Dallas Goedert, and Hunter Henry. Their ceilings are not so great as to warrant reaching too early for any member of that trio.

If you don’t pay up for someone from the top two tiers, be sure to target at least one tight end from a team you expect to play multiple games, even if he doesn’t play a key role in his team’s offense. A starting tight end that is able to play 2-3 games has a chance of catching a short touchdown in at least one contest, giving you an advantage over teams whose tight ends went one and done without reaching the end zone.

Rank	Name	Team
1	George Kittle	SF
2	Dallas Goedert	PHI
3	Hunter Henry	NE
4	Dalton Kincaid	BUF
5	Colston Loveland	CHI
6	Brenton Strange	JAC
7	Tyler Higbee	LAR
8	Dalton Schultz	HOU
9	AJ Barner	SEA
10	Evan Engram	DEN
11	Oronde Gadsden II	LAC
12	Dawson Knox	BUF
13	Terrance Ferguson	LAR
14	Pat Freiermuth	PIT
15	Luke Musgrave	GB
16	Colby Parkinson	LAR

Defense/Kicker

The positions that are typically afterthoughts during season-long drafts take on added importance for playoff leagues. While you obviously don’t want to draft your kicker or defense in the opening rounds, don’t be afraid to grab them from a Super Bowl favorite before you take your second tight end or third wide receiver. All points count, regardless of where they come from, and three games of strong production from your kicker or defense could be the difference between a championship and a second-place finish. I tend to view kickers and D/ST collectively because the unpredictability of kicker/defense scoring makes identifying teams poised to play multiple games more valuable than trying to predict which kickers will get more field goal opportunities or which defenses will score more points in a particular game. My goal is to secure a pair of kickers and defenses that are favored to play more than one game and hope for at least one multiple field goal/turnover game.

Like quarterback, there will be a pair of kickers and defenses that will go undrafted. Keep that in mind as you map out your draft strategy.

Rank	Name
1	Denver Broncos
2	Pittsburgh Steelers
3	New England Patriots
4	Los Angeles Rams
5	Philadelphia Eagles
6	Jacksonville Jaguars
7	Houston Texans
8	Buffalo Bills
9	San Francisco 49ers
10	Seattle Seahawks
11	Green Bay Packers
12	Los Angeles Chargers
13	Chicago Bears
14	Carolina Panthers

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