2026 College Fantasy Football Rankings (August Update!)

I am pumped to kick off my nineteenth season playing college fantasy football and thirteenth campaign publishing CFF player rankings. If you are like me, there is no more exciting time than April to get ready for the upcoming College Fantasy Football season. I spend far too many hours on social media searching for player and depth chart updates. I also enjoy seeking highlight posts from practice sessions to see the players creating positive vibes on the field and getting props from onlookers.

This week, I was on vacation from the classroom and jumped into my second College Fantasy Football Best Ball draft, and I want to share early insights into roster building in anticipation of the upcoming season. For your perusal, I have included position breakdowns, CFF Diehard polls, a Best Ball breakdown of my team, and the first CFF player rankings of the season.

2026 College Fantasy Football Rankings

Below are my updated CFF Rankings. Further down the page, you can find a breakdown of how I view each position and the results of a Best Ball draft from earlier in the offseason.

2026 CFF Quarterbacks

In terms of CFF, there is no position deeper than quarterback this year. In early drafts, the majority of CFF coaches are waiting to dip into the position pool. I prefer to build my roster around an anchor QB: Draft a top-5 signal caller in rounds 2 or 3, then wait approximately 10 rounds before acquiring a second one. My strategy worked perfectly in the draft you’ll see later down the page, taking Arch Manning (Texas) at the end of round 2, acquiring Josh Hoover and Bryce Underwood in rounds 10 and 11.

CFF Diehards on Fire!

Among transfer quarterbacks, knowing who is the most appealing fantasy starter in 2026 can give CFF coaches an edge in draft preparation and decisions.

• Sam Leavitt, LSU: 7%
• Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State: 46%
• Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech: 30%
• Byrum Brown, Auburn: 17%

Perfect back corner of the end zone pass by Drew Mestemaker to extend the North Texas lead!@MeanGreenFB

pic.twitter.com/W1VeubiW3d

— College Football Zone (@CollegeFBonX) September 20, 2025

Scholar’s Vote: If all four transfer QBs are available, I am giddy about Byron Brown’s high ceiling and potential to succeed in 2026.

“Brendan Sorsby for me. Nice weapons, nice runner, and nice draft cost.” @aceholesrule

“Loving Sorsby.” @CFFLists

“I like Brown with the rushing upside in CFF.” @VinnyMontana2

“Drew Mestemaker for sure. Follows his coach to Oklahoma State, where he will face Big 12 defenses. If he puts up 85% of the numbers from last season, he will be a top 10 CFF QB!” @__NinoBrown__

“I should probably say Brendan Sorsby or Byrum Brown, but I’m going to stay loyal and go with my boy Mestemaker. The offense shouldn’t slow down much, and he’s loaded with talent in the WR room. While the Big 12 is a step up, let’s just say they aren’t known for stifling defense (6-point pass TD).” @eliotmays

“I’ll echo @eliotmays and take Mesty. If that offense stays the same, it will rip through the Big 12. I do think the Big 12 is actually a good conference, but the defenses are suspect for sure…excited to see how it will play out.” @CambodianMilk

2026 CFF Running Backs

Similar to the quarterback position, the running backs in college fantasy football are deep this year. I am very comfortable with the top 36 runners and will be seeking to roster four at the end of every draft. In our best ball draft, after drafting a WR and QB, I pounded the position by taking four ball carriers in a row—all four rank among my top 36, and three (Aeneas Williams, Jordon Davison, and Dylan Riley) are ranked between 10-20. I like how the backfield looks, considering I selected my top WR (Smith) and QB (Manning) to kick off the draft. By the end of round five in every draft, I would like to have at least three runners on my roster.

Boise State RB Dylan Riley with 5 TDs tonight

Deja Vu 👀
pic.twitter.com/OxmDl9y2fG

— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) September 21, 2025

CFF Diehards on Fire!

Among college fantasy football running backs on G6 programs, who is likely to score the most fantasy points in 2026?

• Dylan Riley, Boise State: 19%
• Jamauri McClurse, Tulane: 6%
• Lucky Sutton, San Diego State: 28%
• Jahiem White, North Texas: 47%

Scholar’s Vote: I have been a Jahiem White truther since his freshman year and drafted him often last season at West Virginia. I am not getting off the train now and will select him as often as possible in 2025.

“The safe pick is Lucky Sutton, given the defined role. Yet, there is potentially higher upside with White.” @VolumePigs

“Let’s Go…Jahiem White!” @brachta

“We’ve got all, but McClure ranked between 16 and 28, with Dylan Riley the highest. Can’t see him or Lucky Sutton not at least matching last season’s 1,000-plus rushing yards and 10-plus touchdowns.” @CFFLists

2026 CFF Wide Receivers

Once I landed WR Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) on my roster, I decided to embrace the anchor-WR strategy—bypassing the position and trying to find value later in the draft. In my opinion, the position is very volatile, and there is significant risk beyond the top 24 players at the position. Therefore, I waited until round 7 to acquire Braylon Staley (Tennessee) and in round 11, drafted Marcel Williams (Akron). I am not a fan of the anchor WR build, but I chose to pursue it and am sharing it with readers for evaluation.

CFF Diehards on Fire!

At wide receiver, there are many interesting mid-tier options available after round 4. Who is your preferred target among the quartet below?

• Andrew Marsh, Michigan: 9%
• Charlie Becker, Indiana: 23%
• Dakorien Moore, Oregon: 41%
• Ryan Coleman-Williams, Alabama: 27%

Charlie Becker with a nice grab to put Indiana up 10-0! pic.twitter.com/sfF5yGyHe1

— College Football Zone (@CollegeFBonX) January 1, 2026

Scholar’s Vote: Watching many Indiana games last year, I noticed how well Charlie Becker played behind Omar Cooper and Elijah Sarratt. I am in on Becker, and he is my highest-ranked receiver among the players in the poll.

“From a talent perspective, I would consider them all top tier. Strictly from a fantasy perspective, I have to lean either Andrew Marsh or Ryan Coleman-Williams. I’m going to go with Williams, however, as I’m buying into a bounce-back year.” @eliotmays

“This is a brutal decision, but I’m pretty high on Dakorian Moore.” @VinnyMontana2

“Dakorien Moore’s talent speaks for itself, and when you get Evan Stewart back into the mix at Oregon, Moore will be seeing a ton of 1-vs-1 coverage! The sky is the limit.” @__NinoBrown__

“Too many mouths to feed at Oregon. I’ll stick with Ryan-Coleman Williams, who hopefully turns it around this year.” @StevenFantasyF

“I prefer Jordan Dwyer and Anthony Evens in the mid-tier range.” @brachta

2026 CFF Tight Ends

Examining the tight end position, I have concluded that I would like to acquire a top 5 player in every draft. Over the past six seasons, CFF Best Ball teams in which I won the league rostered an elite tight end. Last year, Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt) and Tanner Kozoil (Houston) led my winning teams, and two seasons ago, Harold Fannin (Bowling Green) and Oronde Gadsden II (Syracuse) helped clubs reach the top of the standings.

In 2026, I will be aggressive at the position and watch the board very closely. In this draft, the first tight end came off the board in round 7, and I could not bypass the value in rounds 8 and 9. I decided to double-tap and grab DJ Vonnahme (Iowa) and Jamari Johnson (Oregon), both of whom are ranked in my top three. Of course, the strategy weakened my receiver corps, but I expect to lead the league in tight end production, which will compensate for my underwhelming wideouts.

2026 Best Ball Draft

Running in the CFF Best Ball Streets

Early in the draft season, I like to experiment to learn the player pool and values, and I took a path less traveled in this one. I selected first overall in my second CFF Best Ball Draft, and wanted to share my first 12 picks to illustrate how early selections can shape your roster and influence your strategy.

I am unlikely to begin my build with a WR-QB pairing; I would prefer a WR-RB or RB-QB build moving forward. Also, double-tapping TE seems a little aggressive and would only select one top-5 in the future. I have included my first 12 picks, and the draft board of the first 12 rounds for readers to examine before jumping into a league this year…Hope to see everyone in the Best Ball Streets this summer.

1.1 WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State

2.12 QB Arch Manning, Texas

3.1 RB Aeneas Williams, Notre Dame

4.12 RB Jordon Davison, Oregon

5.1 RB Dylan Riley, Boise State

6.12 RB Greg Burrell, Texas State

7.1 WR Braylon Staley, Tennessee

8.12 TE DJ Vonnahme, Iowa

9.1 TE Jamari Johnson, Oregon

10.12 QB Josh Hoover, Indiana

11.1 QB Bryce Underwood, Michigan

12.12 RB Cam Edwards, Michigan State