Fantasy football is a marathon, not a sprint. We know that, but like any race, getting off to a good start is valuable. There have been a lot of moving pieces this offseason and an impactful draft to consider: as you look to begin your prep process for the 2026 season, being aware of where the Flex players stack up with one another is nothing short of critical.
PPR Fantasy Football Flex Rankings
Every league treats the QB position differently. We have ranking and tier articles to walk you through that, but the vast majority of your roster is built up by way of the flex positions, and if you can nail your ordering of them, you’ve won the battle of the offseason.
Looking for position-specific fantasy rankings? You can jump to PFN’s updated PPR | QB | RB | WR | TE rankings here.
If you’d like to put these rankings and thoughts into practice, there’s no better way to take the temperature of the room than via our FREE Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator.
1) Bijan Robinson, RB | ATL
2) Jahmyr Gibbs, RB | DET
3) Ja’Marr Chase, WR | CIN
4) Puka Nacua, WR | LAR
5) Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR | SEA
6) Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR | DET
7) James Cook III, RB | BUF
8) Ashton Jeanty, RB | LV
9) Christian McCaffrey, RB | SF
10) CeeDee Lamb, WR | DAL
11) Nico Collins, WR | HOU
12) De’Von Achane, RB | MIA
13) Drake London, WR | ATL
14) A.J. Brown, WR | NE
15) Jonathan Taylor, RB | IND
16) Trey McBride, TE | ARI
17) Justin Jefferson, WR | MIN
18) Saquon Barkley, RB | PHI
19) Chase Brown, RB | CIN
20) Chris Olave, WR | NO
21) George Pickens, WR | DAL
Over the past five seasons, only four receivers have averaged 16+ PPR PPG for a season before turning 25 and was not a first round pick.
- Puka Nacua, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Nico Collins, and George Pickens
In his first season with the ‘Boys, Pickens was able to form enough chemsitry with Dak Prescott to raise real questions as to who the WR1 in this offense truly is.
In the 13 healthy CeeDee Lamb games last season, Pickens topped his point total six times. That’s not bad for an introduction to the city and the trends are all working in his favor.
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We know that this 6’3″athlete is an asset down the field, but his aDOT was actually a career low in 2025 with Lamb’s spiking. That may lower the ceiling a touch on a week-to-week basis, but we know that shorter targets are more reliable and we saw that play out (Pickens finished last season with 34 more catches on 34 more targets than he did his last year in Pittsburgh).
This skill set has the potential to return Round 1 value when this season is all said and done.
22) Jaylen Waddle, WR | DEN
23) Brock Bowers, TE | LV
24) Ladd McConkey, WR | LAC
25) Jeremiyah Love, RB | ARI
26) Tee Higgins, WR | CIN
27) Derrick Henry, RB | BAL
28) DeVonta Smith, WR | PHI
In removing AJ Brown from the mix, the path is clear for Smith to spread his wings. He has 15 career games in which he earned double-digit targets, and he’s put 20.9 PPR points on the board in those contests. Only two receivers averaged 20 PPG in 2025: there is a clear path to a top-5 season.
The opportunity and pedigree are clear. The risk here is the unknown. In his professional career, Smith has averaged 4.4 end zone targets per game that have traveled less than 15 yards in the air. That’s a complicated way to say that we aren’t 100% sure that he’ll earn those highly valuable looks.
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We also don’t know that he can’t, and that’s something that has to be considered. The top-10 WRs last season averaged 8.4 such looks in 2025: if Smith assumes that role seamlessly, we could be looking at the most common player on title teams.
29) Colston Loveland, TE | CHI
30) Javonte Williams, RB | DAL
31) Malik Nabers, WR | NYG
32) Omarion Hampton, RB | LAC
33) Kenneth Walker III, RB | KC
34) Tetairoa McMillan, WR | CAR
35) Luther Burden III, WR | CHI
36) D’Andre Swift, RB | CHI
It seems that everyone wants exposure to this Bears offense, but the drumbeat isn’t nearly as loud for Swift as it is for the key cogs of this passing game.
That’s opened up a significant buying opportunity with this ranking being a full round of his ADP. Last season, Chicago’s RB1 ranked 7th among qualified RBs in PPR points relative to expectations. For reference, he was slotted just behind Bijan Robinson/Derrick Henry and just ahead of Josh Jacobs/Chase Brown in that metric.
Much like Pickens, I think we are looking at a new norm, not a one-year outlier with his current employer. Look for Swift to build on a career year in terms of rush yards and rush TD as he gives balance to this Ben Johnson scheme. At cost, he’s the Bear I’m drafting every time, and it’s not close.
37) Rashee Rice, WR | KC
38) Terry McLaurin, WR | WAS
39) Travis Etienne Jr., RB | NO
40) Garrett Wilson, WR | NYJ
41) Breece Hall, RB | NYJ
42) Zay Flowers, WR | BAL
43) Jameson Williams, WR | DET
44) Emeka Egbuka, WR | TB
45) Tucker Kraft, TE | GB
46) Kyren Williams, RB | LAR
47) Jakobi Meyers, WR | JAX
48) Josh Jacobs, RB | GB
49) Christian Watson, WR | GB
50) Tyler Warren, TE | IND
51) Michael Wilson, WR | ARI
52) Brian Thomas Jr., WR | JAX
53) Bucky Irving, RB | TB
54) TreVeyon Henderson, RB | NE
55) David Montgomery, RB | HOU
56) Harold Fannin Jr., TE | CLE
57) Rome Odunze, WR | CHI
58) Jordyn Tyson, WR | NO
59) Chuba Hubbard, RB | CAR
60) Marvin Harrison Jr., WR | ARI
61) Davante Adams, WR | LAR
62) Josh Downs, WR | IND
63) Sam LaPorta, TE | DET
64) Cam Skattebo, RB | NYG
65) Parker Washington, WR | JAX
66) George Kittle, TE | SF
67) RJ Harvey, RB | DEN
68) Carnell Tate, WR | TEN
69) Jaylen Warren, RB | PIT
70) Courtland Sutton, WR | DEN
71) Mike Evans, WR | SF
72) DJ Moore, WR | BUF
73) Jadarian Price, RB | SEA
74) Jordan Mason, RB | MIN
75) DK Metcalf, WR | PIT
76) Kenny Gainwell, RB | TB
77) Alec Pierce, WR | IND
78) Isaiah Likely, TE | NYG
He’s great. He’s now in a spot where the starting TE gig is his, and I have feelings about it.
79) Kyle Pitts Sr., TE | ATL
80) Matthew Golden, WR | GB
81) Quinshon Judkins, RB | CLE
82) Jayden Reed, WR | GB
83) Jauan Jennings, WR | MIN
84) Khalil Shakir, WR | BUF
85) Wan’Dale Robinson, WR | TEN
86) Bhayshul Tuten, RB | JAX
87) Jake Ferguson, TE | DAL
88) Rhamondre Stevenson, RB | NE
89) Tony Pollard, RB | TEN
90) Makai Lemon, WR | PHI
91) Mark Andrews, TE | BAL
92) KC Concepcion, WR | CLE
93) Zach Charbonnet, RB | SEA
94) Romeo Doubs, WR | NE
95) Michael Pittman Jr., WR | PIT
96) Oronde Gadsden II, TE | LAC
97) Jordan Addison, WR | MIN
98) Rico Dowdle, RB | PIT
99) Brandon Aiyuk, WR | TBD
My colleague Jason Katz has strong takes on this situation, and I don’t think he’s speaking out of turn. We know this is a talented player (28 years old with a pair of 1,000-yard seasons on his NFL resume), and that’s why he’s hanging in these ranks as we sit here today, but this is certainly a fluid spot that you need to be willing to eb-and-flow with as the summer progresses.
100) Blake Corum, RB | LAR
