2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Analysis for players ranked 25-36 in Half-PPR
This is Part III and the final column for my fantasy football top-36 rankings. You can read 1-12 and 13-24 to get you caught up to what I view as a pretty clear tier down from the second round. All of these players in the third round are very good in real football terms but might not have the true elite talent of the top-24 players or are in environments that put a relative cap to their total ceiling. Then there's the complete boom-bust nature of players like Rashee Rice , Josh Jacobs and players switching teams. Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season Picks 1-12 Picks 13-24 Picks 25-36 Devonta Smith , WR11, Eagles With A.J. Brown gone, Smith is the clear-cut WR1 for the first time since he broke as a rookie in 2021. In five games without AJB since then, Smith is the WR3 in yards per game (89) on WR10 targets (9.0). It's an extremely small sample and the Eagles have Makai Lemon now plus their red zone rush rate, but Smith could put up top-10 receiving yards if OC Sean Mannion proves to be an upgrade over last year's static play-caller. Smith was just at 64 YPG and 7.0 targets in games with AJB over that same sample. This could be a 10-20 receiving yards per game trade for Smith, who is firmly in the prime of his career without an injury history. While not quite as physically imposing as the others in the top-10 conversation, Smith checks every box and is capable of moving all across the formation. He'll probably play more outside this year, which could lead to a higher aDOT. I'd welcome that in fantasy, particularly in best ball. Another framing for Smith's 2026 fantasy value is to see where Brown ranked as Hurts' WR1 over the years, even if these are closer to upside comps than baseline comps. Brown was PPR's WR14 last year, WR16 in 2024, WR8 in 2023, and WR9 in 2022. It paints the picture of a low-end WR1 upside case and a projectable WR2 baseline in both full and half-PPR. Tee Higgins , WR12, Bengals Higgins has played 39 games with Joe Burrow healthy since 2022. He averaged 14.9 PPR points, equating to WR14 per-game production on WR15 usage. Even though he's a vertical ball winner receiver, Higgins is actually leading in success rate on his targets since 2022 when Burrow is healthy. That's incredible! Right now, Burrow is healthy, and I'd even add that the OL is no longer awful in Cincinnati . Hopefully that means more games for the MVP candidate. The 6'4" X-receiver has also played six games without Ja'Marr Chase since 2022 and averaged 18.1 PPR points in them. That's WR4 per-game since 2022. The contingent upside in the event Chase misses time is obvious, but do not discount it. We'd draft Higgins in Round 1 if he didn't have Chase while Burrow is healthy. The Bengals offense likely isn't going to change much in 2026 either. It's the same coaching staff with the same defensive question markets. Higgins is a high-floor option in Round 3, particularly in full-PPR. He's a simple-brain target (complimentary). Javonte Williams , RB14, Cowboys Williams looked a little healthier on tape last season, even if he's maxed out athletically compared to others in the top-three rounds of fantasy drafts. What he's good at is what coaches love (vision, power, protection), and the Cowboys have some great coaches on offense. Javonte looks like a saint next to Jaydon Blue and Malik Davis , so his playing time feels quite safe after signing a three-year, $24 million contract with $16M guaranteed. As the clear starter last year, Williams was the RB13 on RB6 usage using half-PPR scoring. That meant an 18th overall finish in total fantasy points over replacement. His efficiency was fine in the lens of EPA per carry (RB3 among backs with 10+ carries per game) and goal-line success rate (RB1 overall). He was just horrific as a receiver, averaging 2.7 yards per target with a 33% success rate. All of that should even out as an upside RB2 with a volume-based floor. The Cowboys were second in neutral p [... truncated ...]
