Fantasy Football Playoffs Challenge: Position by position rankings for your postseason drafts
It's never too early to start thinking about your 2026 Fantasy drafts
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3 min read
The NFL playoffs are here, and I love doing playoff challenge leagues. Why stop setting Fantasy lineups if we don't have to just yet?
Now, there are many different forms of playoff challenge leagues, so knowing your rules are important. There are total points leagues throughout the postseason, leagues where you can only use someone once in each round and Guillotine leagues, among others.
The best way to approach any playoff challenge league is to map out the NFL postseason. Decide on what teams you think will advance to Super Bowl LX, and build out playoff scenarios from there. And this year the playoffs feel wide open, which makes it tough.
For example, here is my playoff picture. In the AFC, I expect the Patriots, Bills and Texans to advance past the wild-card round. I have Buffalo beating Denver and New England winning against Houston, and then I have the Bills advancing to the Super Bowl with a win over the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
I know that seems crazy with how poorly Buffalo has looked at times this season. And the Bills don't have an easy path to the Super Bowl, starting with the opening game against the Jaguars. But I'm backing Josh Allen and James Cook to help Buffalo represent the AFC in San Francisco this season.
In the NFC, I have the Eagles, Packers and Rams winning in the wild-card round. Seattle will then beat Green Bay, and the Rams will upset Philadelphia. The Rams then beat the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game to advance to the Super Bowl.
While the Rams have struggled to close the season, I'm still a believer in Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay, especially with Davante Adams (hamstring) back for the postseason. It won't be an easy path for the Rams, especially if they have to play Philadelphia and Seattle on the road, but I still like Los Angeles as the best team in the NFC.
My playoff-challenge rankings are reflected in those predictions. Again, I encourage you to build your own path to the Super Bowl -- and check your league settings. But this is how I expect the playoffs to go and which players will be around the longest in the upcoming NFL postseason.
These playoff rankings will be updated each week until Super Bowl LX. And make sure you check out our playoff preview each week with in-depth breakdowns and DFS suggestions for each game.
Quarterback
1. Josh Allen
2. Matthew Stafford
3. Drake Maye
4. Jalen Hurts
5. Jordan Love
7. C.J. Stroud
8. Sam Darnold
9. Bo Nix
10. Caleb Williams
11. Brock Purdy
12. Justin Herbert
13. Aaron Rodgers
14. Bryce Young
Running back
1. James Cook
5. Josh Jacobs
10. Travis Etienne
11. D'Andre Swift
12. RJ Harvey
13. Blake Corum
14. Kyle Monangai
15. Woody Marks
16. Omarion Hampton
17. Kenneth Gainwell
18. Jaylen Warren
19. Rico Dowdle
20. Chuba Hubbard
21. Jawhar Jordan
22. Bhayshul Tuten
23. Ty Johnson
24. Kimani Vidal
26. Emanuel Wilson
27. Brian Robinson Jr.
28. Ray Davis
29. Tank Bigsby
30. Nick Chubb
Wide receiver
1. Puka Nacua
3. A.J. Brown
4. Davante Adams
5. Stefon Diggs
6. Nico Collins
10. DeVonta Smith
13. Jauan Jennings
14. Ladd McConkey
15. DK Metcalf
17. Kayshon Boutte
18. Jakobi Meyers
19. Rome Odunze
20. Jayden Higgins
21. Troy Franklin
22. Ricky Pearsall
23. Quentin Johnston
24. D.J. Moore
25. Brian Thomas Jr.
26. Jayden Reed
27. Romeo Doubs
28. Demario Douglas
29. Rashid Shaheed
30. Jalen Coker
31. Pat Bryant
32. Brandin Cooks
33. Cooper Kupp
34. Keenan Allen
35. Kyle Williams
36. Marvin Mims
37. Gabe Davis
39. Christian Kirk
40. Xavier Legette
Tight end
2. Hunter Henry
7. Tyler Higbee
9. Dawson Knox
10. Brenton Strange
11. A.J. Barner
13. Pat Freiermuth
14. Cole Kmet
15. Evan Engram
16. Tommy Tremble
17. Jonnu Smith
18. Luke Musgrave
19. Austin Hooper
20. Josh Whyle
Kicker
3. Matt Prater
5. Jason Myers
6. Jake Elliott
7. Cairo Santos
8. Wil Lutz
9. Cam Little
10. Eddy Pineiro
11. Brandon McManus
12. Ryan Fitzgerald
13. Chris Boswell
14. Cameron Dicker
DST
1. Seahawks
2. Texans
3. Rams
4. Eagles
5. Bills
6. Broncos
7. Packers
8. Patriots
9. Bears
10. Jaguars
11. Chargers
12. Steelers
13. 49ers
14. Panthers
