'Way Too Early' 2026 Fantasy Football mock draft recap, results: FFT's first PPR mock of the year

I love looking at the results from the first mock draft that we do right after the season ends. It's fun to see how Fantasy managers react to what just happened from the previous 18 weeks and then trying to apply it to the upcoming season.

Obviously, a lot is going to change between now and August, including free agency and the NFL Draft. And the NFL postseason hasn't even started yet.

But we already held a 12-team, PPR mock draft -- the first of many -- featuring members of our CBS Sports Staff, as well as two of our Fantasy Football Today podcast listeners. You should study the results to see what stood out, starting in Round 1.

The debate over who should be the No. 1 overall pick will be interesting, and Ja'Marr Chase went first here. I have Chase at No. 4 overall behind Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Puka Nacua, but a case could be made for all four of those guys to be the top selection.

Christian McCaffrey, who was the No. 1 non-quarterback in PPR this past season, went at No. 6 overall. You can argue that he should be the first overall pick, but I'm concerned about his age (he turns 30 in June) and that he just had over 400 total touches for the second time in the past three years.

I wanted to see where the 2025 rookies would get drafted, and we had two running backs come off the board starting in Round 2 with Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton, which is the right range for both. TreVeyon Henderson, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan and Cam Skattebo were drafted in Round 3, and I thought that was good value for all of them.

Luther Burden III was the first pick in Round 4, which seems a little soon, but he could boost his Fantasy value with a strong NFL playoffs, as well as if D.J. Moore leaves Chicago this offseason. And Emeka Egbuka and Quinshon Judkins were drafted in Round 5, and both were excellent selections.

We also had two of the rookie tight ends drafted in Round 5 with Colston Loveland and Harold Fannin Jr. Tyler Warren fell to the end of Round 6, and these three tight ends all have top-five upside heading into 2026 after the way they performed this past season.

I drafted Warren, along with Egbuka, and I'm excited about both for next season. Warren scored at least 11.2 PPR points in eight of his first 12 games before Daniel Jones (Achilles) was injured, and Egbuka averaged 20.5 PPR points in his first five games of the season before tailing off at 8.3 PPR points per game over his final 11 outings. Hopefully, both players will be productive for the full year in 2026.

I started my team from the No. 2 overall spot with more proven options in Robinson, A.J. Brown and Chase Brown, and I love these running backs. A.J. Brown should remain a top-12 Fantasy receiver in 2026, and he's worth drafting in Round 2 as of now.

Marvin Harrison Jr. was my selection in Round 4, and I'm hopeful the new coach and potential new quarterback -- Jacoby Brissett could return as the starter -- feature Harrison in his third year in the NFL. Harrison played three games with Brissett where he had at least seven targets, and Harrison averaged 16.6 PPR points over that span.

One of my favorite picks in this draft was Zach Charbonnet in Round 7. He could be the starting running back for Seattle in 2026 since Kenneth Walker III is a potential free agent this offseason, and Charbonnet's value could skyrocket if he opens next season as the starter for the Seahawks.

Quarterbacks will always fall in our drafts, but I was fortunate to get Matthew Stafford in Round 13. He was the No. 14 quarterback selected in this draft, but he finished 2025 as the No. 2 Fantasy quarterback -- and he might be the NFL MVP. Even though Stafford will be 38 next season, I still like him as a top-10 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues.

My bench features Rhamondre Stevenson and Devin Neal at running back, and Wan'Dale Robinson, Chimere Dike, Kyle Williams and Jalen McMillan at receiver. Stevenson should still have a prominent role in New England in tandem with Henderson next season, and Neal could be the starting running back for the Saints if Alvin Kamara doesn't return to New Orleans.

Robinson is a free agent, but he should be a No. 3 Fantasy receiver no matter where he plays, especially if he returns to the Giants. And Dike, Williams and McMillan could have quality roles in 2026.

I like this team a lot, and I would love to draft a roster like this for 2026. We'll have plenty of mock drafts moving forward, and hopefully the results will help you prepare for next season.

As a reference point for this mock draft, all touchdowns are worth six points, and we award one point for every 10 yards rushing and receiving and one point for every 25 yards passing. We also award one point for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and FLEX (RB/WR/TE) with six reserves for a 14-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows:

1. Brad Curnett, Podcast Listener

2. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer

3. Tommy Tran, CBS Sports HQ Host

4. Robert Thomas, FFT Facebook Moderator

5. Jason Magnone, Podcast Listener

6. Thomas Shafer, FFT Podcast Producer

7. Adam Aizer, FFT Podcast Host

8. Joe Polito, CBS Sports Social Media Coordinator

9. Jake Grogins, CBS Sports HQ Production Staff

10. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer

11. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer

12. Jacob Gibbs, SportsLine Fantasy Analyst