Fantasy Super Bowl Rankings: Position by position, stock up and stock down

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Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba put on a show in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, and both solidified themselves as early picks in the first round of Fantasy drafts in 2026. You can argue that they should be the first two players selected in the majority of leagues.

On Sunday, Smith-Njigba helped the Seahawks advance to Super Bowl LX with 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets in Seattle's 31-27 victory. Nacua's season ended in the loss, but he led the Rams with nine catches for 165 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets.

Nacua will likely be drafted ahead of Smith-Njigba, and our CBS Sports staff has it ranked that way in our early top 24 rankings. For all six of us who took part in that story, the lowest Nacua is ranked is fourth by Jacob Gibbs. Heath Cummings has Nacua as the No. 1 overall pick.

He had an amazing season in 2025 when he was the No. 1 receiver in PPR at 23.4 points per game, and he finished as the No. 2 overall non-quarterback behind Christian McCaffrey, who averaged 24.5 PPR points. In the regular season, Nacua had 129 catches for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns on 166 targets, and he added 10 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown.

In three playoff games, Nacua had two outings with at least 31.9 PPR points, and he finished the postseason with 24 catches for 332 yards and two touchdowns on 42 targets. He was a monster, and in 19 total games in 2025, he scored at least 22.8 PPR points in 12 of those outings.

We have to make sure Matthew Stafford returns in 2026, and it would be a surprise if he retired. For now, the only players I would draft ahead of Nacua in 2026 are Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, and I'd be surprised if Nacua is not a top-three overall pick in the majority of leagues.

Smith-Njigba finished the regular season right behind Nacua as the No. 2 receiver at 21.2 PPR points per game. He had 119 catches for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns on 163 targets, and he added seven carries for 36 yards.

He didn't do much in his first playoff game against the 49ers in the Divisional Round with three catches for 19 yards and a touchdown on four targets, but he turned things up against the Rams. And now he gets one more game to show off in the Super Bowl against New England.

In looking at our CBS Sports Staff early rankings, Smith-Njigba is a top-six overall pick for all of us but Dan Schneier, who has him at No. 8 overall. Heath is the highest on Smith-Njigba at No. 2 overall, and Heath is the only one who ranked Smith-Njigba ahead of Ja'Marr Chase.

I continue to go back-and-forth on Chase vs. Smith-Njigba, and Chase was awesome when Joe Burrow was healthy in 2025. In eight games with Burrow starting, Chase averaged 20.1 PPR points per game. In 2024, when Burrow was healthy, Chase won the Triple Crown by leading the NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17), and he averaged 23.7 PPR points per game.

We'll see how Smith-Njigba does in the Super Bowl, and maybe another dominant outing against the Patriots will change my mind. But he's definitely in my top-five overall picks, and I have him right after Robinson, Gibbs, Nacua and Chase.

Now, let's review some other performances from the AFC and NFC Championship Games and see who helped -- or hurt -- their Fantasy stock for 2026.

Stock Up

Matthew Stafford

I hope he returns in 2026, and he will likely be a steal on Draft Day. Despite finishing 2025 as the No. 1 Fantasy quarterback at 26.1 points per game, he is not a consensus starting option for our CBS Sports Staff. In our early rankings, Jacob Gibbs and Dan Schneier do not have Stafford in the top 12 quarterbacks, and Adam Aizer has Stafford at No. 12 overall. He's No. 9 for me, No. 10 for Dave Richard and No. 4 for Heath Cummings. Stafford just had an amazing game against Seattle with 374 passing yards and three touchdowns, and he scored 34.5 Fantasy points. He turns 38 in February, but he has everything in place to succeed again with Sean McVay calling plays, a standout offensive line and amazing receivers in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. I'll gladly settle for Stafford on Draft Day with a late-round pick.

Sam Darnold

Darnold won't be drafted as a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in 2026, but he changed the narrative about his career by helping Seattle reach Super Bowl LX. And he had a dominant performance against the Rams with 346 passing yards and three touchdowns for 32.7 Fantasy points. That was only his eighth game this season with at least 20.7 Fantasy points, including the playoffs, and we'll see how he does against the Patriots to potentially win a championship. With another strong game, Darnold could be a good backup Fantasy quarterback in 2026, especially if Seattle adds another pass catcher to complement Jaxon Smith-Njigba next season.

Kenneth Walker III

In the first game since Zach Charbonnet (ACL) was injured, Walker had 19 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown and four catches for 49 yards on four targets for 21.1 PPR points against the Rams. He's now played two full games without Charbonnet this season since he missed Week 3 against New Orleans with a foot injury, and Walker has scored at least 18 PPR points in each outing. We'll see what happens against New England in the Super Bowl, and Walker is a free agent this offseason. If he returns to Seattle, Walker could be a potential second-round pick in the majority of leagues, especially if Charbonnet is expected to miss an extended amount of time. This is a storyline to monitor over the next few months, but Walker's Fantasy stock is definitely on the rise.

Stock Down

RJ Harvey

Harvey's season ended on a low note against the Patriots with 13 carries for 37 yards and four catches for 22 yards on six targets. He scored 9.9 PPR points, and that's now single digits in PPR in two of his final three games heading into the offseason. We'll see what Denver does with its backfield prior to 2026, but J.K. Dobbins said he hopes to be "a Bronco for life." He's a free agent this offseason, but Dobbins played well for Denver before suffering a foot injury in Week 10 with 153 carries for 772 yards and four touchdowns and 11 catches for 37 yards on 14 targets. In nine games without Dobbins, including the playoffs, Harvey had four outings with at least 18.6 PPR points and scored six touchdowns. In 10 games with Dobbins, Harvey had only three games with double digits in PPR. I still like Harvey as a No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues in 2026, but the earliest I would draft him is Round 4. Whether it's Dobbins or another running back, I expect Sean Payton to use multiple running backs, which limits the upside for Harvey in his sophomore campaign.

TreVeyon Henderson

Henderson had another bad outing in the AFC Championship Game at Denver with three carries for 5 yards and no targets. He's now scored 8.2 PPR points or less in five of his final six games, including the playoffs, and Henderson has been significantly outplayed by Rhamondre Stevenson. Over that same stretch, Stevenson has scored at least 15.8 PPR points in four of those outings, and he averaged 19.2 PPR points since Week 16. We'll see what happens in the Super Bowl against Seattle, but the earliest I would draft Henderson in 2026 is likely Round 4. There's plenty of upside -- he had four games with at least 17.3 PPR points as a rookie -- and hopefully he'll continue to improve in his sophomore campaign. But I'm also going to target Stevenson as early as Round 7. He's clearly not washed up, and the Patriots will likely continue to treat him as a major part of this backfield next season.

Stefon Diggs

Diggs had a down game at Denver with five catches for 17 yards on six targets, and he has scored 7.3 PPR points or less in three of his past four games heading into the Super Bowl. We'll see how he does against Seattle, which won't be an easy matchup, and then the Patriots will decide if they want Diggs back in 2026. Diggs had a great year in 2025 with 85 catches for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns on 102 targets, and he had seven outings with at least 14 PPR points, including the playoffs. He was coming off a torn ACL in 2024, which makes it even more remarkable, but he also just turned 32 in November. New England needs to add more weapons in the passing game, and bringing back Diggs for $20.6 million doesn't make sense. The Patriots could always restructure his deal to keep him on the roster, but his Fantasy stock is trending down. At best, the earliest you should draft Diggs in 2026 is Round 7, but where he plays next season will ultimately determine his value.