Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings - May 2026
- Kev Wheeler
- May 23
- 12 min read
The Process
Dynasty Fantasy Football rankings can be interpreted in many ways. During the spring these rankings will be ranked as if we are using them for a start-up draft, during the season they will be focused on winning championships without destroying long-term value. During the winter these rankings will reflect trade value with a scaled 3-year outlook.
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These rankings are designed for drafting your Dynasty Fantasy Football team, most dynasty league start-up drafts happen between February and May so we are in full swing now. Before you start drafting, it is a good idea to develop a plan and then build a coherent draft strategy around it. Building a plan means deciding when you expect your team to establish its long-term dominance over the league.
Some strategies include, Win Now, Win Soon, and Productive Struggle.
Win Now: Establish your dominance immediately. While your competitors focus on youth in the startup draft, scoop up proven veterans at discounted prices and build a roster that will be a favorite for the league title in Year 1.
Win Soon: Focus on youth but mix in some proven veterans. Your young roster might not have the juice to win right away, but you’ll have a collection of players whose value will likely be higher a year from now, positioning you to contend in Year 2.
Productive Struggle: (Ryan McDowell of Dynasty League Football is credited for coining the term.) Committing to a slow build that will put you in title contention in 2-3 years. Focus heavily on youth in the startup draft and be willing to trade startup picks for picks in future rookie drafts.
Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings
When examining these dynasty fantasy football rankings take into consideration that we are looking at positional ranks, not flex or overall rankings. Rookies will be added periodically, with most being added after the NFL Draft. The emphasis on scouting for rookies is one of the most exciting parts of dynasty fantasy football. Preparing for rookie drafts is an integral part of team management in a dynasty league. A major influence on a rookie’s value is draft capital and the situation of the team that drafts him.
Quarterback
When ranking quarterbacks for dynasty fantasy football we can take a VERY long-term outlook (5-10 years) while factoring what type of QB we are examining. We always want a QB that is going to give us a nice rushing floor, but we must keep in mind that rushing production is also the first thing that fades away as players get older.
Drake Maye was a 74% passer for 2474yds in the 1st half of games in 2025. This was the best rate for any QB for either half in both metrics. He also had the 7th most dropbacks of any QB in either half, the 2nd most TDs, the most scrambles, and 2nd most points per opportunity. There could be a higher ceiling with better opponents in the future.
Nate Taylor reports the Chiefs are optimistic that Patrick Mahomes (knee) “is on track to participate -- even in a limited capacity -- in the team’s voluntary offseason practices” in May.
Sam Darnold 2025 numbers (rank among QB) via @ftnfantasy.com StatsHub:
4,048 yds (5th)
8.4 yds per attempt (2nd)
99.1 passer rating (11th)
67.7% completion rate (7th)
11.9% explosive rate (5th)
Dolphins Sign QB Malik Willis for $22.5M/Year. It's essentially a 2-year, $45M deal with a team option afterwards. That's a rightful step up from Justin Fields' contract last year, yet below Sam Darnold's Seahawks deal.
In an extremely small sample of 159 plays, Willis is the QB1 in EPA per play out of 75 qualifiers over the past 3 seasons. He's also 1st in completion percentage over expected and 11th in success rate. Willis has real physical tools to work with beyond being a small-sample legend, and the well-run Packers seemed to really like him. Teams can’t be sure he will be their long-term starter given his inexperience, but Willis is an intriguing bridge for teams in uncertain situations like the Cardinals, Vikings, or NY Jets.
The Colts made a poor choice re-signing Daniel Jones. Jones Achillies tear is on the "throwing push-off side." Jones has also ended seasons with ACL and neck injuries.
NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe said the Falcons think QB Michael Penix (knee) “will be healthy at some point in training camp.” Penix underwent surgery to reconstruct a partially torn ACL after suffering the injury in November 2025. Tua Tagovailoa will get to work with the first-team offense until Penix is ready to practice, which could give Tagovailoa an edge in the competition. It seems likely that both players will start at times during the regular season.
Vikings signed QB Kyler Murray, formerly of the Cardinals, to a one-year contract.
Jets acquired QB Geno Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
Chiefs acquired QB Justin Fields from the Jets in exchange for a 2027 sixth-round pick.
NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe believes that the Browns will “likely” draft a wide receiver and a left tackle with their two first-round picks this year. The Browns’ quarterback competition is between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson, seemingly rendering Dillon Gabriel a locked-in backup. New HC Todd Monken certainly has his work cut-out for him.
