Fantasy Football: Who Should You Draft with the 6th Pick in 2026?

Similarly to last season, there's a pretty legitimate top six in 2026 fantasy drafts, followed by a slight tier break before other strong names. Need proof? In my article breaking down who to select first overall, I listed six players. That means that, realistically, the best pick here at the 1.06 is whoever’s left of that group.

That said, a few of the top options are essentially guaranteed to be gone, and the ensuing couple of players are worth discussing — and are going top six in ADP on some sites or platforms. So, in order to give you the full perspective, let’s dive into the realistic options at the sixth pick in a typical, 1QB draft.

NOTE: Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Ja'Marr Chase, and Puka Nacua are an essentially unbroken top four, with none of those four making it past the 1.04 in any platform’s current ADP. For this exercise, we’ll assume they’re not going to be available … but if one of them is, pick that guy!

The Candidates (in ADP order)

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks

(NOTE: This is a slightly tweaked version of the blurb from the 1st Pick article, as very little changes here).

After an extremely solid 2024 in which he hit 100 receptions and finished as the WR10, Jaxon Smith-Njigba saw a massive breakout in 2025: 119 catches on 163 targets, a league-high 1,793 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns. He was the Offensive Player of the Year and largely carried the Seahawks’ offense to a Lombardi Trophy.

And yes, I said carried. JSN accounted for a 35.8% target share — not just the highest in the league, but the second-highest by any player on any team since targets were first reliably tracked nearly two decades ago (Brandon Marshall in 2012 is number one). He also accounted for 36.6% of Seattle’s receptions, 44.1% of their receiving yards, and 40.0% of their receiving touchdowns. For reference, here’s a look at JSN compared to the next-highest player in those first few categories.

Smith-Njigba was, pretty comfortably, the most valuable single receiver to his team’s offense in 2025. And Seattle didn’t change much on the depth chart entering 2026: they lost Kenneth Walker III, which could put even more onus on JSN, but that’s about it. He’s right up there with Nacua among the league’s most efficient receivers (see the YPRR chart above) and still has the shockingly efficient Sam Darnold at quarterback.

One wrinkle in all of this is that the Seahawks did lose OC Klint Kubiak to the Raiders, replacing him with 49ers tight ends coach Brian Fleury. It’s tough to predict what kind of effect that will have on the passing game, and JSN in particular, but if Fleury knows what’s good for him, he’ll continue heavily featuring one of the league’s best receivers. That puts Smith-Njigba right back in the conversation for WR1 overall, though I like Nacua better across the board and Chase better from an upside angle.

And while I pitched JSN for the 1.01 previously, he’s honestly a much better fit for the 1.06, because of the incredibly high floor and slightly less stratospheric ceiling. Barring injury to him or Darnold, it’s very hard to imagine Smith-Njigba falling outside the top five or six wide receivers and the top 10 or 12 non-QBs. At the same time, if things were to go as well as possible for everyone, it’s hard to imagine the Seahawks wideout outperforming Nacua or Chase. Here in the middle of the first round, that’s exactly what we want.

If you prefer to go wide receiver or running back at this pick, Smith-Njigba is the top option, with only one other name really earning consideration (see below).

RB Christian McCaffrey

(NOTE: This is a slightly tweaked version of the blurb from the 1st Pick article, as very little changes here).

In my article on the first overall pick, I laid out the case for Christian McCaffrey (included below) and explained that his lower ADP (actually at the 1.06) is purely a reflection of concerns over his ability to stay healthy, given his age and recent volume. The great part of considering him here at the sixth pick is that you’re taking a little less risk with those concerns, while still getting the top-overall-player upside.

Spoiler alert, folks: McCaffrey finished as the highest-scoring player in fantasy football in 2025, with 365.6 half-PPR points. He outscored the next-highest non-quarterback — Jonathan Taylor — by nearly 30 points, making him easily the best pick at the 1.01 (though he was rarely, if ever, taken there).

But, after shouldering a league-high 413 touches last season, fantasy managers are once again terrified that McCaffrey will get hurt again. And with the looming presence of the electrical substation in Santa Clara, I get it. Also, as I covered last year with Saquon Barkley, coming off a season with this kind of volume is historically a death knell for running backs, who tend to miss time or statistically regress the ensuing year.

I don’t know if I buy either argument with McCaffrey. Unlike other backs who get nicked up and miss intermittent action every year, CMC has been incredibly tough and wildly consistent in the six seasons he has not suffered a catastrophic season-ending injury. Also, so much of his volume comes on receptions — 102 catches last year — which tend to be much less bruising than inside run after inside run into the teeth of the defense. Yes, McCaffrey is 30 years old. Yes, he’s passed 1,500 career carries. Yes, he’s coming off a season with more than 400 touches. All of these things make him, admittedly, far riskier than a Gibbs or Robinson.

But. Once again. If McCaffrey stays healthy, particularly with the frequent disappearance of reliable receiving options in San Francisco, he has an incredibly clear path to RB1 overall upside in any form of PPR scoring. Here at the sixth pick, he could even miss a couple games and still return insane value, given how impactful he’ll be whenever he’s on the field. If you prefer running back to wide receiver, and are willing to shoulder higher risk for a higher reward, McCaffrey is the pick.

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown

Amon-Ra St. Brown is actually the only name who didn’t get some sort of blurb in the 1.01 article, as the last player considered here (below) got an honorable mention there. And the reasoning is pretty simple. For three straight seasons, ARSB has finished as exactly the overall WR3 in half-PPR scoring. In 2023 he trailed just CeeDee Lamb and Tyreek Hill, in 2024 it was Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, and in 2025 it was Nacua and Smith-Njigba. He also finished fourth, ninth and 10th among non-quarterbacks in those three respective seasons.

St. Brown is the model of consistency. He had between 115 and 119 catches all three of those seasons. He had between 1,263 and 1,515 yards all three of those seasons. And he scored 10 to 12 touchdowns … all three of those seasons. Even with the breakout of Jameson Williams, the loss of Ben Johnson, changes to the offensive line, etc., nothing has phased St. Brown in fantasy. It could be argued that he’s the safest pick in the entire first round, with the lowest chance of somehow disappointing you or finishing outside the elite at his position.

And yet … the game-breaking, Triple-Crown-winning, top-overall-scorer upside is very likely not there with St. Brown. Which is why he ends up as the 1.07 in ADP, despite being the only wide receiver to finish top three in three straight seasons. No matter where they are in the first round, fantasy managers instinctively want league-winning upside with their pick. And while St. Brown is 99% guaranteed not to lose your league, his ceiling is simply not as high as Chase’s, Nacua’s, or Smith-Njigba’s … or even Lamb’s or Jefferson’s a few picks later.

This is no knock against the Lions’ top dog, and he’s still a very solid pick here at sixth overall, particularly if you plan to go risky over the next couple rounds. If, for example, you’re eyeballing rookie RB Jeremiyah Love, still-recovering-from-injury WR Malik Nabers, or prospective breakout candidate Luther Burden III (who recently picked up a groin injury), St. Brown might give you the most stable foundation to take those bigger swings.

RB Jonathan Taylor

I did make an honorable mention of Jonathan Taylor in the 1.01 article, but he gets the full treatment here considering his ADP of 1.08. And the argument’s not tough: Taylor was the second-highest non-QB scorer in all of fantasy last year, trailing only Christian McCaffrey … who’s three years older. Taylor led the NFL with 323 carries and with 20 total touchdowns, while rushing for 1,585 yards and adding career highs in receptions (46) and receiving yards (378). I actually think we’ve managed to underrate just how good Taylor was, and his complete absence from the conversation around Gibbs and Robinson at the very top of 2026 drafts is a bit surprising, considering he outscored them both in 2025.

So, what gives? Well, the first concern is the devolution of the Colts offense over the course of last season. Many of you might remember their torrid 7-1 start, in which they led the NFL with 33.8 points per game, 385.3 total yards per game, 31 offensive touchdowns and 38 trips to the red zone. But you also might remember that they hit some sort of cliff around Week 9, losing eight of their last nine contests and looking far less effective on offense. Then of course, there was Daniel Jones’ Achilles injury in Week 14, which further derailed the offense. Now take a look at how Taylor performed in each of those stretches.

Obviously the loss of Jones was a disaster for Taylor and the offense — over the last month of the season, Taylor was just the RB20. But whatever happened right around midseason that constituted the cliff for Indy’s offense didn’t help either. Even with an absolutely massive Week 10 — 286 yards and three touchdowns in an overtime win — Taylor was just the RB10 from Weeks 9-14. Notably, the Colts ballooned from 0.5 giveaways and 1.1 sacks allowed per game over the first eight weeks to a league-high 2.1 giveaways per game and 2.2 sacks allowed per game from Week 9 on. That put them in consistently worse positions on offense, and heavily impacted Taylor’s fantasy output.

Entering 2026, Jones is still working back from the Achilles injury, and the Colts traded Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers. There are far more question marks surrounding the team and the offense than there were halfway through last year, and their over/under win total of 7.5 suggests that at least Vegas expects them to be closer to the second-half Colts than the first-half Colts. I tend to agree, and while Taylor can still be excellent and is a locked-and-loaded RB1, it definitely hurts his ceiling and potential to repeat as a top-two fantasy player. That said, if you believe in Jones and the Indianapolis offense, specifically to bounce back to their early 2025 glory, then Taylor is a smashing value here at the sixth pick or at his ADP of 1.08.

Who Should You Draft?

You have a lot of flexibility here at the sixth overall pick. You can aim for upside with Christian McCaffrey, take the super safe Amon-Ra St. Brown, or try to straddle the line with Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Jonathan Taylor. But ultimately, I think the best choice is to take the best player at the position that makes the most sense for you. What do I mean? Well, take a look at the players you’ll have a shot at with your Round 2 pick — somewhere in the 2.05-2.09 range — and decide who you like best there. Then, pair that pick with the option that makes the most sense here at 1.06.

My pick at the 1.06:

• If you prefer names like Chase Brown, Kenneth Walker, and Derrick Henry, take Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Amon-Ra St. Brown here so that you have one of each position heading into Round 3
• If you prefer names like Drake London, A.J. Brown, Nico Collins, or Brock Bowers, take Christian McCaffrey or Jonathan Taylor here instead