Avengers Assemble: League-winning fantasy football heroes in 2026

Having a successful fantasy football draft is like saving the world from certain destruction.

What? Why are looking at me like that? It’s true.

If you can’t assemble a strong roster of fantasy heroes, there will be nothing to stop Thanos from acquiring all the Infinity Stones, snapping his fingers and turning any hopes you had of winning a championship to dust. Fail to draft the right players, and there will be nothing to stop Ultron from sending Sokovia hurtling back to Earth, obliterating any title aspirations you may have. Draft day is like the Battle of New York — the only thing stopping the Chitauri horde from annihilating your hopes and dreams of fantasy glory is your ability to assemble a team capable of stopping them.

Fantasy mangers need an Avengers Initiative of their own come draft day.

Now, assembling a team of fantasy football heroes isn’t only about putting together a group of players who will (hopefully) score a lot of points. When you draft players is as important as who you draft. Fantasy stars like Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs cost what they cost. But drafts aren’t won in Round 1. They are won in Round 4… and Round 6… and Round 8…

They are won by selecting players in a position of value. By getting guys in spots where odds are good they will out-play and out-point their asking price. The more of those values you can obtain come draft day, the stronger your team of heroes will be.

And the less chance Doctor Doom will have of destroying the multiverse.

Because, you know, that would be bad.

2026 fantasy heroes

QB Trevor Lawrence (JAX)

If this group of players is the fantasy football equivalent of The Avengers, then Lawrence is Hawkeye. Sure, he’s a valued member of the team. But no one is singling out the guy who can’t fly and ain’t got laser eyes as their favorite.

However, Lawrence had plenty of fans last year — especially down the stretch. On the way to finishing fourth in fantasy points among quarterbacks last year, Lawrence threw for just over 4,000 yards and a career-high 29 touchdown passes. From Week 12 on, Lawrence was the highest-scoring quarterback in fantasy — by a sizable margin. Among 30 qualifying quarterbacks over that span, Lawrence was third in yards per attempt, fifth in passing yards per game, 11th in catchable target rate and second in passing touchdowns (per Fantasy Points Data).

Lawrence has a deep corps of pass-catchers at his disposal. He plays in a Liam Coen offense that has produced top-five fantasy quarterbacks in back-to-back seasons, and he’s barely being drafted inside the top-10 at his position on average.

RB Cam Skattebo (NYG)

Skattebo has some Star-Lord in him — the second-year pro is capable of feats of great heroism. But he’s also um, a bit of a… um, yeah — as evidenced by him beating his head against a wall or doing backflips on stage while rehabbing a broken leg and dislocated ankle.

Use your head, kid. And not as a battering ram.

However, when he’s healthy, Skattebo has shown that he can produce at a high level. Over a month-long stretch last year, Skattebo topped 90 scrimmage yards in four straight contests, scoring four touchdowns over that span. From Week 4 to Week 7, Skattebo was eighth in PPR points among running backs.

Per The Athletic’s Joseph Bryan, in games where Skattebo had a 50% or higher snap share, he averaged 19.1 fantasy points per game (FPPG) and had a 14.8% target share. If you extrapolate those numbers over a full season, Skattebo would have been sixth in PPR points a year ago.

Not bad for a back barely being drafted inside the top 20 at his position.

RB Kenneth Gainwell (TB)

Gainwell is The Hulk of this outfit — because he’s going to smash his puny expectations this season.

Get it? Smash? Puny? Clever, aren’t I?

The general belief appears to be that Bucky Irving will reprise his role as Tampa’s lead running back in 2026. But after impressing in a big way as a rookie in 2024, Irving struggled through an injury-marred 2025 campaign in which his yards per attempt fell by 2 full yards.

Meanwhile, Gainwell is coming off the best season of his professional career — over 1,000 total yards and eight touchdowns in Pittsburgh. From Week 8 on, Gainwell averaged 13.3 touches and 17.8 fantasy points per game, which would have slotted Gainwell inside the top-five running backs in fantasy over a full season.

Been saying it all summer. Will say it again for those who haven’t been paying attention.

Gainwell will lead the Tampa backfield in fantasy points this year.

Book it.

WR Jaylen Waddle (DEN)

Jaylen Waddle is the Ant-Man of our group — at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, he’s not the biggest hero out there. But the 27-year-old is lightning-fast, stronger than he looks and underrated — just like Scott Lang.

Unfortunately, he can’t make himself 40-feet tall. That would be helpful in the red zone.

We have seen what Waddle can do between the lines, however. In each of his first three seasons, Waddle topped 1,000 receiving yards, including a 75/1,356/8 stat line in a 2022 season where Waddle led the NFL at 18.1 yards per catch and finished eighth in PPR points among wide receivers.

Waddle has caught 100 passes in a season — a feat accomplished by just seven players last year. Only Alec Pierce of the Indianapolis Colts averaged 18 yards a catch last year. And per Kyle Soppe of PFSN, Waddle also has a season on his professional resume where he averaged 2.2 yards per target.

The only other player to manage such a feat is Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a year ago.

WR Parker Washington (JAX)

It’s time for a team-up! Just like Hawkeye and the Black Widow all that time at S.H.I.E.L.D.

Although while Washington is a handsome fella, he’s no Scarlett Johansson.

The Jaguars have a deep wide receiver room, but it’s a muddied one. However, some clarity may be arriving in that regard —per ESPN’s Michael DiRocco, Washington has emerged as Trevor Lawrence’s clear No. 1 target in the passing game.

It’s a continuation of a theme with the fourth-year pro, who finished last season on quite the roll. Washington had three 100-yard games over the final four weeks of the 2025 season. Parker was sixth in PPR points among wideouts in last year’s fantasy playoffs.

Over that same four-game span last year, Washington amassed a 28.9% target share, 113.5 receiving yards per game, 3.78 yards per route run, and a 33.3% first-read share.

Those numbers are every bit as lethal as Natasha Romanoff.

WR Wan’Dale Robinson (TEN)

With the New York Giants beset by injuries last year, Robinson became the team’s de facto No. 1 wide receiver. The result was 92 catches, the first 1,000-yard season of Robinson’s career and top-15 fantasy numbers. That career year got Robinson a nice payday from the Titans, but fantasy drafters appear skeptical that the 25-year-old can come close to those numbers in his new home.

However, while speaking to reporters, Titans quarterback Cam Ward said that he and Robinson have quickly built a strong bond.

“That’s my guy,” Ward said. “Ever since the first day when he came in, when he signed, and we met, he was the first one at my house. Him being there and him showing the attitude that he brings each and every day — that’s all I can ask for a slot receiver.”

Robinson looked like Ward’s go-to receiver in Tennessee’s preseason opener. There may not be a ton of sizzle there, but those who predicted that Robinson would be The Falcon to Carnell Tate’s Captain America in 2026 may have gotten it backwards.

TE Isaiah Likely (NYG)

Likely is a newcomer to hero-dom. After spending the first four years of his career in Mark Andrews’ shadow, Likely joined the Giants in free agency. But while he may be a New Avenger, like Sentry, he can potentially bring a ton of power to a fantasy lineup.

Preferably with the whole psychotic alter-ego thing. The Void could be a problem.

Last year, Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart targeted tight ends on over 22% of his throws — and that’s without a player near the receiving threat that Likely is. Per Dave Richard of CBS Sports, Likely has been targeted 6+ times in just nine career games, but he has at least 12.5 PPR points in eight of those games.

In case you were wondering, 12.5 PPR points per game would slot Likely just ahead of Kyle Pitts of the Falcons last year — and inside the top-five players at his position. Between Malik Nabers returning from an ACL tear and the rest of the Giants’ wideouts not frightening a six-year-old, it’s not difficult to imagine Likely cracking 100 targets in 2026.

Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow Gary on X at @IDPGodfather.