2026 Fantasy Football: From Trey McBride to Malik Nabers, here are the players our Yahoo analysts have debated the most in their…

The XRank that we see when drafting fantasy football teams on Yahoo consists of our six analysts, but that is merely an average ranking. We obviously have varying opinions on each player, and today's column looks at some of the biggest disagreements between myself (Hayden Winks), Josh Norris, Matt Harmon, Justin Boone, Scott Pianowski and Joel Smyth.

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Players being debated in this column are in the sweet spot of drafts, 25th to 150th overall. We've beat a dead horse with the first few rounds and the deep sleepers aren't valuable enough to spend too much time on. These rankings are for half-PPR and include defenses and kickers. The metric I'm using is called "Coefficient of Variation," which is a volatility score that adjusts for just how high or low a player is ranked. It's beside the point. Let's get into the debates.

Running Backs

Here's a look at the biggest rankings differences at the running back position. Hayden Winks

Josh Jacobs (ranked 37th overall) is the most volatile ranking at RB. This isn't a surprise. It's hard to analyze his suspension odds (I'd say 25% chance of 2-6 games). It's hard to analyze if he's reaching an age cliff (I'd say partially). It's hard to analyze if MarShawn Lloyd playing well during this healthy training camp is going to cause a slight drop in workload (I'd say partially). If the answer is yes to some of these issues, then the half of us who rank Jacobs in the 40s are right.

If not, then Josh Norris' No. 27 overall ranking is not just right but arguably too low versus how he's produced as a Packer. We debated Jacobs' value on this week's episode here , but it's important to note that on average, the Yahoo analysts are 7.7 spots lower than the Yahoo ADP of 29th overall.

Travis Etienne Jr. , Kyren Williams , and Javonte Williams are the next unsettled players, all of whom are drafted near the Round 3/4 turn. I'm highest on Etienne (33rd overall) because of the underrated Saints OL and the No. 1 neutral pace, while fading any resurgence from the dwindling Alvin Kamara, but Justin Boone and Matt Harmon have the full fade all the way to Round 5. That's as big of a gap as you'll see. On the flip side, Kyren is my fade (39th overall) because the Rams' OL could be missing LT Alaric Jackson (suspension risk) and they're unlikely to repeat their 29.9 points per game average from last year with a much better defense and likely less injury luck on offense. Kyren can't afford too much of a drop with Blake Corum playing well with just a third of the snaps.

Bucky Irving (ranked 58th overall) is an interesting one. Joel Smyth is living on the edge in Round 4, hoping for a similar season to his rookie campaign, while others see Irving in a committee role in late Round 5. This range of Bhayshul Tuten, TreVeyon Henderson and Jadarian Price is going to be key, as they all have theoretical talent with uncertain playing time in solid offenses. This is the new-age RB dead zone (with a far more stomach-able price tag), but I still want to tread lightly when the high-floor QBs and high-ceiling WRs are available instead.

It's always eye opening when Justin Boone, who is a literal rankings champion, is much higher than the rest of us on a player. That's Cam Skattebo right now. I love this call. If Skattebo replicates what he did as the Giants' starter during his rookie season, he'd be a Round 2 value. Despite a broken ankle, Skattebo has been fully cleared for training camp, and it's the same RB depth chart as it was last year, when he was the clear bellcow and dominator of high-value touches.

Wide Receivers

Here's a look at the biggest rankings differences at wide receiver. Hayden Winks

Malik Nabers (ranked 29th overall) is the most debated WR. Scott Pianowski is a big proponent of "Don't draft into injuries," so he's keeping Nabers as a full fade at 49th overall, while the rest of us are taking massive stands in the 22-30 overall range. Nabers is a clear target versus Yahoo's 36th overall ADP, and I'm personally ready to move him up inside the top 20 once he's practicing in 11s. Nabers is someone we have to get correct this year, as he's been a walking WR1 when healthy, even when the Giants were 31st in scoring from Week 1 of his rookie season to Week 4 of last year. He is my favorite third-round pick if you can get him there.

It's not surprising to see Rashee Rice (ranked 33rd overall) as the second-most debated WR. Is he healthy? Is the Chiefs offense changing with Kenneth Walker III involved and Patrick Mahomes II coming off a torn ACL? Will he be suspended? What will Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce offer? It's a lot to balance. I'm fine being tied for the lowest ranking with Pianowski, especially with Matt Harmon also on our side. Rice is a catered-for player who struggles when it comes to beating man coverage in the traditional sense. I'm also personally nervous about his knee after rehabbing it in jail, while fully buying into Walker, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, being the new focal point of the offense. If I'm wrong, then it'll be extremely painful. Rice was the WR5 on WR2 expected points last year while healthy. We're collectively slightly behind Yahoo ADP and view him as a late Round 3 boom-bust option.

I find Wan'Dale Robinson (ranked 123rd overall) on the No. 30 scoring offense from last season to be too boring to actually write about here, so let's have more fun instead.

Matthew Golden (ranked 112th overall) has a range of 81st overall to 140th overall in our rankings. I'm the optimist ...

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →