The best former Alabama players to pick in 2026 fantasy football drafts

Sep 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) celebrate touchdown during the second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Here are the best former Alabama players to select in 2026 fantasy football drafts ahead of the 2026 NFL season:

Detroit Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs

Gibbs is arguably the most versatile running back in the NFL, and this is what makes him a first-round draft choice for any fantasy league.

As far as fantasy football stats go, Gibbs was the third-best player in fantasy last season. He tallied up 366.90 fantasy points thanks to his insane performances as a runner and as a pass catcher.

When adding his rushing and receiving numbers together, Gibbs finished with 1,839 total yards and 18 touchdowns. 

Gibbs was in a running back room with David Montgomery for a couple of seasons, and the two split snaps at times. Now, Montgomery is a Texan, so this makes drafting Gibbs a priority.  

Gibbs is almost certainly going off the board within the first three picks, so unless you land an early draft pick, it will be hard to acquire him in 2026.

Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry

Henry has been in the NFL since 2016, and the superstar running back continues to run like he is a freight train. 

Last season, Henry ran for 1,595 yards and 16 touchdowns on 307 carries. He has eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards seven times in his NFL career and has done it four of the last five seasons. 

The Ravens have one of the hardest backfields to defend in all of the league with quarterback Lamar Jackson back there with Henry. There are several times that defenses have to pick their poison when it comes to reading if Jackson will give the ball to Henry or keep it and take off with it. Having a quarterback like Jackson that is a threat in more ways than one can keep defenders up at night, and this ultimately plays into Henry’s favor. 

Henry is still a first-round pick in every league until he shows signs of slowing down, but that doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon.  

Philadelphia Eagles WR DeVonta Smith

Smith has an opportunity to take on an even bigger role this season and be the top wide receiver on the Philadelphia Eagles. 

The Eagles no longer have AJ Brown, and this could improve team chemistry and morale as there were some controversial team moments involving Brown last season.  

Smith caught 77 passes for 1,008 yards and four touchdowns. His longest catch last season was a 79-yard grab, and this shows that he has the ability to create a big play in the passing game.

Fantasy owners should target Smith in the second or third round of their drafts. 

Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts

The master of the “Tush Push” is always going to be a top priority in fantasy football drafts because regardless of how many yards Hurts has to go, a rushing touchdown will give fantasy owners six points and a smile on their face. 

In 2025, Hurts threw for 3,224 yards and 25 touchdowns, and he ran for 421 yards and eight touchdowns. 

Hurts is a talented quarterback that endured drama last season due to the buzz around former Eagles and now Patriots wideout AJ Brown being unhappy with Hurts and how many times he was being targeted, and the tension could have been what caused the Eagles to fall short last season and fail to defend their Super Bowl Championship from the previous season.

Now that the Eagles and Brown have gone their separate ways, a lot of eyes will be on Hurts as he gears up for the 2026 season. Will Hurts take his game to an even higher level, or will the criticism from Brown be validated? That’s a question that remains to be answered, but Hurts is still going to produce a good load of points in fantasy football.

It is unusual to select quarterbacks in the first round of fantasy football drafts, but it is not crazy to take a quarterback like Hurts in the second or third round due to all the points he can accumulate. 

Denver Broncos WR Jaylen Waddle

Waddle is a very intriguing player that fantasy football managers should consider drafting ahead of the 2026 NFL season.

The former Alabama WR joined the Denver Broncos this offseason after playing five seasons in Miami, and Waddle exceeded 1,000 receiving yards in 2021, 2022 and 2023. He fell short of this mark in 2024 and 2025, but he’s had to play with multiple quarterbacks over the last two years due to injuries or depth chart changes. 

ESPN’s Adam Schefter said that Broncos head coach Sean Payton has been looking for a wide receiver that can do it all, and he views Waddle as a joker ahead of the 2026 season. Payton believes Waddle can come in and make some plays while lining up everywhere on the field.

This is good news because players with versatility will get more touches than others. Waddle will be playing with quarterback Bo Nix for the first time. The Broncos made an appearance in the AFC Championship last season, and Waddle could be the addition that helps this team reach the Super Bowl.  

It is also important to remember that Denver will have wideout Courtland Sutton taking a decent sum of the targets too, but it is still smart to target Waddle in fantasy football because he is explosive and has impressed his coach.

Depending on what strategy fantasy owners employ this season, Waddle could be taken in the second, third or fourth round of fantasy football drafts. 

Detroit Lions WR Jameson Williams

Williams will be a high-risk, high-reward player to take in fantasy football based on all the weapons on the Detroit Lions, but Williams could be a solid player to take in the middle rounds of fantasy football drafts.

Last season, he had seven games with fewer than seven fantasy points and eight with 15 or more fantasy points.

The Lions have a lot of mouths to feed on offense. Williams will compete for targets against Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Isaac TeSlaa and a versatile Gibbs doing things out of the backfield. They also added veteran wideout Greg Dortch to the wide receiver room.

Williams could go off the board anywhere from round four to round seven depending on how many fantasy owners are in a league together, but he’ll be one of the biggest wildcards heading into draft season. 

The NFL season is approaching fast, and there is plenty of time to draft a fantasy football team before the new season kicks off.