2026 Draft Grades for Every Championship Dynasty Team

The ninth Championship Dynasty Rookie Draft is behind us. The 2026 class was not seen as stacked exactly, but there was depth at WR and the lack of consensus lead to some surprising picks.

We have graded all 12 draft classes to identify the direction each manager took, and whether their risks are likely to pay off this season and beyond.

HChishty

Picks

Jeremiyah Love, RB, ARI - 1.01

Chris Bell, WR, MIA - 2.01

Kaytron Allen, RB, WAS - 3.01

Back at the first overall pick after taking Jeanty this year, HChishty added another highly drafted RB in Jeremiyah Love at #1 overall. They now have a very solid and young RB room to build on. Depth is still an issue so a trade back to gain capital and still get a top flight WR could have been prudent, but RBs of this quality are hard to come by.

Bell and Allen were both prospects who did not feature great draft capital (#94 overall and #187 overall respectively), but do have opportunity available - Bell in a very thin Miami WR room and Allen in an unsure mix at RB for the Commanders. Given HChishty's lack of depth this was a curious choice as their roster doesn't quite seem ready to compete, but they could become good trade pieces in the season to continue to build on this RB corps.

Draft Grade: B

AndyP

Picks

Carnell Tate, WR, TEN - 1.02

Emmett Johnson, RB, KC - 2.02

Tate was the clear choice for AndyP here - their WR corps are aging, despite the resurgence of Quentin Johnson. Tate will likely be an every week starter on an ascending offence for AndyP as soon as this year, and hopefully at minimum a safe FLEX play for the rest of his career.

Johnson is a very bold pick - the Wisconsin RB was picked #156 overall, so taking them at the top of the 2nd round is a big gamble. There is the opportunity to back up Kenneth Walker who is often injured, but KC running backs have rarely been productive for fantasy in recent years, so the likelihood that Johnson will live up to the #14 overall fantasy pick is slim.

Draft Grade: B

hometownhobbit

Picks

Jordyn Tyson, WR, NO - 1.03

Nick Singleton, RB, PEN - 2.03

Kaelon Black, RB, SF - 3.02

Ted Hurst, WR, TB - 3.03

One of our two newest managers came away from the Draft with a good haul. Tyson at #3 has immediate opportunity and high upside - injury risk is there but Tyson will likely be a FLEX play for hometownhobbit and feature in their mystery soup of fringe WRs.

Singleton and Black add depth to their RB room - neither are exceptional prospects, but RB was very thin this year and there are question marks over quite a few of hometownhobbit's current backs. Singleton at 2.03 is high, but Black is a value at 3.03; so those even out.

Hurst again provides value at 3.03, especially given the recent news that he will occupy the X role for Tampa Bay. hometownhobbit left the Draft with good value lottery tickets and a blue-chip prospect.

Draft Grade: A

leathershoe4

Picks

Makai Lemon, WR, PHI - 1.04

Chris Brazzell, WR, CAR - 3.04

This was a small class for leathershoe4 after trading up for Kyle Williams during a stellar Draft last year, but they made the most of it. Lemon was a logical choice at 1.04 and was the last of the top tier of WRs, especially in light of an AJ Brown trade. Egbuka, Wilson and Lemon now make a young WR corps leathershoe4 can be proud of.

One of the WR dart throws, Brazzell was a fair 3rd round pick. There is opportunity in Carolina on an ascending offence, so he may turn into a helpful depth piece at the position.

Draft Grade: A

AntMan17

Picks

Fernando Mendoza, QB, LVR - 1.10

Antonio Williams, WR, WAS - 2.05

Brenen Thompson, WR, LAC - 3.05

The 2nd of our new managers, AntMan17 made a big trade in moving from #5 to #10 in the Draft, picking up a 2nd next year for the privilege. With their #10 pick, they took Mendoza, the clear best QB option in the Draft. AntMan17 has an obvious starter in Lamar, but little solid depth, especially with uncertainty around Penix. Mendoza will be a good fill-in for Lamar on BYE weeks, but that is a lot to pay for a QB that might be started only a few weeks of the year.

Antonio Williams and Brenen Thompson were both good picks at their value - Williams in particular has opportunity in Washington and draft pedigree almost identical to his teammate Terry McLaurin. Thompson was famously new OC Mike McDaniel's pick - as a burner he's unlikely to be a high volume player, but could develop into a risky WR play.

Draft Grade: B

Xuande

Picks

KC Concepcion, WR, CLE - 1.06

De'Zhaun Stribling, WR, SF - 2.06

Demond Claiborne, RB, MIN - 3.06

Last year's champion needs a few additions to retool for another run. Concepcion was another logical choice at WR as the 4th overall WR drafted, and Stribling was a great value at the 2.06 after being drafted just outside of the third round. Outside of Lamb, Xuande's other WRs have questions attached (Brown traded, Burden a possible breakout, Williams inconsistent) so some youth in the group will be very helpful.

Claiborne has opportunity in Minnesota, but as a sixth round pick he will be unlikely to get meaningful work behind Jones and Mason. He will be another lottery ticket RB in Xuande's roster - they've cashed in before, so they will cross their fingers again.

Draft Grade: A-

ajcsmit

Picks

Eli Stowers, TE, PHI - 1.07

Zachariah Branch, WR, ATL - 2.07

Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, BAL - 3.07

One of the more surprising picks of the first round, ajcsmit took Eli Stowers over not only highly-drafted WRs, but also Kenyon Sadiq, who was drafted much more highly than Stowers was. There is definitely a need for ajcsmit at the position, but it is bold to say the least to take a 2nd round TE at 1.07, let alone passing up a TE picked #16 overall in the NFL Draft.

ajcsmit got help at WR with the rest of their class - Branch and Lane were back-to-back NFL picks, and both have possible paths to contribution. Neither will likely become a WR1, but in this class a possible FLEX play would be good value at these picks.

Draft Grade: C+

Wham921

Picks

Kenyon Sadiq, TE, NYJ - 1.08

Elijah Sarratt, WR, BAL - 2.08

Skyler Bell, WR, BUF - 3.08

As another team with a TE need, Wham921 would have been delighted to have Sadiq fall to them. As of the Draft they had no starting TEs (Kittle injured and Njoku unsigned) so Sadiq fills a clear need on their stacked roster. Factor in his upside as a player and he is a great value at 1.08.

Wham921 was another manager who doubled up on WRs, moving away from reaching for other positions to go for pure value. Sarratt and Bell were both productive college receivers who may well slot in as FLEX or BYE week fill-ins.

Draft Grade: A

amccann

Picks

Omar Cooper, WR, NYJ - 1.09

Germie Bernard, WR, PIT - 2.04

Max Klare, TE, LAR - 2.09

Caleb Douglas, WR, MIA - 3.09

amccann's WRs remain in a varied state. Many of their starters are either getting older or regressing - Thomas, Aiyuk and Sutton as examples. Loading up on WRs to help replace them was a prudent move - Cooper was the next choice in the run on WRs, who amcann will hope to be the 2 to Garrett Wilson's 1 in New York. Bernard and Douglas both have relatively high draft capital but different situations - Bernard being a productive college player in a crowded WR room, and Douglas being an athletic project in a wide open situation.

Klare was another dart throw at TE to go along with amccann's pick of Terrance Ferguson last year - the Rams TE room is extremely cloudy at the moment, so there is no guarantee of value here, but with Andrews moving out of TE1 territory another lottery ticket is never a bad thing.

Draft Grade: A-

RobbieK

Picks

Jadarian Price, RB, SEA - 1.05

Malachi Fields, WR, NYG - 2.10

Adam Randall, RB, BAL - 3.10

Not content with their recent investment in the running back position, RobbieK leveraged Bo Nix to trade up to the 1.05 and select Price. The clear RB2 in the draft and with a gulf of space between him and the RB3, RobbieK jumped at the opportunity to draft Kenneth Walker's replacement. Given the uncertainty around RJ Harvey, Price should slot in as RobbieK's weekly RB2 next to Barkley, and in a very weak RB class the move to trade up makes a lot of sense.

Fields was taken after WRs with lower draft capital in Branch, Sarratt and Bell; and has opportunity in an ascending Giants offence. As a fifth-round pick Randall will be unlikely to unseat Henry, but could be a FLEX start in a pinch if he gets 3rd down work for the Ravens.

Draft Grade: A

jackmeenan

Picks

Jonah Coleman, RB, DEN - 1.11

Mike Washington, RB, LVR - 2.11

Kevin Coleman, WR, MIA - 3.11

Our runner up has a few holes on their roster, RB depth being possibly the largest - although Taylor and Gibbs are arguably the best RB tandem in the league. Coleman and Washington though are surprising picks - both are fourth round NFL picks and are behind other relatively established backs. Coleman has some opportunity in Denver between Harvey's running ability and Dobbins' injury history; but has a lot to work to do to become a starter. Washington relies almost entirely on a Jeanty injury to be valuable, and Kaytron Allen & Kaelon Black were both available.

Kevin Coleman has himself very little draft capital - the third Miami receiver drafted, you don't expect much from the 3.11 but there were other options with better capital and in better offences.

Draft Grade: C

Scuba_Eli

Picks

Denzel Boston, WR, CLE - 1.12

Ty Simpson, QB, LAR - 2.12

Eli Heidenreich, RB, PIT - 3.12

Our Champion was not in an enviable spot, having the last picks in a weak Draft class. They made some smart choices though - Boston has a good chance of being a real contributor in Cleveland alongside Concepcion, and Simpson may well turn into the QB of one of the league's best offences when Stafford decides to hang them up.

Heidenreich is a fun pick as 3.12 - as a 7th rounder it is very unlikely he will ever start for Scuba_Eli, but he has an outside chance to be a late-season desperation play if he makes the Steelers' roster.

Draft Grade: A-