Bold Predictions for the 2026 Fantasy Season
Fantasy football, like many industries, is plagued by “conventional wisdom.” But conventional wisdom is often wrong. Going against the grain, at the right time, is how you win championships. Below are twelve “bold predictions” which, if they pan out, could steer your fantasy team toward a title this season. And if they don’t work out, well, there’s a reason these predictions were bold.
We had several laudable calls last year. For example, we thought it was crazy that Kyren Williams was being drafted outside the top-10 running backs. And for the third year in a row, he wound up finishing inside the top 10. If you bought him at his discounted third round price, you were happy.
We predicted Emeka Egbuka would be the top rookie WR. While this wasn’t *technically* correct, as he finished as the #2 WR (behind Tet McMillan), you were certainly happy with this advice if you drafted him over Travis Hunter, Matthew Golden, Jayden Higgins, and Luther Burden. Also, if you played in leagues that awarded bonus points for 100-yard games, Egbuka was a better pick than McMillan, as he had more of those games.
We also predicted that Egbuka’s teammate, Baker Mayfield, would finish outside the top 10 QBs. This was bold because Mayfield was being drafted as QB7 last year, squarely in Round 6. Our logic was that his 2024 production was buoyed by a career-high 41 touchdowns, whereas in all other healthy seasons of his career he had tossed somewhere between 22 and 28 scores. We banked on a regression to the mean in the touchdown department, and we were right. He finished as QB12 on the strength of 26 touchdown passes.
In short, we led you to difference-makers who helped you compete, and helped you avoid players who were overpriced. Here are our bold predictions for 2026:
Kenneth Walker will finish outside the top-12 RBs. Coming in hot at the start! Walker is currently being drafted as the 10th RB off the board in Yahoo! leagues. Evan Silva of Establish the Run views him as a fringe first round pick. What on earth? Calm down, folks. Taking Walker in Round 2 this year is drafting situation over talent. Look at the back of this dude’s football card. He has never finished higher than 18th in PPR leagues… and that was four years ago! The last 2 years, he hasn’t finished higher than 27th. We suddenly think he’s going to be a top-10 RB because he plays for the Chiefs? It ain’t like the Chiefs have been a hotbed of fantasy points for running backs in recent years. In the past 3 seasons, their top RBs have finished as fantasy’s RB15, RB31, and RB31. In fact, if you exclude Patrick Mahomes’ rookie year (where he started only 1 game), the Chiefs have never had a 1,000-yard rusher with Mahomes as their starter. Why are we suddenly ga-ga for Kenneth Walker because he signed with the Chiefs? I get it that Andy Reid has had elite fantasy backs in the past in Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy. But let’s not forget that Brian Westbrook was one of the most elite pass catchers to ever play the running back position, and LeSean McCoy was a Hall-of-Fame-level talent. Walker is neither. Oh, and he’s a dude that’s had his fair share of injury issues in his pro career. As a rookie, he had groin, shoulder, and ankle injuries. The next year, he had groin, abdominal, and shoulder injuries. The following season, he had oblique, calf, and ankle injuries. And last year, he had ankle, foot, and glute injuries. Lots and lots of soft tissue injuries there, kids! I think Kenny Walker is a nice little player, but at a mid-to-late second round price tag, I very much doubt I will own any shares this year.
Michael Pittman will outscore DK Metcalf. Metcalf is currently going higher in drafts, but Pittman is the better bet. Pittman’s strength is in the short and intermediate area of the field, which is a better fit for Aaron Rodgers’ current skill set than Metcalf’s downfield game. Additionally, Pittman has finished as a top-20 WR in 4 of the past 5 seasons. Conversely, Metcalf has finished outside of the top 20 at the position in each of the past 3 seasons.
Tyler Warren will catch 100 balls this season. Why it’s bold: Only 10 tight ends in NFL history have caught 100 passes in a season. But Warren is primed to join that elite club. I have three reasons. First, he caught 76 balls as a rookie. That’s only been done by three other tight ends in NFL history. Second, the aforementioned Michael Pittman just vacated 111 targets when he left Indianapolis, and the Colts didn’t really replace him in the draft or free agency. If roughly 35-40 of those targets go to Warren, and he continues to catch passes at a 68% clip, he will hit 100 catches. Third, this dude is just really good. He’s one of only four tight ends in history to have at least 100 catches in a college season. If he can do it in college, in fewer games, I’m confident he can do it in the pros.
Malik Willis will be a top-12 fantasy quarterback. This is entirely a bet on the rushing production. Willis averages more than 50 rushing yards and nearly 1 rushing touchdown per game. That’s 11 points you can chalk up for him before you even account for any passing stats. If he can average just 150 yards passing (extremely modest) and 1 passing touchdown, you’ve got a player who will average 21 points per game. 21 points per game x 17 games = 357 fantasy points. That would have been … *checks notes* … QB5 in 2026. Even if you assumed 20 (!) turnovers (at -2 points for each turnover), he’s still a top-12 QB. I’m not worried about Miami’s crummy offensive line. I’m not worried about their lack of pass catchers. If Willis stays healthy, he should crush.
Jeremiyah Love finishes outside the top-20 running backs. Ugh, it hurt me to write that. It did. I am infatuated with Jeremiyah Love. Dude can flat-out ball. This call could quite easily blow up in my face, as just about every running back drafted in the top 10 over the past decade has finished as a top-10 RB his rookie season. But there are some reasons for concern here with Love, and they really have nothing to do with the player himself. First, Nathaniel Hackett is the offensive coordinator. He is a talent minimizer. I do not understand how this guy continues to get NFL jobs. He must be a really nice dude, because he does not call impressive offenses. Second, there is a TON of competition in the backfield in Arizona, including James Conner, free agent signee Tyler Allgeier, and Trey Benson. Yes, I’m always the guy who bets on talent over situation. But the way Hackett has been talking in the preseason, he sure seems like a coach who is intent on getting all his running backs involved. Third, this team doesn’t project to be very good. If they are constantly playing from behind, that might lead to them abandoning the run. (That may, however, lead to more opportunities through the air for Love.) As a prospect, Jeremiyah Love was awesome. I’m a Notre Dame fanboy and have adored the guy for years. But the year 1 situation is crummy. This is a team that is just as likely to be playing for 2026’s #1 overall draft pick as it is to be competitive. I’m fading Love at his ADP of 20 overall.
Harold Fannin will lead all tight ends in receiving yards. Why he’ll do it: He is the all-time leader in collegiate receiving yards in a single season, with 1,554. Like Warren, he’s one of only 4 tight ends to have a season with at least 100 catches in college. He’s also the de facto #1 pass catcher on a team featuring two rookie wide receivers and the declining Jerry Jeudy. And he really turned it on at the end of last season, finishing as a top-12 fantasy WR in 4 of his last 5 weeks. As a general rule, I like to draft tight ends who have the chance to be the #1 target in their offense. That’s Fannin.
Justin Herbert will be a top-5 quarterback. You either believe in Mike McDaniel or you do not. I believe. McDaniel made Tua Tagovailoa the NFL’s leading passer (although, admittedly, Tyreek Hill probably had something to do with that). But Herbert is insanely talented in his own right. He’s now freed from the shackles of the run-first Greg Roman. He can make throws to every level of the field. He has a talented cadre of pass-catchers in Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Tre Harris, David Njoku, and Oronde Gadsden. And he’s getting back arguably the best offensive tackle tandem in the NFL, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, both of whom got hurt last year. He’s gonna have time to throw. Oh, and did I mention he can run? Only Josh Allen rushed for more yards among QBs last year. Despite rushing for nearly 500 yards, Herbert only had 2 rushing touchdowns. Expect some regression to the mean there. I am high on the entire Chargers offense this year, and it all starts with Herbert.
Luther Burden will be a top-12 wide receiver. This all comes down to health. But this dude, currently being drafted as WR28 on ESPN, can flat out ball. People are scared off by his groin injury. Don’t be. He’ll be healed up by Week 1. People are scared off by his target competition in Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland. Don’t be. He’s better than Odunze, and he may well be better than Loveland. There’s enough of a pie for all of them to get fed, anyway. (Did you hear Ben Johnson say he his goal is to have the top-scoring offense of all time this season?) People are scared off because Burden was a low-snap-share player last year. Don’t be. DJ Moore has been jettisoned because the Bears want to get Burden more snaps. Head coach Ben Johnson is comparing him to Amon-Ra St. Brown. That isn’t hyperbole. Johnson coached St. Brown in Detroit. He knows what he is talking about. Draft Burden before his breakout. He’s a Y/RR monster. He’s a YAC monster. He was a top-20 WR (as a rookie!) per PFF grades. He was top-5 in passer rating when targeted. There are a lot of reasons to love Luther Burden this year. Pick one.
Jonathon Brooks will rush for 1,000 yards. Brooks has more ACL tears than he has NFL games with double-digit carries. But that ends this year. Finally healthy, he’s being drafted behind teammate Chuba Hubbard, who is nothing more than a replacement-level NFL back. The Panthers held Brooks out of their Hall of Fame preseason game, which tells you all you need to know. He is a major part of their plans. I envision him displacing Hubbard as the starter by midseason, if not sooner, and reminding everyone why he was the first running back taken in his draft class.
Davante Adams finishes outside the top 20 WRs. In the past decade, Davante Adams has only finished outside the top-20 WRs… once. And that was in a season where he was hurt. This dude is as much a lock for top-20 status as the sun rising in the east. And yet, I’m betting against it. He turns 34 in December and has been on the decline for several years (103 catches in 2023, 85 in 2024, 60 in 2025). His current touchdown rate - nearly 1 touchdown every 4 catches - isn’t sustainable. He had fewer than 800 yards receiving last year, his lowest yardage total since his second season in the league. (For context, Barack Obama was president then.) Last year, he had more than 5 catches in a game… just twice. He only had 3 games with more than 75 yards receiving. If you like Adams this year, you’re banking on another 14 touchdowns in 2026. I don’t like to bet on heavy touchdown production from aging skill-position players, so I’m out on Adams.
Trevor Lawrence finishes outside the top 15 QBs. The “development” of Trevor Lawrence last year was overblown. Really, his strong season was driven primarily by a hot streak in the rushing touchdown department. If you look at his season as a whole, though, you will see a lot to be concerned about. In 2025, he had 4 games with under 180 yards passing. His only 300-yard passing game was against the Jets in December, who were fielding something akin to a Division II college defense. As noted, his fantasy production was buoyed by 9 rushing touchdowns. Four of those rushing touchdowns came in the final 4 weeks, fueling the perception that he “turned it on” at the end of the year. I don’t believe he’s a Jalen Hurts/Josh Allen/Lamar Jackson type who can be counted on for double-digit rushing scores each year. Before last season, this is a guy who averaged 4 rushing touchdowns per year. What is more likely to happen - another 9 rushing scores, or reverting to his average of 4? Anyone who likes him is banking on him to repeat the 9 rushing scores, or take a massive step forward in passing yards and passing scores. Both seem like wishful thinking. The only other argument in his favor is the “Liam Cohen effect.” In response, I ask you: How many times in history has a coach elevated a mediocre QB to sustained success as an elite QB? I honestly don’t recall it ever happening. Post in the comments if you can come up with any examples.
D’Andre Swift finishes among the top 20 RBs. No one ever wants to draft D’Andre Swift, but he’s as reliable as a cup of coffee. He’s currently being drafted as RB23. You know the last time that Swift finished as RB23 or worse? Never. He’s never been that low. In his 6 seasons in the league, Swift has always finished as RB21 or better. This dude has been an absolute lock as an RB2. Oh, and did I mention he currently plays on the best offense he’s ever been in, one that projects as a top-5 scoring offense in many models? Don’t overthink this. Swift is a reliable RB2 who is going to be drafted as a RB3 in most leagues.