It's not easy to predict the future. This is especially true in a sport that features 60 minutes of constant 11-on-11 car crashes while using a ball that isn't even round. Any alleged fantasy football expert is accordingly bound to be wrong about a LOT during the course of any given season.
But what if this is the year that's not true? What if this is the year where all of our nonsensical, wild, and borderline deprived takes actually come true?
Fantasy Football Bold Predictions 2026
Presenting: My 2026 BOLD fantasy football predictions. Do I 100 percent expect these things to happen? Not necessarily. Do they directionally reflect my general thoughts on rankings and draft strategy? You bet!
As always: It's a great day to be great.
6 Bold Predictions for 2026
1. The Chargers lead the league in scoring, Justin Herbert wins MVP
After all, Herbert is one of just 10 QBs ever with multiple career seasons averaging north of 22 fantasy points per game, so the ceiling is certainly there. The man has a 5,000-yard passing season to his name, and his QB10 finish in fantasy points per game last season was heavily aided by a career-high 498 rushing yards.
It'd make sense if better health from
It's not easy to predict the future. This is especially true in a sport that features 60 minutes of constant 11-on-11 car crashes while using a ball that isn't even round. Any alleged fantasy football expert is accordingly bound to be wrong about a LOT during the course of any given season.
But what if this is the year that's not true? What if this is the year where all of our nonsensical, wild, and borderline deprived takes actually come true?
Fantasy Football Bold Predictions 2026
Presenting: My 2026 BOLD fantasy football predictions. Do I 100 percent expect these things to happen? Not necessarily. Do they directionally reflect my general thoughts on rankings and draft strategy? You bet!
As always: It's a great day to be great.
6 Bold Predictions for 2026
1. The Chargers lead the league in scoring, Justin Herbert wins MVP
After all, Herbert is one of just 10 QBs ever with multiple career seasons averaging north of 22 fantasy points per game, so the ceiling is certainly there. The man has a 5,000-yard passing season to his name, and his QB10 finish in fantasy points per game last season was heavily aided by a career-high 498 rushing yards.
It'd make sense if better health from both the offensive line and Herbert himself (broke his left hand in Week 13), combined with an improved scheme courtesy of new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, leads to bigger and better things for this passing game. After all, McDaniel has pushed the "easy buttons" more than just about anyone over the years.
Vegas has the Chargers ranked 12th in scoring entering 2026, and Herbert's +1000 MVP odds are tied for the third best in the league, so it's not the wildest leap of faith. Ultimately, I'm betting on one of the most physically gifted QBs that the Shanahan-McDaniel system has ever seen making the most out of an offensive environment filled with playmakers and (finally) a healthy, physical offensive line.
Drinking all the Chargers Kool-Aid in August. What could go wrong?
For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, news and everything going on around the NFL, head to RotoWire's NFL Fantasy Football News Today or follow @RotoWireNFL on X.
2. The Colts finish 28th in scoring,infuriatefaithful fantasy managers
Were the Colts frickin' awesome during the first 10 weeks of 2025? Yes.
Should we be concerned about the pretty obvious issues impacting this passing game ahead of 2026? Also yes:
- Daniel Jones is practicing and should be good to go coming off a torn *right* Achilles (his plant/power foot) last December. Then again, there's a difference between playing in Week 1 and being 100 percent healthy in Week 1. Should we really expect Jones to resemble the world-beater we saw last year if forced to operate with less mobility and arm strength, or could we perhaps see someone a bit closer to, you know, the guy we watched from 2019 to 2024?
- 114-million-dollar man Alec Pierce remains on the PUP list after undergoing a March ankle surgery. He reportedly tried to avoid surgery, but consistent soreness strongly suggested the issue needed to be addressed. I am NOT a doctor, but coming back from a lower-body injury like this doesn't seem ideal for a dude whose superpower is winning downfield. The complete lack of any practice time this offseason also doesn't bode well for Pierce immediately thriving with a potential expanded role.
- With Pierce sidelined, the current frontrunners for WR2 duties behind Josh Downs are Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Ashton Dulin. Maybe 34-year-old Keenan Allen is added to the roster. Either way: It's hardly a stretch to say this WR group ranks a lot closer to 32nd than first relative to the rest of the league. Adding nobody of consequence to replace Michael Pittman (5th most receptions in franchise history!) was a choice.
Maybe the injuries will simply be fine. Maybe Jonathan Taylor is simply built different and goes bonkers behind what has consistently been one of the league's better offensive lines. Maybe Tyler Warren and Josh Downs have enough collective dawg in them to carry the passing game even if Pierce is slow to get started.
That's a lot of maybes! I've generally refrained from going too hard in the paint for any Colt in fantasy land this season, even preferring Jayden Reed to Downs due to the potential for someone like Keenan to be added to the equation.
Stay informed with fantasy football news and track usage roles with the NFL depth charts.
3. Saquon does a solid impression of his 2024 self, racks up 2,000 total yards and scores 14 touchdowns
2025's 2,283 total yards and 15 scores were good for RB1 status in fantasy land, but sadly, the encore (1,413 yards, 9 TD, RB15 in PPR points per game) wasn't exactly what loyal fantasy managers had in mind.
So why should 2026 be any different? Well, a healthier and better offensive line would be a good start. Barkley went from averaging 5.8 yards per carry in 2024 to just 4.1 in 2025. At least some of that can be blamed on the offensive line: Eagles RBs averaged 1.45 (7th) yards *before* contact per carry in 2025 compared to 2.25 (1st) in 2024.
RotoWire's Offensive Line outlook is confident in a rebound, ranking the Eagles' o-line third in the NFL while concluding:
O-line coaching legend Jeff Stoutland and his gap-heavy scheme are gone, replaced by the wide-zone scheme of new OC Sean Mannion, which, the Eagles hope, will unleash Saquon Barkley and the running game. Age and health remain a concern — RT Lane Johnson is heading into his age-36 season after being limited to 10 games in 2025, for example — but QB Jalen Hurts' considerable athleticism provides cushion for protection struggles. Health permitted, there's no reason to believe this O-line will provide less than top-5 upside in 2026.
This time last year, the world sure seemed to all agree Saquon was the best RB on the planet. Where would you say he ranks now? Still first? Maybe third behind Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson? Worst case, fourth or fifth if you want to give Jonathan Taylor and/or Christian McCaffrey some love?
That's the main point: One relatively down season following such a smashing 2024 didn't suddenly turn Saquon freaking Barkley into a bad football player. We're still very much looking at an elite talent poised to breeze past 300 touches inside an offense that (again) boasts a big, tough offensive line and is generally expected to work among the league's top-10-ish scoring offenses.
Saquon is my RB4 and No. 8 player overall. You might say I'm a fan of his Round 2 ADP over in the home league streets.
Check out the industry-leading fantasy football live draft assistant to get custom rankings for your league and follow along with a live draft on most major platforms.
4. Jordan Mason scores double-digit touchdowns in an improved Vikings offense
There have been some offseason murmurs from the plugged-in Vikings beat that it might be time for Jordan Mason to be the lead back in Minnesota.
It would make sense! After all, the Vikings made Aaron Jones take a pay cut, and their only meaningful addition this offseason was pint-sized (5-foot-9, 188) speedster Demond Claiborne.
Mason was also pretty good last season!
Jordan Mason among 33 RBs with 150-plus carries:
- Yards per carry: 4.8 (tied for 11th)
- Yards over expected per carry: +0.94 (5th)
- Yards after contact per carry: 3.4 (8th)
- Tackles avoided per carry: 19.5% (14th)
So why wasn't Mason, you know, better in fantasy football land? Simple: This offense sucked! The league's 26th-ranked scoring group hardly made a habit of setting up its running backs with fantasy-friendly scoring opportunities. Seriously: Vikings RBs had just nine rush attempts inside the 5-yard line all season. That was tied with the Raiders for the fifth-lowest mark in the league!
And hey, even if Kyler Murray doesn't exactly lead this offense to constant fireworks, the impact of dual-threat QBs has consistently helped elevate rushing attacks over the years. Offenses with a quality rushing QB have regularly ranked among the league's best groups in RB rush yards *before* contact per carry over the years, something the Vikings finished just 17th in last season.
Mason currently goes in Round 11 on Yahoo and Round 13 on ESPN. RotoWire projections have the 27-year-old talent easily leading the way in touches
Check out our fantasy football ADP report for a comprehensive tool with live-updated ADP data for multiple league formats and sites.
5. Jaylen Waddle shines and finishes as the overall WR5
Waddle is pretty good at football. The five-year veteran averaged a crisp 75 receptions, 1,008 yards and 5.4 touchdowns in five seasons in South Beach despite sharing the passing game with Tyreek Hill and having to deal with some rough play from Tua Tagovailoa in recent years.
Everyone seems to agree DeVonta Smith (ADP WR11 on Yahoo) is poised to take a big step forward without A.J. Brown around. Why doesn't that same optimism apply to Jaylen Waddle, who is now freed from working with most people's idea of a top-three receiver of the last half-decade? Unlike Smith, Waddle actually has multiple seasons of high-end production (WR15 in 2021, WR12 in 2022). Also unlike Smith, we should also feel a bit more confident in the overall pass-game volume considering Bo Nix just led the NFL in pass attempts.
Sean Payton is pretty unanimously considered one of the brighter offensive minds of the 21st century. Maybe we should be in on the electric receiver he traded a first-round pick for?
Many have pushed back on Waddle being a boom candidate due to his constant ventures to the injury tent over the years, but it's worth remembering he's still managed to play 80 of a potential 87 games since entering the NFL in 2021. Where I go wrong is Courtland Sutton continuing to be a force and splitting the targets more evenly than expected, though the soon-to-be 31-year-old veteran saw his yards per route run (1.52) and targets per route run (19.3%) slip to four-year lows last season.
Ultimately, Waddle has proven capable of supplying WR1 production even as an overqualified No. 2 WR, and now he sure looks a lot like the engine of this high-volume Broncos passing game. Not a bad Round 4-5 target in home leagues!
6. Brock Bowers is this year's JSN, breaks the single-season TE receiving yards record
Accordingly, my favorite draft strategy of the year revolves around landing Mr. Bowers.
Presenting: The Super Bowers fantasy football draft strategy.
The thesis:
- Round 1: We take a sweet running back.
- Round 2: Come on down, Mr. Brock Bowers
- Rounds 3-6: We possibly take the right RB2, otherwise, this is where we attack the very fun WR2-3 range
- Rounds 7-9: We play catch-up at RB2 and go after the muddled/ambiguous backfields that populate RB3 territory
- Round 10+: Late-round QB for the win along with more handcuff RBs
The allure of this draft strategy is it allows the drafter to attack, in my humble opinion, the best value patches of every position. We avoid the mid-round RB dead zone by loading up on a prolonged WR2-3 tier, nail the ridiculously loaded late-round QB scene, and, of course, get a good candidate to be this year's JSN: Brock Bowers.
Reminder: Brock Bowers broke the rookie tight end records for receptions (112) and yards (1,194) before actually averaging more PPR points per game in 2025 (16.44 vs. 15.45) if you give the man a pass for attempting to play through a painful PCL injury in Weeks 2-4. That was with some objectively ROUGH play-calling and QB combos, something that should be at least somewhat rectified by the Klint Kubiak-Kirk Cousins/Fernando Mendoza brain trust.
Still just 23 years young, Bowers sure looks a lot like someone ready to REALLY break out inside an offense with less WR pass-game competition than anywhere outside of Miami. Last year the Raiders' goal was reportedly for Bowers to break the NFL record for catches and targets. Don't be surprised if just a bit better scheme/QB and luck from the Injury Gawds help the third-year talent get close to doing just that.
