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Corbin's bold predictions for the 2026 fantasy football season. His top calls, player outlooks, and analysis for fantasy football leagues, featuring Quentin Johnston, Jordan Mason, and more.
As a data-focused person, my bold predictions might be more medium spice than five-star picks. That said, these bold predictions for the 2026 fantasy football season have low-to-medium hit rates. For some of these players, there will be targets and avoids based on price and going against the grain.
Fantasy football is a game of art and science, so it's normal to have those biases and feelings for or against players and teams. Sometimes fantasy football managers might lean more into the feel, meaning they're telling themselves a story of how this may or may not work out in their favor.
My bold predictions might not be as spicy as other RotoBaller writers. However, my data-focused approach and personality tend to keep me level-headed. Let's break down six bold predictions for the 2026 fantasy football season.
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Quentin Johnston Has a Breakout Season
In my 12 breakout candidates article in mid-July, I quantify breakouts as players who scored 200 fantasy points in a season. Johnston has been pushing that boundary for the past two seasons, scoring around 175 fantasy points in 2024 and 2025. He ranked 39th in expected fantasy points per game (EP/G), a career best.
Meanwhile, Johnston had his most efficient season, posting 2.2 fantasy points over expected (FPOE/G), mainly from continued strong production, scoring eight touchdowns and posting a career-best 14.4 yards per reception. There were pros and cons in Johnston's Year 3 profile.
He maintained his 21.2% first-read target share (24.4% in 2024), though his target per route rate fell to 17% from 24% (2024). Johnston's yards per route run dipped to 1.56 after 1.92 (2024). However, his 17.7% red-zone target share was second on the team, behind Oronde Gadsden (22.1%).
Though Johnston struggles to separate, he improved his yards per route run (1.94) against man coverage, up from 1.04 in 2024 while maintaining an above-average route win rate (21.5%). There have been positive reports about Mike McDaniel using him to create yards after the catch this season.
Johnston ranked 18th in 2024 and 34th in yards after the catch per reception. With the additions of Charlie Kolar and David Njoku, there might be an emphasis on heavier personnel, though the Dolphins ranked 29th and the Chargers at 32nd in 12-Personnel usage last season.
Under McDaniel, the Dolphins used play action at the fifth-highest rate, with the Chargers at 24th. We can presume the Chargers will use play action more often this season. Gadsden led the Chargers in yards per route run (3.28) on play-action plays, with Johnston (2.28) and Ladd McConkey (2.02) as the other two with over two yards per route run.
Johnston has been dealing with a lower-body injury in training camp, so hopefully that doesn't derail a breakout season. It's probably lukewarm to project Johnston having a breakout season, but I expect him to produce like a WR2 with a WR4 price tag in drafts.
Garrett Wilson Finishes as a Top-5 WR
Wilson dealt with knee injuries last season, including an MCL sprain and missing the rest of the season. He played on a team that ranked last in passing yards (140.3) and 30th in EPA per pass attempt, with the third-highest sack rate. Wilson had an elite first-read target share (43.9%) last season while producing an identical yards per route run of 1.81 in 2024 and 2025.
The visual below shows the pass catchers (WR/TE) sorted by the top-12 in first-read target share in 2025.
He was second in first-read target share behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba, as one of four pass catchers with a yards per route under 2.00. Besides Wilson, the other three were Justin Jefferson, Trey McBride, and Wan'Dale Robinson. Theoretically, Wilson should have an upgrade at quarterback, boosting his efficiency.
Wilson had WR1 usage in 2023 (WR7) and 2024 (WR9), though his efficiency was brutal. In the small sample of seven games, Wilson's usage dipped to WR16 in EP/G last season. However, Wilson posted a career high of 1.2 FPOE/G (No. 32), hinting at improved efficiency. He has been priced as a WR2 that should return to his WR1 usage and status.
Some think Frank Reich, the new Jets' offensive coordinator, will be an issue. However, we can argue that Reich was dealt some tough hands in his previous two seasons as head coach. Reich was in Carolina for Bryce Young's historically poor rookie season, with Adam Thielen being the top receiver.
With the Colts, Matt Ryan was in his final season with Michael Pittman Jr. as their top pass catcher. Trust Wilson's talent to finish the season as a top-5 WR, which would be bold since the Jets are 31st in implied points per game and his peak season as WR15 in PPR/G.
Zero Panthers Running Backs Finish in the Top-36
Jonathon Brooks is being drafted as RB28 and Chuba Hubbard at RB39 in FFPC leagues within the top 100 picks. Though the market hasn't quite pushed Brooks and Hubbard into the RB2 range, many fantasy managers will be drafting them as the second or third running back on their teams.
The fantasy community seems to love Brooks after nine career rushes in his rookie year before a second ACL tear on his right knee. Brooks played in their first preseason game, so he appears to be healthy heading into the 2026 season. Last season, the Panthers' offensive line ranked 14th in adjusted yards before contact per attempt while allowing the eighth-highest pressure rate.
Hubbard ranked as RB11 in PPR/G in 2024 with the Panthers. He scored 10 rushing and four receiving touchdowns, given his RB6 usage in EP/G. With Rico Dowdle on the Panthers, Hubbard's usage dipped to RB39, ranking as RB44 in PPR/G. Meanwhile, Dowdle was RB23 in PPR/G, aligning with his usage as RB23 last season.
Hubbard's efficiency declined, with a 6% missed-tackle rate and 1.75 yards after contact, yet a decent 2.07 yards before contact. It's been a while, but Brooks had the third-highest missed tackle rate (34.5%) in college among the 2024 running back prospects behind Trey Benson and Bucky Irving.
Furthermore, Brooks had the fourth-highest RB Dominator, indicating he can handle a heavy workload, so projecting him and Hubbard to not finish inside the top-36 might be risky. This is a bet on the Panthers struggling on offense again, after ranking 21st in EPA per rush and 25th in EPA per pass, with an offensive line that projects to be in the bottom third of the league.
I'm cautiously investing in the Panthers backfield since they could eat into others' workload while playing on one of the worst offenses led by Bryce Young.
Brian Thomas Jr. Outscores Parker Washington
Everyone seems to love Washington, and rightfully so, after he finished the second half of the season as WR17, averaging 14.9 fantasy points per game. That led the Jaguars' trio with Jakobi Meyers at 12.2 PPR/G and Thomas at 8.8 PPR/G in Weeks 9-18.
Thomas had a 22.6% first-read target share, higher than Washington's season-long average (19.8%). That swapped in Weeks 9-18. Washington led the team with a 25.4% first-read target share, with Meyers close behind in Weeks 9-18. Thomas trailed them with a 20.4% first-read target share since Week 9.
Washington was more efficient, given 2.64 yards per route run, while Thomas (1.69) and Meyers (1.64) trailed in Weeks 9-18. To further support Washington's efficiency, he ranked 9th in FPOE/G in Weeks 9-18 among receivers who played five games.
Thomas discussed how he finally felt healthy to run during the offseason. There's a chance they use more heavy personnel next season after adding Nate Boerkircher in the second round and Tanner Koziol on Day 3 at tight end. If they use more heavy personnel, the slot receiver in Washington loses reps and Thomas, the outside X-receiver, benefits.
No one knows how Travis Hunter will be deployed in Year 2, but he may be schemed up in the slot, further eating into Washington's opportunities. Hunter was used out wide 94.3% of the time in 2024 while deployed often in the slot in 2023 (64.3%).
I'm betting on a bounce-back season for Thomas.
De'Zhaun Stribling Scores the Most Fantasy Points Among Rookie WRs in Year 1
Carnell Tate is going as WR31 in FFPC leagues at pick 70.2 with Jordyn Tyson (WR37, 87.4) and Makai Lemon (WR47, 111.4) going 2-3 rounds after Tate. KC Concepcion is WR50 (117.2), and then we finally find Stribling as WR52 (123.6). Tyson is going to miss two months with a hamstring injury, after dealing with similar issues in the past.
Lemon is also dealing with a hamstring injury, with Tate having stiffness after a hard hit in practice. Stribling and Concepcion have been healthy so far, though Mike Evans has quad tightness in mid-August. That potentially opens the door for Stribling, especially with Ricky Pearsall done for the season.
Deebo Samuel was deployed in the slot 64.8% of the time, though might mix in on the outside. Stribling consistently played out wide throughout college, finishing at 82.5% at Ole Miss. The 49ers rank seventh in implied points per game, besting the other teams these rookies play for.
Stribling's production profile wasn't exciting, with 1.55 receiving yards per team pass attempt in 2025 and 1.47 in his career. However, Stribling is a tackle-breaking machine, forcing a missed tackle on 23.3% of his receptions. When watching Stribling play at Ole Miss, they often schemed him up as their first read, often on short-area passes.
That's evident in Stribling leading the 2026 rookie receivers with 63.2% of his targets coming on short targets (0-9 yards) and the fourth-most yards per route run (9.36). Furthermore, Stribling averaged 13.24 yards per route run on medium targets (10-19 yards) while garnering targets 29.5% of the time.
If Evans remains healthy and George Kittle can be similar to his healthy self, Stribling might need to be efficient on limited opportunities. There are plenty of paths for Stribling to thrive as an explosive athlete with a 95th-percentile Speed Score, 94th-percentile Freak Score, and a 75th-percentile Explosion Score.
Stribling's price has been on the rise, with a good chance to have spike weeks in an above-average offense.
Jordan Mason Scores 10+ Rushing Touchdowns and Becomes a Borderline RB1
The last running back to score 10+ rushing touchdowns for the Vikings was Dalvin Cook, who rushed for 16 in 2020 and 13 in 2019. Mason has back-to-back seasons with over 150 rush attempts and 750 rushing yards. Aaron Jones led the team in rush share (47%) and target share (14%). Meanwhile, Mason had a 42% rush share with a 4% target share last season.
In Weeks 3-7 with Jones injured, Mason handled 60% of the team's rush attempts and garnered 5% of the targets for the Vikings. He produced the 16th-most PPR/G among all running backs in Weeks 3-7. Mason handled 53.8% of the team's carries inside the five-yard line (No. 20) with other juicy underlying metrics.
That's evident in Mason's 56% rushing success rate (No. 20), 19% missed tackle rate (No. 29), 2.42 yards after contact per attempt (No. 24), and 2.35 yards before contact per attempt (No. 20). Mason has been one of the better rushers in the rushing advanced stats on a team that ranked 12th in rush percentage in neutral game scripts.
Mason likely won't garner a receiving role, but can be a strong producer as a rusher. He will continue to share backfield opportunities with Jones when healthy. However, there's a chance the rushing offense gains efficiency with Kyler Murray as their starting quarterback.
That's evident in the Cardinals' running backs' efficiency with an above-average rushing FPOE/G in 2023 and 2024. However, the Cardinals' RB efficiency dipped in 2025 after multiple injuries to James Conner and Trey Benson. The more we look into Mason, the more there are reasons for optimism as a rusher.
Look for Mason to have a breakout season, primarily as a rusher with 10+ touchdowns this season.
Who Should I Draft Fantasy Football Tool
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Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for Quentin Johnston, Jordan Mason, Garrett Wilson, De'Zhaun Stribling, Parker Washington, Brian Thomas Jr., Jonathon Brooks, Chuba Hubbard:
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