10 Fantasy Football Bold Predictions: Early NFL Analysis (2026)

April 18, 2026

John Johnson dives into his 10 boldest early predictions for fantasy football for the 2026 NFL season. His picks for the biggest surprises, sleepers, and busts.

There's never a bad time to have a little bit of fun by making bold predictions for the upcoming NFL season. The next NFL Draft is on April 23, but we'll get to that when it's time. For now, we can focus on how we think rookies might do on whatever team they're drafted and make predictions as normal for veteran players.

Every season is full of surprises, but that doesn't mean that bold predictions have to come true. In fact, you could probably look at articles on this topic from past seasons and see claims that look absolutely ridiculous in hindsight. That doesn't mean this is an exercise in futility, though.

Reading about fantasy football is surely entertaining, if nothing else. And there can always be nuggets from articles that end up being prophetic. I've had my fair share of bad predictions and nearly precognitive analysis. With that in mind, let's make 10 wild predictions for the 2026 NFL season!

Trevor Lawrence Smashes His ADP

In the same vein, Lawrence should have the best season of his career. If we just look at the back half of his 2025 campaign, he put up MVP-level numbers. Once the Jags offense started to work more cohesively as Coen's vision for the passing attack materialized, Lawrence finally looked like a No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick.

Lawrence, in his last six games, threw 15 touchdowns to just one interception. Jacksonville ran the table, winning its final eight games, averaging 33.6 points per game down that stretch. Lawrence is ranked around the QB10 spot in RotoBaller's 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings, but he should finish inside the top six.

Jakobi Meyers Finishes As Top-10 WR

It didn't take long for Meyers to establish himself as the top wideout for the Jacksonville Jaguars after he was traded there during the 2025 season. He's the best route runner and has the best hands of any wideout on the Jaguars.

Meyers doesn't have the coveted full-time Liam Coen slot role, but it doesn't matter, as he's also the team's best separator. He's likely to have built much better chemistry with Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, and he should get hammered with targets early and often this season.

Jakobi Meyers picks up 50 yards!

JAXvsTEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/DYWkJmWQIl

— NFL (@NFL) November 30, 2025

Coen is a great offensive head coach, and the explosive Jaguars offense at full health should be enough to make Meyers a massive sleeper in the draft at his ADP.

De'Von Achane Doesn't Finish Top-10 Among RBs

It's hard to look at what the Miami Dolphins are doing and see it as anything other than tanking. They cut their starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, this offseason. Though he's been disappointing since his 2023 campaign, he at least gave them a fighting chance in some games when he was healthy.

Additionally, their former WR1, Tyreek Hill (knee), is now gone, and they then traded their WR2, Jaylen Waddle, to the Denver Broncos. Their offense is completely devoid of talent at wide receiver and tight end, and they're rolling with QB Malik Willis as their starter. When he was a full-time starter in Tennessee, his play was decidedly not good.

Who's stopping the Dolphins offense? pic.twitter.com/YtILBYeyXD

— CantaLoupe (@CantALoupe_FF) March 18, 2026

The above post is from a parody account, but it illustrates the problem quite well. The team's WRs are no better than sparingly used WR3s and WR4s on other teams, their top tight end is an oft-injured journeyman, their quarterback has very little starting experience, and there are simply no difference-makers.

Perhaps they'll select one of this year's top rookie receivers in the 2026 NFL Draft. But he would draw the absolute best coverage attention from opposing defenses, and probably wouldn't be in a great position to consistently win.

What exactly is Achane supposed to do here? Defenses will be able to focus their entire game plans on slowing him down. He has a massive uphill battle ahead of him.

Michael Pittman Jr. Busts

The Pittsburgh Steelers traded for former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. this offseason. The Steelers offense isn't looking like it will be much to write home about this year. Perhaps they'll sign quarterback Aaron Rodgers again, but he's 42 years old and has been on the decline for many seasons now.

Pittman struggled last season playing through fractured bones in his back. He should be healthier to start 2026, but he'll be in a low-volume passing offense with another highly paid receiver in DK Metcalf. The Steelers love nothing more than to run the ball as much as humanly possible, too, and Rodgers loves to check it down to his running backs.

Pittman should help the Steelers offense be a bit more productive than it would be in his absence, but it's unlikely to lead to a good fantasy outcome for the veteran WR.

Travis Etienne Jr. Finishes Outside Top-12 RBs

Etienne had a resurgent season last year with the Jacksonville Jaguars. And to be honest, this isn't my most confident take. But I'm betting against the Saints offense as a whole moving forward. Quarterback Tyler Shough showed promise in Year 1, but now NFL teams have actual NFL tape to use against him, and that makes life difficult for second-year QBs.

The team also doesn't have a great offensive line, and we saw how Etienne's production dipped massively in 2024, largely thanks to poor run-blocking. New Orleans' head coach, Kellen Moore, possesses an excellent offensive mind, but the blocking woes should drag this entire offense down, especially in the run game.

The Raiders Actually Have A Good Offense

I've raved about the new Raiders head coach, the aforementioned Klint Kubiak, endlessly over the offseason. There exists a mountain of tape of the offenses he ran in Seattle and New Orleans that display his creativity and effectiveness at creating explosive plays and consistently exploiting the weaknesses of every defensive shell that NFL defenses run.

The Raiders could have some growing pains with their rookie quarterback, but they invested heavily in the offensive line, have a fantastic running back, and will benefit from elite coaching. Once the offense gels well, and that could take until around midseason, expect this team's offense to be one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 NFL season.

Omarion Hampton Finishes The Season As A Top-4 Running Back

Talented players who get an upgrade in their offensive environments are incredibly valuable players to draft in fantasy football. This situation applies to Hampton. The Chargers will have a healthier offensive line (most likely), and they got a massive upgrade at offensive coordinator in former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.

Hampton had a few explosive games before he suffered a fractured ankle in Week 5, and wasn't able to return to action until Week 14. He still performed well in fantasy football, scoring more than 14 PPR fantasy points in three of his final four contests. But he was far from fully healthy.

Frustrating because (at least to start) there's daylight for Omarion Hampton on a few runs...but *something* goes wrong and it's not as effective as called. https://t.co/lYVTVF0wp4 pic.twitter.com/PXytOslTcC

— Tyler Schoon (@tylerjschoon) December 28, 2025

The "committee" situation they'll have isn't much to worry about. He's a first-round pick who will share the backfield with a late-round pick and an undrafted free agent. It's unreasonable to expect him to get all the touches. But he should get most of them and be extremely efficient as well. Expect a lot of massive plays from Hampton next year if the offensive line can stay healthy.

A.J. Brown's Regression Continues

Brown dealt with injuries and struggled early in his 2025 campaign. He was one of the biggest busts in fantasy football, though, with his high ADP not returning good results.

He had five games of single-digit PPR fantasy points. He did have a few big games, but he was underutilized. Four games with more than 20 PPR fantasy points and an overall finish as the WR11 wasn't good enough.

Brown has a very concerning injury history. He revealed that he had to get one of his knees drained twice a week during the 2024 season, and has a long history of concerning ailments. And his efficiency in a lot of advanced statistical areas nosedived for the 2025 season. We can blame a lot on the now-fired offensive coordinator, Kevin Patullo, of course.

It's suspected that Brown's knee issue is degenerative. It seems like it won't be possible for it to get better over time -- rather, the most he can do is slow the rate at which it deteriorates. He'll be 29 years old for the 2026 season, and the age cliff could be about to hit the Eagles star like a freight train.

Drafting him is a big risk. Not all the problems with the Eagles offense were the fault of Patullo. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has trouble processing the field, and apparently had a big hand in simplifying the offense, which hurt its effectiveness. Brown's propensity for dud games with single-digit PPR fantasy points, his age, and the offense he's in make him a risk to draft this season.

Ashton Jeanty Finishes as the RB1 Overall

It's tough not to pick Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson as the top-scoring running back for the 2026 season in fantasy football. But history tells us that RB1 overall performances simply do not repeat themselves often. In fact, since 2006, only one player has been the fantasy RB1 multiple times -- San Francisco 49ers tailback Christian McCaffrey.

He's far and away the outlier here, though. My prediction for RB1 overall in 2026 is a player who had a very promising rookie season and looked every bit the part of an elite running back prospect, but had to play with a bottom-tier offensive line, horrible offensive coaching, bad quarterback play, and in the quicksand that is a poorly run organization.

pic.twitter.com/IELbGemxmX

— Performances (@NotNflBurner) February 22, 2026

Jeanty's skills translated very well to the next level. He was remarkably difficult to tackle, had great speed, and had elite contact balance. And now, his team will likely draft a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick.

That will be an upgrade from QB Geno Smith. And they hired an elite offensive coach in Klint Kubiak, who took the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in his first year as offensive coordinator there.

The Raiders should have a far better offense in 2026, and Jeanty will be the workhorse running back, owing to his elite draft capital, high-end talent, and lack of competition in his backfield. Kubiak is someone I've called a genius multiple times. He deserves all the praise, and Jeanty deserves your pick in the first round of fantasy football drafts.

George Pickens Outscores CeeDee Lamb

Obviously, we have to set aside injuries hampering players' performances here and make exceptions if quarterback Dak Prescott gets a season-ending injury. But looking over the film and statistics for the 2025 season, Pickens simply was the better player. He averaged more yards per catch, racked up more yards per game, and tripled fellow Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb's output.

Pickens had a monster year and bested Lamb easily in several not necessarily statistical feats. For example, Pickens was much more sure-handed than Lamb, while Lamb struggled with a ton of drops. No. 88 dropped four passes in one game at one point, while Pickens had no such issues. And the former Steelers WR put together an impressive highlight reel.

4 ➡️ 3

📺: #LACvsDAL on FOX
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/RmDxAeCG4M pic.twitter.com/en4khQdtCR

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 21, 2025

Pickens is easily the WR1 on most teams in the NFL. I'm sure squads like the New England Patriots greatly regret not trading for him. While Lamb is one of the NFL's best route runners, he doesn't have the pure physicality that makes Pickens nearly impossible to cover consistently by NFL defensive backs.

The ability to make huge plays is clearly an advantage for Pickens, and in a league with ever-declining passing volume over the past few seasons, one or two big plays can change the course of a game. The Cowboys might see Pickens as deserving of nine or more targets per contest, in which case it would be very difficult for Lamb to surpass him.

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