Adam Koffler's Fantasy Football Bold Predictions for 2026 - Parker Washington, Dalton Kincaid, Bo Nix, and Kenneth Gainwell

July 7, 2026

Adam Koffler's fantasy football bold predictions for 2026. His top fantasy football projections and calls, including for Bo Nix, Parker Washington, Dalton Kincaid, and Kenneth Gainwell.

Fourth of July weekend has come and gone. Training camps are just around the corner. There's no better time to fire up some fantasy football bold predictions.

These aren't projections, yet things that could absolutely come true despite expectations heading into the 2026 season.

Each one of these fantasy football bold predictions for the 2026 season has a realistic chance to hit, but again, they are meant to be bold. Here are five bold predictions that could swing fantasy football leagues this season.

Bo Nix Finishes as a Top-3 Quarterback

This one seems a little crazy. That is, until you peel back the onion. Nix finished last season as the QB11 on a per-game basis. Heading into 2026, his average draft position (ADP) sits at 106.9 (QB15) on Underdog.

Nix attempted a league-high 612 passes last season despite the Broncos outscoring their opponents 401-311 on their way to a 14-3 record. Sean Payton and Davis Webb want to throw the football regardless of the situation, as shown by their propensity to throw the ball on early downs.

Top Offenses by Early-Down Pass Rate Over Expectation (2025)

1. Cardinals (+9.4%)
2. Chiefs (+8.2%)
3. Rams (+6.4%)
4. Jaguars (+6.0%)
5. Bengals (+5.2%)
6. Broncos (+4.8%)
7. Patriots (+4.8%)
8. Chargers (+4.4%)
9. 49ers (+2.5%)
10. Colts (+2.4%)
...
29. Dolphins (-4.8%)
30.…

— Fantasy Points Data (@FantasyPtsData) July 1, 2026

This was done with Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, and rookie Pat Bryant. This offseason, the Broncos added Jaylen Waddle. History has shown that when an elite wide receiver is added to a team, the entire offense, including both the receiver and the quarterback, gets elevated.

Check this out:

QB fPPG before & after an elite WR joined the team

Jalen Hurts

Season before A.J. Brown - 22.9
1st season w/ AJB - 28

Josh Allen

Season before Stefon Diggs - 22
1st season w/ Diggs - 29.4

BO NIX (ADP - 107.6, QB15)

Season before Jaylen Waddle - 21
1st season w/ Waddle - 🚀?

— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) July 2, 2026

I used Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts in that tweet because they have similar traits to Nix. All three run the ball, and all three added (or "are adding" in the case of Nix) an elite wideout. Nix was sixth among quarterbacks in rushing attempts in 2025 with 83, and fifth as a rookie the season before with 92.

The four guys ahead of Nix in terms of rushing attempts in 2024 (Allen, Hurts, Lamar Jackson, and Jayden Daniels) all finished inside the top-6 quarterbacks that season. In short, mobile quarterbacks are a cheat code in fantasy football.

Now add Waddle to a team that wants to play fast and throw the football a lot. All of the pieces are there for Nix to take a massive jump in Year 3.

Parker Washington Cements Himself as a Fantasy WR1

Washington set career highs across the board in his third year in Jacksonville. His totals are impressive, and yet, there's so much more room to grow in 2026.

For nearly half of the 2025 season, Washington either played sparingly or was miscast as an outside-only guy. Once he "took over" the slot role following Travis Hunter's injury, it was wheels up.

Something that's important when examining Parker Washington's 2025 season: He didn't really get to play in the role he clearly fits best (slot) until the back half, despite getting some higher snap counts as a reserve early in the season.

He didn't take more than 40% of his… pic.twitter.com/myrMljXeSw

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) June 27, 2026

From Week 9 on, Washington found himself among some elite company. Per Fantasy Points Data, he was third in yards per route run (2.82), fifth in fantasy points per route run (0.57), and ninth in first downs per route run (0.121).

New head coach Liam Coen finally found something that worked. Washington in the slot, moving around the formation, unlocked Trevor Lawrence and the entire offense.

The Jaguars averaged 32.8 points and went 9-1 in their last 10 regular-season games. The offense was rolling in big part due to Washington. And this offseason, it sounds like he's the offensive MVP, and the team thinks he can give it even more than he gave it down the stretch last season.

“Parker Washington was the MVP of the offseason program a year ago before having a career season. He has gotten off to another stellar start this time around, looking uncoverable in 7-on-7 and team drills…[He has] looked as dynamic as he ever has at this stage of the offseason.” https://t.co/dVNWMWzgIu

— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) May 30, 2026

Oh, and if all of that wasn't enough to sell you on Washington in 2026, remember, Coen is historically a wizard with slot receivers.

Not to mention Liam Coen’s slot receivers in the NFL have ALWAYS cooked

Fantasy points per game for his primary slot WR

◻️ Cooper Kupp (2022) - 22.4
◻️ Chris Godwin (2024) - 19.7
◻️ Parker Washington (2025) - 15.2 (after the bye, despite multiple games less than 50% snap share) https://t.co/8QnghwAQlr

— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) June 28, 2026

His Underdog ADP of 67.5 (WR33) isn't nearly high enough considering his 2025 performance wasn't a fluke. Don't miss out on the next breakout wide receiver in a Liam Coen offense.

Dalton Kincaid Eclipses 1,000 Yards, Finishes as a Top-5 TE

You might not realize it, but on a per-route basis, Kincaid was the best tight end in football last season.

Despite battling a knee injury in training camp and several injuries throughout the season, he still led the position in targets per route run (0.27), yards per route run (3.04), and first downs per route run (0.147). Granted, he only ran 224 routes in 14 games, but Kincaid improved his efficiency drastically from Year 2 to Year 3.

Dalton Kincaid out of 141 players (WR, TE, and RB) with at least 45 targets in 2025

2nd in EPA/target (0.72)
3rd yards/route run (3.1)
3rd in yards/target (11.7)
1st in QB rating when targeted

— Anthony Cover 1 (@Pro__Ant) June 29, 2026

His route participation has decreased each season since his rookie year, but a lot of that can be attributed to his injuries and the relative health of teammate Dawson Knox.

But things could be different in 2026. Kincaid looked great at OTAs and even told reporters, "It's probably the best I've felt in my career at this point in the year."

It was just OTAs, but noteworthy nonetheless. What else is noteworthy is the fact that there's a new offensive coordinator in town. After Joe Brady was promoted to head coach, he brought over his buddy Pete Carmichael Jr. from the Denver Broncos to be the new OC in Buffalo.

Brady and Carmichael coached together in New Orleans back in 2017 and 2018, when the former was an offensive assistant for the Saints and Carmichael was the OC there. Brady will continue to call the plays, but Carmichael is no stranger to coaching and getting the most out of an elite tight end. Remember Jimmy Graham?

Carmichael and the Bills know how important Kincaid is to the offense. Last season, they averaged 30 points in games he played, and just 23 in games he didn't play.

General manager Brandon Beane even admitted they were managing his reps in the regular season in hopes he could help them in the postseason. And Carmichael seems to have big plans for his newest elite tight end in 2026.

Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael said Dalton Kincaid is going to be a big part of the offense. pic.twitter.com/lOTRlWsgJZ

— Paul Hamilton (@pham1717) June 2, 2026

If Kincaid can approach even a 70-80% route participation rate in 2026, it could be wheels up for the fourth-year tight end.

And no, I'm not at all worried about a declining D.J. Moore or Khalil Shakir coming off a tightrope procedure on his ankle. Kincaid should be the leading receiver for this Bills offense.

Kenneth Gainwell Outscores Bucky Irving

This is a bold take because of their respective ADPs. As of this article, Irving has an Underdog ADP of 53.9 (RB23), while Gainwell's ADP sits at 107.9 (RB37). The public just assumes Irving is the RB1 and Gainwell is the RB2.

However, Todd Bowles and new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson have consistently referred to the tandem as 1A and 1B.

***NEW How Kenny Gainwell Can Elevate The 2026 Bucs – In All Aspects

New RB Kenneth Gainwell was one of the offseason stars and showed that he will likely play a major role in the Buccaneers offense this year. @BaileyJAdams22 has the FULL STORY 🔻https://t.co/mIPDY39Twg

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) June 19, 2026

Gainwell was clearly a priority for the Buccaneers. So much so that they were willing to pay him $14 million at the onset of free agency instead of retaining Rachaad White at a much cheaper number.

And rightfully so, Gainwell was awesome in his only season in Pittsburgh. He racked up a career-high 1,023 total yards and eight touchdowns on 187 touches. Objectively, he was better than Irving in almost every advanced metric. While we think of Gainwell as an elite receiver and pass protector, he performed admirably as a runner in 2025.

Here's how the two backs stacked up last season (per Fantasy Points Data):

You might be thinking, "Why did he highlight the success rate on zone runs?"

As Falcons offensive coordinator in 2025, Robinson had 334 zone concept runs compared to just 94 man/gap concept runs (per Fantasy Points Data). Meanwhile, the Buccaneers had more man/gap concept runs (221) than zone concept runs (170) last season.

Gainwell should benefit from Robinson's run scheme. Not only that, but he's got a leg up in terms of health, too. Bowles confirmed Irving had offseason shoulder surgery. However, he was seen on the practice field in some capacity in June.

That said, Irving is labeled as a "very high" injury risk, per Draft Sharks, after dealing with both foot and shoulder injuries in 2025. Maybe it was the injuries last year that led to an underwhelming season, but Irving was one of the least efficient running backs in 2025.

And if it was the injuries, then it's notable that he had offseason surgery and could be battling something similar to start the 2026 season. That, combined with Gainwell's clean bill of health and the Bucs' willingness to pay him similarly to Tony Pollard with the Titans and David Montgomery with the Texans, makes him a screaming buy at his ADP.

Not only is Gainwell a screaming buy, but he's going to flat-out outperform Irving in 2026.

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