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Dominick Petrillo shares his bold fantasy football predictions for the 2026 season. His NFL analysis for Travis Kelce, Eli Stowers, AJ Brown, and more.
Everyone loves good fantasy football bold prediction articles. Well, good or not, here are some of my bold predictions for the 2026 fantasy football season.
Will Patrick Mahomes return and be the No. 1 fantasy QB? Will Carnell Tate be a WR1 during his rookie season?
There is only one way to find out if these are going to happen. Keep reading and fade at your own risk.
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Eli Stowers will be the top-scoring TE on the Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Goedert is entering his age-31 season.
Since entering the league in 2018, he has only played a full season one time. That was his rookie season when he played in all 16 games. Since then, he has appeared in 15 games three times and has also appeared in 12 or fewer games three times.
In 2025, playing in 15 games, Goedert finished with 60 receptions for 591 yards. He is starting to fade in the same way Zach Ertz did upon the arrival of Goedert.
The Eagles will want to see what they have in the rookie Stowers out of Vanderbilt. If he can take the reins, the Eagles can save money next offseason by moving on from Goedert. But there is only one way to find out, and that is to put him on the field.
No Miami Dolphins player will finish in the top 10 of their position
This prediction comes down to two players now that Jaylen Waddle is in Denver.
The two players who can make me a liar are RB De'Von Achane and new QB Malik Willis, who arrives from Green Bay. Much like the Eagles with Stowers and Goedert, this is going to be a season of seeing what the team has and doing everything possible to get the No. 1 overall draft selection in 2027.
Achane finished 2025 with 238 carries, ranking him 14th in the league. On these carries, Achane gained 1,350 yards and eight TDs. The 1,350 yards ranked Achane fifth in the NFL despite the limited number of carries.
At 5’9" and 191 pounds, the 238 carries are about the max you can expect from Achane, limiting his potential for more. With the offensive line being, well, offensive, his ability to break long runs in 2026 will also be limited.
Willis had a solid time in Green Bay. Though never the long-term starter, he came in when needed and provided a spark to keep the Packers in the playoff hunt when Jordan Love was forced to miss time. This play was a far cry from the play Willis showed when entering the league with the Titans. This is why Miami signed him to a $67.5 million contract to be the starter in this reset season for the franchise.
Justin Jefferson will be the No. 1 overall WR in fantasy football
With J.J. McCarthy at the helm last season, Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings fell off a cliff the size of Niagara Falls.
Kyler Murray may not have turned out the way Arizona Cardinals fans had hoped when taking him with the first overall selection, but he is still far better than McCarthy is at this point. He can run when needed and can get down when the time is right. But he also has a howitzer for an arm and can get the ball down the field.
Jefferson will take advantage of this new connection and improve on his 2025 status. He finished 13th in the NFL with 84 receptions, 12th in yardage with 1,048 yards, and had just two TDs. That ranked tied for 95th in the NFL.
With Aaron Jones Sr. questionable to be there due to his personal infractions, it will be of great importance for the Vikings to get back to the pass game. Jefferson will be the key component of this attack.
JUSTIN JEFFERSON 97 YARD TUDDY!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/0PJs9mheCK
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Aaron Rodgers will not be a top-24 fantasy QB for Pittsburgh
Aaron Rodgers will show any of his fantasy managers that he should have retired after last season. Instead, he left everyone hanging for an over-the-hill QB who, despite still being talented, has lost pace on his fastball. While still immensely accurate and smart, this feels like a season more akin to the final season of Peyton Manning and less like Tom Brady.
Aaron Donald will return and lead the Rams in sacks
I know not everyone plays in defensive leagues. For those who do, if Donald does come back as projected, do not be afraid to draft him.
Donald left the game at the highest level. He never had a drop-off in skill and is still young enough to make a real difference.
On top of his elite ability still being there, the Rams went out and got Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns. No one can truly imagine what this duo is capable of. Having two of the top pass-rushers of the past 25 years on the field at the same time is not something to glance over. Imagine what it would be like if Reggie White and J.J. Watt played together.
This will be a nightmare for opponents, and they will have to decide who to double cover. Being younger, Garrett will get more attention, and this will free Donald to dominate on the other side. One scary thought is that neither of these two can be guarded by two people, and both players can get to 15 sacks or more.
CAREER SACK NO. 99 FOR NO. 99 @AaronDonald97#RamsHouse #Kickoff2022
📺: #BUFvsLAR on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LlxLdqcZb3 pic.twitter.com/rHUG2Gaypt— NFL (@NFL) September 9, 2022
A.J. Brown will virtually disappear in New England
The Patriots had a magical run to the Super Bowl in 2025. This was made remarkably easier by having a last-place schedule and Drake Maye showing he is a good QB in his second season.
Now, the Patriots will play a far more challenging first-place schedule, and Maye will not be able to perform to the same level. With Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson in the backfield alongside Maye, the run game is going to be used to shorten these tougher games. Only then can the Patriots hope to win the AFC East again.
Mike Vrabel is many things. One of them is addicted to physical play. This means using his backs to pound the rock through the line to wear out opposing defenses. This means Henderson and Stevenson can be counted on as top-20 backs. But this also means that Brown can finish as a low-end WR2 or a WR3.
Travis Kelce will retire with a top-5 TE finish
Travis Kelce has saved his best play as of late for the playoffs. In the regular season, when it is not crunch time, he plays like an NBA team that can turn it on anytime. This is the final season for Kelce, though, meaning he will want to turn it on all season before walking away.
Despite the injury issues Patrick Mahomes has dealt with in recent seasons, his strongest connection on offense remains with Kelce. It's much like the connection between Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
When you have that connection for so long, it can come back in an instant. That is what will happen with this pairing when Mahomes returns, and it will lead to a final-season resurgence from Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs.
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