John Laghezza's Fantasy Football Bold Predictions For Every Team: Part I (2026)

September 4, 2026

John Laghezza's first edition of his bold predictions for every NFL team this 2026 fantasy football season. Who could emerge as a fantasy star and who could take an unexpected dip?

Fortune favors the bold, especially in fantasy football. Only one team wins the trophy, so do your due diligence and take a stand on those results. At the end of the day, even the most accurate gamers get tons of stuff wrong -- we may as well go down swinging.

And what's bolder than the standard, boring piece with just a small handful of needle-moving predictions? How about one for every team? What?!?! I know, I know. Frankly, I wasn't quite ready for the sheer volume that undertaking would entail, but I have to admit, I'm feeling good that there are a few skeleton keys to winning this league.

So, here we go -- Part 1 of my bold fantasy calls for every single NFL team heading into 2026...

Arizona Cardinals

Top-down mismanagement, a bottom-10 offensive line, one fairly serious ankle injury, and a quality career vulture backup (who's managed to consistently earn green zone opportunities over Bijan Robinson) all come together in a symphony of misery for the Cardinals. Forced back too soon, rookie phenom Jeremiyah Love battles ankle issues in an uphill battle all season to steal goal-line touches back from his understudy to no avail -- Tyler Allgeier leads all Arizona running backs in fantasy points this year.

Atlanta Falcons

It's a victory for the adults in the room as rational coaching finally prevails. New HC Kevin Stefanski loves to funnel his offense through a single matchup nightmare underneath, and immediately understands Drake London is where the Falcons' pass-catching bread gets buttered.

He's a career 27% target/route, 2.16 yards/route player who's shown an overall WR1 ceiling for extended stretches (see Weeks 4-11). Despite some understandably questionable QB play, a truly porous defense sets up the weekly negative game scripts to help Drake London flash as a top-3 fantasy WR.

Drake London one-hands it for the hat trick! 🔥

ATLvsNE on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/cK3oVvGdv2

— NFL (@NFL) November 2, 2025

Baltimore Ravens

Guess all it took was a bit of health and a fresh new voice in the room. Roughly five minutes into the 2026 NFL season, we will all instantly realize Declan Doyle's newfound impact at Baltimore's switches. News flash: Lamar Jackson is still incredible at football -- and almost perfectly replicates his 27.6 fantasy points/game explosion to begin last year before getting hurt. Lamar Jackson is fantasy football's top overall scorer once more.

LAMAR. ZAY. WOW.

RAVENS TAKE THE LEAD.

BALvsPIT on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/RLFrGLddRj

— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2026

Buffalo Bills

Will he? Won't he? Turns out among the massive fog of war created by nonstop social media camp rumors, whispers of James Cook III's expanded pass-catching landed right on the mark. Adding DJ Moore into the fold forces defenses to protect against Buffalo's deep routes for the first time in years, opening up the off-ramp to Checkdown City.

Having already shown an ability to handle 300+ carries for a top-flight offense, he also tacks on 60+ targets for the first time in his career -- James Cook III finishes as a top-3 fantasy RB.

JAMES COOK. 44-YARD TD.

BUFvsCLE on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/LuloZeFLqO

— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025

Carolina Panthers

First-round draft capital? Check. Supremely talented alpha wideout? Check. Terribly affected to the downside by severely limited QB play? Sadly, also check. Despite lovely volume, Tetairoa McMillan's total points scored suffered from poor efficiency with good reason in 2025 -- only Cam Ward posted a lower yards-per-attempt than the Panthers' habitually disappointing Bryce Young.

Of all 89 WRs with 40+ targets earned in 2025, McMillan finished 46th (!) in fantasy points per target (1.73), and the floor's significantly lower than that. Tetairoa McMillan winds up outside the top-40 WRs.

Chicago Bears

When looking back on the 2026 season, the most frustrating thing for GMs will be not buying the dip on Bears second-year phenom WR Luther Burden III. After turning out to be a total nothing-burger, the groin injury didn't pave the way for one of fantasy's biggest profit picks.

While Burden's yards per route dips a bit from historical rookie outputs (2.71), he more than makes up for it by running over 450 routes in one of the league's most creative offenses.

Luther Burden III finishes as a top-12 WR after putting up a season very similar to Stefon Diggs (102 targets, 85 catches, 1,013 yards) ... except with more touchdowns.

Caleb Williams drops it in deep to Luther Burden III for six! 👀

(Via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/CAMBwowxo8

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 29, 2025

Cincinnati Bengals

Forever consumed with the newest shiny toy, the fantasy universe seems to have forgotten just how insanely potent the Cincinnati Bengals offense is, particularly with a viable QB calling shots. From Week 7 on, Chase Brown averaged 20.4 fantasy points per game in an essential tie with Bijan Robinson for fourth-best in that span.

Cincy's solely focused on a division title and finally gets a full, healthy offseason from Joe Burrow at the helm -- Chase Brown scores north of 23 fantasy points per game in a top-4 positional finish.

Cleveland Browns

Combine Cleveland's league-worst quarterback play with a bottom-rung offensive line and an outstanding pass-catching backup. What do you get? A recurring fantasy nightmare for early down back Quinshon Judkins.

The former second-rounder out of Ohio State played just roughly 40% of snaps when the Browns trailed in 2025, and they're currently the odds-on favorite to lead the NFL in losses. Sorry to break it to you, but Quinshon Judkins' shares go belly up in a disappointing RB5 campaign.

Dallas Cowboys

No one's going to be surprised when the Cowboys rate near the top of the board in passing efficiency again. What will raise eyebrows, however, is who thrives in the encore of three-WR set frequency (NFL's third-highest rate; 68.0%), leading to a Ryan Flournoy breakout out of nowhere.

Dallas' former sixth-rounder builds off the major step forward taken last year in terms of efficiency (20.6% target route, 1.75 yards/route). Ryan Flournoy eclipses 180 fantasy points and rounds out 2026 as a backend WR3 for America's Team.

Dak finds a WIDE OPEN Ryan Flournoy for the 42-yard TD!

DALvsDET on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/TI7rwgPKAy

— NFL (@NFL) December 5, 2025

Denver Broncos

Sean Payton has done everything imaginable to telegraph just what acquiring Jaylen Waddle means to the Broncos offense. From the king's ransom in draft picks to nonstop quotes from camp, Denver believes it finally has the do-it-all versatile threat to get it over the hump toward the promised land.

Already a bona fide NFL WR1, his 23.0% target/route, 2.13 yard/route combination could explode after finally getting a chance to be the top dog in a competent offense for the first time. Get your TD celebrations ready; Waddle wraps 2026 with double-digit TDs as a top-8 wide receiver (and goes in the early second round of drafts next year).

Detroit Lions

Despite our widespread obsession with dual-threat quarterbacks, one of the statue-style pocket passers always manages to rise like fantasy cream to the top. Enter Jared Goff into the conversation, who's got the best imaginable setup for a non-running QB.

Between the league's easiest schedule, a potentially leaky Lions defense, and fast tracks throughout, Jared Goff rides the volume train all the way to his first 40+ passing TD season as a top-3 QB.

Green Bay Packers

When a player tells you who he is, listen. Anyone rightfully worried about Christian Watson's ability to stay healthy coming off an ACL tear but hasn't had that dread assuaged is missing the forest for the trees. Stop trying to predict injuries.

Only three WRs in the entire NFL have racked up more fantasy points per route (0.55) than Watson ... and they all go in the top seven overall! Now, Green Bay has vacated a metric ton of targets, and it's obvious how this ends -- Watson caps off 2026 as a top-10 WR and smash profit at cost.

Jordan Love with the fadeaway TD to Christian Watson!

CHIvsGB on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/ZSjle1vbj0

— NFL (@NFL) December 7, 2025

Houston Texans

Winning fantasy titles comes down to finding those great players who haven't posted their best season yet. Not sure anyone better exemplifies the genie waiting to burst out of the bottle than Nico Collins. Even while playing for a defense-first team with some spotty quarterback/offensive line play at times, only one WR claims a higher yards per route run going back to 2023.

His name is Puka Nacua, and you'd be lucky to get him at No. 5 overall. With Jayden Higgins missing for the year, the vast majority of Houston's passing attack runs through Nico Collins, this year's Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Indianapolis Colts

The recipe for a fantasy breakout is simple -- talent plus opportunity. Well, Josh Downs finished as the WR44 despite running fewer routes from a two-WR set (25) than all but 10 of the 111 WRs who earned 30+ targets in 2025.

Now, Michael Pittman Jr. is off to the Steel City as Alec Pierce recovers from ankle surgery. And newly signed Keenan Allen? He's one of the 10 wideouts to operate from 12 personnel less frequently than Downs!

By all intents and purposes, the setup is perfect. Josh Downs finally gets his chance to prove his mettle as a starter, shakes the slot-merchant narrative, and finishes as a top-24 WR.

Rivers to Downs for SIX 🔥

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/SoqRz19Wqs

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 14, 2025

Jacksonville Jaguars

Two words, one name. Parker Washington. No slice of real estate is more cherished or valuable in all of fantasy football than Liam Coen's slot role. Took a while to solidify the job in 2025, but after the Jaguars' Week 8 bye, P-Wash boasted elite production as the overall WR11.

Trevor Lawrence tends to lock in on his first read, and right now that title belongs to the hardest-working man in the building, according to all camp reports. Parker Washington picks up right where he left off with a backend WR1 finish in a glorious encore.

Kansas City Chiefs

Travis Kelce's old, Xavier Worthy's fragile, and Rashee Rice appears to be missing at least a step. Yes, all-world QB and slam-dunk first-ballot Hall of Famer Patrick Mahomes is coming off his first 20+ fantasy points per game season since 2022. However, the 30-year-old also needed to set career highs in rushing yards and touchdowns before tearing his knee in mid-December to get there.

Then, the Chiefs bring in Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, and we're supposed to believe another spike season is on deck for the superstar veteran? I'm not buying it. The rushing attack dries up for a defensively driven team, and while he won't sink your squad, Patrick Mahomes dips under 17 fantasy points per game and finishes outside the top-15 QBs.

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