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Frank's fantasy football risers, breakouts, waiver wire sleepers for Week 1 of 2026. Are these unexpected booms legit for Jalen Coker, Devaughn Vele, Bryce Young, Isaiah Likely, and Chuba Hubbard?
The NFL regular season is finally here. Starting with a pair of openers, Patriots-Seahawks and 49ers-Rams, Week 1 gave viewers some surprising results. It also gave fantasy managers a ton of high-scoring games. It's great to have fantasy football back.
On this page, we're going to take a look at some "unexpected booms," which are surprise spike weeks from players who either went late in drafts or were available on the waiver wire. The main theme of this week's article? It's filled with Panthers.
To that end, keep reading about Jalen Coker, Bryce Young, Chuba Hubbard, Devaughn Vele, and Isaiah Likely. We'll recommend what you should do with these players, predicting whether it was a one-game wonder or if this type of production is sustainable.
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Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers
Jalen Coker had a monster game in the Panthers' 59-37 loss against the Bears, catching 8-of-9 targets for 138 yards and two touchdowns. This is intriguing because he also blew up against the Rams in their playoff loss, hauling in nine of his 12 targets for 134 yards and a touchdown. He has now found the end zone in three consecutive games. Simply put, this looks like an upside WR3 at worst right now.
We should definitely temper expectations, since this was a crazy game script where the Panthers had to play uptempo and air it out to keep pace with the high-powered Bears. Plus, the Bears have a weak secondary that will be worth targeting all year long. However, this is the kind of game where Coker needs to be in your starting lineup to see where it goes.
Putting up 130+ yards in each of your last two games is nothing to sniff at. Even against the Falcons in what will likely be a much more low-scoring game, Coker is worth starting as a top-36 wide receiver. Sometimes, we need to chase points. That's what we're doing here. Coker could be on an early-season surge similar to Quentin Johnston last year.
While Coker hurt his ankle during the Bears game, he isn't expected to miss time. We'll monitor his status throughout the week. Even if he somehow misses Week 2, he's still a must-have on your bench.
#Panthers WR Jalen Coker had a boot on his left foot in the locker room.
“Just rolled my ankle a little bit.”
He says the injury happened in the first quarter and this boot is precautionary.
He doesn’t expect to miss time.
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) September 14, 2026
Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers
Bryce Young put up big numbers against the Bears, completing 23-of-37 passes for 361 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He averaged 9.8 yards per attempt and even added 10 rushing yards with a touchdown. It was a monster game for fantasy for a quarterback who was left on the waiver wire.
However, this could be one of those games where the game script went wild and let a quarterback put up huge numbers. Young has mostly been a game manager throughout his young career, plus the Bears defense is in shambles right now. I wouldn't suggest picking up Young to use as a streamer in Week 2 against the Falcons.
Bryce Young put together a huge game against Chicago despite Carolina coming up short
23/37, 361 PYDS, 3 PTD, 1 RUTD, 1 INT pic.twitter.com/lgq1GIYNkO
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) September 13, 2026
However, if you're in a deeper league where it pays to have a backup quarterback, Young makes some sense as a spot starter. He's clearly showing improvement and getting familiar with Dave Canales' scheme. We've seen crazier things in this league than the Panthers suddenly turning into a high-powered offense.
To that end, it makes sense to monitor Young in shallow leagues and sprinkle some FAAB on him in deeper formats. There's definitely some streamer appeal here.
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers
Chuba Hubbard came into the season as the "boring veteran" to the flashier Jonathon Brooks. Many fantasy managers, including myself, expected Brooks to immediately take over the lead back role in this offense. However, that wasn't the case at all in Week 1. Hubbard had a huge game, rushing 10 times for 49 yards and a touchdown while catching three passes for 38 yards and another score.
Like Young and Coker, this was a favorable game script where almost everyone put up video-game numbers. However, it's clear that Hubbard has the 1A role in this backfield. That puts him on the RB2/FLEX radar for the next couple of weeks. With that said, Brooks didn't look too bad, hauling in a 48-yard reception. He's an explosive player who could earn a larger role as the season progresses.
Chuba Hubbard ties it to keep up this high-scoring game
CHIvsCAR on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/lsGTF5Wnda— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026
But for now, Hubbard is firmly in the circle of trust. It will take some time before he loses his grip on this role, similar to what happened last year with Rico Dowdle. As for Week 2, facing a Falcons defense that just shut down the Steelers' running game lowers Hubbard's upside, but it's clear that he's the most valuable RB in this backfield.
Devaughn Vele, WR, New Orleans Saints
Devaughn Vele had a nice game against the Lions, catching seven of nine targets for 69 yards and a touchdown. With Jordyn Tyson out, Vele is the clear-cut No. 2 target among Saints' wide receivers. There's also Juwan Johnson, but Vele is still a viable option. However, we should note that this turned into a favorable game script for the Saints' pass-catchers.
ANOTHER great catch by Devaughn Vele!
NOvsDET on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/pt5TNZuKkH— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026
With the Saints getting blown out, they were forced to air it out to play catch-up. They forced overtime, resulting in more plays and more opportunities for Vele to rack up receptions. In other words, this production is rather unsustainable.
However, that doesn't mean that Vele can't be a valuable piece to your roster, especially in deeper leagues. Up next is a matchup against the Ravens in a game with a 48.5-point total, so it could be another spot where Vele provides WR3 value.
Isaiah Likely, TE, New York Giants
Isaiah Likely was an intriguing target if you decided to wait on tight end in fantasy drafts this year. He delivered in a big way on Sunday Night Football, catching all eight of his targets for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
The Giants offense looked fantastic against the Cowboys, where Malik Nabers looked spry, and Jaxson Dart was decisive. There's a legitimate chance that this could be a surprise team.
Likely is entrenched as the No. 2 target in this offense, so he's in a great spot to provide a profit based on where he was selected in drafts. If you have Likely, you're loving life right now, as you've got yourself a top-10 tight end moving forward. Up next is a potential shootout against the Rams, who will be without Myles Garrett and likely Aaron Donald.
The fantasy community when Isaiah Likely was on the Ravens:
"Omg can you imagine what he can do without Mark Andrews?!"
Likely now on the Giants as the clear-cut target:
"Nah, give me George Kittle off a torn Achilles instead."
— Frank Ammirante (@FAmmiranteTFJ) September 7, 2026
Don't be surprised if Likely has another big performance in that game. Really, if you think about it, the fantasy community overthought this one. We have been waiting for Likely to have the full role away from Mark Andrews for a long time. We have that outcome now, and he's thriving.
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