We’ve come to it at last — Week 1 of the 2026 fantasy football season. There is no better time to reveal our boldest predictions for the campaign ahead — which will come true?
Luther Burden III emerges as a fantasy WR1
Burden returned from his groin injury two and half weeks before the season opener, meaning he’ll be all systems go for Week 1. Meanwhile, head coach Ben Johnson is talking about challenging for the highest-scoring offense of all time, which should get the attention of fantasy managers because he has the talent to do it.
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Burden is one of the players Johnson is continuously talked up this offseason, after the 22-year-old caught fire down the stretch as a rookie. From Week 10 when his playing time increased, Burden was the WR28 in fantasy points per game while playing at a 1,000-yard pace. In addition to posting the third best yards per route run among all wideouts (behind only Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba), Burden also finished top-20 among receivers in both targets per route run and yards after the catch. The latter is particularly impressive considering he caught far fewer passes (47) than the players ahead of him in that category.
With 150 combined targets left behind by the departures of DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus, the opportunity is there for multiple pass-catchers to thrive. You should be happy if you have any Bears on your fantasy roster, but Burden and tight end Colston Loveland are positioned for transcendent campaigns. — Justin Boone
Colston Loveland is the TE1
Boone put this on a tee for me, I’ll smack it down the fairway.
Ben Johnson is one of the best offensive designers in the league and the Bears will have to outscore a weak (and injury-ravaged) defense on the other side. I see the upside for Luther Burden III and Rome Odunze, but they both have obvious injury concerns. And why can’t Loveland be the target hog in this offense? Over the last four games of 2025 (playoffs included), he went bonkers: 48 targets, 28 catches, 378 yards, two touchdowns.
Let’s just appreciate how absurd that final Loveland run was. If you projected those stats for a full 17-game season, we’re looking at 204 targets, 119 catches, 1,606 yards and 8.5 touchdowns. That ceiling might be unrealistic, but Loveland has a legitimate chance to outscore all the tight ends in 2026. He’s been the most fun pick you can make in the fourth round all summer, with Ladd McConkey (save us, Mike McDaniel) not far behind. — Scott Pianowski
CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens both finish as top-10 fantasy WRs
I know what you’re thinking. Two top-10 wide receivers from the same offense? Yes.
Dak Prescott is a walking 4,000-yard passer when healthy, and he made a push for the passing title last season. Dallas finished second in passing yards and seventh in scoring during Brian Schottenheimer’s first season as head coach. More importantly, all 11 offensive starters would be back if not for the injury to Tyler Smith. This is not a projection built on a new scheme or chemistry that still has to be created. We already saw it work. Now give Pickens a full offseason in Dallas and another year learning how his game fits alongside Lamb. Pickens can continue what he started last season while a healthy Lamb gets back to being one of football’s most dominant receivers.
Dallas can be balanced on the ground, dangerous at tight end and still lethal through the air because this passing game runs through arguably the best receiver duo in football. If Prescott pushes 4,500 yards and 30-plus touchdowns, there is enough volume for both. My bold prediction is that Lamb and Pickens both finish inside the top 10. — Ray Garvin
De’Zhaun Stribling finishes as the rookie WR1
In any other situation, the fantasy football world would be fawning over the 33rd overall pick — who drew rave reviews in training camp and preseason action — only needing to compete with (a 33-year-old) Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel Sr. (on a retirement tour) for targets on an offense that is perennially top 10 in scoring. Yet here we are, with Stribling only able to climb as high as WR47 in consensus rankings during draft season.
I get it. His college profile had questions. The draft community poorly projected where he would be selected. But shouldn’t we be picking players as if Kyle Shanahan is correct? That the 6-foot-2, 207 lbs receiver with 4.36 speed and some of the best blocking tape in the class and outside-to-inside versatility might just be better than believed?
If that reads like a supercharged version of Jauan Jennings, I’ll take his 2024 season as a nice rookie season projection: 77 catches for 975 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games. This season, with Carnell Tate dealing with the Titans likely disappointment, Makai Lemon’s slow preseason and KC Concepcion glued to Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders … that might be enough for the rookie WR1 title. — Josh Norris
Emeka Egbuka leads the NFL in receptions
I don’t care about his second half of the season skid in production while he and his quarterback played through injuries. None of the other, albeit quality, pass-catchers on the team bother me. My only concern about Emeka Egbuka’s outlook in 2026 is a toe injury that bothered him in training camp. However, considering he’s all but a lock to play in Week 1, I’m not even sure that’s a hindrance.
Egbuka put up a solid rookie season while playing out of position as the Buccaneers’ X-receiver, while Mike Evans missed most of last year. Even with Evans gone now, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said Egbuka would move to the Z position in his offense. That is essentially the role Drake London has held down the last two seasons in Atlanta, where he lined up off the ball more than on and was in the slot on over 37% of his snaps. The 2025 Falcons lead the NFL in passing yards on plays where a receiver was in motion at the snap. The Bucs, under the same scheme, will offer better quarterback and offensive line play to this scheme.
Egbuka benefits from that while also playing a receiver role that fits his prospect profile as a big slot and movement Z-receiver much better than we saw last season. — Matt Harmon
Chase Brown finishes inside the top 5 at RB
Luckily, we’ve already seen proof of concept when testing out the idea of Chase Brown as a top-five RB. Last year was Brown’s first as the unquestioned starter for the Bengals. He ranked inside the top 12 in every opportunity metric, from overall rush rate (65% – 11th) to target share (15% – 6th). Plus, the former Illini held on to the lead job at the goal line, out-touching Samaje Perine 2:1 when Joe Burrow was active.
However, it’s the results that should’ve had us eager to click on Brown at the 1-2 turn.
His per-touch stats were ahead of some of the first-round darlings and just a shade behind the elites. And as just one of nine rushers with more than 60% of his team’s carries combined with a double-digit target rate, Chase already has one half of the “talent plus situation” equation locked up.
Now, let’s consider his environment. Let’s entertain the idea that the integration of under-center concepts will give Brown more advantageous looks at the LOS. Let’s buy into the idea that their defensive additions will take (some of) the burden off Burrow’s shoulders and put it on Brown’s. In that reality, Brown vaults into the top five ranks by season’s end. — Chris Allen
Kenneth Walker III finishes inside the top 3 at RB
Some of the best fantasy RB seasons of the past two decades have been with coach Andy Reid. From Brian Westbrook to LeSean McCoy to Jamal Charles. He didn’t have Patrick Mahomes at QB when those players were hitting either. Mahomes will be effective but won’t be leaned on as much, and the Chiefs defense will flirt with top-10 numbers as they typically do. It’s a great set up for fantasy points, especially with their interior OL being the best of Walker’s career.
There’s proof of concept with Walker having an elite upside, too. In the final six games last year including playoffs, Walker averaged 19.4 half PPR points despite tough matchups. Don’t be surprised if this is a career year in touchdowns and receptions. — Hayden Winks
Jaylen Waddle finally fixes his fantasy perception
Jaylen Waddle has largely been viewed as a disappointment. For the last three seasons in Miami, he’s finished outside the top 20 fantasy WRs in PPG and has left several games due to smaller injuries. Although he hasn’t missed a ton of games in his career, there has been a handful of weeks lost due to mid-game exits. That has driven his ADP down to WR21 in the consensus, and makes me buy back in on a player who has hurt me before.
I can’t promise that he will not miss a snap in 18 weeks, but I do believe that as long as he’s on the field, he’ll be winning managers’ games. Sean Payton and the Broncos paid a hefty price, both in draft capital and financially. He is the clear WR1 on a team whose QB led the league in passing attempts. The Broncos, with limited WR talent, ranked seventh in team WR fantasy points last season, as two WRs ranked inside the top eight in red zone targets (the only team), and Sutton ranking to five in routes and 15th in fantasy PPG. That fantasy passing offense just gave up a first and third round draft pick along with $29M per year to hand select their team’s next WR1. — Joel Smyth
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