Fantasy Football Roundtable: Here's one thing our analysts wish they knew before the 2026 season begins

· Yahoo Sports

None of us have a crystal ball. We can't predict the future (we don't have ESPN or something). Because of that, we need to make educated guesses to hopefully hit gold in fantasy football. But since we're here, hypothetically, what would we want to know before the 2026 NFL season gets going to aid us in fantasy drafts? Our analysts share one thing they wish they knew before the start of the campaign.

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There's no question Reed and Downs are capable of producing more than what we've seen through their first three seasons. Though injuries have played a factor, the real element holding them back has been their limited deployment in two-receiver sets. However, there's reason to believe a change could be coming for both players.

The Packers let Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks go, while the Colts no longer have Michael Pittman Jr. hogging targets. Reed still has to battle sophomore Matthew Golden for that increased playing time, but we've seen the veteran flash an intriguing fantasy ceiling in the past. He finished as the WR23 as a rookie with 10 total TDs and was the WR14 in fppg through the first nine outings of 2024 before his numbers dropped off.

Meanwhile, Downs was a fantasy WR4 in the first half of last season with a healthy Daniel Jones. That's exactly where he's being drafted this year - not baking in the opportunity that may materialize with Pittman gone. If their roles expand, Reed and Downs will be massive fantasy values at their current ADPs, so hopefully we get a better indication of what their usage will be prior to Week 1. — Justin Boone

TreVeyon Henderson was too boom-bust to trust when the Patriots were competing for a Super Bowl last season. He only had 7.7 expected half-PPR points (RB50) in games with Rhamondre Stevenson, and that trend continued in the four postseason games when the rookie was held to 5.1 expected points per game. Meanwhile, Stevenson was the RB21 per game as the lead back across the season and especially in the playoffs. NextGenStats had the big fella as the RB1 overall in rush yards over expected, so they were riding the hot hand with the better back.

To everyone's surprise, Stevenson even had more receptions than Henderson, who really struggled in pass protection after being great at it in college (some due to size). It's likely that Henderson closes the gap with more experience, especially in the schemed-up pass game, but he's also more expensive than Stevenson in fantasy drafts. Who is the one to draft? Because the Patriots are going to score a lot of points and we don't know the split. — Hayden Winks

Last season, Trey McBride had over 50 more routes than any WR in the NFL, Jacoby Brissett was a fantasy QB1 in every game, and Arizona led the league in dropbacks. Something so extreme doesn't often repeat, although everything seems to be in place for the same style of season. The Cardinals enter the year favored in zero games with a very difficult schedule for a bottom-level team. The coaching change would be one of the main factors that the extreme volume wouldn't return, however, new head coach Mike LaFleur led one of the few offenses this decade that could match it. In Mike White's six complete starts under LaFleur, the career-long backup averaged 44 passing attempts per game, crossing 300 passing yards in half of them. Arizona was a cheat code in 2025, and logically being drafted as if that cheat code won't repeat, but there is also a logical shot it will. — Joel Smyth

In 2025, the Chargers most frequent offensive line combination played together just 16.5% of the team's snaps — dead last in the league. Omarion Hampton missed eight games. Justin Herbert played with a fractured hand. The list goes on, and we all know this extends beyond just last season. The summer gives this team time to reset, and with Mike McDaniel calling plays, the Chargers could be THE fantasy goldmine. You only need to jump back a few seasons to see McDaniel-led offenses finish second and 11th in points scored with a weak-armed, immobile quarterback. Now he has a superhuman running the show. Hampton in Round 2, Ladd McConkey in Round 4, Herbert in Round 6 and especially Quentin Johnston in Round 11 — all extremely reasonable prices… and potential steals if injury luck is finally on the Chargers side. Give this team a healthy environment, and magic might happen. — Josh Norris

I hate to be reductive on the Mike Evans analysis but I only see this 2026 season playing out one of two ways. Either Evans tweaks his hamstring once, twice or more and plays fewer than eight games, or he stays healthy and scores 10-plus touchdowns, essentially locking in a WR1 finish. I'm sure there is actually a middle-ground outcome for Evans, one that involves 14-plus games of solid production where he's still good but another year into decline to the point he's a good X-receiver, just not a needle-mover. I don't buy it.

Evans didn't look like a materially different player from his dynamic form from the 2024 season on film. He also happens to have two insurance policies that help stave off receiver-aging: technical mastery as a route runner and near-unmatched freakshow traits. His route tree also perfectly matches what the 49ers want out of their X-receiver. Even a diminished version of Evans will be a press-man coverage weapon who can win along the goal-line and in short yardage. I just wish I knew how many games he plays this season before locking in his ranking. — Matt Harmon

Kittle has probably punched his Hall of Fame ticket already, posting six different top-four fantasy seasons at tight end (in addition to his dynamite blocking). Tucker Kraft looked like Kittle 2.0 for about two months last year, wrecking defenses down the seam and standing as the TE2 after nine weeks. The ceilings speak for themselves. 

This year’s runout? Nobody can say. Kraft’s 2025 breakout was ruined by a torn ACL in Week 9, and Kittle ruptured his Achilles in the playoffs. If these guys are healthy, they can be league-winners, needle-moving stars who are reasonably priced in summer ADP. But it’s also possible neither will be playing in Week 1 (Kittle the bigger wild card), and it’s open to question when either player will be performing close to his theoretical peak. I step into draft season afraid to draft these guys — and also afraid I might be missing out on a potential bargain.

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