The storylines over the next five months of football will be fun to watch. There will be ups and downs. Fans will rejoice at their success, and others will lose their anger at their team’s shortcomings. It is the beauty of sports fandom. We get to wipe the slate clean for Week 1 and see a great story play out. Our job is to try and project how that story will play itself out. In doing so, these are my 2026 fantasy football superlatives.
MVP — Bijan Robinson
I will favor Robinson over any other player in 2026 fantasy football. Among the top-ranked players, Robinson has the lowest injury risk of them all, having yet to miss any NFL games to injury in his three-year career.
Kevin Stefanski brought Nick Chubb to an average fantasy points per game ranking of 8.3 from 2020 to 2022. That goes for a running back, who was not very involved in the passing game.
Breakout Player of the Year — Dalton Kincaid
The Bills come into 2026 with Kincaid finally fully healthy. His 2025 season was limited due to injuries to Kincaid’s PCL (Knee) and oblique. Even then, he managed to rank 2nd in yards per reception (14.6) among all tight ends.
Last week, Josh Allen sang his praises. “He opens up so much, he’s a tough matchup for linebackers, and I think he’s a tough matchup for cornerbacks for that matter,” Allen stated.
There is a real chance that Kincaid becomes the team’s leader in targets and definitely their No. 2. My projection has Kincaid as fantasy football TE4, despite ADP undervaluing him as TE11. Kincaid is among my ride-or-dies in 2026.
Rookie of the Year — Jadarian Price
They all say “Jeremiyah Love” and “Carnell Tate.” The hill I will die on is that Price will be fantasy football’s No. 1 rookie in 2026.
The Seahawks will be without Zach Charbonnet for roughly half of this season. Do not be fooled by reports of his upcoming possible “active” status. No medical opinion agrees that he will be a physical threat.
For the reason above, I have Price owning 50% of the Seahawks’accounting for year-long rushing volume. In contrast, Love will begin 2026 injured, uncertain about playing, and in Week 1. Once he does return, he has an equally good threat at RB2 in Tyler Allgeier. Worse yet, the Cardinals are a much worse NFL team.
Comeback Player of the Year — Malik Nabers
In Week 4 of 2025, Nabers tore his ACL. It was a huge blow to fantasy managers who drafted Nabers in the first round. At the Giants’ training camp, Nabers appears to look as crisp as anyone could ask. A player who was originally expected to miss all of September is probably now going to start for the Giants in Week 1.
Nabers may definitely take a couple of weeks to fully ramp up. Once he is a full-go, Nabers will show why he is a top-10 NFL wide receiver and arguably, top-5.
Pre-injury, Nabers had a 29% target share with Jaxson Dart. Given the fact that the Giants fired Brian Daboll, it cannot be debated that Nabers’ best offensive days are behind him. Instead, he should be ready to have a career years ahead.
Deep-Sleeper of the Year — Cyrus Allen
The chemistry between Allen and Pat Mahomes cannot appear any better. Allen is the best highlight reel circulating across all 32 NFL training camps. The Chiefs are no strangers to making no-names into big names. Andy Reid has done it with Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt, Travis Kelce (2023 3rd-Round Pick), and countless others in spurts.
Rashee Rice enters the season in questionable form. He spent one month in jail this offseason and has been criticized for his physical appearance. I do believe that’s very overplayed. Xavier Worthy then comes off a 2025 injury, with his shoulder reportedly still an issue as of last month.
Handcuff of the Year — MarShawn Lloyd
If Josh Jacobs can stay healthy and unsuspended, he is my favorite “upside” candidate with top-4 running back potential. Nonetheless, Jacobs is at a high risk of injury. In fact, he might be a bigger risk than Christian McCaffrey once the details of Jacobs’ history of ailments are reviewed.
Here is the list of injuries for Jacobs:
- Groin Strain (2026)
- Knee Bruise (2025)
- Thigh Contusion (2025)
- Calf Strain (2025)
- Ankle Sprain (2024)
The list goes on and on to the start of Jacobs’ career, but it’s very clear that his body is not in the best shape lately.
The odds trend that Jacobs will miss time in 2026, whether due to suspension or, more likely, a new injury. The Packers tend to be preparing for Jacobs to miss time. They also rave about Lloyd, who is stunning fans in training camp. Surely, the Packers are going to be limited to the immense volume that Jacobs once had.
Bust of the Year — Cam Skattebo
Click here to read more on Skattebo as my “Bust of the Year.”
Long story short, Skattebo has both injury and depth chart risk. He comes off a major ankle dislocation suffered in 2025. The Giants also signed Najee Harris earlier this week, who John Harbaugh appears infatuated with and Greg Roman personally vouches for, running for the Chargers back in 2025.
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