Fantasy Football Player Outlooks for The 2026-26 Season

For the fourth time in the last six seasons, Allen was the top fantasy quarterback in 2025, and that was with playing just one snap in Week 18 to (cheaply) extend his consecutive-starts streak. His on-target and completion percentages bounced back to career highs, but those were inflated by throwing short more than ever. Allen's 7.1-yard average target depth was a career low as a career-high 65.0 percent of his attempts went less than 10 yards downfield and a career-low 10.4 percent traveled 20-plus yards. The Bills lacked quality downfield options, and outside of Khalil Shakir lacked any better-than-decent WRs. Allen, of course, made up for middling passing production (215.8 yards per game, 20th), with elite rushing production. He led QBs with 579 rushing yards last season, making him the only QB with at least 500 yards in each of the last five years. He also led the position in rushing touchdowns, with his 14 scores five clear of second place, his third consecutive season with at least a dozen scores. A league-high eight of his 14 TDs last season came on QB sneaks, of which he should again get a healthy dose. With offensive coordinator Joe Brady now head coach, the offensive structure won’t change much, and as long as Allen’s pass attempts are in the neighborhood of 500, his rushing should do the rest. The Bills traded for WR DJ Moore, and while he won’t necessarily take the top off defenses, he’ll at least give Allen another reliable pass catcher alongside Shakir and tight end Dalton Kincaid. Even if Allen's pass catchers disappoint again, he's healthy after offseason foot surgery and hasn’t finished lower than QB2 in fantasy since 2019.

Maye’s first full season as a starter went better than even Patriots fans imagined. He finished QB2 in fantasy, was second in MVP voting and took New England to the Super Bowl. Maye’s league-leading 72.0 completion percentage was the sixth highest in NFL history, all the more impressive considering his average target depth was 9.1 yards -- the highest of any QB in the top 20 all-time for completion rate. Maye threw 10-plus yards downfield at the fifth-highest rate in the league (37.2%), also ranking third in completion percentage on attempts of 20-plus yards (52.1%). He led the league with 8.9 YPA, solidly ahead of second-place Sam Darnold (8.5 YPA). In addition to finishing fourth in passing yards (4,394) and third in TD passes (31), Maye's rushing production vaulted him up the fantasy rankings. He was fourth among QBs with 450 rushing yards, adding four scores. He benefited from an easy schedule, however. The Patriots didn’t face a top-10 defense until the playoffs, and in the Super Bowl against the league’s best defense, Maye got smoked. He’ll play a first-place schedule this year, but his rushing production should hold up since nearly all of it came from his league-high 62 scrambles (he also had the highest scramble rate - 10.3%). The A.J. Brown trade will help mitigate regression, not only in terms of passing stats but also for the Patriots in general. The team also signed Romeo Doubs, ensuring solid depth behind Brown even though Stefon Diggs has moved on. Maye is good enough and mobile enough to maintain his place among the top-five fantasy QBs even without a perfect situation around him, but that might require more volume to account for the difficulty of matching last year's blistering efficiency.

Injuries and the Ravens’ general offensive regression spelled doom for Jackson last season. He missed four games with hamstring, toe, ankle and back injuries, and played hurt through at least a few other games, averaging just 23.2 pass attempts, a career low as a starter. Jackson’s passing efficiency was relatively stable, and he was still an effective downfield thrower (6:0 TD:INT on throws of 20-plus yards) but didn't get as many chances. The biggest drop-off, though, was in his running, where he averaged career lows in attempts (5.2) and yards per game (26.8) as the leg injuries deflated his wheels. The Ravens offense had its own problems, continually stalling in the red zone (47.5 TD%, 27th), among other issues. The team cleared out the coaching staff, hiring defensive-minded head coach Jesse Minter and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who helped turn around the Bears last year as offensive coordinator (though he didn’t call plays). Doyle promises more pre-snap motion and play action, which would seem to suit Jackson. The Ravens lost Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum but addressed offensive line concerns in the draft with first-round pick Olaivavega Ioane. They also drafted wide receivers Ja’Kobi Lane (3rd round) and Elijah Sarratt (4th round) to provide some badly needed size alongside returning veterans Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. RB Derrick Henry and TE Mark Andrews return as well, but TE Isaiah Likely and FB Patrick Ricard followed John Harbaugh to the Giants and don't have obvious replacements back in Baltimore. Assuming Doyle doesn’t wilt as a first-time play-caller and good health all around, Jackson looks primed for a bounce-back season.

After a brilliant rookie season, Daniels’ highly anticipated second season was destroyed by injuries. He played just four full games and only two that were injury-free as wrist, knee, hamstring and elbow injuries took their toll. A dislocated left elbow (his non-throwing arm) finally sent Daniels to IR for good in December. While his passing and rushing efficiency declined from his rookie year, Daniels at least had enough rushing volume and TD production to top 16 fantasy points in each of his six appearances with 40-plus snaps. The Commanders could limit his running to protect his health, but that wouldn't be a dealbreaker for fantasy, because even a 25 percent reduction from Daniels' 2024 numbers in both designed runs and scrambles would put him at about 110 rush attempts over a full season. At, say, 5.5 yards per rush, he’d have more yards (605) than any QB had last year. The bigger issue is his surrounding cast, with Terry McLaurin being the only reliable receiving weapon. Washington needs third-round rookie Antonio Williams -- noted for his route-running and slot work -- to acclimate quickly and at least be a factor in clear passing situations. The Commanders also signed TE Chig Okonkwo, who runs a 4.52 40 at 6-foot-3, 238, and should fill the Zach Ertz role that benefited Daniels two years ago. Daniels's slim build and frequent running hint at continued injury risk, but his ceiling makes it a risk worth taking.

For the second time in three years, Burrow’s season was cut short because of injury as he missed nine games last year, Weeks 3-12, with turf toe. He returned to throw 15 TD passes in the last six games (2nd in the league in that span), averaging about 37 attempts per game, a 630-attempt pace over 17 games. He'll need all of that for a shot at a top-5 fantasy season, because he doesn't add much rushing production and doesn't always stretch the field. Last year, Burrow at least reversed a three-year trend of not throwing downfield, with 10.4 percent of his attempts (15th) going at least 20 yards -- his first time in double digits since 2021. He still didn’t light it up downfield, though. His average target depth was only 7.6 yards (22nd), leaving him with a mediocre mark of 7.0 YPA (19th). Coach Zac Taylor’s offense should continue to give Burrow copious attempts -- no team has passed more often since Taylor took over the Bengals in 2019 (62.4%). The receiving weapons help, namely WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and RB Chase Brown, while the TE room may again be a committee led by Mike Gesicki. Better health alone returns Burrow to QB1 status for fantasy, but probably as a mid-range starter rather than a top option in leagues where passing TDs count for only four points. Even in 2024 when he led the league with nearly 5,000 yards and 43 touchdowns, Burrow topped out at QB3 because of the lack of rushing.