get the water ready, here are some hot takes!

By Martin Richardson

Ok so I know I’ve done my ‘Ones to Watch’ for week one, but after 2 games already before Sunday, I can’t help but be even more excited than I was before for the season to start.


Now I’m going to channel that excitement into some wild and seriously hot takes for the 2026 when it comes to fantasy football. I’m prepared for them to be outlandish and outrageous, but that’s the point of a hot take, it’s got to be on an island of intrigue surrounded with tempting sirens to lure people in…


So here is my first one to get some Hot Takes out there:

TWO ROOKIE WR END THE SEASON IN THE FANTASY TOP 20

I’m starting if ‘Da Bomb’ hot here with this one. I genuinely believe that there is talent on more than one roster for a rookie WR to break into the top 20 by the end of the 2026 season.

Some people will immediately land on Carnell Tate and week 1 against the Jets will be a bit of a litmus test to see if he can recover from a poor preseason. Maybe it’s him. Maybe he comes good and goes beyond the projections of less than 5 touchdowns, which seems low. Maybe he outshines fellow WR Wan’Dale Robinson and goes off like Tet McMillan in 2025. Yeh potential was there to be seen in college. Now let’s see how he does in the major leagues.
But it’s not just Tate who can make an impact. All you have to do is head over to Cleveland and see that two of the top 5 rookies at WR are on that roster and one of those is likely to WR1 out of the gates. KC Concepcion is a talented WR who can line up in the slot and out wide in this offense and could be in line for a large role early on if current starting QB Deshaun Watson wants to dink and dunk to keep that ball safe. But it isn’t just Concepcion who can be a big threat for the Browns, they’ve also got 6’4” Denzel Boston who is an immediate redzone threat should they reach that part of the field. Looking at him and how he holds himself, I’m not afraid to make that Mike Evans comparison, just look at Evans’ TD on Thursday, Friday, whenever it was (I’m as confused a Kyle Shanahan) to see what someone with that build can do if used effectively.

You also have fellow first round pick, and worst kept secret in the draft, Makai Lemon coming into a Philly team who need to right the wrongs of 2025. With his skill set and the threat of WR1 DeVonta Smith, Lemon could be open a lot early for the Eagles. For those who picked him up in fantasy, you could have a steal if he starts off hot.
I could keep listing WRs but I’ll leave you with some names to consider when this hot take sizzles as the season progresses: any of the WR in Miami, Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas, could have a great season; after all Malik Willis has to throw to someone, right? And you all know my thoughts on Ja’Kobi Lane, who will be a star for the Ravens sooner rather than later.

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Next on my list I’ve got:

Other than Kenneth Walker, no Chiefs offensive player is Fantasy relevant

I genuinely think that Mahomes has rushed back from his injury, I’ll put that out there right now. And we all know that horrible injuries like that take time to heal right, not just off the field, but on it too. I’m sure the fact he’s wearing a knee brace means he’s definitely good to go. It’s very different in the preseason when you’re protected by a coloured bib. When you have Nik Bonitto coming at you week one, it’s going to hit very hard.

Even before his injury Mahomes was not even a worthy starter, with half a dozen games scoring less than 15 points. His safety blanket in 2026 is giving the ball to Walker as soon as possible to avoid any kind of pressure; and if he does throw it, he’s not got an elite player to aim for. One wide receiver was in prison for some of the offseason and then looked like he enjoyed the prison pudding too much when on the field; the other main ‘threat’ who is still being spoken about with ‘potential’ in year 3. Xavier Worthy has potential to run into ageing TE Travis ~Swift~ Kelce more so than he has 1000 yards in him. When he was back ‘fit’ they literally changed his route tree to stop him getting injured! Then there is Kelce himself who only works on the playoffs providing the 2026 Chiefs actually make it to the post season.

All of this would mean nothing is the Chiefs had a top offensive line to protect their main man, but they don’t. Somehow, it’s got worse. Josh Simmons is still injured, they’ve traded for a player from the Giants, a team that has not protected Jacob Dart or human Kool-Aid man Cam Skattebo, so I’m sure that will help. They’ll no doubt revert back-to-back up Jaylon Moore and Khalil Benson to slot in in a move that is not dissimilar to rearranging the chairs on the Titanic.

And people have faith in the Chiefs in 2026? Good luck fantasy players if you’ve got those guys on the roster.

My final take is one that up until the selection of Jeremiyah Love seemed nailed on, however, here we go:

Tyler Allgeier out scores at least three starting running backs in 2026.

With 8 touchdowns in 2025, Allgeier was a redzone threat every time the Falcons made their way to the end zone. He s a real threat to fantasy players who have drafted Jeremiyah Love if he is carrying any niggles from that injury scare. And with that, I really do expect the Cardinals to utilise someone with Allgeier’s skill set when the time comes. So there’s one person who he could outscore in terms of touchdowns already.

And looking at some of the running backs in the league, Allgeier has the chance to do better than some backs in the league. No one really knows who the RB1 will be in places like Pittsburgh, Carolina and even Jacksonville (even though I’m on the Tuten train). Any signs of a divided committee back system can see someone like Allgeier profit and be more productive than the likes of Chuba Hubbard, Jonathon Brooks and Rico Dowdle, which now brings me to three players he could outscore. I’d even go as far as to say he could even outperform someone like Tony Pollard who, on an average Titans team may well underperform; and that makes four.

There we have it. Three sizzling hot takes that could ignite as the season progresses.

Bring on Sunday. I can’t wait!

MARTIN RICHARDSON

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

A Yorkshireman living in Lancashire, Martin is a massive NFL fan but his heart belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also a huge Fantasy Football enthusiast and spends far too long crunching the numbers! Follow him at @MRBucsFan31

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