Anyone else excited that we have football back?!

By Martin Richardson

With the Super Bowl winning Seahawks opening the season against their Super Bowl opponents the Patriots to kick start off the 2026 season, football is back with a bang. Then after that we have a game in Australia for the first time with the 49ers going as far away as possible from their now infamous electrical substation to face Super Bowl favourites the LA Rams.
But nothing beats a slate of Sunday games to get the Fantasy excitement going. And just like our Super Bowl repeat to open the season, we have some tasty matchups to impact our fantasy football hopes. And if you are anything like me, you’ve been checking your app and looking at your team waiting for the action to start (and hoping there are no ‘questionable’ tags on your starters- I’m looking at you D’Andre Swift).
Each week I’ll take a look at the schedule and pick out some players to keep an eye on, be it good, be it bad or a little bit of a wildcard. So just like Jalen Hurts on the one-yard line, let’s dive right into it.

ONES TO WATCH: THE GOOD

Now it would be really easy to pick anyone who was playing the Cardinals, Dolphins or the Falcons every week for fantasy players to ball out.

But, in week one, I am desperate to see what Mike McDaniel can do with the likes of Herbert, Hampton, McConkey, Johnston and Gadsden. If ever there was a time for these guys to show what they can do, it’s against a Cardinals team that is lacking on both sides of the ball.

Justin Herbert is projected to have nearly 20 points this week and with him throwing darts to Quentin Johnston in preseason, I can see why people are excited. Add to this that he has a much healthier O-Line (albeit without his starting center), Herbert could be in line for a good season, and he has a great chance to make a statement early on in the season.

But it isn’t just Herbert that has the potential to make a good start; running back Omarion Hampton is projected just shy of 15 and I think that he could easily make that if Herbert moves the chains into the redzone on a regular basis. The breakout candidate more than likely has inflated numbers because of the McDaniel bump, but the hype was real in 2025, now lets see what 2026 can bring for fantasy players.

A lot has been made of how McDaniel utilised his TE room at Dolphins HC and the Chargers have one of those fantasy TE’s in Gadsden that could be a bit of a sleeper if used correctly. Projected a meagre 2 points on ESPN, I think he stands a good chance against the Cardinals to register some meaningful points in week 1.

And speaking of Mike McDaniel, his old employers come up against a Raiders team that could have De’Von Achane making a huge impact for fantasy players. Projected in the mid-teens, if Achane gets going he could get big yardage and red zone security if the Dolphins get in the vicinity of the Raiders end zone. With his big play potential, the total change of offensive style and lack of talent in key places, Achane, like I said when ranking him, could be in line for a big season. Starting at a Raiders team STILL in transition means Achane and fantasy players alike could profit early on in the season.

Ones to watch: the bad

Week one already has fantasy people wondering just how some running backs are going to operate in 2026 and our season opener presents fantasy players with a headache already. Whatever fantasy app you use both TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson have similar outlooks on week one: both single digits, and both with a mediocre outlook (ESPN saying that the bench is the best place for Henderson right now). With both having hit and miss 2025 game weeks, fantasy players are pretty waiting to see what shakes in the first few weeks of the season.

Henderson has that second year tag that people will throw on him and expect him to be a breakout candidate. But with only 3 massive games in 2025, I’m not sure you can bank on him as anything more as a hopeful flex to see if he becomes an RB2 on fantasy rosters. Add to the mix that Henderson hasn’t practiced since the 24 August, Henderson has a real chance to slide down the pecking order in New England and fantasy circles alike.

His counterpart Stevenson presents fantasy players with an equal sense of trepidation coming into 2026. With some bad fumbles in the season, he could have cemented his place as RB1 for the Patriots with a clean season. But that hasn’t happened. Instead, like Henderson he had some fleeting moments that showed promise but not consistency. At the time of writing, Henderson still hasn’t practiced and looks unlikely to play. With that in mind, what is interesting is fantasy apps aren’t giving Stevenson an bump in points, which goes to show the faith fantasy apps isn’t helping fantasy players make a serious decision on whether Stevenson has real value.

What will be interesting in the long term will be how much Henderson is phased back in should it be a short-term injury. This very much a coin flip as to who will be the RB1 for the Patriots throughout the season. The injury to Henderson is certainly one to watch, but so is Stevenson’s ability to hold onto the ball in clutch moments. And if they decide to become a committee back system, I can see neither having a consistent fantasy value as they will just take valuable points off each other throughout the season.

ONES TO WATCH: THE WILDCARDS

I can already see this part of the weekly segment being a fun place to be. Every week someone is going to have an unexpected week, and this is why fantasy football is so exciting and fun for fans. 

So where am I starting? I’m starting down in Tennessee with the rookie Carnell Tate. I said in my WR ranking article that would be really keen to see where he landed in fantasy drafts, and in my league, he went in the fifth round, which may well be a little rich so early in the rookie’s career. But after a less-than-ideal game tape in preseason (0 receptions), but a show real throughout camp, what can we expect from Tate throughout the season? 

It would appear as though even the apps are a little murky when it comes to his output as well, with there nearly a 200-yard difference in projected yards for Tate from ESPN (1023) and Fantasy Pros (862). One thing is consistent though, they both think he has less than 5 total touchdowns in his locker for the Titans, which is really interesting when you consider that they also predict Wan’Dale Robinson to underperform him.

So just where will the Titans and Tate end up as the season progresses? For me he has WR3 upside and will slot into the FLEX position as the season progresses. Does he make an impact in week 1 against the Jets? Well, it’s the Jets, so it is very much a possibility. I’m keen to put him in the FLEX this week to see what he and can do against a not-so-great defensive system.

Finally, I am ending week 1 with someone who I have been watching pretty much since he landed in Baltimore. I’m going early here, just like the Rams fans and their Super Bowl chances, so I can be all aboard the Ja’Kobi Lane train. 

I really think he can be a huge asset early on for the Ravens who are desperate for a positive season. With back ups to Zay Flowers very much going undrafted in fantasy leagues, Lane has a chance to a rookie that gets some early chances to make a name for himself in Baltimore.
His tape in camp has me hooked, and just like Kevin Costner’s character in Draft Day, I took Lane a little early in my draft, but I didn’t want to miss out on his potential upside. With some great catches on Ravens socials and beat writers talking about him in glowing terms, I think the hype on the rookie third round pick could be real and people need to not be afraid to either pick him up of their waiver wire and stash him, or stick him in the FLEX position early and see what he can do.

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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