6 BOLD Calls for the 2026 Fantasy Football Season

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Six bold calls from Ian Hartitz ahead of the 2026 NFL season. In his words: an
opportunity to go out there and say some wild stuff, and if it does not work
out, throw it right back in his face after the season is over.

THE CALLS

1. Javonte Williams leads the NFL in touchdowns. He had 13 last year to
Jonathan Taylor's league-leading 20, and Ian is yet to hear a rational bear
case that is not simply "he costs more than he did last year." Fourth among
running backs in success rate, tied 10th in yards per carry, 7th in tackles
avoided per carry, RB12 in PPR points per game. RotoWire's 7th ranked
offensive line in front of him, Jaydon Blue is off the roster, and the Cowboys
lead back is getting 300 plus touches with 400 in play.

2. Justin Herbert wins MVP and leads the NFL's number one scoring offense. He
is one of only ten quarterbacks ever with multiple seasons averaging north of
22 fantasy points per game, and he already has a 5,000 yard passing season.
His QB10 finish last year came with a career high 498 rushing yards and a
broken left hand in Week 13. The preseason scheme numbers under new OC Mike
McDaniel are the tell: motion up from 64.3 percent (18th) to 83.8 percent
(1st), play action up from 25.1 percent (17th) to 36.6 percent (2nd). Herbert
sits at plus 1000, tied for third on the MVP board.

3. Jaylen Waddle shines and finishes as the overall WR5. He already has WR15
and WR12 seasons on his resume as an underneath option, and Ian's question is
what really separates him from DeVonta Smith. Now he lands in Denver, where Bo
Nix just led the NFL in pass attempts and Sean Payton is calling the offense.
The medical tent trips are annoying, but the man has played 16, 17, 14, 15 and
16 games since entering the league.

4. Jared Goff turns in a top five fantasy finish, working as this year's
Matthew Stafford. He has beaten his ADP four years running: QB27 to QB13,
QB18 to QB15, QB19 to QB7, QB18 to QB12. He has three straight seasons of
4,500 plus passing yards when the rest of the NFL has six combined, and he
leads the league in passing touchdowns since 2022. Ian's favorite MVP bet on
the board at plus 3500.

5. Jordan Mason scores double digit touchdowns in a vastly improved Vikings
offense. Among 33 backs with 150 plus carries he was 5th in yards over
expected per carry (plus 0.94), 8th in yards after contact per carry (3.4) and
tied 11th in yards per carry (4.8). Kyler Murray's read option gravity helps,
and Murray is not a quarterback who steals goal line touchdowns. Minnesota's
running backs had just nine carries inside the five yard line last season,
tied for the fifth fewest in football.

6. Brock Bowers works as this year's Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He broke the rookie
tight end records for receptions (112) and yards (1,194), and once you give
him a pass for playing through a painful PCL injury in Weeks 2 through 4, he
averaged more PPR points per game last season (16.44) than he did as a rookie
(15.45). Klint Kubiak is in town, the reported goal is for Bowers to break the
NFL record for catches and targets, and there is no Drake London in Vegas
soaking up the targets.

Timestamps:
0:00 The premise
0:21 Bold call 1: Javonte Williams leads the NFL in touchdowns
3:16 The last bear case on Javonte is the price
4:21 Bold call 2: Justin Herbert wins MVP
7:17 Bold call 3: Jaylen Waddle finishes as the overall WR5
10:51 Bold call 4: Jared Goff turns in a top five fantasy season
13:37 Bold call 5: Jordan Mason scores double digit touchdowns
16:55 Bold call 6: Brock Bowers is this year's JSN
20:35 What is coming up on the channel