- - Breece Hall goes to Pittsburgh and thrives, plus more early bold predictions for fantasy football in 2026

James KohJanuary 2, 2026 at 11:09 PM

0

When my editor told me to write a “Way-too-early bold prediction” piece, at first I thought it was going to be a cake walk. After all, ya boy loves thinking outside the box and challenging group think. Easy peasy, I’ll knock this out in like an hour tops….

But then I do what I do and start going down rabbit holes... I start looking at projected cap space… examining pending free agents… postulating team needs, schematic fits, inside/outside run rates, slot/wide alignment, wait, what about potential OC changes??? And what about win totals? Should we really be investing in bad teams… Next thing you know, it’s New Year’s Day and I’ve spent about four hours researching the entire league for no good reason at all.

It’s a long way of saying, it would’ve been easy to just throw smashed bananas on the wall and come up with bold predictions that don’t make sense and could never happen, but what’s the fun in that? Here are five bold predictions for 2026 based on plausible spending and team needs:

Breece Hall signs with Pittsburgh, explodes for 1,500 yards and 10 TDs

Kenneth Gainwell only signed a one-year deal and while it’s possible the team re-signs him given his productivity, I wonder if they make a splashier move at a position that has been critical for Mike Tomlin-led teams. Interestingly, Jaylen Warren is a potential cut candidate given his contract.

Per Spotrac, Pittsburgh currently has the eighth-most projected cap space and you have to think they will spend some of that at running back.

A juiced-up version of Gainwell, Breece Hall is a perfect fit for the predominantly outside run scheme Arthur Smith deploys. And while Kenny G was good as a pass catcher too, Breece is down right electric as a receiver out of the backfield.

And let’s not forget, Tomlin is a legit king maker for this position. Le’Veon Bell, Willie Parker, Najee Harris, Rashard Mendenhall, James Conner and Deangelo Williams all posted seasons with 1,100+ scrimmage yards and 10+ touchdowns. This doesn’t even include Jerome Bettis, who had 987 yards and 13 touchdowns in his age-32 season playing under Tomlin. Hell, Warren is two touchdowns away from doing that again this year!

Jaylin Noel finishes as a top-30 fantasy wide receiver

Christian Kirk will be a free agent this spring and entering his age-30 season. I would be shocked if Houston brings him back. His departure will open the door for the very under-utilized slot man in Noel.

Most will point to Jayden Higgins as the breakout guy given his size and draft capital, but to me, there was a reason Noel outproduced Higgins while they were teammates at Iowa State.

Whether it was collegiately or in the pros, every single time I watch Noel play, he’s either wide open or making explosive plays. The Texans desperately need quick separators given their OL woes and that’s 100% Noel.

Houston would be wise to get Noel ramped up this offseason as a regular, consistent contributor.

Malik Willis signs with Dolphins, turns Jaylen Waddle into a top-12 WR

The Dolphins are currently projected over the cap but once they part ways with Tyreek Hill, a huge chunk of space will open up. I have no idea how they navigate the Tua Tagovailoa contract but given their current draft position, they also won’t be in a spot to draft one of the top QB prospects either.

Willis, who is a pending free agent, has shown significant growth as a player while in Green Bay… but not so much that he’s going to demand a massive contract.

This prediction is, of course, reliant on the team retaining Mike McDaniel. Remember, McDaniel comes from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree while Willis has played under Matt LeFleur, who is from the McVay tree. Considering McVay and Shanahan have shared lineage, this is an extremely long way of saying Willis would have strong familiarity with the scheme and playbook in South Beach should he go there.

Willis’ arm talent was never a question and having that sizzle would be such a welcome change for these Miami pass-catchers. If this marriage happens, I love it for Jaylen Waddle.

Rico Dowdle goes to Washington, posts 1,300+ yards for the third straight year

All the “Bill Bros” will hate it but Rico Dowdle is such a good (and affordable) fit for the Commanders.

Despite being the more productive back in Carolina, Rico only signed a one-year deal while Chuba Hubbard is in the middle of a four-year, $33 million extension he signed last season. The team is stuck with Chuba for at least one more year.

In regards to Washington, because of the RPO scheme they deploy for Jayden Daniels, RBs have to be great running between the tackles. Dowdle, in back-to-back years, has played for the Cowboys and Panthers; both are top-five in terms of inside run rates and in both spots, Dowdle has thrived. He’s compiled 1,300+ scrimmage yards in back-to-back seasons.

While I love Jacory Croskey-Merritt too, he’s a weird fit for this offense because he’s so talented running to the outside but not very good at running inside. Per Next Gen Stats, he leads all qualified running backs (100+ season carries) with 6.8 yards per carry on outside runs but averages a poor 3.48 YPC on inside runs. League average was 4.3 YPC and he was slightly worse than the calcified Kareem Hunt, who averaged 3.52 YPC between the tackles.

If Rico signs with the Commanders, I love his upside playing alongside Daniels and company.

Bhayshul Tuten takes over backfield in Jacksonville, finishes as top-15 RB

I think the Jags would be nuts to let Travis Etienne Jr. walk in free agency but I also think that’s the most likely outcome given that Jacksonville has too many other team needs. Plus, ETN wasn’t a guy selected by the current regime while Tuten was.

A fourth-round selection for Liam Coen and company, Tuten has incredible athletic traits running a 4.32 40-time and jumping out the gym with a 40.5-inch vertical.

I’m positive LeQuint Allen Jr. will play an uncomfortable amount of snaps as well, but given the trajectory of this offense, sign me up.

Bonus Prediction: Trevor Lawrence is the QB1 in 2026

It took him a minute to get acclimated to Coen’s playbook and coaching style but what we’ve seen on the back half of 2025 is exactly what us Lawrence apologists have been trying to tell the skeptics and haters for years now.

Over his last seven games (all wins), Lawrence is averaging 250.6 passing yards, 25.1 rushing yards and 3.0 total touchdowns per game. If you stretched that out across 17 games, we’re talking 4,687 total yards and 51 touchdowns. Absolutely bonkers stuff.

From a fantasy perspective, over his last seven weeks, Lawrence is the QB1 in total points and points per game in that stretch. Let me say it louder for the people in the back: LAWRENCE IS THE TOP SCORING QUARTERBACK SINCE WEEK 11.

The addition of Jakobi Meyers very obviously solidified the pass-catching group and the collection of Meyers, BTJ, Parker Washington, Brenton Strange and potentially Travis Hunter should be one of the most complete units in football next season.

Considering their defense should still be a work in progress, Lawrence will have all the chance in the world to build upon the good bones he established this year.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”