Fake Football Debate: Which player is the biggest wild card entering the 2026 NFL season?

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Fake Football Debate: Which player is the biggest wild card entering the 2026 NFL season?

Different is a word that comes up a lot in fantasy football. There’s always a wide range of results for each player from season to season, whether it’s an injury, a new offensive position or a potential breakout. Yahoo analysts Justin Boone, Matt Harmon, Joel Smyth and Scott Pianowski share their top wild card player (or players) for the 2026 fantasy football season.

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Buckeyes are wide receivers

It’s easy to forget that the struggles the Bucs faced last season had a lot to do with all the playing injuries. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan missed significant time, while Baker Mayfield and Emeka Egbuka had a rough half year. Even the offensive line dealt with injuries, an often-overlooked change in fantasy production. Heading into the 2026 season, the team is healthy, but they no longer have Evans to rely on.

That means the target distribution will look very different going forward. Egbuka will be looking to replicate his impressive results from the first season when he averaged the most three points per game in the area through the first five weeks. Godwin will try to reach 1,000 yards for the fifth time in his career. And McMillan will look to get his career back on track after a nagging neck injury sidelined him after an eight-touchdown rookie season in 2024. All three Tampa wideouts are interesting values at their current ADPs – with Egbuka and Godwin having a clear path to top-24 WR stats and a very good case for a WR score that could lead to one situation. – Justin Boone

Brian Thomas Jr., WR, Jaguars

Back in 2024, rookie Brian Thomas Jr. he wasn’t just one of the best first-year performances; he was one of the most powerful players in the world. For reasons we’ve learned more about in this phase of his existence, Thomas was a huge disappointment in Year 2. The real question for Thomas is which version is the real player? Rookie year status or sophomore disappointment?

Usually, I’m a “truth somewhere in the middle” person, but in this instance, I think he can erase the middle result and at least be closer to what he was in 2024 than the version that played with injuries in the new case last year. Still, while he should be better individually in his third season, he’s a loaded receiver group on paper.

The Jaguars get some depth at receiver with Thomas, Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers and Travis Hunter yet to meet. They also want to play more with 12 personnel after extending TE Brenton Strange and drafting Nate Boerkircher 56th overall. That will create real pressure on the target in this room. And yet, because of both Thomas’ one-off ceiling and his ability to be positioned as an X receiver that allows him to be on the field in many snaps, I’m sure if there is a big hit in this room, Thomas is the obvious correct answer. It’s up to him to become the next version of himself and force a quick and targeted assignment to turn to him more. – Matt Harmon

Bucky Irving, RB, Buccaneers

After a very disappointing second half of the season, Irving’s ADP for the 2026 season has fallen close to RB3 territory. While the descent is fixed, the elevation in that range is much greater. Believe it or not, the Buckeyes running back averaged over 20 chances per game last season (targets + carries), behind three top scoring fantasy running backs. He averaged RB1 numbers from his debut in 2024 to his injury in 2025, numbers that are rare to find in the fifth round.

However, the concern is real. You don’t want to completely waste a pick, even if it’s a Round 5 pick instead of his Round 2 ADP from last season. The shoulder injury is a huge red flag going into this season, and with Kenneth Gainwell and Sean Tucker in the lineup ready to fill a role on the goal line and in the receiving game, it’s hard to fully trust Irving to be the same as he was in his first season. Will Gainwell really be the “1B” the coaches promoted him to, or will Irving return to his metal volume? – Joel Smyth

Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Cardinals

I would like Marvin Harrison Jr. the real one to stand up this year. Will we see the champion who shined at Ohio State, dominated his last two seasons and landed as the No. 4 pick in 2024? Maybe it will be Harrison in his rookie year, who achieved a respectable WR29. Then there was the Harrison crash last season, when he slumped to WR48 (in part due to injury) and was replaced by the underrated Michael Wilson. The Cardinals offense hit the reset button in the postseason— new coaches, new quarterback, new quarterback room situation. Harrison currently sits around Pick 77 in the Yahoo draft, which could easily be 2-3 rounds too late – or 2-3 rounds too early. – Scott Pianowski