2026 has a lot of obvious players you’re going to draft. I’m not going to bore you with the details of why you shouldn’t draft a guy like Bijan Robinson. If you pass him up, you’re either taking Jahmyr Gibbs, or your league values WRs more and you’re torn between Puka and Ja’Marr Chase. You really can’t go wrong. But, past that, is there such a thing as a safe pick? There are players in the first round that I think could ruin your season for putting faith in them. I’m going to give you the safety meter on the top 50 going into this season in hopes I can help someone else in need:

Over the next two weekends, we are about to embark on a journey of millions of drafts done online between multiple fantasy football outlets. Some people draft with stickers and a poster board, most will be online, or they’re huge nerds like me and built a custom Excel sheet draft board with formulas and player rankings with all sorts of cool drop down features as you select your players. Whatever method you choose, I wish everyone the best of luck this season.

I know I should be ‘all in’ on football right now with week 1 of the preseason wrapping up… but I’m just not. These games mean absolutely nothing to a fan or the media the same way they mean to players or an organization. That’s why I chose now to go on vacation, because I knew sitting around studying preseason would not be worth my time. And for me to have any takes or opinions on what the team looked like, also means jack. However, the Atlanta Falcons gave us an all-time, generational meme in the first five minutes of their season which I’m sure will foreshadow how the next 5 months will go. So I do thank them for that. But again, I’m not overanalyzing how bad it was for such a short sample size. And I still don’t care how good Ty Simpson looked in his debut.

After months of speculation, rumors and debate, Lebron has finally announced that he’s taking his talents to… the City of Brotherly Love? That nickname sounds kind of… nevermind, I won’t say it. Why Philadelphia of all places? Does he love the city? Does he not care about his legacy? Or is he just ring chasing? We’ll dive into the career of Lebron plenty. But with this move, the 76ers definitely moved up in the odds to win a championship, but they still aren’t the favorite. Lebron at 41 years of age doesn’t move the needle like it used to, but his supporting cast might be enough to win him one more ring before it’s all said and done for James. But how would you feel about another Lebron title in this fashion and do you think it’s possible?

The 2026 World Cup finished up fittingly in New York City this past weekend with Spain emerging as victors over Argentina. What better place to host on the international level than the Big Apple? Well, technically it was New Jersey. But that’s not the point. The United States (North America) put on an absolute show over the past month and a half hosting these games. 

So was this the best World Cup of all time?

“Some of you I know, some of you I’m meeting for the first time.” A quote from the brilliant Dr. Evil from Austin Powers. All 32 NFL teams have at least one guy out perform his projections in fantasy so let’s figure out who they are. A lot of variables are considered here with these people. Some are being drafted later than they should be or are good value, some guys may require an injury to get where they need to be and some guys won’t break out until later in the season. These aren’t necessarily ‘must draft’ players’ or ‘breakout candidates’ but they are people to keep on your radar for those that are in deep leagues looking for any leg up on their competition. If your league is like mine, the slightest rumor or momentum is enough for a guy to get scooped up where the remaining players on the waiver are just a trash heap of endless void. So be on the lookout for these guys in 2026 that can make a difference to your roster when you need it most.

We’re in a fun part of the NFL offseason where we will do anything to pass the time. The NFL Draft only holds our attention for a few days but once that weekend comes and goes, so do our hopes for any sign of life for football for quite some time. Well every year, I do post draft predictions on each division. And let’s just say, I believe a lot is going to change. Year over year, the average difference in division winners is 4. There are only 8 divisions in the NFL so a lot changes, teams underperform and others come out of nowhere. Who honestly had Sam Darnold and the Seahawks winning the NFC West last year as the number 1 seed and winning the Super Bowl? I know one guy for The Banner Show that probably did but that’s about it. Well I’m choosing 4 for new division winners this year. So who are they?

This article is brought to you by Banner’s own Ryan Occhiogrosso. Just kidding, but he was the inspiration behind this entire read if you saw our most recent podcast episode 19 of The Banner Show. And thanks to you, I had to go listen to Teardrops on My Guitar. She sings about a guy named Drew and now I can’t help but laugh every time because I think she’s singing about me. So thank you. If you’re reading this, you better already be subscribed to YouTube. If not, boy do we have more hot takes if you like this one. So go follow!

How many times have you had high expectations and drafted a guy, he’s a bust, then he’s completely off your radar the next year because of it? Then the next year you pass up on him, and he finally puts up huge numbers? Raise your hands high and be proud because it happens to me all the time. The fact that I’m considering Justin Jefferson again for my first round pick has my blood boiling. But this type of behavior happens every year. Being consistent in the NFL is hard but comebacks happen every year. How many people gave up on Saquon after a mediocre year with the Giants? Look what he did the second he left them and was placed on a team that knew how to properly utilize him. Players get injured, they suffer from being on bad teams, or they deal with the sheer fact that JJ McCarthy is their starting QB. Again, blood pressure is up.

USA! USA! USA! Come on, let’s get a chant going! If you’re not on board with what’s going on right now with this team, will you ever be? To support a team that’s the country’s 5th most popular sport (arguably), this is the best chance we’ve had in a very long time to win the World Cup. And! We’re doing it on home soil. In fact, the United States has only won its first two games one other time in the history of the Cup

Every fantasy football season, people get excited about the rookies coming into the league, hoping they explode right out the gate. Ja’Marr Chase was drafted with the 5th overall pick in the NFL draft in 2021 and of course, lived up to his hype in his rookie year. But what people forget about is the group of rookies that ‘underperformed’ in year one. The average NFL player doesn’t truly breakout until their 3rd season. In Chase’s draft class, Nico Collins and Amon-Ra St. Brown were drafted in the 3rd round. These guys seem to be doing pretty okay now. However, over the last 10 years, the expectation has jumped and we see rookie WRs and RBs put up 1,000 yards every year. But what I like to do is go back and look at the players that have been in the league for a couple years, have shown promise and given the opportunities, are due for a breakout. Especially if they’re in the right offense and situation. These are players that are mid to late round picks that could make a big difference on your fantasy team this year.