I hope you all are reading these because we went 27-5 last week in our picks! And with that, I hope you’re all on top of your league standings. Look, I’m just a messenger. I follow multiple avenues of fantasy advice along with matching it up with the data that’s easily put together for me. It’s hard to take too much credit when all I’m doing is connecting the pieces to the puzzle. But at the same time, I’d like to think I know ball. So let’s get down. Again, I’m trying to avoid obvious picks here. And I think it’s obvious that Justin Herbert is on my ‘Bench him’ list the rest of the season. You’ll only see top tier players in this article if I think they should be benched. I know a lot of people don’t have any other options and benching is out of the question, but I can at least set some expectations for you. And with the byes starting to hit, injuries piling up, you’ll see some names that you’ll scratch your head to until I explain my reasoning. So here we go.

This week on the country’s most watched reality TV series, the NFL did not disappoint once again. The drama is just nonstop and I truly feel like I’m invested into the most twisted TV series I’ve ever watched and the writers are… a chef’s kiss. Week 5 had upsets, trades (secret trades), come from behind wins and heavyweight matchups. Are you not entertained?!?! Seriously, there are people in this world that don’t care about football or the NFL and I just don’t get it. I think they’re just trying to prove a point and like the attention. All you’re proving to me is that you’re a huge douchebag. “I’d rather just ride dirtbikes.” Okay that’s cool, but you can also still be a fan of this stuff! Whatever, more for me.

Last week wasn’t as friendly to us as the week before. Part of that was due to the Browns/Steelers game exceeding a lot of people’s expectations in not only total points scored, but fantasy players performing as well. Thursday night games are the hardest to predict. However! We still shot over 50% for the week so we’re winning over here and I hope you’re standing at the top of the leader boards in your fantasy leagues. I am for the most part, but it’s been a struggle with injuries in some of my leagues. And I’m sure you’re all dealing with it too and need help to plug and play where the next man up is supposed to shine. However, that’s not always the case. Let’s get into week 5 with some bangers.

The 2026 NFL Season is like prime Game of Thrones. You never know what characters are going to get randomly killed off, huge battle scenes and old characters show up that have been missing for 2 seasons (Joe Mixon). The cliffhangers after Monday Night Football waiting for Thursday make you speculate on what’s going to happen next and everyone’s talking about it at the water coolers at work. Are the Falcons this week’s Joffrey? Spoiling Monday Night Football for the Saints was such a feel good moment and I haven’t had that thrill of win in years. Now if I could just convince my wife to watch GOT. She’s just happy her Raiders are 3-1.

But so much can change over a one week period, but at the same time, trends start to develop. Who is actually legit and who are frauds? Let’s get into what happened in Week 4:

Week 3 we went 25-9 in our fantasy picks. Hoping I put you all in positions to win and we’re going into week 4 with a chance to make a statement. My goal for these articles is to avoid the obvious. Some of you don’t have a choice to start a lot of big name players. So you’ll see guys on my list for these start/sit articles that either have bad matchups, or they’re more middle tier players that could potentially be on someone’s bench that they’re debating on starting. I’m never going to tell you to start or sit Jahmyr Gibbs. I think we all know you’re playing him no matter the matchup. But as the season progresses, some people lose value and some people gain. So where do we go this week?

Another week in the NFL has completed, and once again, how many of your “sure fire” bets lost or how many games were “locks” in your mind? The NFL is literally the greatest reality TV show in this history of television and every week, something happens that nobody saw coming. If you were watching Redzone on Sunday, even Scott Hanson had a moment where you thought he was about to explode and fall out of his chair. Also, ask 100 men (Family Feud style) and see what they think the best invention of all time is. Real ones will pass up on the internet and the airplane and say Redzone. Well I will at least. There is no better way to watch the NFL than this single entity. I literally had someone offer me club level seats to a Broncos game last year a few hours before the game. I actually turned them down because I wanted to just watch all the games through Redzone and veg out on the couch on a Sunday afternoon. Might be an unpopular opinion but the older I get, the more lame I am.

Alright, who’s still with me after week 1? I know week 2 was a complete 180 from week 1 so bare with us! But, we were right more times than we were wrong for our start/sit list so there is still reason to celebrate. And if I was wrong, guess what, I do fantasy leagues too and still lost with you! It’s like something I saw recently that made me feel a lot better: imagine you put a lot of money on a UFC fighter to win, but he lost. At least he still got his ass beat. Makes you feel a little better, right? Well let’s get into these week 2 fantasy matchups!

Just when you think you have a few things figured out in the NFL, you quickly realize, you know absolutely nothing at all. Week 1 in the NFL put on display the highest scoring week 1 in NFL history. We learned that does not mean it will carry over into week 2 even though we saw the Lions and Bears try to carry over the momentum. I hit on a nice Thursday night, 7 leg player prop parlay to give me the fakest boost in confidence known to sports gambling. Then came a downpour of low scoring affairs and injuries to key players, especially at quarterback. And let’s just say, every bet over the weekend missed. I truly was excited to have the house to myself as my wife was out of town and we’ve been traveling so much. The excitement of having some downtime to watch football, gamble and be lazy quickly disappeared as I was anxiously just wanting her to come back home and coddle me after being such a loser.

Week 1 brought us one of the most fun weeks we’ve ever seen in the NFL with tons of scoring and star players finding the endzone. However, it did also bring heartbreak with a lot of high level talent putting up goose eggs. So who keeps the momentum going, and who comes back down to earth? Let’s get into this week’s boom or bust players.

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