Four New Year's Resolutions For The 2026 Fantasy Season

Well, it’s 2026 now. I think that means it’s time for some New Year’s resolutions …

🍾 No more rookies in Round 1. It’s enough already. We’ve now tried it in back-to-back years with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Ashton Jeanty. Let’s all agree not to draft any rookies until at least Round 3 in 2026, OK?

🍾 Embrace the yin to support the yang. The team that won Underdog’s Best Ball Mania tournament for $2M this year, which was once again drafted by one of my fellow Ship Chasing co-hosts, featured an intriguing blend of boring “boomer” picks (think Derrick Henry) and sexy “slappy” picks (hi Luther Burden). There’s a very big lesson in that. If we over-index on veterans and early-season production, we won’t have enough ammo for the playoffs. And on the flip side, if we chase too many rookies, we won’t make it through the regular season. One needs both the Javonte Williams of the world and the Harold Fannins.

🍾 Draft Arthur Smith’s third-stringers. At this point, we know better than to draft Arthur Smith’s “RB1” or TE1.” In 2026, let’s resolve to cross out the top names on the depth chart and profit …

~~Jaylen Warren~~
~~Kaleb Johnson~~
Kenneth Gainwell
~~Pat Freiermuth~~
~~Jonnu Smith~~
Darnell Washington

I’d say we should do the same thing for the Cardinals QBs and WRs, but I’ve piled on enough already.

🍾 Play in more Guillotine Leagues™. One of the reasons I’ve become such a big best ball bro is because I hate waivers. Well, I thought I hated waivers. This year, I legitimately enjoyed putting in bids across my four Guillotine Leagues™. As opposed to normal leagues where the waiver wire resembles a trash heap by Week 6, these leagues are constantly getting replenished with high-end talent. I came short of the finals in 2025, but I won’t let it happen again in 2026.

Thanks to everyone who reads, subscribes, watches, and listens to all of our content here at Fantasy Life. Here’s to a big 2026 …

COULD TREVOR LAWRENCE BE QB1 IN WEEK 18?

DIVE INTO THE DATA WITH DWAIN

John Laghezza’s Week 18 Rankings …

Most of the players I’m willing to bet on producing will need a properly motivated environment to get there. Assume any player or team not mentioned crosses too far into the realm of replacement.

Here are the Fantasy Life official Week 18 rankings, from the inimitable and accuracy-challenge-winning Rob "Waz" Waziak.

Now let's dig into mine!

We'll start at the top since only three games out of 16 this weekend actually matter, and those stakes couldn’t be higher.

Seattle at San Francisco, Carolina at Tampa Bay and Baltimore at Pittsburgh all carry direct postseason implications—with the latter two representing true playoff-style win-or-go-home consequences. Needless to say, almost regardless of game totals, the most reliable utilization will be found here.

The Games That Mean Something

The 49ers defense ranks with the very worst, creating the weekly carnivals that us fantasy gamers love so much—which is why Jaxon Smith-Njigba is this weekend’s top-ranked player. Push up all Seahawks, especially TE A.J. Barner, who I’m penciling in for a big game Saturday night. Ditto for Cooper Kupp — and all of San Fran’s bit players. Seattle’s a scary matchup, but Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy are commanding the league’s most prolific offense right now. Strike where the iron’s hot.

If one of these games flops in terms of scoring, it’s probably the CAR/TB NFC South showdown, which could very well send a .500 team to the dance as divisional champs. Sadly for my bankroll, every time I want/need/expect Baker Mayfield and the boys to go bananas, they disappoint. Maybe he’s injured, or the timing’s not right, I’m struggling to buy into what either team’s selling this weekend. Yes, both Jalen McMillan and Mike Evans went for seven grabs and over 100 yards Sunday, but predicting where the production will come is harder than when.

When Baltimore kicks off in the Steel City, it’s about whether or not Lamar Jackson suits up. Personally, I think after practicing on Wednesday, the two-time MVP is about to go nuclear over the next month, silencing his critics once and for all. Boost Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers into the slate’s top tier for a potential rout. Don’t forget to circle Kenneth Gainwell—without DK Metcalf, he could catch 10 balls in a negative game script.

DEEP DIVE INTO THE WEEK 18 RANKINGS

NFL Contract Incentive Progress Ahead of Week 18

The end is here. We've made it to Week 18, which means it’s do-or-die time for everyone’s favorite season: 2025 NFL contract incentives SZN. NFL players are just like us. It doesn’t matter how much you’re already making; who doesn’t want to pick up a few extra bucks?

Fortunately, all this information is available to us. Which players have the most to gain over the final weeks of the year? Let’s dive in.

Last week, we broke down the contract incentives players are chasing as we approached the final two weeks of the season. What follows are their incentives they are chasing along with the progress they made towards those goals last week, and what each player needs to accomplish entering Week 18 to earn an additional payday.

Sam Darnold

Darnold is the No. 1 QB to watch from an incentives standpoint. He can earn an extra $500K apiece if he gets to 28 passing touchdowns and 4,000 passing yards. He’s currently sitting at 25 passing touchdowns and 3,850 yards, so he’s looking for three touchdown passes and 150 yards in his Week 18 showdown vs. the 49ers. Given how porous the 49ers’ defense has looked recently, that’s well within the realm of possibility.

Unfortunately, Darnold has gone in the wrong direction in his other incentive categories. He has two additional $500K incentives for a 100 Passer Rating and a 67.5% completion percentage, and Darnold has gone backward in both categories over the past few weeks.

Add it all up, and no one has more to play for in Week 18. Not only are the Seahawks battling for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but Darnold has the potential to earn an additional $2M with a big performance. Darnold has struggled in big games in the past, but perhaps this is when he finally puts the ghosts to bed for good.

MORE PLAYERS CHASING A WEEK 18 PAYDAY

Around the Watercooler

Our merry band of football nerds would love to help you clean up after New Year’s Eve, but they’re watching college football today.

🔮 What were some of our best 2025 preseason predictions?

👀 Is now the perfect time to sell Jonathan Taylor? Dynasty managers, listen up!

🪓 Who saved you from getting chopped in 2025?

🎯 Now that he’s starting Week 18, should we target Trey Lance in dynasty?

💪 Did this waiver wire pickup help you win a title?

🙏 We need a bounce back from WRs in 2025. Desparately.

👑 Let’s go Kendall! She won a league with some heavy hitters.

🚨 Do not count on the Eagles this week. Tank Bigsby time?

🥺 Yes, we know, but all good things come to an end. Unless you play dynasty.