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Things that are good to be early for: The dentist, a date, and fantasy football league winners. It may be July, but it’s never too early to think about who can take you to the promised land in December.
In this article, I pair breakout candidates/players primed for strong seasons with those who have a succulent stretch of matchups over the playoffs. Defenses are always hard to predict, as the best ones vary year to year. That said, it’s not often a projected “bad” defense in the offseason becomes a matchup to avoid. As a result, here are some players who can carry you through the season and explode in the fantasy playoffs.
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Potential Fantasy Football League Winners
Bhayshul Tuten (RB – JAX)
I’ll be honest, I’m running out of ways to creatively tell you to draft Bhayshul Tuten. Either I’m losing my creative touch as a writer, or I’ve become the old man shouting his name at the clouds. I believe I’ve become the latter. Some may call me crazy, but I call Tuten a league winner.
The path is clear. We have a Liam Coen-run offense with an ambiguous backfield. At least, people want you to think it’s ambiguous. Really, this is a two-horse race between Tuten and Chris Rodriguez.
We have seen this story many times in the past: An electric young back competes with a veteran plodder for touches. This year, we are primed to see a few of these case studies, with TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson as well as RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins/Jonah Coleman. However, the recent example I want to highlight is the 2024 Bengals.
It was Chase Brown‘s second season in the league, coming off of a 12-game rookie campaign of 179 rushing yards and 156 receiving yards with one touchdown. The Bengals brought in Zack Moss, who had nearly 1,000 total yards and seven touchdowns with the Colts in 14 games.
Despite this signing, the buzz was growing for Brown as a hyper-athletic back out of London, Ontario. Moss was good, much like Rodriguez, but he was nothing flashy. Once Moss missed some time to injury, Brown took over the backfield and never looked back. He finished as the fantasy RB12 in 2024 and followed it up as the fantasy RB8 in 2025.
I remember that not only because I am a Bengals fan, but also because I was a Moss believer. I am not making that mistake again. This offseason, Rodriguez has already been dealing with a foot injury, and all the coach’s reports on Tuten have been positive.
We have also seen this coaching staff trust Tuten around the goal line, which many believe will be Rodriguez’s main role. It may not be right from Week 1, but if Tuten can showcase his explosiveness and nose for the end zone, Rodriguez will become more of a speed bump than a roadblock.
The Jaguars face the Cowboys and Commanders in Weeks 15 and 17. These two teams averaged the eighth- and fourth-most fantasy points per game to the position in 2025.
Cam Skattebo (RB – NYG) & Jaxson Dart (QB – NYG)
I believe the New York Giants are the toughest team to get a read on this offseason. With a completely new coaching staff and an injured superstar receiver, they really are a wild card heading into the season.
One thing we do know is that as long as Cam Skattebo and Jaxson Dart can stay healthy, they’ll burn bright for fantasy. They are coming off huge fantasy seasons; Skattebo had seven touchdowns in eight games, and Dart rushed for nine touchdowns in 14 games. Now with John Harbaugh calling the shots, this team is primed to continue their dominant ground game.
Based on a wild video of Skattebo doing a backflip and falling, it appears he is fully recovered from his dislocated ankle last season. We also have seen videos of both Skattebo and Dart talking about the positive atmosphere around the entire team heading into this season.
From Weeks 15-17, they will play the Myles Garrett-less Browns, the rebounding Lions and a Cowboys team that allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to the running back position last season.
Joe Burrow (QB – CIN), Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN) & Tee Higgins (WR – CIN)
Not only do the Bengals possess one of the most fantasy-friendly offenses, but they also have one of the best playoff schedules. This offseason, the vibes coming from the team have been immaculate. With the addition of Dexter Lawrence to the defense and a healthy Joe Burrow, the Bengals are primed for a bounce-back season. Even their offensive line is coming together nicely (although I’ll believe it when I see it).
At this moment, Burrow is primed to lead the league in both passing yards and touchdowns. We know he can be a surgeon against any defense and has two elite pass-catchers to throw to.
There are only one or two receivers in the league who possess the upside of Ja’Marr Chase. And when I say upside, I mean jaw-dropping, week-winning production. In 2025, he had two games with over 14 receptions, 160 yards and a score. As for Tee Higgins, he is one of the few red-zone receivers that could easily have a three-touchdown game on any individual week.
It’s no secret that these players are all at the top of fantasy drafts. However, to make them even more appealing, check out their schedule down the stretch. From Week 13 to Week 17, they will play the Browns, Chiefs, Panthers, Colts and Ravens. I don’t see a single secondary that worries me.
Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL)
This has to be a bounce-back season from Lamar Jackson, right? Despite only playing four fewer games than he did in 2024, he scored 52% fewer fantasy points. That’s a drop from 25 points per game to 16, breaking his two-season streak of finishing as a top-four fantasy signal-caller. A significant portion of this was due to injury. He never looked the same when he returned. However, before his injury, Jackson started right where he left off, finishing as a top-four fantasy quarterback in each of the first four weeks.
We all know Jackson is a fantasy X factor. He and Patrick Mahomes are the only active quarterbacks to have a 400-point fantasy season (in four points per passing touchdown leagues), and they both have two. In the seasons where we have seen Jackson stay healthy for at least 15 games (disregarding his rookie season), he has finished as the QB1 twice, the QB4 and the QB10. With plenty of time to recover from last season, Jackson is a ticking time bomb for fantasy production.
There have been some significant changes on the Ravens that cause some uncertainty. After 18 seasons, John Harbaugh left the Ravens and the defensive-minded Jesse Minter took his place. We also had star center Tyler Linderbaum sign with the Raiders. Neither of these changes is likely good for Jackson; however, he has proven to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league and should be able to overcome any potential speed bumps.
If a bounce-back season isn’t enough reason to call him a league winner, his end-of-season schedule is. In Weeks 16 and 17, he faces the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. Two below-average defenses with divisional/playoff seeding likely on the line.
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