Fantasy Football: These are the biggest lessons we learned from 2025 — and takeaways for 2026

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Yahoo’s Fantasy football analysts get together to reveal the biggest lessons they learned throughout a raucous 2025 season — what will we take with us in 2026?

Biggest lesson this season? Situations matter

Talent is the trailer, environment is the engine. We love the forty times and the vibes but bad offensive lines turn Ferraris into shopping carts. Ashton Jeanty got the volume yet ran into a Raiders front that got bullied weekly. Justin Jefferson is still him but shaky quarterback play had us chasing ghosts.

Early season snapshots lie, too. Emeka Egbuka opened hot, then faded when roles shifted. Luther Burden III limped in as a rookie, then won leagues when the usage flipped late.

Coaching tweaks, injuries, depth chart churn — all of it is the weather we have to play through. The move here is to stay fluid. Trust what the teams are telling us in snaps, routes and red-zone work. Dump stale priors. Pivot faster.

Fantasy is a proxy for Sundays, not our summer takes. In 2026, I’m drafting the player — but I’m betting on the ecosystem. Every time. — Ray Garvin

Rookie tight ends can onboard quickly

Although Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers were first-year smashes the last couple of seasons, their instant success felt more isolated and not necessarily symbolic of a sea change. But after watching what the 2025 tight end class accomplished, I’m willing to reevaluate the position as a whole. If you look at the receiving leaders among first-year players this season, four of the top six names are tight ends (Tyler Warren, Harold Fannin Jr., Oronde Gadsden II, Colston Loveland).

There was ebb and flow, of course – Warren was better early in the season (before Daniel Jones got hurt), Loveland came on late. But we need to permanently scrap the idea that rookie tight ends can’t be fantasy-relevant in their debut seasons. The offensive schemes in college and pro football continue to move closer together, which gives these talented rookies a better chance at quick success. — Scott Pianowski

Draft Year 3 and 4 wide receivers

The wide receiver position in 2025 was dominated by Year 3 to Year 4 players. Six of the top 12 scorers on a per-game basis were receivers in their third or fourth season. The fantasy community has a blind spot to these types of players breaking through to new heights. Because the space has become overly influenced by dynasty content, we have in some way become less patient with young players than ever.

There is a sense that a player “is what he is” after just a couple of seasons. This leads to elite discounts on guys like Chris Olave and JSN this year and Nico Collins a few years back. This will be an archetype of receiver to heavily target in the mid rounds next season and beyond. — Matt Harmon

The late-round QB approach should never be doubted

While I touted drafting elite QBs like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson this summer, their advantage over other fantasy passers wasn’t as notable as in recent seasons. Allen still averaged two points per game more than other QBs, but he was closer to the pack than last year. Meanwhile, Jackson had his campaign derailed by injuries.

At the same time, we had nine quarterbacks — drafted outside the first 100 picks in fantasy drafts — who were strong starters. Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye, Brock Purdy and Trevor Lawrence made up four of the top six fantasy QBs in per game scoring. Other deep values like Jared Goff, Justin Herbert and Caleb Williams also finished as top-12 QBs. We even saw Daniel Jones post QB8 numbers through 13 weeks before getting hurt, and Jaxson Dart emerged as a top-10 fantasy option once he began starting in Week 4.

Though I was tempted by the high-end passers in 2025, the general focus should always be on trying to uncover the late-round quarterbacks with a path to significant production. — Justin Boone

If last year’s busts have a new situation, hurt feelings = value

I did a research study this offseason looking at fantasy players' recent ceiling seasons compared to their ADP. I didn’t know what the result would be, but it did reveal one thing: emotions can drive down ADP too far. Travis Etienne Jr. was the RB3 in 2023; one bad season later and he’s ADP RB30 — right behind Kaleb Johnson. A new coach who produced two fantasy RB2s the year before insisted Etienne would be the starter and it seemed nobody wanted him because he hurt their 2024 team.

Michael Pittman Jr. was very similar. The ADP WR46, even though he’d been a top-20 fantasy WR from 2021-2023. Javonte Williams, Chris Olave, Christian McCaffrey — the list goes on. This doesn’t mean to draft Justin Jefferson, Kenneth Walker III or Garrett Wilson no matter what, but rather if their situation changes.

Because if nothing changes, nothing changes. — Joel Smyth

Be patient with a player if the right signs are there

I know we want all of our players to come out of the gates firing, but situations can change, forcing us to lower expectations. However, if the usage undersells the production, I’d be willing to wait next season. Take Chase Brown, for example.

After Joe Burrow went down, the Bengals ranked dead last in yards per game, but Brown was not only sitting at a 15% target share, he also had a lock on the backfield with a 59% rushing share and all of the goal-line carries.

Knowing HC Ben Johnson’s effect on Detroit’s running game, D’Andre Swift’s 61% rushing share entering their bye at least had him in the pole position should the Bears’ offense find its rhythm.

From George Pickens leading the Cowboys in end zone targets before CeeDee Lamb’s injury to Zach Charbonnet taking 90% of the goal-line carries before Kenneth Walker III’s pre-season foot injury became a larger story, we tend to value perceived certainty over the potential for a week- or season-winning player.

So while I’ll still bet on my stars to perform, I’ll be more willing to look into the guys with lackluster starts to 2026. — Chris Allen

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