Fantasy football draft season is a ways away, but those who fail to prepare are preparing to fail. With the NFL schedule now in hand, we can start to analyze the most friendly run outs for the stars that dictate who wins leagues this winter. Understanding that a lot can change between now and your draft date, these three stand out as players on the rise given how their schedule plays out.
Fantasy Football Schedule Winners
Omarion Hampton, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
After being the 22nd overall pick in 2025, Omarion Hampton was held to just nine games as a rookie, but it is not hard to see fantasy stardom in the future for the Los Angeles Chargers’ RB1.
Hampton caught at least five passes in four of those games and had a 15-plus-yard gain on the ground in five contests. Keaton Mitchell was brought in and Kimani Vidal remains on this roster, both of whom are nice complementary pieces but not a real threat to take food off the plate of a healthy Hampton.
The Bolts share a division with the Denver Broncos, and that is always a concern, but with the trip to Denver coming in Week 18, it does not exist as far as we are concerned. That is not to say that this schedule is lacking teeth, but matchups against the Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, and the home game against Denver all come reasonably early, while matchups with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Miami Dolphins present themselves in December.
Fantasy is very much a game of timing. Last season, Hampton impressed early before getting hurt and leaving you without much value in the middle of the season. It is early, but the first look at the 2026 schedule looks like one that will have Hampton rounding into the best version of himself when we need it most: I’m getting him almost every time I run our FREE Mock Draft Simulator.
D’Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears
There was plenty of momentum moving in the direction of the Chicago Bears as last season wore on, but for some reason, D’Andre Swift does not seem to be cashing in on that in terms of 2026 excitement the same way his teammates have.
The veteran back finished last season with over 1,300 yards from scrimmage and 10 scores. That is a heck of a season, and when you consider that the arrow is pointing straight up with head coach Ben Johnson at the controls, expectations should be through the roof.
- Week 15 at Buffalo Bills
- Week 16 vs. Green Bay Packers
- Week 17 vs. Detroit Lions
If the Bears are going to be competitive down the stretch, they are going to need to control tempo against those strong offenses, and Swift is the natural means to that end.
The difficult matchups (Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets) come early when your roster is full and you can survive underachieving at a higher rate because of the options you have on your roster. The midseason run is favorable (Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Dolphins) and should help elevate your fantasy team in the standings.
I have seen Swift ranked outside of the top 20 by a handful of spots across the industry, and I have him inside of the top 20 by a handful of spots. He has cleared 220 carries and 30 catches in all three seasons since leaving Detroit, and with bellcow backs becoming more difficult to find annually, this is a glorious floor/ceiling combination.
Jaxson Dart, QB, New York Giants
Any pro-Dart take comes with the “availability needs to be a skill he develops” mention.
Yes, that is true, but the position is deep enough that I am largely willing to take on risk in this regard in single-QB formats. When it comes to the potential, that is no secret, and a healthy supporting cast gives him potential that is higher than anything we saw from him during his rookie season.
The schedule works in our favor in a major way down the stretch: Weeks 16 and 17 are weatherproof contests, and we lose a matchup with a great Eagles defense by way of a Week 18 meeting.
I had Jaxson Dart slotted as my QB7 before the schedule was released, and I feel better about it now. That puts him at the end of a tier, resting ahead of the next tier that includes Trevor Lawrence, Dak Prescott, and Caleb Williams, to name a few.
I think savvy fantasy managers will embrace the uncertainty that comes with this profile. We have a good idea about the best-case scenario for most players, but I am not so sure that is true for Dart, and the schedule very much works in his favor on paper.
