PodcastFrom Fantasy Football Today
The Coaching Changes That Matter Most for 2026 Fantasy Football (06/30 Fantasy Football Podcast)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
11 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jun 30, 2026
Published
Tue, June 30, 2026
11
Player insights
11
Players mentioned
Topics
DeVonta SmithJalen HurtsJameson WilliamsJustin HerbertLamar JacksonMakai LemonMark AndrewsQuentin JohnstonSam LaPortaSaquon BarkleyZay Flowers
Player analysis
Player insights
DeVonta Smith
PositiveMatchup0:03
Smith is good against zone coverage, which Philadelphia expects to see more of under Mannion's system as defenses will play zone to avoid getting burned by Hurts on the ground.
Insight pageJalen Hurts
NegativeRole0:04
Sean Mannion's system asks Hurts to do things he's never done before, including more under-center snaps and motion, which is a significant departure from Philadelphia's typical shotgun-heavy, low-motion approach and may not be a good fit.
Insight pageJameson Williams
NegativeRole0:10
Williams' talent is elite, but he has never been a consistently good fantasy receiver when LaPorta has been on the field, which could be a concern under Petsky's tight-end-heavy system.
Insight pageJustin Herbert
PositiveRole0:01
Mike McDaniel's West Coast offense emphasizes easier completions and quick throws for Herbert, similar to his approach with Tua in Miami, which should lead to higher completion percentages and better yards after catch opportunities.
Insight pageLamar Jackson
PositiveProjection0:07
Lamar Jackson was excellent under Todd Monken (4th, 3rd, and 11th in points), and it's unclear how much better he can get under Declan Doyle's system, though the new coordinator may unlock more for other receivers.
Insight pageMakai Lemon
PositiveRole0:03
Philadelphia's draft of Lemon signals they anticipate zone coverage and are willing to exploit it; Lemon was great against zone coverage in college, though adjustment to the NFL remains to be seen.
Insight pageMark Andrews
PositiveProjection0:07
Andrews has room for one last real good fantasy season under Declan Doyle's system because he will be on the field a lot and remains Lamar Jackson's guy.
Insight pageQuentin Johnston
PositiveRole0:01
Johnston will benefit from McDaniel's scheme that emphasizes yards after catch, which is an area he is working to improve, and he will have the green light for downfield throws on one-on-one matchups.
Insight pageSam LaPorta
PositiveProjection0:10
LaPorta should benefit the most from Drew Petsky's hiring in Detroit; Petsky has a strong track record of utilizing tight ends, with his tight ends seeing at least 33.1% target share annually in Arizona and top-six multi-tight end personnel sets.
Insight pageSaquon Barkley
PositiveUsage0:03
Barkley should benefit from increased running back carries under Mannion's system; Philadelphia is expected to land somewhere between last year's 22 RB runs per game and 2024's 27 RB runs per game, meaning more volume for Barkley.
Insight pageZay Flowers
PositiveProjection0:07
Flowers should see increased targets under Doyle's more creative offense that is more open to letting Lamar throw, benefiting from the new play-calling approach.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
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0:25A lot of new play callers around the NFL.
0:28Dave Richard has broken it all down. If you go to cbssports.com slash fantasy, you can see an article about all of them.
0:35But we're going to talk about some of the most impactful for 2026 right now on FFT Express.
0:41Okay, so there are so many names. We'll try to get to kind of a rapid-fire session in a little bit.
0:47But Dave wants to talk about the top three.
0:50Top three in terms of, you know, big changes going to be made, fantasy impact going to be had, right?
0:56That's how we're looking at it. Big changes plus potentially positive, big positive changes for fantasy.
1:01Let's do it. So it's not necessarily how I have them ranked, although the first name we're going to talk about is
1:08the number one play caller that's changed. And it's the one we've talked about a ton.
1:13It's Jamie's new best friend. It's Mike McDaniel going from the Dolphins to the Chargers.
1:18We know what he's all about. West Coast offense.
1:21Lots of zone running, especially outside zone. Timed up passing attack, playing at a snail's pace.
1:26And one of the things that McDaniel talked about this offseason was not – he was really focused on easier completions for Justin Herbert.
1:33And think back to what he was doing in Miami with Tua.
1:37Was he asking Tua to make easy throws and get the ball out quick because he was trying to protect Tua or because it was kind of working?
1:46And maybe that's just the way that he wants to utilize Justin Herbert.
1:50And don't get me wrong. I am sure that Herbert will have the green light to throw to Quentin Johnson if there's
1:57a one-on-one matchup or even if it's McConkie, whoever the hell it is.
2:01I'm sure that he's got the green light to make those downfield throws.
2:05But I'm wondering if we see those short targets continue with Justin Herbert, which will mean a higher completion percentage.
2:11If it's a schemed-up, well-oiled machine, that means the receivers will be in a position to add yards after the catch.
2:18It's something that Quentin Johnston is trying to be good at.
2:21And we know what the run game can contribute as well.
2:25So there could be some real big fantasy impacts across the board.
2:29And it's why you're seeing Chargers become popular players in fantasy drafts.
2:32Number two, Sean Mannion going to Philadelphia. And it's a little strange to be this excited about a guy who was a
2:39literal backup quarterback two years ago and has never been a play caller, never even been an offensive coordinator.
2:45And yet here he is with both of those roles in Philadelphia.
2:49But simply the fact that Kevin Petulo is gone should mean that we've got better organization and more creativity in this Philadelphia offense.
2:56I would expect there to be a lot more.
2:59I think they're going to see a lot of zone coverage because if you play a man against Philly, you're going to
3:06get burned by Jalen Hurts on the ground. And drafting Makai Lemon to me was a signal that they are anticipating that
3:13zone coverage and that they're willing to exploit that.
3:16We know Devontae Smith is good against zone coverage.
3:19Lemon was great against zone coverage in college. It's a different story in the NFL.
3:23We'll see how quickly he can adjust. But I think we're going to see a lot more of that same West Coast stuff.
3:31Timed up throws, shorter throws, easier throws for Jalen Hurts to make, be it over the middle or closer to the sidelines.
3:37And still a lot of running. I still think Philadelphia gets back to running.
3:42Last year, they averaged almost 22 running back runs per game.
3:45That's the second lowest total since Sirianni took over Philadelphia.
3:48In 2024, obviously, Saquon was there. That number was almost 27 running back runs per game.
3:53I think they're going to land somewhere in the middle.
3:57And you're going to see a lot of running back runs.
4:00That's good for Saquon. But also a lot of those shorter throws over the middle against zone coverage where Jalen Hurts is timed up with his pass catchers.
4:09Yeah, this one, I can't really see how it goes bad for McDaniel in Los Angeles.
4:14There's really good personnel. And it's not like they were a bad offense last year, especially when they were healthy.
4:20I could see this going really bad in Philadelphia because you're asking Jalen Hurts to do things he's never really done before.
4:27They want to be under center more. They're going to do more motion.
4:31This is a team that's usually among the league leaders in shotgun rate and usually among the lowest in motion rate.
4:38I don't know how that's going to work with Jalen Hurts.
4:41I'm not sure he's a fit for Mannions for this.
4:44I think it's going to be like a hybrid system.
4:47It's not going to be the Rams. But I don't know if he's a fit for what he wants to do.
4:54So I'm excited about the Chargers. I'm curious about the Eagles.
4:57I'm excited. I don't think it can get much worse.
5:01But I also think, Dave, that it could be bad.
5:04I think if Mannion is smart and he does what most offensive coordinators do, it's he adapts.
5:09And he sees if Hurts struggles within camp, he'll say, OK, scrap it.
5:13Let's go back to more shotgun. What I don't think he'll do is scrap the concept of timing up his throws or
5:20asking Hurts to time up his throws and to make quick reads.
5:24First read isn't there. Second reason there. OK, go ahead.
5:27Take off. And I think that's something Hurts has done a lot of over his career anyway.
5:32So hopefully Mannion can just adjust, you know, Jalen Hurts' strengths and the entire offense's strengths with what concepts he wants to add in.
5:40By the way, isn't it wild that 18 teams have new play calls?
5:44It's ridiculous. It is completely ridiculous. It's never been this high.
5:47All right, we're going to take a break and get to the third one on this list when we come back.
5:54OK, so we have discussed the Chargers with Mike McDaniel, the Eagles with Sean Mannion.
5:59Who's third? This is another interesting one in Baltimore because the John Harbaugh era is obviously over.
6:04It's Jesse Minter, defensive minded coach. Hired Declan Doyle, who's a Ben Johnson disciple and a Sean Payton disciple to come in
6:11and be the new play caller there. They also gave up on the fullback.
6:15Remember, Patrick Ricard was there for a while. He's no longer there.
6:19He went to New York, I believe. And that opens the door for more tight end usage.
6:24That's where Doyle kind of came up in the NFL, was utilizing tight ends.
6:29There's also been a lot of play design creativity.
6:32That's something that Sean Payton liked about Doyle. Something Doyle has done.
6:35And Doyle's role in Chicago last year was making halftime adjustments.
6:39And so I wonder if that and in Chicago was in a bunch of games last year.
6:44So I think a lot of the halftime adjustments were good adjustments.
6:48I'm wondering if he's able to be that sharp on the fly, focusing on the offense as much as he possibly can, which he's going to do.
6:56Obviously, that could lead to good things for Baltimore as well.
7:00I think there's room for Mark Andrews to have one last real good fantasy season.
7:04And it's because I think he'll be on the field a lot.
7:08We know that he's Lamar Jackson's guy. It's been that way over the course of the year or course of their careers together.
7:15I shouldn't say year. And there should be excitement for Zay Flowers, too, because if there's more creativity in the offense and
7:22more of an openness to let Lamar throw, then certainly the targets could go up for both Andrews and Zay Flowers.
7:29I didn't know that whole thing about the halftime adjustments.
7:32The Chicago Bears in the first half of games, actually, I'll just because I have it up in the second half of
7:39games, they were third in scoring at 13.7. Wow.
7:42In the first half of games, they were 15th at 11.1 points per game.
7:46So I think that settles it. Ben Johnson stinks and Declan Doyle is awesome.
7:51I'm joking. That's not what I'm saying. I'm pumped about it, but I just wonder how can Lamar Jackson get any better?
7:58I mean, he was so good under Todd Monk and they were fourth, third and then 11th in points under Monk.
8:04And they were 11th only because Lamar Jackson got hurt and wasn't himself coming back.
8:09Maybe it just means Zay Flowers is better or something.
8:12But yeah, Lamar is going to be Marcia be awesome.
8:15All right. Any other player? You know what? I'll tell you what I'll for the next two minutes, I'm going to throw out a coordinator.
8:23You just give me like what do you think it could mean?
8:27Ready? Sure. Okay. Let's go to Brian Dable Titans.
8:30I'm a fan of Dables. I think that his, his scheme is aggressive.
8:34And although I don't like every component of the Tennessee offense, I think he has some good players for fantasy.
8:40I think Tate will have an opportunity to see good target volume right out of the gate.
8:45But I think Wondell Robinson is going to end up being one of the players I draft a ton of in full
8:52PPR because of the track record that he has with Dable.
8:56Dable drafted him. Dables used him to the tune of eight targets per game each of the last two seasons.
9:02That includes Malik Nabors breakout year in New York.
9:05And it was before Jackson dark got there. It was with Daniel Jones for part of that year.
9:10Yes. I think that there's room for Tate and Wondell to be number three receivers for fantasy managers.
9:16Those are probably the only two players that I'm really excited about in Tennessee.
9:20I will just do one more. Drew Petsky, Lions.
9:23We talked about him a lot on Monday's FFT episode, and we've talked about him a lot this entire offseason.
9:29Give me five seconds to call up the exact numbers for Petsing and how he's used tight ends over the course of his career in Arizona.
9:38All right. At worst, they were top six in multi-tight end personnel sets each of his three years in Arizona.
9:44His tight end saw at least a 33.1% target share annually in Arizona.
9:48And I mentioned this on the show. It's not like he was an amazing coordinator and play caller in Arizona.
9:54One of the Cardinals threw a lot last year because they were trailing in games.
9:59I think Petsing got hired to Detroit because of his usage of tight ends and because that's something the Lions want to see more of.
10:07And so Sam Laporta should be the one who benefits the most.
10:11It makes me worry a little bit about Jamison Williams, whose talent is through the roof.
10:16But he's never been a consistently good fantasy receiver when Laporta has been on the field.
10:21He's had flashes, of course. Everybody has flashes. But he's never been a must-start fantasy receiver when Laporta has been totally healthy.
10:27Maybe there were obviously spurts in the second half of last year when both were good, but Laporta was banged up.
10:34Bottom line is that I think Petsing will be great for Laporta, good for everybody else in the run game.
10:40And certainly Petsing has to make sure that offensive line plays to expectations, if not above expectations.
10:46That's Dave Richard. I'm Adam Azer. We'll talk to you tomorrow on Fantasy Football Today.
10:50Sound Podcasts.
