These bad NFL teams could actually be good for fantasy football

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Every fantasy football manager has been here. It’s your turn to draft and there’s a talented player on the board, but you have one thought screaming in your head.

“It’s a bad idea, me and you.”

OK, so maybe the exact phrase doesn’t specifically match the opening lyric from the Act 1 finale of “Waitress: The Musical,” during which Jenna Hunterson and Dr. Jim Pomatter give in to temptation and begin their affair.

Still, the point remains that there are certain players that are tough to select in fantasy football drafts. Often, it has everything to do with the teams they play for.

Simply put, it’s not fun to draft players on teams that are projected to be bad. Every fantasy manager has backed a talented player in such a situation before, and it has a tendency to come back and bite them.

One of the best recent examples of that phenomenon is Ashton Jeanty. There was a great deal of hype for the Las Vegas Raiders’ running back ahead of his rookie season in 2025, and he ended up being a first-round fantasy pick in most leagues because of his sky-high ceiling.

And just how did Jeanty reward those who put faith in him? He failed to surpass 1,000 rushing yards while averaging 3.7 yards per carry behind what was one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines. That was enough to make him a solid RB2, but the Raiders’ struggles ultimately prevented him from living up to the lofty expectations set for him.

But that cautionary tale doesn’t tell the whole story. There is at least some beauty in taking a risk on a player on a bad team, as they can benefit from playing in garbage time – much like fantasy lineup anchor Michael Wilson was in 2025 while playing for the Arizona Cardinals.

So – much like the relationship between Hunterson and Pomatter in “Waitress” – the process of evaluating players on bad teams is complicated. And there’s no cookie-cutter advice about which players to target no matter what and who to avoid at all costs.

Even so, some bad-on-paper teams look more appealing than others. Here’s a breakdown of what to expect fantasy-wise from the NFL’s bottom-tier teams, and which ones might actually be somewhat fun to watch.

The Browns have long had issues at quarterback, but this year, the position is extra cursed.

First-year coach Todd Monken let Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders battle for the starting job throughout the offseason. Watson finished the battle on the lowest possible note, struggling badly in the preseason finale and then unloading on Browns fans who booed him during a postgame news conference.

Even so, Monken opted to roll with the 30-year-old veteran as the team’s starter over Sanders. It was a very strange – and, likely, incorrect – choice, especially after Watson’s antics and Sanders’ strong performance in his lone preseason start. It also raised questions about whether money played a role in giving the higher-paid Watson the first crack at starting.

Whatever the reason, Cleveland’s quarterback play seems likely to be ugly this year. Watson didn’t show the ability to be much more than a game manager, meaning he’ll likely stick to short-to-intermediate passing. KC Concepcion, a rookie with great speed and shiftiness, could benefit from this, but it’s hard to be confident in anyone else emerging with Watson at quarterback.

Perhaps Denzel Boston and Harold Fannin Jr. will improve if Sanders eventually enters the lineup. The second-year quarterback is a better fit for the vertical elements in Monken’s offense, so perhaps there could be buy-low opportunities for those weapons once Sanders takes the field.

But for now, it’s safe to assume Cleveland’s passing offense will be a tough watch, even in garbage time situations. So nobody would blame you if you want to skip signing up for that experience.

Still, there is one player of whom fantasy managers shouldn’t be afraid: Quinshon Judkins. The second-year running back should have the volume needed to be a quality RB2 playing behind four new starters on the offensive line. Judkins averaged just 1.4 yards before contact last season, worst among 49 qualified NFL running backs, so his efficiency should only go up from here.

New York Jets

The Jets haven’t generated a lot of buzz this year, but there may be more potential with this offense than most realize.

Geno Smith is the major reason for this. No, that isn’t a joke. I know that Geno is coming off a poor year with the Raiders, during which he threw an NFL-high 17 interceptions, but did you see his supporting cast in Las Vegas? The Raiders had one of the worst blocking units ever assembled while Tre Tucker served as the team’s No. 1 receiver.

Things will be a lot different with the Jets. New York actually sports a solid offensive line and has steadily added talent to its stable of young receiving weapons. Garrett Wilson is eons better than any weapon Smith had during the 2025 season – perhaps Brock Bowers could have rivaled him, but he wasn’t healthy – so that should allow the 35-year-old veteran to be more like the solid starter we saw across his time with the Seahawks.

That’s not to say that Smith is going to be an elite fantasy quarterback or make the Jets a contender by any stretch. Nonetheless, he should be a major upgrade over the team’s quarterback situation from last year, which featured Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor and Brady Cook, all of whom are no longer with the team.

If Smith can be serviceable, then the Jets can spot a solid offense. That will give their top players, like Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson, higher ceilings than many are projecting. Wilson, in particular, is being overlooked. His FantasyPros’ consensus ranking of 48th overall pegs him as a late-fourth-round value when he could really end up being a high-end WR2, if all goes well.

Tennessee Titans

Jets and Giants fans have posited a question at times over the last decade, as both franchises have been mired in the throes of futility. Would a combined roster composed of the best Jets and Giants players be able to form a winning squad?

Robert Saleh seems determined to find out the answer to this. The first-year Titans coach has worked with general manager Mike Borgonzi and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to add plenty of faces from each team to Tennessee’s roster.

Offensively, that includes adding four players who worked under Daboll with the Giants: wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, tight end Daniel Bellinger and offensive linemen Austin Schlottmann and James Hudson.

Could those players’ familiarity with Daboll help Tennessee? Sure, and it’s easy to envision a world in which Robinson emerges as Cam Ward’s favorite target and a quality PPR sleeper.

Still, none of those players fixed the glaring issue the Titans have: their offensive line. Left guard Peter Skoronski is one of the best in football, but outside of him, Tennessee doesn’t have much proven talent. Their tackles are particularly problematic, as Dan Moore Jr. has struggled since signing a big-money deal while JC Latham has merely been decent across two seasons at right tackle.

Maybe fifth-round rookie Fernando Carmona will be able to lock down the right guard spot and at least give Tennessee a chance of sporting a solid interior blocking unit. Still, this isn’t “Madden.” You can’t expect a rookie to start and immediately progress linearly toward becoming a strong starter. It takes time to develop at the pro level, especially along the offensive line.

With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine the Titans can consistently keep Ward clean. That could lead to his share of issues while limiting the ceilings of Robinson and Carnell Tate.

Tony Pollard also may regress behind a questionable offensive line. He averaged 2.6 yards before contact per carry last year, which ranked 15th in the NFL, so if that number declines, he could be more of a flex than a low-end RB2.

And either way, it seems like the Titans are going to be frustrating to watch, much like they were for the duration of the 2026 NFL preseason.

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Miami Dolphins

Look, there’s no doubt that the Dolphins are the NFL’s worst team on paper. After all, they decided to claim a whopping seven players off waivers after finalizing their 53-man roster. That meant they were comfortable turning over 13.2% of a unit that they initially believed was their best option to start the season.

But while nobody should expect more than three wins from the Dolphins, their offense actually has a chance to be decent … for fantasy purposes.

Miami figures to be playing from behind a lot because of their lack of talent. That will give Malik Willis plenty of opportunities to throw. He has excellent accuracy, so if he ends up in high-volume passing situations against defenses playing soft coverage, he should be able to rack up plenty of yardage and garbage-time scores.

And, in truth, Willis’ supporting cast has potential. De’Von Achane is one of the best dual-threat running backs in the NFL. Miami’s receiving corps is young, but Caleb Douglas enjoyed a quality preseason while Chris Bell had first-round potential before suffering a torn ACL ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.

And, along the offensive line, the Dolphins are better than most, myself included, credit them. I had the Dolphins as the 32nd-ranked offensive line in my June rankings of the unit, but I admittedly underrated the performance of left tackle Patrick Paul and the potential of first-round guard Kadyn Proctor.

If those two players develop nicely next to All-Pro second-team center Aaron Brewer, the left side of Miami’s line should be strong. That will be enough to protect Willis and give him time to throw or find running lanes.

Again, this isn’t an endorsement of the Dolphins being a good team. They figure to be one of the NFL’s worst teams in terms of record, and their defense will likely be extremely difficult to watch.

But fantasy managers should consider getting some shares in Miami’s offense. All but Achane are coming cheap, so they are perfect late-round fliers, especially in deep drafts or best ball leagues.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders entered the 2026 NFL offseason needing major upgrades. They landed some, but strangely, they didn’t add as much to the offense as many expected.

Obviously, Las Vegas selected Fernando Mendoza atop the 2026 NFL Draft. The Raiders also signed Tyler Linderbaum to provide an immense and necessary upgrade at center.

But aside from that, the Raiders settled for marginal upgrades. The best receiver they added to their barren receiving corps was Jalen Nailor, who posted 69 catches for 1,066 yards and 11 touchdowns across four years with the Minnesota Vikings. The speed threat is an upgrade, but the team still doesn’t have a true No. 1 receiver.

And while Linderbaum was a big upgrade at center, the rest of Las Vegas’ offensive line remains shaky. The unit won’t be as abysmal as it was last season, but it still has holes that could trouble Kirk Cousins and Mendoza when he eventually becomes the starting quarterback.

Those blocking issues figure to derail any hopes the Raiders have of making a marked improvement. They still seem to be at least a year away from emerging as a playoff contender, and their offense will likely be stop-and-go, which will frustrate fantasy managers.

This situation could provide red flags for the aforementioned Jeanty, who is also dealing with an ankle injury, and Bowers. Both are still talented and worth taking early, but make sure you have quality depth behind them in case things go awry.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals were the poster child of being a bad team that was good for fantasy managers last season. There’s little reason to expect that to change in 2026.

The Cardinals are running it back with Jacoby Brissett, who emerged as a quality streaming quarterback. He built great chemistry with Wilson at receiver while Marvin Harrison Jr. could be poised to take the next step in 2026.

Add in the potential-packed No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love and top-tier tight end Trey McBride, and the Cardinals have a pretty good-looking skill position unit, at least from a fantasy perspective.

There are only two potential concerns with the Cardinals. One is that they play in the ever-tough NFC West, which could limit their ceilings in some matchups. The other is that rookie quarterback Carson Beck could take over for Brissett if the Cardinals struggle early in the season.

The latter would likely be the bigger concern. Beck looked good in the preseason, but there’s no telling how he will perform against top-level NFL talent during the regular season. If he sees the field and endures rookie struggles, that could cause the production of players like Harrison, McBride and Wilson to sag.

Still, that remains a hypothetical for now. Beck could also end up playing better than journeyman Brissett in Arizona’s offense. So, there’s nothing to be afraid of in the desert; and among all the NFL’s bottom-barrel, rebuilding teams, the Cardinals’ offense may end up being the most explosive and fun to watch.