Joe Arpasi
May 22, 2026
There are several ways that a Nuclear option can present itself. To piggyback on the handcuff method, let’s assume a starting RB has been named for Texas. You could draft the second string player late in a draft with the hopes that if the starter goes down with injury, the back-up’s fantasy value explodes. Another way that Nuclear options can present themselves is when there is an expected starter that now looks to see a massive increase in workload.
Typically in this situation, players from the previous year’s team that were fantasy productive have left, vacating workload opportunities. When I identify these type of Nuclear options I look for two items. First, I want coaches who have a history of big performances at that position group. Second, I look for situations where the player in question has a low risk level of other players that could eat too much into the anticipated workload share.
Just like nuclear weapons, the Nuclear options in this article vary in size. Some of the Nuclear options could win you your fantasy league, while others could be very good fantasy players at their position. I am focusing on both larger and smaller Nuclear options since these are high upside players you should keep in mind during your fantasy drafts.
**This article will be updated as position battles sort themselves out through the summer**
Honorable Mentions
Air Force
QB Liam Szarka
Offensive coordinator Mike Thiessen doesn’t have a history of producing fantasy valuable QB’s. Prior to last season the best fantasy output he saw was in 2019 with Donald Hammond scoring 241.8 fantasy points. That changed last season with Szarka took over at QB. In 10 games Szarka scored more fantasy points, had more passing attempts, and more rushing attempts than an of Theissen’s QB’s going back to 2018. Determining Szarka’s fantasy ceiling for 2026 will be difficult since we have no past history from Thiessen to go off of.
LSU
TE Trey’Dez Green
2025 saw Green’s role in the offense explode. His targets more than doubled and his receiving yards more than quadrupled. His size and athletic ability make him one of the toughest TE’s to defend, especially around the endzone. Lane Kiffin takes over as LSU’s new head coach and he has a history of featuring the TE in his offense. There’s a possibility that Kiffin may feature Green in the same way the he featured Harrison Bryant at Florida Atlantic. In 2019 Bryant had 19.9% of the team’s targets which he turned into 1004 receiving yards, 7 TD’s, and 174.9 fantasy points.
Navy
QB Braxton Woodson
During last year’s game against Notre Dame Woodson gave us a glimpse of what he could do in 2026. He ran the ball 23 times for 4.4 yards/carry against the Irish. Previous starting QB Blake Horvath averaged 6.1 yards/carry from 2024-2025. Woodson rushing for 4.4 yards/carry against a very good Notre Dame defense makes me believe he could produce yards on the ground like Horvath did. Horvath scored 320+ fantasy points over the last two seasons. The biggest challenge for Woodson to match that type of production will be replacing Eli Heidenreich in the passing game.
Oklahoma
WR Isaiah Sategna
Sategna saw his role in the Oklahoma offense explode last season, with him scoring 176.4 fantasy points during a season where the offseason had its struggles. 2026 will be year two for offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, and QB John Mateer will be starting for his third season in Arbuckle’s offense. If there is a year for the offense to take off it’s 2026. In 2024 & 2022 Arbuckle’s WR1’s scored 244.5 & 254.5 fantasy points. Those WR’s averaged 120 targets/season and Sategna had 109 last season. If he can get just a few more targets and increase his TDs to double digits he has a real shot of matching those 2024 & 2022 numbers.
Pittsburgh
RB Ja’Kyrian Turner
While playing as a freshman last season Turner managed to become the top fantasy RB for Pitt. The season prior we saw Desmond Reid score 234.1 fantasy points. Turner has the ability to surpass that in 2026. Reid had 43 more carries than Turner had last season. Turner is not as injury prone as Reid was and he averaged 5.3 yards/carry compared to Reid’s 5.25 yards/carry in 2024. While its realistic to see Turner surpass Reid’s rushing output, its the receiving game that we need to focus on. For Turner to have any nuclear potential he will need to increase his 6 yards/reception and score some receiving TD’s which he did not do in 2025.
Texas
RB Raleek Brown / Daylan Smothers
For a Texas RB to have nuclear potential this season, one of these two would need to go down with a long term injury. Brown transfers in from Arizona State where he scored 189 fantasy points, while Smothers transfers in from NC State where he put up 173.1 fantasy points. Texas is likely to split the rushing production between these two but if one were to miss significant time with an injury, we could be looking at a workhorse back. When head coach Steve Sarkisian has had a RB1 that receives 180+ carries, they have scored no less than 221 fantasy points. 2022 and 2019 saw his RB1 reach 200+ carries and they scored 318.9 and 286.3 fantasy points.
Washington State
RB Kirby Vorhees
Vorhees was the top back last season in a backfield that rotated four backs. But his workload was almost double the amount of the next RB on the depth chart. This year he looks to cement a larger share of carries. If he can stand out from the pack then he might see a huge increase in his usage. Kirby Moore was hired as the team’s new head coach for 2026 and he brings a stellar history of creating fantasy RB’s. In three of the last four seasons his RB1 has produced 260+ fantasy points and averaged 264 carries/season during that time.
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Nuclear Options
Michigan
QB Bryce Underwood
Underwood was thrown to the wolves last season, starting as a true freshman. His passing ability limited his fantasy production, holding him to just 218.6 fantasy points. He’s now had a full offseason to develop as a QB and he was given the perfect offense to cater to his skill set. Jason Beck comes to Michigan from Utah to take over the offensive coordinator duties. Over the last two seasons Beck has guide QB Devon Dampier to producing 352 & 393 fantasy points. Underwood is a more talented QB than Dampier is and we could see Underwood put up numbers like Dampier did while at New Mexico.
TCU
WR Jordan Dwyer
Dwyer began his career at Idaho and in 2025 he transferred to TCU and earned a starting job. He finished the season as the team’s WR2 behind Eric McAlister. McAlister has moved on and Dwyer is poised to step into the WR1 role. Going back to 2018 head coach Sonny Dykes has pumped out fantasy valuable WRs. During this timeframe his WR1 has scored 200+ fantasy points four times, had 80+ targets five times, and scored 10+ TD’s three times. Last Season Dwyer had 84 targets and 7 TDs as the WR2.
Virginia Tech
RB Marcellous Hawkins
Last season Hawkins gave us flashes of his potential while laying in a crowed backfield. He averaged more than 8 yards/carry in five games, averaged 6.3 yards/carry for the season, but could only find the endzone once. This offseason Ty Howle became the new offensive coordinator. Over the last two seasons at Penn State, Howle’s RB1 scored 234.1 & 269.9 fantasy points. This was a 1-2 punch backfield with the RB2 scoring 170+ fantasy points in both seasons. If Hawkins can run away with the RB1 job in fall camp, there might not be another RB to chip into his workload. If that’s the case he could go full-nuclear with a larger workload than Howle’s RB1’s from the past two seasons.