Here are 5 Locals in the NFL to target for your fantasy team as season kicks off

AROUND THE SHIELD — The 2026 NFL regular season kicks off Wednesday when the Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots (6:20 p.m. MT, NBC) with 55 former Utah high school and college football players scattered across the league’s 32 teams.

The University of Utah leads all Big 12 schools with 30 former players on NFL rosters, just ahead of TCU (29) and Cincinnati and Texas Tech (22), per the conference office. BYU has 12 players on active rosters, as well as three-time Super Bowl champion and former BYU offensive lineman Andy Reid among head coaches. The conference saw a league-record 38 selections in April’s NFL draft, with the most first- and second-round selections (11) in 20 years.

Of course, in fantasy football, not all positions are created equally. So who among that group of Locals in the NFL should be high-priority for your fantasy football team?

Here are five players that any fan of Utah’s Locals in the NFL should keep an eye on, whether in drafting, trading or for a shrewd waiver-wire pickup:

Jaxson Dart, QB, New York Giants

Dart is the most obvious choice, as the former Ole Miss quarterback from Kaysville who prepped at Roy High and Corner Canyon is coming off a validating rookie season after the Giants selected him with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

Dart completed 63.7% of his passes for 2,272 yards and 15 touchdowns with just five interceptions as a rookie, and added 487 yards and nine rushing touchdowns in his first professional season.

Facing a favorable Dallas Cowboys defense, which The Athletic ranked as the worst team in vertical fantasy points per game (FPPG) allowed a year ago, Dart has surged to the top of several “must-start” lists for New York’s Sunday opener (6:20 p.m. MT, NBC). The only quarterback with a more favorable matchup is Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts before the Eagles’ season opener against the Washington Commanders.

If he’s available — a strong if, as Dart was drafted in 96% of leagues, according to fantasypros.com — Dart should be among the most-trusted for Week 1.

Highest big-time throw rate under pressure in 2025

Jaxson Dart 10.2%
JJ McCarthy 9.1%
Patrick Mahomes 9.1%
Dak Prescott 8.8%

PFF PRO: https://t.co/tmCPhQfEsi pic.twitter.com/AQAjcGRNCL

— PFF (@PFF) September 6, 2026

Tyler Allgeier, RB, Arizona Cardinals

The former BYU running back signed a two-year deal to move to the desert after four years in Atlanta this offseason, and he’s already broken into the No. 1 spot in Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur’s running back rotation ahead of the season opener.

That’s a surprise to some for the Cardinals, who drafted former Notre Dame star Jeremiyah Love at No. 3 overall in April. Depth charts don’t necessarily mean playing time, and LaFleur has said that Love will be in the lineup against the LA Chargers in Week 1, though the extent of his role could be variable as he works his way back from an ankle injury.

That leaves plenty of reps for Allgeier, who ran for 514 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago after breaking out in his rookie season with a career-high 1,035 yards with three scores in 2022. Last year, LaFleur ran an offense with the Rams that helped produce a 1,200-yard rusher in Kyren Williams, who averaged 15 carries per game while backup back Blake Corum got 8.5

So it’s safe to assume that Arizona will likely rely plenty on the run game, with Jacoby Brissett expected to start at quarterback ahead of 30-year-old journeyman Gardner Minshew II and third-round rookie Carson Beck.

Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers

Another obvious choice, Love erupted for 32 touchdown passes in his first season as a starter but has noticeably faded with 25 and 23 passing scores the next two seasons.

But the former Utah State starter whom the Packers selected with the No. 26 pick of the first round in 2020 has shown he’s not afraid to take a shot down the field, and he should have plenty of those in 2026 with an offense that will likely heavily feature Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft.

It doesn’t hurt that Love, who PFSN noted leads the league in deep-throw rate, threw just six interceptions last season in 15 games — down from 11 in each of the previous two campaigns.

Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills

After catching 39 passes for 571 yards and five touchdowns last year from Josh Allen, Kincaid has emerged as a strong sleeper pick in the fantasy world.

Pro Football Focus predicted the former University of Utah standout will be a top-four tight end in fantasy football this season, after he averaged 14.6 yards per catch to become a field-stretching tight end under known for chunk plays in upstate New York. He’s projected to register 57 catches for 706 receiving yards, six touchdowns and 103 fantasy points in standard-scoring leagues, according to Bills Wire.

He may not be Brock Bowers or Trey McBride. But if nothing else, Kincaid should be viewed as a strong boom-or-bust contender at tight end, and worth rolling the dice on the pass catcher rostered in 83% of fantasy leagues.

5. Dalton Kincaid finishes as a top-four fantasy tight end pic.twitter.com/87djcPxEwI

— PFF Fantasy (@PFF_Fantasy) September 5, 2026

Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

There’s no doubting Nacua has been among the most productive fantasy wide outs in his three seasons with the Rams.

The former BYU star who prepped at Orem High erupted for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns as a record-setting rookie in 2023, then became a veritable red-zone threat with 1,715 yards and 10 scores last year en route to his second Pro Bowl selection and first-team All-Pro honors.

In three seasons in Los Angeles, Nacua has caught 313 of his 432 targets for 4,191 yards and 19 touchdowns in 44 games including 43 starts.

But Nacua’s presence in any lineup — both with the Rams and on a fantasy roster — could come with a caveat this year. The explosive third-year receiver has faced a series of off-field troubles, including a lawsuit filed in March wherein a Los Angeles woman alleged Nacua made an “unprovoked antisemetic statement” toward her and later bit her on the shoulder, according to ESPN.

Rams coach Sean McVay said Nacua is expected to be available for Los Angeles’ season opener Thursday against the 49ers. But ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Nacua’s case remains under NFL review, and the former BYU wide out has admitted that he has a “realistic understanding” of several consequences, including a potential suspension according to the New York Post.