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Six teams loaded with fantasy firepower will be off in Week 11. What will that mean for your playoff push?

Whether you’re playing redraft fantasy football, best ball tournaments, or dynasty, properly planning for NFL bye weeks is key to winning a championship.

You don’t want to overreact to bye weeks during your draft. But you also don’t want to load up on too many players with the same bye.

Finding the right balance is key to surviving the toughest stretches of the fantasy football season.

Let’s take a look at the 2026 NFL bye weeks and how they could impact your fantasy season. 

2026 NFL Bye Weeks

NFL Bye Week 5

• Carolina Panthers
• Kansas City Chiefs 

We get eased into bye weeks in 2026, as the first bye only involves two teams and a pair of early-round WRs. 

Key Players on Bye

NFL Bye Week 6

• Cincinnati Bengals
• Detroit Lions
• Miami Dolphins
• Minnesota Vikings

Week 6 presents the first four-team bye and takes a number of notable fantasy producers out of your lineups.

Key Players on Bye

NFL Bye Week 7

• Buffalo Bills
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Washington Commanders

Four more teams will sit out Week 7, which hits QB especially hard. Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Herbert all won't play. And they'll take a pair of top-12 RBs with them.

Key Players on Bye

NFL Bye Week 8

• Houston Texans
• New York Giants
• New Orleans Saints
• San Francisco 49ers

Another four teams are off in Week 8, with fantasy football's reigning top scorer among the notable unavailable players. 

Key Players on Bye

NFL Bye Week 9

• Pittsburgh Steelers
• Tennessee Titans

Week 9 offers a bit of relief, with only two teams on bye and neither roster featuring a heavy concentration of elite fantasy starters.

Key Players on Bye

NFL Bye Week 10

• Chicago Bears
• Denver Broncos
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The bye-week impact ramps up in Week 10, when four teams -- including three NFC squads loaded with fantasy starters -- take the week off. 

Key Players on Bye

NFL Bye Week 11

• Atlanta Falcons
• Cleveland Browns
• Green Bay Packers
• Los Angeles Rams
• New England Patriots
• Seattle Seahawks

Week 11 is by far the toughest bye-week slate of 2026. Six teams take a break, including fantasy rosters from the Packers, Rams, Patriots, and Seahawks.

Losing elite WRs such as Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Drake London could leave fantasy lineups scrambling for answers.

Key Players on Bye

NFL Bye Week 13

• Baltimore Ravens
• Indianapolis Colts
• Las Vegas Raiders
• New York Jets

After all 32 teams play during the Week 12 holiday slate, four more teams head to bye in Week 13. The biggest fantasy impact will hit at RB, with Jonathan Taylor, Ashton Jeanty, Derrick Henry, and Breece Hall down. You'll also have to go without Brock Bowers and Tyler Warren.

Key Players on Bye

NFL Bye Week 14

• Arizona Cardinals
• Dallas Cowboys

The bye weeks conclude with just two teams off in Week 14. But losing any Cowboys or Cardinals could especially hurt if your league playoffs have already started.

Key Players on Bye

Don’t Mess Up 2026 NFL Bye Weeks

The Draft War Room displays each player’s bye week for quick reference during your draft.

But it’s still easy to slip up and draft too many players with the same bye week. We’ve all been there.

That’s why we built a Bye Week Warning System into the Draft War Room.

During your draft, you’ll see an icon next to every player that has the same bye week as a player already on your team at the same position.

Learn About All The Ways The Draft War Room Helps You Build Super Teams