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This is the time to do it. Let’s get caught up in the excitement of the upcoming 2026 NFL season and be bold. With that being said, here are some bold NFL rushing yards predictions for 2026-2027. MORE: Previewing all 16 NFC teams & predicting every record in 2026 Jahmyr Gibbs Makes History For the first three seasons of his career, Gibbs has been in a timeshare. Let’s be clear, though: it really hasn’t negatively impacted his performance. Even while sharing the Detroit Lions backfield with David Montgomery, Gibbs still became one of the top running backs in the NFL. For this season, though, Montgomery now plays for the Houston Texans. Isiah Pacheco was signed to be Gibbs’ backup, but he’s going to miss the first four games of the season due to injury. That leaves the backfield truly in the hands of Gibbs. His career high in rushing yards was 1,412 in 2024 as he averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Gibbs hasn’t averaged less than five yards per carry in his career. For him to reach the 2,000-yard mark, Gibbs would need to carry the ball 400 times this season or 24 times per game. Last season, Gibbs only had one game with more than 20 carries (22) while averaging 14 carries per game. Even with the expected increase in volume, that’s still a large leap. However, if Gibbs averages more than five yards per carry, the path becomes easier. And we did say we were going to be bold. MORE: NFL predictions: Previewing all 16 AFC teams & predicting every record in 2026 Jonathon Brooks Hits 1,000 Yards Yes, we are expecting Brooks to go from 22 career yards, over two seasons, to 1,000 yards just like that. After being drafted in the second round in 2024, Brooks hasn’t been able to get or stay healthy while dealing with multiple knee injuries. Entering this season, though, everything appears to be in order for the talented Brooks. It makes sense that the Panthers are going to want to see what they have in Brooks. Chubba Hubbard shouldn’t offer up much in the way of resistance, and we know that Brooks is talented. Expecting a rookie to rush for 1,000 yards isn’t that huge of a leap. While there’s rust, like in the NFL, it also isn’t completely new to Brooks. TreVeyon Henderson Takes Over Rhamondre Stevenson isn’t going anywhere, but let’s be clear: this is now Henderson’s team. His big-play potential and upside were on full display in his rookie season. Henderson averaged 5.1 yards per carry and finished with 911 rushing yards and nine touchdowns last season. Workload was a clear issue, but Henderson’s ability to break off big plays certainly wasn’t. It makes sense that the Patriots would continue to utilize their dynamic weapon even more now as he gets accustomed to life in the NFL, and that’s what I’m expecting to take place. The bold prediction is that Henderson’s rushing yards jump from 911 to 1,500 in 2026. — Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —