It's never too early to look ahead at some players who have potential to break out for fantasy football in the 2026 season. Our band of fantasy football experts came together to identify one player at each of the skill positions—QB, RB, WR, TE—who likely will make a big leap in the coming season.

Fantasy Football 2026 Breakout Players

Cam Ward | QB | Tennessee Titans

Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Ward was sacked an NFL-high 55 times last year behind one of the league's worst offensive lines on one of the league's worst offenses.

Otherwise, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

Yes, his final stat line (3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns, 7 interceptions) does not look like it points to a 2026 breakout, but there is plenty of room for optimism.

Over his final eight games of the season, Ward found his footing and completed 62% of his passes for a 10:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He closed the year with a QB14 and QB13 finish before injuring his shoulder in Week 18.

This offseason, the Titans made a concentrated effort to get him more weapons. They handed Wan'Dale Robinson a four-year, $70 million deal to give Ward a reliable underneath option.

The rest of the supporting cast is young, cheap and ascending. Second-year WR Elic Ayomanor is 21. Explosive returner Chimere Dike is 22. Breakout TE Gunnar Helm is 23.

The best part is you can stack the entire Titans passing game in the late rounds of your drafts. Not a single one of these guys goes before pick 100.

If Ward takes that leap, every single one of these players is grossly mispriced. Don't just select Ward, make a concentrated bet on the entire offense and get multiple things right for the price of one. —Pete Overzet

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Bhayshul Tuten | Jaguars

Bhayshul Tuten played a complementary role behind Travis Etienne in 2025, but his outlook is much brighter heading into Year 2 with Chris Rodriguez Jr. as his primary competition for touches.

Rodriguez has history with head coach Liam Coen—he was his No. 1 RB at Kentucky in 2021, totaling 1,379 yards and 9 TDs. So he'll have a role. But his archetype is extremely narrow: a downhill early-down thumper with no passing-game chops. He wasn't a receiving back in college and has recorded only 7 targets in his NFL career, earning a look on just 5% of his routes.

Tuten, on the other hand, posted a 13% target share in college with 1.27 yards per route run—well above Rodriguez's best marks of 5% and 0.34. Tuten graded out as a far-superior prospect. He'd rank as the RB2 in the 2026 rookie class; Rodriguez would be RB14 in my Rookie Super Model. For reference, Travis Etienne is the No. 8 prospect in the model since 2017 and just got the bag in New Orleans.

The Jags backfield could devolve into a committee, but if we're putting a chip on the player with the skill set to unlock a breakout top-12 RB season, Tuten is the clear answer. —Dwain McFarland

Luther Burden | Chicago Bears

Luther Burden's rookie season didn't exactly produce consistent fireworks. Sure, his 8-138-1 explosion against the 49ers in the fantasy championship was awesome, but it's tough to call 751 total yards and 2 touchdowns in 17 games (including playoffs) an overly special campaign.

That said: It was the efficient manner in which Burden picked up those yards that makes him such a prime breakout candidate ahead of 2026. You see, HC Ben Johnson had Burden play at least half of the offense's snaps in only seven games last season, but we saw some serious fireworks from the rookie when he was on the field.

Consider: Just five rookie wide receivers have averaged north of 2.5 yards per route run over the last decade (min. 50 targets):

• Luther Burden (2.71)
• A.J. Brown (2.68)
• Justin Jefferson (2.66)
• Puka Nacua (2.6)
• Ja'Marr Chase (2.51)

That's pretty f*cking good company—and now Burden's path to a full-time role is more clear than ever after the team shipped DJ Moore off to Buffalo. There's still some legit target competition in the form of Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland, but at least the rising second-year talent should now have every opportunity to turn his elite efficiency into similarly awesome counting numbers. Throw in the potential for the offense as a whole to make a leap in Year 2 of the Caleb Williams-Ben Johnson partnership, and Burden profiles as a breakout bet worth making in 2026. —Ian Hartitz

Chig Okonkwo | Washington Commanders

You know when people say the grass might be greener on the other side? I think that fully describes Chig Okonkwo's situation for 2026.

In four seasons with the Titans, Chig Okonkwo caught 194 passes for 2,017 yards and had 8 receiving touchdowns.

Now with a new three-year contract signed with the Commanders, a breakout could be coming. I hate to say his talents were wasted in Tennessee, but jumping to a situation where Jayden Daniels is now your QB1 is a massive upgrade.

In 2024, when Daniels was fully healthy, he ranked 12th in on-target throw percentage (78.2%). In Okonkwo's four seasons in Tennessee, he's never had a quarterback rank higher than 25th (shoutout to Ryan Tannehill in 2022).

Zach Ertz went down last season with an awful ACL injury, but even with Daniels in and out of the lineup due to injuries, Ertz still had 72 targets. Now all that attention turns to Okonkwo. Not only is Okonkwo stepping into a better offense, but the Commanders should be able to elevate his skill set. His YAC ability is something that cannot be ignored—Okonkwo ranked in the top 15 at the tight end position in three of his four seasons, getting as high as 11th last season. Combine his YAC ability with his speed—he ran a 4.52 40-yard dash at the combine—and the Commanders are going to be cooking with gas.

I'm bullish on Okonkwo finally reaching his ceiling  in 2026 and proving he can be a reliable fantasy asset, and NO Matthew Berry did not make me write this! Okonkwo’s a mid-range TE with upside. —Kendall Valenzuela

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