2026 Fantasy Football Breakouts: Luther Burden, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and Alec Pierce Headline

Every fantasy football manager wants to find the next great asset that can help them win their league.

While it’s important to identify who not to draft, also known as busts, getting ahead of the curve on the players that could take a significant step forward in the upcoming season is a massive advantage in preparation.

With that in mind, here are the top breakout candidates to target when you’re on the clock in fantasy football drafts this year.

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Target These Breakout Candidates in Fantasy Football

Malik Willis, QB, Miami Dolphins

After his time in Tennessee as the backup, it seemed like Malik Willis’ opportunity to be a solid fantasy football asset was behind him.

However, an injury to Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love late in the season this past year opened the door for the dynamic athlete to prove what he was capable of – and he absolutely delivered.

He parlayed his success in his limited game action into a three-year, $67,000,000 contract in free agency with the Miami Dolphins and he is now very much on the minds of fantasy managers as they begin their research and prep going into 2026.

Willis’ athleticism has never been in question, going back to his pre-draft process coming out of Liberty University, but his passing game chops needed significant refinement.

Apparently his time with Matt LaFleur helped immensely though because Willis was accurate with his ball placement and showed that aspect of his game is not a liability in 2025.

For fantasy football purposes, a QBs rushing ability can be a cheat code. Even if the environment they’re in – from a pass catchers standpoint – isn’t great, the points boost from the ground game can more than make up for any deficiencies through the air.

In Miami this season, Willis’ passing stats may not jump off the page. He’s throwing to a WR room that features names like Jalen Tolbert, Malik Washington, Caleb Douglas, and Chris Bell, which leaves a lot to be desired.

However, if he’s going to see north of six or seven rush attempts per game this year, he’s going to be in the top 12 fantasy QB conversation weekly due to his ability.

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Additionally, the threat that a mobile QB provides in the red zone should be leaned into heavily this year with questionable WR play. In his two games where he played the majority of the action in 2025, Malik Willis had five red zone rush attempts.

A 17-game pace would have been 43, which was 12 more than Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen had in 2025 as the next closest QB.

If Willis can push for the league lead in terms of red zone rush attempts, he’s going to be a steal at his current ADP. He’s going to be a top target of mine at the QB position as we head into fantasy football drafts this year.

Cam Ward, QB, Tennessee Titans

Last year, we saw massive strides from two QBs going into their sophomore season who struggled mightily in their rookie campaigns in bad situations: Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams and New England Patriots QB Drake Maye.

They each had coaching staff changes from year one to year two and subsequently got massive upgrades at the offensive coordinator spot. For Maye, that looked like going from Jerod Mayo to Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels.

For Williams, that looked like going from Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron to Ben Johnson.

This same path could easily be followed by Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward in 2026. He was thrown to the wolves in his rookie season with a horrible coaching situation and no receiving weapons, to now a new coaching staff with an innovative play caller named Brian Daboll.

While this is enticing, along with the additions of Wan’Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate at the WR position, it’s important to recognize that Ward’s profile has more holes than Williams and Maye’s did in their rookie seasons.

Ward ended his rookie year with a -143.2 Pass EPA. The only QBs with a LOWER Pass EPA since 2018 were:

Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young – 2023 (-184.3)
Washington Commanders QB Sam Howell – 2023 (-149.3)
Arizona Cardinals QB Josh Rosen – 2018 (-165.4)

This shouldn’t mean that we completely write off Ward from a fantasy standpoint, or make grand claims that he’s already a bust, but it is just something to be aware of and concerned about heading into 2026.

As long as his ADP stays in a respectable range, Ward’s an intriguing target in fantasy drafts as he’s likely to take a massive step forward this year in a much better situation.

Tyler Shough, QB, New Orleans Saints

There weren’t many QBs that finished on a hotter run last season than New Orleans Saints QB Tyler Shough.

From Weeks 13-18, Shough was the overall QB4 and averaged 20.1 fantasy points per contest. And this was with an offense that essentially featured Chris Olave…and not a whole lot else.

Now, going into 2026, the offense has been revamped under Kellen Moore and it features some impressive playmakers that should make life even easier on the second-year QB.

Travis Etienne was brought in on a large contract in free agency, while Alvin Kamara is also still in the picture. Additionally, the Saints added Jordyn Tyson with the No. 8 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft and brought in speedster Bryce Lance as well in the fourth round.

All of this signals that Shough should only continue to build on the foundation he laid in his rookie season. The offensive system clearly works for his skillset, he has added playmakers to make life easier on him, and he’s heading into his second year paired with his play caller.

Shough’s ADP is currently at a spot where an investment in him doesn’t have to break the bank. If he falters and shows that the end of last year was a fluke, cut him and move on.

If he does breakout though, you have a solid weekly contributor at QB that you got in the later rounds of your draft.

Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants

This needs to be prefaced by saying that we do not know yet – at the time of writing – where New York Giants RB Cam Skattebo is in his recovery from a right ankle open dislocation, fractured fibula, and ruptured ligament that he suffered in Week 8 last season.

As of last reports, all signs were optimistic that Skattebo would be able to make it back onto the field early on in the year and be at full go, but we certainly need to hold that optimism with open hands.

If Skattebo does play the majority of the season in 2026 though, he stands a very good chance of being a star for fantasy football purposes.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. got injured in Week 3 and missed some time, which opened the door for Skattebo to step fully into the RB1 role. During that time frame, from Weeks 3-8, Skattebo was the RB3 in all of fantasy football.

We never got to fully see what the rest of the year would have looked like, but Tracy did return to the field in Week 7 and did play a role in the backfield, but certainly a backup one.

Now, heading into 2026, John Harbaugh is in town and has shown that he will lean heavily on the ground game if it’s working, particularly with one RB in Derrick Henry. Additionally, Matt Nagy is the offensive coordinator and he also has leaned heavily on RBs in his coaching stints like with Jordan Howard and David Montgomery.

Skattebo profiles exactly as the type of RB that Harbaugh and Nagy have used heavily in the past: a player that can withstand a ridiculous workload and be a factor in the short-area ground game.

Add in the investments in the offensive line that New York has made this offseason and we could be looking at a monstrous season from Skattebo, provided that he’s fully healthy.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders

The expectations for Jacory Croskey-Merritt got dramatically out of control last fantasy draft season.

After being a 7th round NFL Draft pick, JCM’s draft stock rose to a point that he was being drafted at – or beyond – his ceiling due to the opportunity that was in front of him in this Washington backfield.

And yet, while he didn’t end the season as a top 15 RB for fantasy purposes, he was still very effective and efficient with his workload, especially when you consider his NFL Draft investment.

“Bill” rumbled for 805 yards and eight touchdowns on 175 carries in 2025 for a 4.6 yards per carry average to pair with a 53.7% rushing success rate. All while having a backup QB in for the majority of the season that wasn’t able to help back defenses out of the box routinely.

Volume was the main issue standing in his way from truly taking another massive step forward, as Chris Rodriguez Jr. stepped into a larger role in the offense, but he was the RB28 in Half PPR scoring formats from Weeks 1-17 when it was all said and done.

And now, going into 2026, Rodriguez is now playing elsewhere and there’s very little standing in Croskey-Merritt’s way to inheriting a massive workload this season.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Rachaad White was brought in this offseason in free agency on a one-year, $2,000,000 deal. At that investment, there’s not even a guarantee that he makes the roster at the end of the preseason.

The only other significant threat to touches in this backfield is a sixth-round rookie out of Penn State, Kaytron Allen. Based on my film evaluation of Allen, he’s a goal-line and short-yardage back that wouldn’t be a true option to steal touches away from JCM.

The hype got a little bit away from everyone last season and, since he didn’t live up to those unrealistic expectations, fantasy managers are scared off on drafting him this year.

Take advantage of that. He could be an incredible value in fantasy drafts this season.

Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

There aren’t a ton of ancillary statistics that we can point to for signaling that Rodriguez Jr. is set for a massive breakout in 2026.

He shared the backfield with JCM last season in Washington and was efficient with his work around the goal line (posting 13 rush attempts for 20 yards and five touchdowns inside the five-yard line), but there weren’t many games where he was the true lead option.

And yet, that didn’t stop Jacksonville Jaguars HC Liam Coen from bringing Rodriguez in on a hefty free-agent deal worth $10,000,000 over two years.

Coen was the offensive coordinator at Kentucky when Rodriguez was there and Coen clearly values exactly what the veteran RB can bring to the table. He’s been vocal in his praise of him this offseason and there’s a very strong chance that he winds up being the starting RB for this offense in 2026.

Bhayshul Tuten is also going to be a factor in this backfield, certainly, but based on my evaluation of him, he’s better as a change-of-pace option that can occasionally break long runs versus a true workhorse back.

With the Jaguars ranking second in the entire league last year in terms of red zone trips per game (4.0), there’s a strong possibility that Rodriguez Jr. is the main option for this team in that part of the field.

And, if that’s the case, touchdowns could be a routine occurrence for the former Commanders RB. His ADP right now is certainly worth taking the chance on.

Luther Burden, WR, Chicago Bears

The debate that will rage on this entire offseason will be whether Luther Burden or Rome Odunze will be the WR1 for the Chicago Bears in 2026.

Odunze has shown plenty of flashes over the course of his young career, but a consistent theme of not fully being on the same page with QB Caleb Williams has shown up periodically.

My personal stance is that, based on what we saw at the end of last season, Burden is the man to target in this Bears WR room for this next year. He was dominant towards the end of 2025 and has the role in this offense that better translates to fantasy success.

Last season, Burden finished with the most yards per route run by a rookie wide receiver over the last decade (min. 200 routes).

Burden: 2.71
AJ Brown: 2.68
Justin Jefferson: 2.66
Puka Nacua: 2.60
Ja’Marr Chase: 2.51
Brian Thomas Jr.: 2.46
Chris Olave: 2.42
Rashee Rice: 2.41
Ladd McConkey: 2.4
Tyreek Hill: 2.28

It’s a smaller sample size for Burden, but you don’t end up at the top of that list without having the ability to be a true fantasy football superstar. We saw good things from him during his rookie campaign, I think he can take it to another level in 2026.

Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka’s rookie season is a tale of two halves.

For the first five weeks of his rookie year, Egbuka was an elite fantasy football asset. He was the WR3 in fantasy football and averaging a ridiculous 18 fantasy points per game, leading people to believe that he was the next great dynasty asset.

Fast forward to the end of the year though and the perception on Egbuka was dramatically different.

From Weeks 6-17, the rookie wideout was the WR43 in Half PPR scoring formats and he was essentially hurting fantasy lineups more than he was helping them.

It’s hard to say what definitively happened that caused Egbuka to take a massive step backwards in production. There’s a possibility it was the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 6.

Or it could be the injury that Baker Mayfield struggled with that limited the whole offense. It may have even been the offensive coordinator struggling to have answers once NFL defenses zeroed in on the scheme and how it succeeded.

Regardless, there’s simply no way that a player can showcase what Egbuka did through the first five games of his NFL career and not get back to performing at a high level.

Zac Robinson has been vocal in his praise for the second-year wideout already this offseason and plans to play him primarily at the Z-receiver spot.

“We’ll settle him into one spot, kind of our ‘Z’ spot, but again in some instances he might look like he’s playing the ‘X,’ in some instances he might be the ‘F’ just based on the formation and how you can move him around…But Mek, just getting to know him the last handful of weeks, it’s incredible just how – I know I keep throwing the word ‘intentional’ around but that is him to a ‘T.’ A lot of work and preparation that he puts into it – he’s very similar to a Cooper Kupp, just in terms of the way his brain works with the game of football and his natural instincts.” – Zac Robinson

If he’s able to settle into one specific spot in the offense, and not have his head spinning trying to remember different varieties of routes from different places in the formation, we could see the talent immediately come through.

Add in the discount in his ADP and I’m going to have a lot of Egbuka on my rosters in 2026.

Alec Pierce, WR, Indianapolis Colts

You’re going to be hard pressed to find a more prolific downfield threat in the NFL than Indianapolis Colts WR Alec Pierce.

The physical and fast wideout was a monster in 2025 with Daniel Jones, as he saw the third most total air yards (1,587), and averaged the highest Air Yards Per Reception for any WR with over 20 receptions by a wide mile with 33.8.

He turned into an incredibly productive and efficient WR last season and now he finds himself without major target competition in his WR room, plus a hefty contract.

Michael Pittman Jr. is now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers and he was replaced by veteran WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. Josh Downs will step into a larger role in the offense, and Tyler Warren will certainly get an increase in targets, but that is 111 vacated targets with Pittman out the door.

If Pierce can maintain his big-play ability, while seeing a significant increase in targets this season, we could be looking at a potential top 15 weekly play. Right now, his ADP is sorely below that.

Isaiah Likely, TE, New York Giants

If we look at the eight games over the last three seasons where Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews has missed time, and extrapolate Isaiah Likely’s stats from them, we have a potential difference maker for fantasy football…

A 17-game pace for Likely’s stats would be:

109 targets
73 receptions
1,040 receiving yards
13 touchdowns

For context, last season, Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts ended the year as the TE2 in fantasy football with 88 receptions, 928 receiving yards, and five touchdowns.

No, we ultimately cannot just copy and paste and assume that this will be what Likely’s production is going to be here in New York as he gets reunited with his former head coach, John Harbaugh.

But it does serve as a way to show us the incredible talent that Likely has that has been buried behind a fantastic talent in his own right in Andrews in Baltimore. And now he gets the chance to shine.

This Giants offense desperately needs him. WR Malik Nabers is working his way back off an injury and his timeline is up in the air currently, Wan’Dale Robinson is a member of the Tennessee Titans now, and Darnell Mooney appears to be the only other significant threat for targets.

QB Jaxson Dart could lean heavily on Likely, especially to begin the season. He got paid the contract in free agency, he has the opportunity now finally to be the main guy, and he has the talent to be a star for fantasy purposes.

Why are we letting his ADP stay where it is?

Chig Okonkwo, TE, Washington Commanders

Not a whole lot went right for the Tennessee Titans offense last season with a rookie QB, head coaching changes, and a rough defense.

But one of the bright spots was TE Chig Okonkwo, who showcased that he still has the ability to be a threat in the receiving game – if it’s even remotely functioning.

The athletic TE is now a member of the Washington Commanders and he is going to be desperately needed this season as this offense seeks to get back on track after a down year.

David Blough is guiding the ship as the offensive coordinator now and he’s going to need to devise plans for how to get Okonkwo the ball, as the options aren’t plentiful at the WR position.

WR Terry McLaurin is one of the best in the game and rookie Antonio Williams is a favorite target of mine in dynasty right now, but outside of them…there’s not a whole lot to write home about on this depth chart.

There’s a possibility that Okonkwo sees the highest target total of his career this season after being brought in on a three-year, $27,000,000 deal. Add in the fact that he’s still a dynamic threat after the catch – 342 of his 560 receiving yards in 2025 came from YAC – and Blough could be incredibly creative with how to deploy him.

No one’s thinking about him in your league. If you don’t want to go after the big names at their draft cost, take a late-round dart throw on Okonkwo’s 2026 breakout.

Greg Dulcich, TE, Miami Dolphins

If you want to go way further down the ADP board, Miami Dolphins TE Greg Dulcich is an incredibly intriguing player going into 2026.

He’s shown flashes throughout the course of his NFL career, but it’s never fully seemed to click due to the competition on the depth chart that he’s played with at times.

There’s always been numerous names demanding targets around him, which has failed to give him an opportunity to show what he could do with a substantial target share.

Well, that’s not the case in Miami this season, is it?

The Dolphins go into this year with a bare cupboard of proven WRs on their depth chart. Names like Jalen Tolbert, Malik Washington, Chris Bell, Caleb Douglas, Tutu Atwell, and others headline that position group for a team entering a full rebuild.

And yet, the ball has to go somewhere in 2026!

Dulcich has the skillset to still be a factor for fantasy football. In 2025, for TEs with over 20 receptions, Dulcich ranked second at the position in Yards After the Catch Per Reception with 7.7, trailing only Packers TE Tucker Kraft.

He still has the athleticism that he showed early on in his career. If he can become a key target in this passing game, while still maintaining the big-play ability, Dulcich could be an incredible value at his ridiculously low ADP right now.