Top 10 Dynasty Breakout Candidates for 2026
Typical breakout lists this time of year are usually flooded with high-profile rookies and obvious names. I wanted to take a slightly different direction with this one. My focus was on guys already in the league, highlighting second-year players poised to take a leap and veterans entering their prime, when things should finally start clicking. These guys should be viable in all dynasty leagues in 2026, with some players at the end who could help managers in those deeper formats. These guys haven’t fully broken out yet for whatever reason. You know what’s funny? Last year, an analyst for another site listed his breakouts and included Calvin Ridley . I, too, was in on Calvin Ridley last season (bad call by me), but calling a 30-year-old receiver with a top-five season and a WR2 finish under his belt a “potential breakout” was silly. Lazy take. The oldest player on my list is 27 years old or younger. Following are my top 10 players with the talent and situation who could break out in 2026. Okay, one obvious name. There’s a massive amount of excitement surrounding Luther Burden as he heads into his second season. After a slow start to his rookie campaign, he took off down the stretch and averaged 12.9 fantasy points per game from Week 12 on. That stretch included a monster Week 17, where he earned WR1 overall honors after torching the 49ers defense for 138 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. Luther Burden’s Efficiency Metrics Now, with D.J. Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus gone, that’s roughly 30% of last season’s target share now up for grabs. Those additional targets should fuel Burden’s breakout, which feels imminent after he finished top 10 in several efficiency metrics as a rookie: target separation (2.63), yards per route run (2.79), fantasy points per route run (0.55), and yards per target (10.9). The arrow is pointing up, and in head coach Ben Johnson’s offense, Burden seems destined to take a major leap in 2026. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the 2026 schedule is undoubtedly Quinshon Judkins . Cleveland has one of the softest slates in the league, and that should help the 2025 second-round pick as he looks to bounce back from injury after a pedestrian rookie campaign. Judkins was serviceable in Year 1 — 998 total yards and seven scores. But he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry, and his 12.1 fantasy points per game ranked just 25th among running backs. An easy schedule theoretically means the Browns shouldn’t be trailing nearly as often. That’s huge for Judkins, who was often phased out late in games as Cleveland was slinging it to try to play catch-up. Some closer contests will allow Judkins to pile up touches and wear down defenses late with his 221-pound frame. It remains to be seen whether the Browns can get into scoring position enough for Judkins to become a truly elite fantasy back. RB1 ascension might be tough to pull off, but high-end RB2 output is definitely in his range of outcomes. Bhayshul Tuten could be this year’s low-key breakout running back. The former Virginia Tech Hokie heads into his sophomore season with Travis Etienne no longer blocking his progression. He left nearly 300 touches available for Jacksonville to redistribute. Of course, some of those will go to newly-signed Chris Rodriguez Jr., who played for head coach Liam Coen at Kentucky. “C-Rod” is just an early-down guy only, though; he has just six career catches across three NFL seasons, so Tuten should be the one getting the high-value targets in the passing game. Bhayshul Tuten ‘s Athletic Score If he can get double-digit touches with a few receptions per game, Tuten has the athletic skill set to flourish. He’s lightning-quick with 4.32 speed and shifty enough to make tacklers miss in space. There’s RB2 upside going forward in this Jacksonville offense if he gets enough opportunities. It’s kind of funny how quickly people went from joking about Tyler Shough ‘s age to thinking he’s an up-and-coming fantasy quarterback. They [... truncated ...]
