Zaccheaus enters training camp in a battle against Jahan Dotson and rookie third-rounder Zachariah Branch for the Falcons' WR2 job behind Drake London (undisclosed), Tim Weaver of USA Today reports. After stints in Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago, Zaccheaus opted to sign a one-year contract in March to rejoin the Falcons, whom he played four seasons for from 2019 to 2022. The Virginia product has eclipsed 500 receiving yards just once in the first seven years of his NFL career, but given the lack of reliable pass catchers behind London and tight end Kyle Pitts, Zaccheaus will have the chance to establish himself as Atlanta's WR2 in training camp. Dotson brings four years of NFL experience to the table, but Zaccheaus' biggest competition figures to come from the rookie Branch, who made a strong impression on coaches and players for his speed, explosiveness and playmaking ability during college and in OTAs
We have a few more training camp battles to look at as the Bears are getting close to reporting to camp. This next battle, if I had to guess, will be the one that Chicago Bears fans will be most interested in throughout July and August. It’s the battle to see who emerges as the team’s WR3 between Jahdae Walker and Kalif Raymond . Walker emerged as a fan favorite after a stellar training camp and preseason. As a UDFA, he had a steep hill to climb to make the 53-man roster. But climb it he did. The Bears thought so highly of Walker that they didn’t want to risk putting him on the practice squad. They kept him on the 53 and for good reason. Walker was inactive for 7 of the first 12 Bears games, and when he played, he only saw six offensive snaps total. But as the season shifted into December, Walker earned opportunities on the offense, and he made it count. Walker had six catches, including 2 touchdowns (and a critical game-tying touchdown against the Green Bay Packers ), while earning 78 snaps. Olamide Zaccheaus had 61 snaps over those last three games, and Walker started pushing OZ for snaps for the WR4 spot. Come playoff time, Ben Johnson went with the veteran, and Zaccheaus was active, and Walker was not. But Walker made it clear that he was going to be pushing for more playoff time in 2026. The Bears let OZ walk after the season and traded DJ Moore , which opened up the door for Walker to potentially be WR3, but the Bears went out and signed someone who has familiarity with Ben Johnson and his offense, former Detroit Lion Kalif Raymond. Raymond’s production has definitely dipped over the last two seasons in Detroit . Raymond had 500 yards receiving over the last two seasons after averaging over 500 yards per season from 2021 to 2023. Raymond, whether he’s WR3 or WR4, will have a role on this team because he will also contribute on special teams, but he and Walker are going to vie for that WR3 role. Now, to be fair, that role will not be as prominent in Chicago as it is on other teams. The Bears will feature a lot of 12 personnel with Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland , but not only that, you can expect 13 personnel with rookie Sam Roush as well. For some teams that sit in 11 personnel, that WR3 will be on the field for 75 or 80% of the snaps. For the Bears, the WR3 this season may only be on the field for 40% of the snaps, but that’s still going to be plenty of opportunities in this offense. You would have to think that the Bears would want Walker to take this job and run with it. Teams would always prefer their young players to earn jobs away from veterans, but they never want to hand the jobs to them; they want them to earn them. Walker definitely has places to improve. He needs to add muscle; he needs better blocking technique, but he’s already made significant progress in one year. Can he make more significant progress this year? I would expect that to happen. What do I think happens here? I think this situation plays out like Luther Burden and Zaccheaus did last year. In 2025, Rome Odunze and DJ Moore were the WR1 and WR2 on the team, OZ was the team’s WR3, and eventually Burden took over as he got more comfortable in the offense. This year, I expect Odunze and Burden to be the team’s top two WRs, and I expect Raymond to be the team’s WR3 out of the gate in September, but I think Walker will continue to improve and he will take over for Raymond at some point in the season and secure the WR3 status in Chicago. Fans might get frustrated when they don’t see Walker getting significant snaps in September, but be patient; Walker’s time certainly feels like it’s coming
Nearly everyone expected the Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVay to add another receiver this offseason behind Puka Nacua and late-career Davante Adams . Materially speaking, they did not. That’s not to say that LA didn’t have a chance to add another starting-level receiver. They instead opted not to. The Rams could have targeted a mid-tier free agent like Romeo Doubs , Jalen Nailor , Tyquan Thornton , Olamide Zaccheaus , or others. LA focused on defense and special teams by adding Jaylen Watson , Grant Stuard , and a long snapper. Infamously, USC WR Makai Lemon was on the board when LA was on the clock in the first round at 13th overall. The team maintains they attempted to trade back, but ultimately stayed and picked quarterback Ty Simpson . It was immediately evident that the Rams felt compelled to stay aggressive with their future draft picks after selecting their signal caller of the future. They could have traded back into the first round for, say, Omar Cooper. They stayed pat. And to throw fuel on the fire, the Rams drafted Max Klare on day two—marking back-to-back draft classes with tight ends in the second round ( Terrance Ferguson in 2025). Convention is telling us Los Angeles needs a third receiver. The team doesn’t seem concerned at all. If we are reading the tea leaves, are the Rams planning to shift away from their historical usage of 11 personnel under McVay? Is this now primarily a 12 and 13 personnel team? Our first sign of a potential change cam in the playoffs, where the third receiver was on the field 50% less than they were in the regular season : If the Rams are at least in 12 personnel—meaning that (two of) Ferguson, Allen, or Higbee are on the field with Parkinson, then one of the receivers must come off. These complimentary tight ends were on the field more often than the reserve receivers in Whittington, Mumpfield, and Smith. The tight ends also saw more targets. We can conclude the overall usage numbers are roughly the same, but that is still a significant takeaway for what could be in store for the 2026 Rams. This isn’t the same offense we are accustomed to that will operate primarily out of 11 personnel. The third receiver role was devalued by more than 50% in the playoffs, and that is the benchmark we should be using into next season. The Rams could also lean further into their tight end usage now that Ferguson will be more experienced in year two and with the addition of second round draftee Max Klare. This would further diminish the production potential for the receivers after Nacua and Adams. Yes – it seems the Rams have a hole at WR#3. This is no longer the same offense. It doesn’t make sense for the Rams to pay a premium for a third receiver when they could be on the field at least 50% less often in 2026. LA has changed their way of thinking. We need to update our outlook too. Even if the Rams deploy tight ends more often than wide receivers in 2026, I have concerns. Nacua and Adams are no stranger to injuries. We also cannot assume that late-career Adams will produce at the same level he did a season ago. It’s a stark drop off from LA’s top two targets to the likes or Jordan Whittington , Xavier Smith , Konata Mumpfield , and CJ Daniels. And while LA are predominant Super Bowl favorites according to the betting markets, they are certain to trail late at some point this season. It’s difficult to lead a comeback without sufficient firepower on offense. Will the decision to invest more heavily in tight end than receiver come back to bite the team late in games? Do you trust Whittington or Mumpfield to make catches and keep games alive? One fortunate development that should help alleviate these concerns are the utilization of TE Terrance Ferguson, who cannot slot squarely into a traditional depth chart . Ferguson seems to be as much of a receiver as a tight end, especially considering he played in the slot on 50% of his passing snaps a year ago: Ferguson may also be the answer to th
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Bears WR Luther Burden III is poised for a larger role in 2026 following the departures of D.J. Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus. Coach Ben Johnson and WRs coach Antwaan Randle El are optimistic about Burden's potential, highlighting his strong offseason approach and impressive rookie metrics, including yards per route run and yards after catch
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
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We’re getting closer to our first look at the 2026 Chicago Bears , and there’s one thing in particular ESPN’s Ben Solak wants to know about this squad: what are sophomore stars Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III about to do now that their roles are set to expand this season? As Bears fans know, general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson moved veteran receiver DJ Moore this past offseason to make room for the glut of young talent in the pass-catching corps, which also includes 2024 No. 9 overall pick Rome Odunze . Assuming Odunze is healthy, he’s likely to see substantial targets and hopefully return to the level of production he enjoyed before leg injuries derailed his own sophomore campaign. But after what Loveland, the No. 10 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, and Burden, the 39th pick in the same class, did down the stretch of their respective rookie seasons, there’s no way they’re not going to be major parts of the offense. Burden’s case is especially intriguing because he figures to slot alongside Odunze as a starter in Moore’s place—a scenario one could envision after he started to break out late in his rookie campaign. “Burden averaged 2.92 yards per route run during the regular season. That’s tied with A.J. Brown for the best mark for a rookie receiver (minimum 50 targets) in the past 15 years. Just below Burden and Brown are Justin Jefferson, Odell Beckham Jr. , Puka Nacua and Ja’Marr Chase. Those players did it on remarkably higher volume than Burden, but even the low-usage rookies who spiked in yards per route run ( Tank Dell , Christian Watson , Tyreek Hill , Doug Baldwin ) indicate a promising future for Burden,” Solak wrote. After a slow start that likely had to do with a combination of inexperience and too many bodies ahead of him, Burden started getting more opportunities after Odunze went down and Olamide Zaccheaus ’ hands turned into a liability. His explosive run-after-catch ability and improving route-running continued to earn him more snaps until he posted a three-game stretch of 67, 84, and 138 receiving yards in three of his final four regular-season games. Johnson sounds extremely committed to giving him more opportunities in 2026. Assuming Burden makes the strides with the playbook that we’d expect, we should expect him to take advantage. That said, we all know who the real top dog in this pass-catching pecking order is now. Loveland’s insane finish to last season placed him almost immediately into top-five tight end conversations, punctuated by his monstrous eight-catch, 137-yard performance in the Wild Card Round against the Green Bay Packers . Calling him “unguardable” in that game didn’t do it justice. And there’s more where that came from, suggests Solak. “Loveland is an impossible cover. Long and rangy, Loveland eats up ground similar to a receiver in his route stem. Loveland is snappy enough to separate from linebackers, but the real issue is how his size and toughness make him nearly impossible to play through. Safeties keep trying to light him up at the catch point with big hits. They look like they’re hit-sticking a telephone pole. “The real needle-mover for Loveland is his blocking ability. He can dig out defensive ends and hold his water one-on-one in the running game. This makes him doubly dangerous in the play-action pass game, as his pre-snap alignment doesn’t tip Johnson’s hand to the opposing defensive coordinator. Safeties and linebackers have to meet him aggressively when he’s blocking downhill. But if they guess wrong and he’s climbing vertically for a route, their goose is cooked,” he wrote of the rising second-year tight end. Loveland’s massive surge, plus some injuries to the receiving corps, pushed him into the team lead for catches and receptions by year’s end. While the likes of Odunze will undoubtedly get a high share of targets in 2026 now that he’s back, Loveland is the real problem in that offense right now. The scary part: he doesn’t have Mo
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