Fantasy Football: Pair of NFC North rivals lead WR breakout candidates for 2026

With fantasy football drafts ramping up and NFL training camps just over a month away, the time has come to narrow down which players could be this year’s breakout stars.

It seems easy in hindsight, but identifying young talent on the verge of making a major leap is often what propels fantasy managers to championships.

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Over the next week, I’ll highlight my favorite breakout candidates at every key fantasy position. Today, we’re taking a look at wide receivers.

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2026 Breakout Candidates: QB | RB | WR | TE

Luther Burden III, Bears

The Bears offense was an obvious target for fantasy managers last season, with the arrival of Ben Johnson helping to get more out of the talented unit. That remains the case in 2026, as the team will be even more comfortable in this system and young pass-catchers like Burden and TE Colston Loveland have a chance to develop further. Loveland, Chicago’s first-round pick from a year ago, broke out as a top-five fantasy tight end in the second half of the season and will be a huge piece of their attack moving forward.

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Burden’s outlook requires a bit more of a projection.

The second-round wideout flashed high-end potential early in his rookie campaign, but was limited to less than 30% of the snaps in every contest during the first two months. However, from Week 10 on, his playing time increased and he averaged nearly 64 yards per outing, which is a 1,000-yard pace over an entire 17-game schedule.

Burden’s numbers were good enough to make him the WR28 in fantasy points per game over the final eight weeks of the season. That stretch included some notable performances in the fantasy playoffs, with stat lines of 4-67-0 in Week 15, 6-84-0 in Week 16 and a season-high 8-138-1 in Week 17.

The 22-year-old also posted the third-best yards per route run among all wideouts, behind only Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He even finished top-20 at the position in both targets per route run and yards after the catch, with the latter being particularly impressive considering he caught far fewer passes (47) than the receivers ahead of him in that category. The only player with more yards after the catch per reception was Chiefs WR Rashee Rice.

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While Burden won’t soak up all of the 150 combined targets left behind by the departures of DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus, the burgeoning sophomore will certainly see his involvement in the offense grow.

His teammate, Rome Odunze, has yet to break out through two years in the NFL and is also recovering from a foot injury that he’s still dealing with. Aside from him, there isn’t much competition in Chicago’s receiver room.

Whether Burden or Loveland leads the Bears in targets this season might not matter, since both players are poised for significant statistical leaps in Year 2 — and fantasy managers should be aggressively drafting both soon-to-be stars.

Boone’s redraft rank: WR17 (Fantasy WR2 with legitimate WR1 ceiling if development continues)

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Christian Watson, Packers

For the first time in several seasons, the Packers’ receiver depth chart appears to be simple to decipher, with Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks no longer on the roster. That leaves a clear top trio of Watson, Jayden Reed and last year’s first-round pick, Matthew Golden.

While Reed (WR39, ADP) and Golden (WR49, ADP) are intriguing as wideouts the fantasy community might be undervaluing, Watson has the best chance to emerge as a difference-maker in Green Bay.

Last season, Watson finally stayed healthy long enough to showcase his upside, which led to 611 yards and six touchdowns in 10 appearances. That was good enough to make him the WR16 in fppg. Between the routine splash plays or his affinity for the end zone, Watson is the kind of spike-week fantasy WR2 you want in your lineup.

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Boone’s redraft rank: WR22 (Fantasy WR2 with WR1 upside if he stays healthy)

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Emeka Egbuka, Buccaneers

Egbuka had one of the strangest rookie years I can remember. He earned endless praise from everyone around the Buccaneers organization prior to the season before bursting onto the scene by averaging the third-most fantasy points per game over the first five weeks — trailing only Nacua and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Sadly, that was the high point of his debut campaign. From Week 6 on, Egbuka was the WR57. He was held under 45 yards in seven of his last eight outings and failed to score a touchdown during that stretch. Injuries can take some of the blame since both Egbuka and several members of the Bucs’ offense — including Baker Mayfield — dealt with a variety of ailments throughout the season.

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The good news is that the key pieces of the passing attack are entering the summer healthy and Mike Evans is no longer in Tampa Bay, which will open up opportunities for Egbuka, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan. The Bucs also face the ninth-easiest fantasy WR schedule this season, providing another feather in the cap for Egbuka’s outlook.

While drafting Egbuka doesn’t come without risk, it’s hard to forget that hot start in 2025 when he averaged 89 yards and a touchdown per game. With better injury luck and less target competition, I’m willing to chase that upside once again.

Boone’s redraft rank: WR25 (Fantasy WR3 with WR1 upside)

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Parker Washington, Jaguars

The Jaguars’ receiving room was a moving target in 2025 that was hard to pin down in 2025. Brian Thomas Jr. failed to recapture the magic of his rookie campaign, first-rounder Travis Hunter got hurt midseason and Jakobi Meyers joined the mix around the trade deadline. However, following the team’s Week 8 bye, it was Washington who led the group the rest of the way.

Washington put up 90 yards and/or a touchdown in five of his last seven games, which included a Week 13 contest where he left early due to a hip strain. Even so, Washington was the WR19 in fppg over the final nine weeks of the fantasy season, ahead of Meyers (WR31) and Thomas (WR44).

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Though Hunter will return to the field this season, he’s expected to play a part-time role on offense. Meanwhile, Washington has already gained the trust of the coaching staff who have continuously heaped praise on him since last year. He also projects to play in two-receiver sets, with Meyers being viewed as more of a slot option, according to beat writers.

Even if Washington can’t match his top-20 production down the stretch, he has a defined path to WR3 numbers — making him a solid pick as the WR34 in ADP. The Jags wideouts will face the sixth-easiest schedule for the position and I have him projected to lead the team in receiving yards.

Boone’s redraft rank: WR32 (Rising fantasy WR3 with WR2 upside)