Second-year breakout candidates for 2026 fantasy football

Sometimes it takes rookies a season to get on track, especially when facing injuries, stiff competition, or just a bad offensive environment. Second-year players are sometimes hard to pin down. It doesn’t take much to derail a rookie in the NFL, but coming back the next year with some experience with the offense and having adjusted to the speed of the game can help a player take a big step in production.

Tetairoa McMillan won rookie of the year honors in 2025 with 70 receptions for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns. It was a good season, but there was still meat on the bone for the majority of offensive skill rookies last year. Below we’ll look at a few of those rookies who are poised for a breakout campaign in 2026.

Tyler Shough, Saints

Shough took the starting job from Spencer Rattler in Week 9 and took that 1-7 team to a 5-4 record through the last nine games. And for fantasy, he was able to boost his value by rushing for 186 yards and three touchdowns in those nine games, while also looking competent as a passer.

This season he gets a full offseason as the starter to work on Kellen Moore’s fast-paced, pass first offense. The team also added receiver Jordyn Tyson and running back Travis Etienne to the mix, while Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson have already shown their offensive value in the passing game. If they can keep Tyson healthy, it would help, but overall this is an improved offense and Shough is very much on breakout watch this year.

Colston Loveland, Bears, TE

Loveland had a strong rookie season, but the 10th overall pick showed upside for even more than his 58 receptions for 713 yards and six touchdowns. He does have plenty of competition, with Rome Odunze and Luther Burden both looking capable for big things this year, but under Ben Johnson, this offense can support multiple fantasy stars. And the fantasy world is prepared for the Loveland breakout, making him the TE3 going into this season.

Luther Burden, Bears, WR

Sticking with the Bears theme, Burden also had a positive rookie season, but DJ Moore kept him from being a full time player. That changes this year, as Moore is now in Buffalo, giving Burden ample opportunity to breakout. A training camp groin strain has put a slight damper on his possible breakout season, but it does sound like he at least has a chance to be ready by Week 1.

Burden is set to battle Odunze for the WR1 job and most believe that Burden is Ben Johnson’s preference. However it shakes out, Burden is going to have plenty of chances to take over the job and he’s shown flashes that make it tough to doubt his fantasy ceiling being extremely high. I’m watching that injury, but if the reports are good, I think he leads this strong offensive team through the air and could be a top 10 fantasy receiver with ease this year.

Jacoby Croskey-Merritt, Commanders, RB

Croskey-Merritt got a lot of hype last year, especially after Brian Robinson was traded to the 49ers. That hype didn’t materialize into huge fantasy numbers, but the Commanders offense as a whole was a mess with Jayden Daniels missing 10 games to elbow, knee and ankle injuries. The rookie back did have some success though, rushing for 805 yards and 8 touchdowns on 175 carries, with a good 4.6 yards per carry.

The Commanders did bring in Rachaad White from the Buccaneers, but JCM should still be the lead back, while White works in passing downs. With a better offense overall under Daniels, I see Croskey-Merritt topping 200 rushing attempts and once again closing in on 10 touchdowns.

Bhayshul Tuten, Jaguar, RB

With Travis Etienne now in New Orleans, second-year running back Tuten is set for a much bigger role in the Jaguars’ offense. He still has to deal with Chris Rodriguez, but his talent could easily push him way ahead of Rodriguez as the season progresses. If the Jaguars can take another step under Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence, Tuten could be in store for a strong fantasy season in year-two.