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Adam Koffler's 5 fantasy football breakout players and potential league-winning picks for 2026. His top mid round breakout candidates include Christian Watson, Parker Washington and more.
A few days ago, I wrote about six players I'm aggressively targeting in the early rounds of fantasy football drafts this season. Try to get at least a couple of these cornerstone guys on your teams in 2026.
This article takes us into the middle rounds of fantasy drafts, generally rounds 5-8. These guys come with a few more question marks than those in the early rounds. However, the one thing they do have in common is talent and opportunity.
There's no doubt it's important to hit on your early-round guys in fantasy football, but it might be even more critical to identify those undervalued mid-round guys. That's where you separate the elite fantasy football managers from the casual ones. If you want to have an elite team this season, draft a few of my must-have mid-round league winners for 2026 fantasy football.
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Luther Burden III, WR - Chicago Bears
Yahoo ADP - 58.6 (WR24)
I want as many pieces of the Chicago offense as humanly possible. That includes both Colston Loveland and Burden.
Both guys were drafted by Ben Johnson and the new coaching staff in 2025. D.J. Moore is gone, and Rome Odunze, while probably a good player, was drafted by the previous regime in 2024.
Burden didn't get much playing time early on as a rookie, but he made the most of his opportunities when on the field.
Despite sharing the field with Moore, Odunze, and Loveland, it was Burden that led the team in targets per route run (0.26), yards per route run (2.83), first downs per route run (0.117), designed targets (17), and fantasy points per route run (0.56).
To say he was efficient as a rookie doesn't do it justice. He was historically efficient as a rookie.
Top Rookie WR Seasons by YPRR
+ min. 200 routes, since 20101. Odell Beckham Jr., 2014 (2.75)
2. LUTHER BURDEN, 2025 (2.69) 👀👀
3. AJ Brown, 2019 (2.67)
4. Justin Jefferson, 2020 (2.66)
5. Puka Nacua, 2023 (2.59)
6. Ladd McConkey, 2024 (2.59)
7. Ja'Marr Chase, 2021 (2.51)
8.… pic.twitter.com/WR560dcpPE— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) March 30, 2026
Based on the list of players above, if Burden doesn't take a massive leap in Year 2, he'd be considered a historical outlier.
And if the numbers don't convince you to click his name in the 5th round, Burden immediately opened training camp as the top target for Caleb Williams.
Bears Camp Day 1 Updates:
🔹Luther Burden III got a TON of targets — inside & outside, flashed quicker route running
🔹Rome Odunze healthy & explosive in individual (no catches in team drills)
🔹Caleb Williams & the QBs got the ball out on time — solid day overall
🔹Jaylon…
— Ficky (@itsfickybaby) July 29, 2026
His head coach is buying stock, his general manager is buying stock, and thus you, the fantasy manager, should be buying stock in Burden heading into the 2026 season.
Burden is Johnson's easy button. This is his new Amon-Ra St. Brown that he handpicked in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Jadarian Price, RB - Seattle Seahawks
Yahoo ADP - 66.1 (RB26)
Kenneth Walker is gone, and Zach Charbonnet is recovering from ACL reconstruction he had on February 20th (of this year!).
Considering it takes most running backs 9-12 months to return to action, it seems likely Charbonnet, at a minimum, starts the 2026 season on the PUP. That would put him out at least four games.
Even when Charbonnet does eventually return, there's a good chance he's not anywhere near the same player he was before his ACL tear. That, combined with the fact that he'll be taking touches away from Holani, not Price.
That leaves the Seahawks with George Holani, Emanuel Wilson, and Price, the team's first-round pick this year.
Holani has been with the team for a couple of seasons now, but he's racked up just 97 total yards on 28 career touches.
And while the team has complimented his pass-protection skills, he lacks the vision to be a solid ball carrier in the NFL, hence his career 3.32 yards per carry.
George Holani has a recurring issue with promptly refusing to stick his foot in the ground and cutting up field.
Lots of stretching to the corner store. pic.twitter.com/lXGTiI70R0
— Zareh Kantzabedian (@ZKantzFF) August 18, 2026
Wilson, like Price, just joined the team this offseason. But he's been dealing with a hamstring injury and has been running mainly with the second-team offense throughout camp.
Holani's lack of pedigree, Wilson's injury, and Charbonnet's recovery have opened the door for Price to have a big role right out of the gates.
Mike McDonald and the coaching staff can't stop gushing about the guy.
Former Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price got a segment on Hard Knocks tonight. The first-round pick is *really* impressing his new coaches and teammates in Seattle.
"Dang, No. 8 is fast." — Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald
(via @new_era72) pic.twitter.com/j7joNcurKA
— Jack Soble (@jacksoble56) August 6, 2026
And now Sam Darnold is singing his praises.
Jadarian Price Earning Praise from His Quarterback https://t.co/t0OJaF7JIS
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) August 22, 2026
The Seahawks have an average implied total of 24.8 points this season and are favored in 14 of 17 games.
Price, who averaged 6.0 yards per carry and found the end zone 11 times running behind Jeremiyah Love last year at Notre Dame, figures to be in a great spot for early-season success considering the opportunity and lack of competition.
Christian Watson, WR - Green Bay Packers
Yahoo ADP - 67.7 (WR28)
You've been hurt by Watson in the past, I get it, but 2026 is not the year to fade the Packers' WR1.
From everything we know, he's 100% healthy heading into the season and is now nearly two years removed from ACL reconstruction.
Watson's always been a highly efficient wideout; it's just been a matter of staying healthy for him. People then wondered how he'd look coming off a torn ACL.
Well, he looked exactly like his former self. He returned in Week 8, and from then on, led all Packer wide receivers in receiving yards per game (58.8), target share (17.8%), air yards share (33.9%), targets per route run (0.23), yards per route run (2.45), first-read target share (23%), and first downs per route run (0.114).
He did that playing alongside Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, in addition to Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed.
Doubs and Wicks are now gone. Granted, Tucker Kraft will be returning after tearing his ACL last season, but their skill sets don't overlap much.
But don't let Kraft scare you away from Watson, a big-play receiver just waiting to catch a long pass for a touchdown.
He ranked first among all receivers in deep targets from Week 8 on. He did so on just a 68.6% route participation rate coming off an ACL tear. Think about that for a second!
Now the target tree has been consolidated by two wide receivers. We know for sure Watson is locked into an every-down role for this 2026 Packers team.
He's competing for targets with Reed and Golden. And from what we've seen in training camp and the preseason, it'll be mostly Golden playing in 12 personnel.
Considering Golden has never been much of a target earner (never over 19% dating back to his college days), Watson could be the first read even more in 2026.
He's also no longer competing for red zone targets with Doubs, who tied for eighth among wideouts in red zone targets a season ago.
And if he gets used creatively as he did in the preseason, Watson could take his game to a whole new level.
If we get more of this type of usage from Christian Watson this season, wheels up
Slot, in motion, play action cutting across the formation for easy YAC
We need some more gimme’s for him pic.twitter.com/xsBHHfb9bA
— Zain Dhanani (@DhananiZain) August 22, 2026
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB - New England Patriots
Yahoo ADP - 80.6 (RB28)
Everyone, and I mean everyone, was drafting rookie TreVeyon Henderson early last season after his performance in the preseason. I believe he made it into the third and fourth rounds of the draft.
He looked electric, and really, when he got his chances as a rookie, he was quite good. But Stevenson was still, and is still, the starting running back in New England.
And we're hearing that drumbeat loud and clear throughout training camp heading into the 2026 season.
Rhamondre Stevenson Projected as the Patriots' Lead Back to Begin the Season https://t.co/cvKkeNvbRv
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) August 22, 2026
Last season, Stevenson outperformed Henderson in a lot of metrics (data via Fantasy Points Data). PFF graded them similarly running the football, but Stevenson dwarfed the rookie in pass-protection (69.9 vs. 27.8) and receiving (70.3 vs. 58.3).
| Stevenson | Henderson | |
| Explosive run % | 6.9% | 4.9% |
| % of carries inside the 5 | 52.2% | 26.1% |
| Missed tackles forced per attempt | 0.20 | 0.11 |
| Yards after contact per attempt | 2.64 | 1.87 |
| Man/gap yards per carry | 4.56 | 4.22 |
| First downs per route run | 0.053 | 0.031 |
| Air yards | 164 | -9 |
| Receiving yards per game | 26.2 | 12.1 |
| Yards per route run | 1.46 | 0.98 |
| Fantasy points per game | 13.0 | 8.3 |
As you can see, Stevenson was objectively the better back last season. That's not to say Henderson can't improve, but it sure doesn't sound like his role is going to change much heading into Year 2.
Mike Vrabel showed us last year that he favors the guy who can do it all, and that's Stevenson. Until Henderson improves as a pass-protector and becomes a real weapon in the passing attack, this backfield belongs to Stevenson with Henderson trickled in.
Parker Washington, WR - Jacksonville Jaguars
Yahoo ADP - 83.6 (WR32)
If you follow me on X, you know I'm one of the biggest Washington supporters out there. I've even gone as far as to call him "Parker Godwin" and "Parker St. Brown."
I truly believe that's in his range of outcomes this season. Prime Chris Godwin or St. Brown. Just like he did down the stretch last season, Washington is going to be a target hog in Year 2 with Liam Coen.
Not to mention Liam Coen’s slot receivers in the NFL have ALWAYS cooked
Fantasy points per game for his primary slot WR
◻️ Cooper Kupp (2022) - 22.4
◻️ Chris Godwin (2024) - 19.7
◻️ Parker Washington (2025) - 15.2 (after the bye, despite multiple games less than 50% snap share) https://t.co/8QnghwAQlr— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) June 28, 2026
As of writing this article, Washington is out of practice with an undisclosed injury, but he's fully expected to return this coming week. My guess is that his agent told him not to play until he gets a well-deserved contract extension.
Many were skeptical of Washington's stretch after the Jaguars' bye week last season that had him ranked among the upper echelon of wide receivers in the NFL.
But since OTAs and training camp opened up, it's been nothing but praise, head turning, and a constant drumbeat from beat reporters screaming about Washington and how he's easily the new WR1 in town.
Notes and unofficial stats from the Jaguars' Teal & White mock game (Teal won 19-12):
QB Trevor Lawrence was 15 of 29 passes for 212 yards and 3 TDs. Parker Washington, Brian Thomas Jr., and LeQuint Allen had TD catches. Washington had six catches for 118 yards and TD.
— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) August 7, 2026
And don't worry about Travis Hunter. Reports are that he's been entering the game for Brian Thomas Jr. when called upon. They're not putting too much on his plate as he's locked into a full-time CB role in Year 2.
Not only that, but Thomas is the guy coming off the field for Hunter. That means Washington will be an every-down player in 2026. That's something he wasn't most of the 2025 season.
If you leave this article with only one takeaway, it's to draft Parker Washington ahead of ADP. Don't wait until Round 7. Take him in Round 6. Heck, I'd even consider the guy in Round 5 in some cases.
#ChopWoodCarryWater
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