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Frank Ammirante's fantasy football all-breakout team for 2026. Target and draft these undervalued players: Tyler Shough, Jonathon Brooks, Blake Corum, Jayden Reed, Josh Downs, and Terrance Ferguson.
We're in the heart of draft season right now. Most fantasy football drafts will happen this week, so it's the perfect time for me to highlight my All-Breakout team.
I'm going to focus on players who: A) Haven't had their breakout season yet, and B) I haven't written about recently. These are some of my favorite targets in drafts, with rising ADP to boot.
With that in mind, find out why Tyler Shough, Jonathon Brooks, Blake Corum, Jayden Reed, Josh Downs, and Terrance Ferguson are poised to break out this season.
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Tyler Shough, QB, New Orleans Saints
Shough came into his rookie season as a consensus fade, especially because he was older than usual for a rookie at 26 years old. But he proved the doubters wrong as a rookie, completing 67.6% of his passes for 2,384 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also added 186 yards on the ground.
Shough finished his rookie year with three 270+ passing-yard games in his last four. This showed that he was starting to get comfortable in Kellen Moore's offense.
Tyler Shough's first career TD goes to Juwan Johnson!
NOvsLAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/OPKVOfVuZM
— NFL (@NFL) November 2, 2025
Playing in a fast-paced offense with an innovative play-caller, Shough is poised to take a Year 2 leap. He showed excellent chemistry with Chris Olave, while first-round rookie Jordyn Tyson will join the team mid-season as he recovers from injury. Add in Travis Etienne Jr., who should boost the running game, and it's a much more favorable team context for Shough.
Given this situation, it's not out of the realm of possibility to see a top-12 fantasy finish from Shough this year, especially since he's a sneaky dual-threat. He's one of the easiest breakout calls at quarterback.
Jonathon Brooks, RB, Carolina Panthers
Brooks has had an injury-plagued start to his career, but let's not forget that he was once considered the top running back prospect in his class. Still only 23 years old, playing in a run-heavy offense, Brooks is set up nicely for a breakout season.
Yes, Chuba Hubbard is still there, but he's more of a veteran chain-mover than an explosive back like Brooks. Besides, we already saw Hubbard lose his job to his more explosive teammate when it happened with Rico Dowdle last year. Don't be surprised to see it happen again with Brooks.
Jonathan Brooks takes it in with ease
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/5G93XLLifV
— NFL (@NFL) August 21, 2026
With Bryce Young looking like a game manager at quarterback, the Panthers need more of a big-play threat in their backfield, which is where Brooks comes in.
I'm betting that he'll take over the role as lead back and give us 1,000+ yards on the ground with some impact in the passing game as well. Brooks' ADP was steamed up when Hubbard was hurt, but now he's healthy, so we're getting a reasonable price once again.
Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Corum is the best handcuff in fantasy football. Not only does he have massive contingent upside if Kyren Williams gets hurt, but there's also standalone value here.
We saw Corum start to get more involved in the Rams' offense down the stretch last year. I'm expecting more of the same in this upcoming season.
By adding Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, as well as bringing back Aaron Donald, the Rams are forming a super team. They already had an elite offense, but now they have a devastating defense.
Blake Corum rumbles 48 yards for the TD!
LARvsAZ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/aroS7jo0iI
— NFL (@NFL) December 7, 2025
What does that mean for Corum? Well, it's likely we're going to see Los Angeles involved in plenty of blowouts this season. That creates a favorable game script for Corum, where he's churning out yardage in the fourth quarter to eat up the clock.
Then you have to consider Matthew Stafford's 7+% touchdown rate last season, which is unsustainable. A good portion of those touchdowns could start to go to the running game, so it wouldn't shock me to see Corum eclipse last year's total of six touchdowns. With that in mind, this is a terrific upside pick in your drafts.
Jayden Reed, WR, Green Bay Packers
Reed has been held back so far. He's a talented wideout who has been taken off the field in 2-WR sets, or dealt with injuries while playing in a run-heavy offense. But now that Josh Jacobs is on the commissioner's exempt list, putting his status in doubt, we should see the Packers go more pass-heavy.
That's because MarShawn Lloyd is now the starting running back, and while he's talented, he's also completely unproven. More passing volume bodes well for Reed.
Jordan Love. JAYDEN REED.
PACKERS LEAD BY TWO POSSESSIONS
GBvsCHI on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/wpt4U6Xwtu— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2026
It's also good that both Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks have moved on from the Packers, consolidating the target share between Reed, Christian Watson, Matthew Golden, and Tucker Kraft.
To that end, this is the perfect setup for a breakout season from Reed. Remember, he put up 10 total touchdowns as a rookie. There's a lot of talent here; he just needs opportunity. Bet on that happening in 2026.
Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Downs is nearly a carbon copy of Reed. He's a receiver who didn't play in 2-WR sets, but he has the talent to break out if given a larger role. The Colts replaced Michael Pittman Jr. with Keenan Allen, which is a downgrade. Alec Pierce is also recovering from a serious injury, so Downs is in a spot for production.
With Daniel Jones recovering from a torn Achilles, expect to see a less mobile version, meaning a yards-after-catch threat like Downs is a perfect fit.
DJ to JD. pic.twitter.com/lhbYRrzHY6
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) June 9, 2026
We saw Downs put up 700+ yards in each of his first two seasons. Last year was a down year in terms of production, but he's still only 25 years old. It's the ideal setup for a talented young wideout, one who has been making waves in camp.
Don't worry too much about the Allen addition, as he's clearly past his prime. Downs is a great upside WR4 who can turn into a viable every-week WR2 if the situation breaks right for him.
Terrance Ferguson, TE, Los Angeles Rams
Ferguson is a second-year tight end who has the rare ability to win downfield. He's been making waves in Rams camp for a team that is going to deploy heavy personnel quite often. That means Ferguson will be on the field a lot, even with the team having a lot of depth at the position.
There's a good chance that Ferguson will emerge as the No. 3 option in an elite Rams' offense, behind Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. If one of those wideouts missed time, Ferguson would skyrocket in value.
Perfect ball placement from Stafford on this pass to Terrance Ferguson 🎯
SFvsLAR on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/MhcMdBgH3U— NFL (@NFL) October 3, 2025
If you're in a traditional format, Ferguson doesn't have enough juice to be your TE1, but he's an excellent TE2 if you're in deeper leagues. This is the type of skill set and context that you want to bet on when searching for a breakout tight end: downfield ability with a pocket quarterback in an elite offense.
Take a swing for the fences with Ferguson in your draft.
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