4 Second-Year Fantasy Football Breakout Candidates: Sophomore Draft Targets (2026)

June 8, 2026

Matt's fantasy football second-year breakout candidates for the 2026 season. His potential sophomore league winners and undervalued sleepers, including Bhayshul Tuten.

The fantasy football offseason is a time of reflection, and part of that reflection involves revisiting the season that was and re-evaluating the previous season's rookie class.

Looking back at a talented rookie class, we had some stud performers in Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton (I refuse to include him as a breakout candidate), Tyler Warren, Harold Fannin Jr., Colston Loveland, Emeka Egbuka, Tetairoa McMillan, and Quinshon Judkins, to name a few who produced immediate dividends.

From Year 1 to Year 2 is when we often hear that talent meets opportunity, as team decision-makers create opportunities for second-year players or potentially bury them on the depth chart. With that said, here are four sophomores poised to break out in 2026.

Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

During his senior season at Virginia Tech, Bhayshul Tuten was playing at a different level. In 11 contests, Tuten churned out 1,159 yards along with 15 touchdowns. Here’s the impressive part: Tuten accumulated all that yardage on just 183 rushing attempts. For those doing the math at home, that equates to 6.3 yards per carry.

Fast forward to 2026, and the second-year back is poised to break out in a big way. During the offseason, the Jaguars declined to re-sign Travis Etienne Jr., opening a significant opportunity for fantasy production. Etienne was a vital part of the Jaguars offense, rushing for 1,107 yards on 260 carries and adding 292 receiving yards on 36 receptions.

Talent has never been a question when looking at Tuten. While the sample size was small, there are some encouraging metrics to take away. During Tuten’s rookie campaign, among 55 qualifying running backs, the Jaguars back ranked fifth in rushing success rate, 11th in missed-tackle rate, and 17th in yards after contact per attempt.

When looking for rookies to target the following season, having a substantial finish to that rookie season is important. Seeing progression from Week 1 to Week 17 can paint a picture of what to expect the following year.

Fantasy managers were robbed of that as Tuten suffered a finger injury, limiting that rookie ascension. With that and the addition of Chris Rodriguez Jr., people are sleeping on Tuten, but the risk is already reflected in his ADP.

Bhayshul Tuten scores his first NFL TD!

JAXvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/B4EmYon3L8

— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025

Rodriguez’s career high in rushing is 500 yards, and he has accumulated 920 rushing yards in three seasons. More so, Rodriguez, through those three seasons, has been a non-factor in the passing game, recording just six receptions in 35 contests.

At worst, Tuten has secured the passing-down role. Considering Liam Coen and company were responsible for drafting Tuten even though they already had Etienne, that should tell you they have bigger plans in store for Tuten this season and beyond.

Honorable Mention: Kyle Monangai

Cam Ward, QB, Tennessee Titans

Looking at the 2025 quarterback class, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, and Cam Ward are all looking to move from the QB2 conversation and enter the QB1 tier of signal-callers in fantasy football. Dart finished last season as the QB14 despite playing in just 14 contests. Shough was QB4 on a points-per-game basis, averaging 20.1 per game from Week 13 on. However, Ward has the highest upside of the trio as we enter 2026.

While Shough came on strong to close out the season, and Dart's rushing upside accounted for 43% of his fantasy production, Ward did more with less in Tennessee. This offseason, the Titans added some much-needed firepower to their offense.

Calvin Ridley was limited to just seven games, which left rookies Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor as the only receiving threats the Titans possessed. Neither receiver topped 600 receiving yards, yet when the dust settled, Ward still threw for 3,169 yards.

When looking at Ward’s upside, one area he could improve is rushing attempts. Last season, Ward seemed content sitting in the pocket as he only had 39 rushing attempts. Looking at his college production, Ward was never one to shy away from running with the ball, as he averaged 95 rushing attempts per season. If he can get close to that, he can easily close the gap between him and Dart in that manner.

Another area alluded to earlier is the much-improved passing game. Dart has Malik Nabers, Shough has Chris Olave, and now Ward has Carnell Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson. Tate is another one of those Ohio State receivers who will contribute in fantasy off the get-go, as he wins in man coverage, has great hands, and is explosive.

Tate had a career catch rate of 75.2% and a contested-catch rate of 68.8%. In just 11 games last year, Tate had nine touchdowns and 875 receiving yards.

Gimme dat @carnelltate pic.twitter.com/utaOpV8Tzw

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) May 29, 2026

Every quarterback needs a security blanket, and as comforting as Tate will be, Robinson is the perfect complement and an option that will allow Ward to relax under center.

Robinson is fresh off his first 1,000-yard season, but he has also posted back-to-back seasons with 90-plus receptions and 140 targets. When a receiver is being targeted that often and producing, it’s usually an indication that they are getting open, and Robinson is certainly doing so in the short and intermediate areas.

Between Robinson's ability to separate underneath and Tate's impressive contested-catch rate record, Ward should easily improve upon his 59.8% completion percentage. More completed passes mean more fantasy points, and that’s exactly what we want.

Honorable Mention: Tyler Shough

Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears

With all the buzz Luther Burden III has generated this offseason, is he still considered a sleeper candidate? We are talking about a receiver who, over his final eight games (including playoffs), posted a 26% target share and closed out the final four regular-season games in which he played by averaging 15.0 fantasy points per contest.

Over the last 10 years, no rookie receiver has seen a higher yards per route run than the 2.71 Burden was responsible for last season. Burden finished his rookie season with 481 receiving yards after the Week 9 bye, which accounted for 74% of his season total.

Looking at the receiving stats from a season ago, Caleb Williams spread the ball around the field. Colston Loveland led the team in receiving with 713 yards, while DJ Moore (682), Rome Odunze (661), and Burden (652) were all within 50 yards. Loveland also led all pass-catchers with 58 receptions, while Odunze was the most targeted of the bunch, seeing 90 balls come in his direction.

Caleb goes to Luther Burden for 37-yard gain!

CHIvsWAS on ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/84ZTm8DZ8T

— NFL (@NFL) October 14, 2025

Odunze and Loveland are both back; however, Moore is now in Buffalo, vacating 85 targets and leaving behind six touchdowns. For Burden, who had only 60 targets and a pair of touchdown grabs, the opportunity to have a larger role in the offense is right there.

Looking back at Burden's sophomore season at Missouri, he made a case for himself as being the top receiver in whichever draft class he would come out in after hauling in 86 passes for 1,212 yards, nine touchdowns, and an impressive 14.1 yards per reception. So, handling a larger role should not be an issue if allowed to lead this Bears receiving group.

If you are a believer in coach speak, Ben Johnson said, “he wanted to buy stock in Luther Burden.” Johnson didn’t suggest buying stock in Odunze; this could mean nothing, or it could mean something.

Honorable Mention: Jalen Royals

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Oronde Gadsden II, TE, Los Angeles Chargers

This is all about the breakouts, and while tight ends rarely make an impact in their rookie seasons, Warren, Harold Fannin Jr., and Loveland have already proved to be top-12 among their position where fantasy is concerned.

HERBERT. GADSDEN. TOUCHDOWN CHARGERS.

HOUvsLAC on @nflnetwork
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/sPc90JDrik

— NFL (@NFL) December 27, 2025

In 2025, there was a four-game stretch between Week 6 and Week 10 in which Oronde Gadsden II’s name was mentioned among the elite tight ends in fantasy. Over those four games, Gadsden was targeted on 27 occasions, hauling in 24 of those passes for 377 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns, averaging 18.4 fantasy points per contest.

For Gadsden, the real issue lies in the addition of David Njoku, whom the Chargers signed this offseason. Listening to the coaches, the Chargers offense is poised to feature both tight ends on the field at the same time. Having Gadsden on the field at the same time as Njoku isn’t a dealbreaker, considering that Gadsden started his college career at Syracuse as a wide receiver.

Film doesn’t lie: Gadsden was primarily aligned in the slot position, functioning more as a “big slot” than a traditional in-line tight end. When you look at the routes run, Gadsden and Keenan Allen combined for more slot routes than Ladd McConkey.

With Allen still unsigned, one can assume that Gadsden will likely add additional detached routes from the formation in 2026. Looking at current ADP, Gadsden is coming off the board as the TE16 in fantasy, as his market saw a significant shift after the Njoku signing.

Here’s the thing: as a rookie, Gadsden caught 49 passes for 664 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, over nine seasons, Njoku has topped that receiving yard total just once, in 2023, when he had 882 yards.

The addition of Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator can’t be overlooked, either. In 2024, Jonnu Smith was a top-5 fantasy option. Darren Waller, on a per-game basis, was a weekly winner when healthy.

Honorable Mention: Gunnar Helm

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