Fantasy Football: From Jaxson Dart to Parker Washington, we present the 2026 All-Breakout Team

There are several different avenues to winning a fantasy championship, but one of the most tried and true is identifying and drafting breakout players. Very few teams that drafted Drake Maye and Jaxon Smith-Njigba at their preseason prices last year fell short of the goal. Finding a superstar in the middle rounds, or an every-week starter at the end of drafts, is an advantage worth pursuing year in and year out.

So who are the "Diamonds in the Rough" for the upcoming season? May I present the 2026 All-Breakout Team.

Note: I'm not considering rookies for this article, only players with previously established expectations.

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Quarterback

Jaxson Dart, Giants

Highest Finish : QB13 in 2025 (rookie year)

Frankly, picking Jaxson Dart here is almost cheating, as he was actually superb for fantasy as the Giants' starter last season. In the 12 contests Dart started, he averaged 20.13 fantasy points per game, which would have been good for QB5 behind only Josh Allen (21.45), Drake Maye (20.67), Matthew Stafford (20.61) and Patrick Mahomes (20.37) — and more or less in the same tier as the latter four. His secret weapon: rushing. Dart rushed for 40.6 yards per game and nine touchdowns in his 12 starts. Projected for a full season, that would be 690 yards and 12-13 touchdowns ... marks that have only ever been hit in unison by Cam Newton and Jalen Hurts.

Despite all this, Dart is just the QB11 in Yahoo ADP, as drafters seem to remember the injuries that shortened his season more than the healthy production. Which is why it's not cheating to pick him as our breakout QB. Perhaps best of all: Dart logged much of his rookie production without Malik Nabers or Cam Skattebo, both of whom are on track to start the season healthy. Pending health, Dart should be better as a passer in Year 2 and maintain his rare rushing upside — a combination poised to catapult him into the elite tier of fantasy quarterbacks.

Running Backs

Jonathon Brooks, RB1, Panthers

Highest Finish : RB115 in 2024

No, that "RB115 in 2024" is not a typo. In the two years since he was drafted 46th overall, Jonathon Brooks has a grand total of 22 rushing yards, 23 receiving yards and no touchdowns, in just three games played back in 2024. He's spent most of the past couple dozen months recovering from knee injuries, but is finally healthy entering 2026 (knock on wood). While analysts and ADP have had Chuba Hubbard ahead of Brooks for most of this offseason, I've spent most of that time disagreeing (and the duo has recently flipped).

Why? Well, Brooks was a high second-round pick for a reason ... or several, really. He's a smooth, explosive and efficient runner with pass-catching chops and good size. For context, here are the eight running backs selected with a pick in the first half of Round 2 prior to Brooks: Kenneth Walker III, Breece Hall, Javonte Williams, Jonathan Taylor, D'Andre Swift, Nick Chubb, Dalvin Cook, Derrick Henry. Every single one of those running backs has seen a legitimate breakout at some point in their career, and most of them have been fantasy RB1s at least once. Hubbard has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, and the next back on the depth chart is Trevor Etienne. In other words, Brooks has a chance to win this job and run with it right out the gate.

Jordan Mason, RB2, Vikings

Highest Finish : RB35 in 2025

I'll admit it up front: I liked Jordan Mason as a breakout candidate last season, and he barely finished as an RB3. I'm not giving up just yet. Over the last two years, Mason has forced a missed tackle on 33.9% of his carries and logged a 14.4% explosive run rate. Among the 44 running backs with 200+ carries in that span, he ranks No. 1 in both those metrics . He has prototypical size, at 5-foot-11, 230 pounds, and has already starred in a leading role. In the 10 games he's seen 10+ carries since 2024 — mostly while starting in place of an injured Christian McCaffrey or Aaron Jones Sr. — Mason has averaged 12.9 fantasy points per game with six rushing touchdowns. That mark of 12.9 PPG would have been good for RB17 last year ... just ahead of Ashton Jeanty.

The primary roadblock to Mason's breakout is the presence of Jones. But at 31 years old, Jones has pretty clearly hit the veteran decline and might be better suited as a pass-catcher and change-of-pace back in Minnesota. If Mason can prove himself early, and Kevin O'Connell hands him the reins to the backfield, he'll have major breakout potential and high-end RB2 upside.

Wide Receivers

Parker Washington, WR1, Jaguars

Highest Finish : WR27 in 2025

Parker Washington is, without a doubt, my No. 1 "ride-or-die" or "flag-plant" player for 2026. His breakout technically started over the latter half of last year, but he's still just the WR30 in Yahoo ADP, even after a precipitous preseason climb, so the fantasy community has yet to buy all the way in.

Here's what you need to know. Over the final nine games of the regular season and the Wild Card Round, Washington averaged 13.4 fantasy points per game, with 74.7 yards per game and five touchdowns. When Washington, Brian Thomas Jr. and Jakobi Meyers were all on the field together after the Week 8 bye, Washington led the team with a 31% target share and averaged an elite 3.17 yards per route run. Josh Norris, Hayden Winks and Matt Harmon highlighted Washington back in July, and he's only gained more traction as the top receiver in Duval since. Heck, the Jaguars even put Washington front-and-center in the social campaign for their new Rivalries uniforms this month.

I've been battling with myself over Washington's current spot in my rankings (WR22), and might find a way to get him a spot or two higher before opening weekend. Either way, draft him as your WR2 or WR3 in the middle rounds and thank me later.

Luther Bur...

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