Fantasy Football: Don't let Luther Burden III's groin injury scare you — he leads Justin Boone's breakout WR candidates for 2026

With the NFL season approaching and fantasy football drafts in full swing, there's never been a better time to determine which players could be this year's breakout stars.

It seems easy in hindsight, but identifying young talent on the verge of making a major leap is often what propels fantasy managers to championships.

I've been revisiting my favorite breakout candidates at every key fantasy position. Let's wrap things up with the wide receivers.

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More Breakout Candidates from Boone

QB | RB | WR | TE

Luther Burden III, Bears

Burden is currently dealing with a groin injury that's expected to keep him out until closer to Week 1. Given the speculated recovery timeline, it's possible he's ready to suit up in the opener, but there's a chance he could miss that game. Fortunately, you don't win fantasy titles in September and Burden has all the signs of being a breakout receiver entering his sophomore season.

The Bears offense was an obvious target for fantasy managers last year, with the arrival of Ben Johnson helping to get more out of the talented unit. That remains the case in 2026, as the team will be even more comfortable in this system and young pass-catchers like Burden and Colston Loveland have a chance to develop further.

Loveland, Chicago's first-round pick from a year ago, broke out as a top-five fantasy tight end in the second half of the season and will be a huge piece of their attack moving forward. Burden's outlook requires a bit more of a projection.

The second-round wideout flashed high-end potential early in his rookie campaign, but was limited to less than 30% of the snaps in every contest during the first two months. However, from Week 10 on his playing time increased and he averaged nearly 64 yards per outing — which is a 1,000-yard pace over an entire 17-game schedule.

Burden's numbers were good enough to make him the WR28 in fantasy points per game over the final eight weeks of the season. That stretch included some notable performances in the fantasy playoffs, with stat lines of 4-67-0 in Week 15, 6-84-0 in Week 16 and a season-high 8-138-1 in Week 17.

The 22-year-old also posted the third best yards per route run among all wideouts, behind only Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He even finished top-20 at the position in both targets per route run and yards after the catch, with the latter being particularly impressive considering he caught far fewer passes (47) than the receivers ahead of him in that category. The only player with more yards after the catch per reception was Rashee Rice.

While Burden won't soak up all of the 150 combined targets left behind by the departures of DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus, the second-year riser will certainly see his involvement in the offense grow.

His teammate Rome Odunze will also attempt to increase his target share in this attack, but he's yet to break out through two years in the NFL. Aside from him, there isn't much competition in Chicago's receiver room.

Whether Burden or Loveland lead the Bears in targets this season might not matter, since both players are poised for significant statistical leaps in Year 2 — and fantasy managers should be aggressively drafting both soon-to-be stars.

Boone's redraft rank: WR19 (Fantasy WR2 with legitimate WR1 ceiling if development continues)

Emeka Egbuka, Buccaneers

Egbuka is another receiver with an injury we need to monitor prior to Week 1. Though the team is saying his toe issue is minor, it's the kind of ailment that could linger or be aggravated at any moment. So, we'll be monitoring and updating if his outlook changes.

However, aside from the injury, Egbuka has an excellent chance to take a huge step forward in 2026, following one of the strangest rookie years I can remember.

The 23-year-old earned endless praise from everyone around the Buccaneers organization last summer before bursting onto the scene by averaging the third most fantasy points per game over the first five weeks — trailing only Puka Nacua and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Sadly, that was the high-point of his debut campaign. From Week 6 on, Egbuka was the WR57. He was held under 45 yards in seven of his last eight outings and failed to score a touchdown during that stretch. Injuries can take some of the blame since both Egbuka and several members of the Bucs offense — including Baker Mayfield — dealt with a variety of ailments throughout the season.

The good news is that the key pieces of the passing attack are healthy and Mike Evans is no longer in Tampa Bay, which will open up opportunities for Egbuka and Chris Godwin, as well as Jalen McMillan and Ted Hurst. The Bucs also face the ninth easiest fantasy WR schedule this season, providing another feather in the cap for Egbuka's outlook.

While drafting Egbuka doesn't come without risk, it's hard to forget that hot start in 2025 when he averaged 89 yards and a touchdown per game. With better injury luck and less target competition, I'm willing to chase that upside once again.

Boone's redraft rank: WR17 (Fantasy WR3 with WR1 upside)

Christian Watson, Packers

For the first time in several seasons, the Packers' receiver depth chart appears to be simple to decipher, with Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks no longer on the roster. That leaves a clear top trio of Watson, Jayden Reed and last year's first-round pick, Matthew Golden.

While Golden and Reed are intriguing as wideouts the fantasy community might be undervaluing, Watson has the best chance to emerge as a difference-maker in Green Bay.

Last season, Watson finally stayed healthy long enough to showcase his upside, which led to 611 yards and six touchdowns in 10 appearances. That was good enough to make him the WR16 in fppg. Between the routi...

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