Jonathan Taylor And 3 Other NFL Contract Year Players Poised For Fantasy Breakouts

Going over a few players in the final year of their NFL contracts, who could be poised for a big season in fantasy football.

Nov 23, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) runs the ball during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Players in all sports in the final year of their contracts see a notable tick in production. Motivation for these players to play at their highest level definitely comes as they hope to secure a lucrative deal. With that being said are four NFL players on the final year of their contracts who could be due for fantasy football breakouts.

George Pickens

Dec 4, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) during the first half against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

It was hard to evaluate how WR George Pickens would perform in his first season with the Dallas Cowboys in 2025. After a back-to-back season with 900 or more receiving yards as the Pittsburgh Steelers' WR1, he was set to seemingly play the role of WR2 next to CeeDee Lamb in Dallas. Instead, the duo last season played more like two WR1s. Lamb, in 14 games, had 1,077 receiving yards, and Pickens, through 17 games, had 1,429 receiving yards, the third most out of any WR in the NFL.

While it will be hard for Pickens to top his 2025 receiving yard total, he certainly will have the motivation to do so. He is on a one-year franchise tag deal for the 2027 season. If we have learned anything in  Pickens ' four-year career, he loves to play with a chip on his shoulder. For the 2027 season, he has the potential to be WR1 in fantasy football when it is all said and done.

Christian Kirk

Jan 18, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk (13) celebrates a touchdown in the second quarter against the New England Patriots in an AFC Divisional Round game at Gillette Stadium. | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Moving from a first round- second round pick in fantasy football to a player worth swinging at late in a fantasy draft, Christian Kirk. The now nine year NFL veteren WR Kirk is statistically coming off his worst season yet. In 13 games with the Houston Texans, he had 28 receptions for 239 yards and also had one TD. His best moment of 2025 came in the playoffs, where he had a breakout performance in the first round. In the contest against the Steelers, he had nine catches for 144 yards and a TD. He showed he still has something left in the tank to be a meaningful fantasy player, and there aren't many better places he could have landed to do just that with the San Fransico 49ers.

Kirk will likely start as the team’s WR3 behind Mike Evans and Ricky Pearsall. Both had injury problems in 2025, with Evans playing in nine games and Pearsall playing in just eight. Kirk, even at WR3, could make an impact right away. Fantasy managers should pay attention if the injury bug bites the WR room of the 49ers again this season. That would rapidly raise the fantasy ceiling of Kirk, who will be joining an offense that averaged the fourth-most passing yards per game last season, 240.6.

Jonathan Taylor

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) rushes the ball Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

RB1 for the Indianapolis Colts, Jonathan Taylor, had another strong fantasy season in 2025. He rushed for the second-most yards in a single season in his career, 1,585, and tied his career high for total TDs with 20. Taylor had an insane start to this big season, but it did taper off somewhat, especially in the last four weeks. Over that stretch, he had 76 carries for 229 rushing yards and two TDs. In his first four games of 2025, he ran for 414 yards on 77 carries and had three TDs.

Undoubtedly, playing a big role in the drop in Taylor's production was the Colts being without their QB1, Daniel Jones, who was out with a torn Achilles. If he is available the whole 2026 season and plays at the level he did at the start of the 2025 season, Taylor could be in for a season even better than his last in fantasy football.

Kyle Pitts

Dec 21, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. (8) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Everyone has been waiting for a Kyle Pitts fantasy breakout, and in 2025, it happened. Pitts in PPR fantasy football formats finished his 2025 campaign as TE2. He had a total of 928 receiving yards on 88 receptions and had a total of five TDs. Pitts was somehow able to log the following stats with a subpar passing attack. 

In 2025, the Atlanta Falcons averaged the 18th most passing yards in the NFL, 207.2. If Atlanta is able to even slightly improve their passing game in 2026, whether Michael Penix Jr. breaks out or Tua Tagovailoa takes over and shows out, Pitts entering the final year of his contract could have another top-three TE season in fantasy football.