5 Breakout Fantasy Football Stars That No One Is Talking About: Chris Brooks Is A Better Value Than MarShawn Lloyd

We identify five fantasy football breakout candidates who are being overlooked.

Green Bay Packers running back Chris Brooks (30) runs for a gain during the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Every fantasy football season, there are breakout players that fantasy owners seem to completely overlook during the offseason. These are the top potential breakout stars for the 2026 season that nobody is talking about.

QB Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins

It's bizarre how little attention Willis has gotten this offseason. We have seen fantasy owners go crazy for quarterbacks with rushing upside in the past, like Justin Fields and Trey Lance, who haven't shown any ability to be a successful passer.

Willis has all their rushing ability and maybe more, and with a limited sample size with the Packers, he looked good throwing the ball, completing 18 of 21 passes for 288 yards and a touchdown in his lone start last season. He is an absolute steal being drafted as the QB21 this season.

RB Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings

Aaron Jones still goes ahead of Mason in many fantasy drafts, and their ADPs have been flip-flopping all summer. At 31 years old, injuries are catching up with Jones, limiting him to just 12 games last season and driving his yards per carry to a career low of 4.2.

Mason will be the starter and has averaged over 5.0 yards per carry for his career. We fully expect him to pull away with this job, and Jones will have little impact in the offense. We'd compare our outlook on Jones this season to our outlook on Alvin Kamara last season.

RB Chris Brooks, Green Bay Packers

Fantasy owners seem to just be assuming that MarShawn Lloyd is the locked-in bell-cow RB1 while Josh Jacobs is out. There is very little reason to believe that is the case.

First off, we have never seen Lloyd be good. In a limited sample size, Lloyd has averaged just 2.5 yards per carry for his career and 2.8 yards per carry this preseason.

His sample size is so small because he has constantly been injured. In his two-year career, he has only managed to stay healthy for less than one full game. Even in college, he's never handled more than 116 carries in a season.

Brooks, on the other hand, is a proven, durable back who has averaged 4.8 yards per carry for his career, and you can get him at the end of your draft. Even Kaleb Johnson is going ahead of him, who has done nothing to show anybody he even belongs on an NFL field.

WR Chris Bell, Miami Dolphins

Bell will be the Dolphins' WR1, but is generally going undrafted. If not for a torn ACL in December, he would have been a first-round pick, but he played in the team's third preseason game and is ready to roll for Week 1. You should be throwing him on the end of the bench in every draft. You won't regret it.

TE Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders

Okonkwo joined the Washington Commanders this offseason. He is an athletic young pass-catching tight end who will be playing with the best quarterback of his career in a system that heavily utilizes their tight ends. Currently, he's being drafted as the TE22. He's an absolute steal at that price.

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