Must-Draft Fantasy Football Breakout Players Of The Year: Omarion Hampton And One Breakout At Each Position

Every fantasy football player is looking for the next big breakout star in our drafts. They are the ultimate league-winners, and there are a handful of them every season.

We are going to identify the top breakout star at each key fantasy football position so that you can draft them this season. These are our must-draft breakout stars for 2026.

Must-Draft Breakouts

QB Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins

Two years ago, I identified Jayden Daniels as the top breakout quarterback, and last year I went with Drake Maye. However, this is a much tougher year, given that so many quarterbacks already broke out last season. Nevertheless, we are rolling with Willis here.

Willis has the rushing upside, but has also shown that he is much improved as a passer. Even with subpar weapons at his disposal, he should be able to do a lot with a little in a backfield with De'Von Achane. That duo is going to be a nightmare for defenses to keep track of.

You can get Willis very late in drafts, and he comes loaded with upside. He is going to be everything fantasy owners hoped Justin Fields would be the past few seasons, but at a much cheaper draft cost.

RB Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers

After having his rookie season partly derailed by injury, we expect Hampton to be the top breakout running back of 2026. We currently have him ranked as our RB5 overall.

For some reason, fantasy owners are expecting some sort of passing Renaissance from Justin Herbert this season, ignoring the fact that this team is clearly built to run the ball and dominate on defense. We know what Jim Harbaugh likes to do, but it feels like Chargers' new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel having success with Tua Tagovailoa in Miami has broken people's brains.

This is not going to suddenly become some high-volume passing attack this season. They have below-average pass-catchers and continuously invest in interior linemen, running backs, and defense. It's going to be a heavy dose of Hampton, and he's going to dominate the league.

WR Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts

Granted, we would be much more confident in this pick if we had more definitive information on his ankle injury, but we are still sticking with Pierce. We are hoping that his uncertain situation suppresses his ADP and makes him an even better value.

The Colts showed a ton of confidence in him this offseason when they traded Michael Pittman Jr to the Pittsburgh Steelers and gave Pierce a four-year, $114 million extension. They made it clear that he was their guy. While Pierce has always had a ton of big-play upside, he has league-winning upside if he sees the increase in volume that we are expecting. Last season, he topped 1,000 yards and caught six touchdowns on just 47 receptions.

TE Isaiah Likely, New York Giants

It was a struggle deciding between Likely and Chig Okonkwo for us, but I've talked a ton about Okonkwo this summer, so let's take a look at Likely. He has been a star at Giants training camp.

While it now looks like Malik Nabers should be good to go for Week 1, there are still some concerns about whether or not he's at 100%. Likely has been Dart's top target in training camp with Nabers often rehabbing his injury and working off to the side. Even if Nabers is 100% and sees his full allotment of targets, a tight end that is second in the pecking order in the passing attack is still an excellent option.

This is a player that fantasy owners have been waiting years to have that breakout season. We've seen him look great when he gets a chance to start. It might be a bit later than we hoped and with a different team, but this is the year to roll with Likely.

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