Cam Ward Tops 3 Fantasy Football Breakout Candidates in for a Sophomore Surge

Entering the second season of their NFL careers, these 3 options are in for big things.

Jun 16, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) talks with the media post practice during day 1 of mini-camp at Vanderbilt Health Football Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A fantasy football breakout candidate is defined as a player projected and/or boldly predicted to have a big upgrade over his prior-year performance. These will be players with top-10 positional ability. They are forecast with promise based on an array of factors, from coaching, depth-chartincluding changes, regained health, and more. Today, we focus on sophomore breakout candidates. These 3-year-two players have big things ahead in 2026.

QB, Cam Ward

Ward is a former No. 1 overall draft pick. He struggled in his rookie season, but not for lack of effort much of the time. Brian Callahan's offense struggled with a lack of weapons, including Calvin Ridley, then a drop-off to Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike. Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears struggled with health, and Chig Okonkwo was a mediocre-at-best tight end.

Entering 2026, Ward has an all-around boost. Robert Saleh takes over as head coach, and most importantly, he hired Brian Daboll as his offensive coordinator. As a rookie, Jaxson Dart was a borderline top-10 fantasy football quarterback under Daboll. Ward's offense is better than Dart's in New York.

Ward retains his same running back duo, which is fine when they are healthy. At wide receivers, he now has a star-studded cast of Ridley, Carnell Tate, and Wan'Dale Robinson. Gunnar Helm, the second-year tight end, will start at the position. Daboll brought in Daniel Bellinger as their TE2, whom he loved on the Giants.

The ceiling is high for Ward, especially being a player who can scramble and run the football. That tends to be a huge value-add in fantasy football, and an ability that Daboll abused with Dart a year ago.

RB, Bhayshul Tuten

The equation is simple. Tuten is the Jaguars' RB1, and that goes a very long way. The team is meant to be a top-half offense. Fantasypoints.com also lists the Jaguars' offensive line as being 13th-best in the NFL — not elite, but certainly reliable.

The workload Tuten'sshould not be significantly threatened by Chris Rodriguez Jr. and LeQuint Allen. They are both third-down running backs. We expect Tuten to have at least 40% of the team's rushing yards, with at least 50% of that total coming from running backs alone. When in the red zone, Tuten shall also be the go-to guy on the ground.

As the RB25, Tuten is far too undervalued. He is an RB1 on a high-upside Jaguars offense coached by the touted offensive mind, Liam Coen. Grant Udinski will also be the offensive coordinator, a role he holds in year two of his tenure. Udinski hails from Minnesota, where he was with Kirk Cousins during his prime years.

TE, Colston Loveland

Fantasy football saw a great rookie season from Loveland, who ranked as the TE12 at the end of the season. However, it was not a season of 'breakout' labeling. A breakout candidate might finish in the top 5 at tight end, and Loveland has that potential in 2026.

Our projections have Loveland competing with Luther Burden III for the No. 2 pass-catcher role on this Bears offense. They both anticipate a target share of around 21%. Rome Odunze expects to lead them at around 24%.

Loveland is being drafted as the TE3 in fantasy football. He does so, rightfully so. Loveland caught 58 footballs for 713 yards and 6 touchdowns as a rookie. He did not even come onto the scene for the Bears until October. With a logical upgrade and a full 17 games, minus DJ Moore, and with Ben Johnson? The ceiling is massive for the Michigan Wolverines product.