With each hot and steamy summer day that passes, fantasy managers move closer to the best time of year in fantasy football—draft season. Some Scott Fish Bowl live drafts have already taken place. With every passing week, more and more leagues will join them.
It's a time of great hope and enthusiasm. No matter how the 2025 season unfolded, everyone is 0-0 now. Whether you were a league champion or a tomato can a year ago, it doesn't matter. Everyone is on the same footing.
Of course, folks won't stay on that same footing for long. A solid draft doesn't guarantee success in 2026, but it's a great way to start things off. And one of the keys to a successful draft is doing research. (And you thought you were done with homework now that you're all grown up and whatnot) Examining rosters and situations in an effort to field the strongest team possible.
Managers pore over articles online and in magazines. Crunch numbers. Consult Skorsumpointz, the Viking god of fantasy sports. The last one involves sacrificing a goat, but you get used to it. And no matter how they prepare, fantasy managers are all looking for the same thing…
Breakouts.
Nothing helps a fantasy team quite like finding players available at a reasonable cost who go on to blow that modest asking price out of the water and ascend to fantasy stardom. Who join Skorsumpointz in Valhalla. Who lead teams to the fantasy Promised Land.
As it happens, this analyst happened to have a spare goat around, so I know for an absolute fact which fantasy players are about to break out.
Well, unless Skorsumpointz lied to me. That would be really rude.
And a waste of a perfectly good goat.
Pour one out for Baaaary Sanders. He had a baaaad day.
Breakout Quarterbacks
Jaxson Dart, NY Giants (ADP: QB10)
For a time, it appeared that Dart was going to break out as a rookie—the former Ole Miss standout made 12 starts for the Giants as a rookie, and over a five-week span from Week 5 to Week 9, Dart was third in fantasy points among quarterbacks. Only Dart and Patrick Mahomes II have led their teams to game-opening touchdown drives in their first three starts. But Dart's physical playing style raised concerns—counting the preseason, Dart was tested for a concussion four times.
Granted, the recovery of No. 1 wide receiver Malik Nabers from a torn ACL is cause for some concern with Wan'Dale Robinson gone, and Dart needs to learn that discretion is the better part of valor while running the ball. But Dart's 487 rushing yards ranked third at the position a year ago, and if Nabers is close to 100 percent at the top of the season, Dart has a nice array of weapons at his disposal. He also has a favorable fantasy schedule for his position this season.
Bo Nix, Denver (ADP: QB15)
It can be argued that Nix already broke out after a fashion—he was seventh in fantasy points among quarterbacks last year while leading the Broncos to the AFC Championship Game. But Nix fractured his ankle in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, and that injury, combined with Nix finishing QB12 in fantasy points per game at his position, means Nix is being drafted as a high-end QB2 in 2026.
That is poppycock! Balderdash! Hokum!
From all indications, Nix will be 100 percent for Week 1, with Nix telling reporters that, "I could be full go right now if they wanted me to." The Broncos added another potent passing-game weapon in the offseason in wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. And Nix topped 350 yards on the ground last year and scored five times on the ground.
Breakout Running Backs
Omarion Hampton, LA Chargers (ADP: RB9)
Hampton was the second running back drafted last year, going 22nd overall to the Chargers. Injuries limited Hampton to just nine games last year, but when on the field he was solid, averaging a respectable 4.4 yards per carry and catching 32 passes. The North Carolina star was RB13 in PPR points per game among running backs.
Hampton's health isn't an issue as we head toward training camp. There's a new offensive coordinator in Los Angeles in Mike McDaniel who compared Hampton to Hall-of-Famer Terrell Davis. Between tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt returning from injury and additions on the interior, the Chargers' offensive line should be exponentially better. Hampton won't come cheaply on draft day, but there's a realistic path to a top-three fantasy finish in 2026.
TreVeyon Henderson, New England (ADP: RB21)
Hmmmm. Another second-year guy. Go figure.
For much of his rookie year, Henderson was stuck in a committee with Rhamondre Stevenson in New England. But he still led the Pats in carries (180) and rushing yards (911) while averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Henderson also caught 35 passes, found the end zone 10 total times, and ripped off multiple long touchdowns.
From Week 8 on (in part because Stevenson missed three games), Henderson was the RB12 in PPR points per game, with a pair of massive outings with at least 150 total yards and two touchdowns. Now, Henderson will have had a full offseason to work on the facets of his game that needed work. Calling Henderson Jahmyr Gibbs is pushing it, but he's a similarly explosive player who is going to command a bigger backfield share in 2026.