At some point, every Fantasy Football analyst has to plant their flag on players they believe will so far outproduce their average draft position that they will in turn be the determining factor in winning leagues. This offseason, I’ve cycled through several breakout candiates and as late-August drafts are pushing closer, with the season just weeks away, there are three more breakout candidates I want to discuss. These players can be league winners at their current ADP so let’s dive right into it.
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Breakout No. 1 – Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
I highlighted Oronde Gadsden II as one of the pivotal players in 2026 Fantasy Football. As silly as it might seem, Gadsden’s future could hold important ramifications. If Mike McDaniel chooses to weaponize his massive Year 2 tight end, Gadsden could be a sleeper late-round solution for those who miss out on the early-round TE they wanted in drafts. There’s really only one way to weaponize Gadsden, though, at this point. Play him as a receiver, detached from the line. I’m afraid the jig is up. Last year’s Chargers team was able to get Gadsden on the field a lot because the team basically had to take to the air, so deception wasn’t really part of the equation.
This year’s Chargers team clearly wants to emphasize pre-snap deception. Personnel packaging will be a big part of how Mike McDaniel looks to gain a leg-up on opposing defenses. With Charlie Kolar or David Njoku (both clearly ahead of Gadsden on the depth chart as of this writing) on the field, it’s not clear if the Chargers might run or pass.
If Gadsden is not weaponized, that means we’re going to see more Kolar, Njoku, and Alec Ingold. Those are decent players, but they’re much less likely to receive targets than Gadsden. Gadsden is a former WR converted to TE. He’s a hulking weapon who Justin Herbert put a lot of faith in last year. Replace him with a fullback, and the wide receivers are much more likely to be targeted.
McDaniel has thrown out some seriously lofty comparisons for QJ this offseason. He may be a big part of L.A.’s offensive plan. The Chargers have other talented receivers — Gadsden is not the only threat to QJ’s full-time WR bid — I loved the film for Tre Harris, Brenen Thompson, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, so there’s really no telling how opportunities will be dispersed. Removing Gadsden from the equation at least would get QJ one step closer towards a full-time featured role, though.
Johnston looked like a bust early in his career. He’s since then busted his butt to bust that narrative up. The player we saw in Year 3 is much different than the Year 1 version. A full-fledged breakout is available to QJ if the Chargers offense is awesome. It could be awesome. He’s pretty cheap in drafts.
Breakout No. 2 – Parker Washington, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
We saw pretty dang near a “full-fledged breakout” from Parker Washington in Year 3. Washington’s film finally popped enough to earn the severely-underrated and underutilized player a full-time role.
The price tag for Jacksonville’s Year 4 explosive slot weapon is not cheap, but I remain intrigued. It would take another step forward in his development (or more role-catering — screens and intentional play designs to emphasize him), but I believe we might see Washington build on what he delivered down the stretch in 2025. With the Jaguars opening the schedule against a murderer’s row of opposing perimeter CB1s, I think there’s a decent chance that the over-the-middle weapons (Washington and Brenton Strange, namely) are peppered with targets.
Breakout No. 3 – Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Year 2 was very impressive — not only did Corum show enough to his coaches to earn a bigger role, he actually started cutting into Kyren Williams’ usage in a significant way. Corum was far more explosive as a rusher, and he was an effective chain mover when needed. He’s unlikely to offer much receiving contributions, so the weekly production will probably be hit-or-miss. But there’s upside for Corum to put points on the board, even while operating as the 1B in L.A.’s backfield.
What if Williams misses time? He’s shouldered a ton of work for the Rams over the past few seasons. I expect the backfield would still operate as a 1-2 punch, even if Williams was out. That’s fine, though. This could be the highest-scoring offense in the league. It also could be the best defense in the league! We could see the Rams playing with leads and leaning on the ground game week-in and week-out.
I’m not exactly sure how it will play out, but it feels like we have a lot of potentially good outcomes on the table for Corum in 2026. He’s a good player in a great offense. That’s something I want to place bets on.
Good luck to anybody drafting this weekend! If you have not, please consider subscribing to Beyond the Box Score on YouTube and checking out all of the content that Dan and I have created for you this off-season. Appreciate y’all!
