Sam LaPorta, Kyle Pitts, and Isaiah Likely are all breakout candidates in 2026
By Heath Cummings May 12, 2026 at 12:54 pm ET • 3 min read 
Imagn Images You may not find a more popular breakout pick this season than Colston Loveland. He is the prototype. He's a 22-year-old second-year player, drafted in Round 1 last year, got off to a very slow start, broke out in the second half, and exploded in the playoffs. Then he lost target competition when DJ Moore was traded to the Buffalo Bills. If there is a player that everyone universally agreed was a breakout, it would be Loveland. It isn't that strange for a young tight end to be a breakout candidate. What is really strange is that there are three other breakouts at tight end that I am excited about drafting.
Sam LaPorta, Kyle Pitts, and Isaiah Likely all got upgrades this offseason and all have the chance to post top-five seasons at tight end in 2026. They are a big part of the reason I don't find myself drafting Loveland, Trey McBride, or Brock Bowers in the first three rounds of Fantasy Football drafts. Deciding whether you agree with me and which tight end to target could shape your 2026 draft plans.
LaPorta is the easiest sell, so we will start with him. He's still just 25 years old, and he already has a TE1 overall season on his resume. LaPorta has been awesome in the red zone, scoring 20 touchdowns on 252 career targets, and has a chance to see his targets spike in 2026 due to the Lions addition of offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. Petzing has spent the last three seasons in Arizona, where his offenses threw 27.5% of their passes to tight ends. That's 162.7 tight end targets per season, including 218 (!) last year. Trey McBride has been the big beneficiary there, and now it is LaPorta's turn. While you may think McBride is in a different class than LaPorta, it is worth noting that LaPorta has been better at turning targets into yards (8.3 YPT to 7.5) and Fantasy points (2.07 FP/target to 1.75) than McBride has in his career. There should be no doubt that LaPorta has the upside to be the TE1 in Fantasy this season.
Before Petzing helped turn McBride into a star, he spent nine years working with Kevin Stefanski (three in Cleveland, six in Minnesota). I bring that up because Stefanski's offense has been every bit as tight end centric as Petzing's. Over the past three seasons, Stefanski's Browns have thrown 27.2% of their passes to tight ends (167 targets per season). This past offseason, Stefanski joined the Atlanta Falcons, where I anticipate he leads 25-year-old Kyle Pitts to a career year. Pitts is viewed as a disappointment by many but that has as much to do with the expectations we put on him as anything. He's battled injuries and struggled to get into the end zone, but his 3,579 receiving yards rank fourth amongst all tight ends since he was drafted. Pitts doesn't have quite the same touchdown upside as LaPorta because of the quality of their offense, but if he stays healthy, I expect him to top 1,000 receiving yards and finish as a top-five tight end.
Isaiah Likely's case is easier to make. He isn't blocked by Mark Andrews anymore. He followed Head Coach John Harbaugh to New York and has a chance to be the number two target for Jaxson Dart. Dart threw 22% of his passes to Theo Johnson and Daniel Bellinger last year, and Likely is a better target than either. For what it's worth, the Giants' new offensive coordinator, Matt Nagy comes from the Chiefs system that has posted a 29% tight end target rate over the last three seasons. Likely averaged an elite 1.96 FP/target in Baltimore and could easily see 100 targets in his first year in New York.
In our mock drafts, it is rare for LaPorta, Pitts, or Likely to be drafted before Round 7, and one of them, sometimes two, generally fall to Round 8 or later. That's not just four-plus rounds later than the elite tight ends; it is generally two to three rounds after Tyler Warren and Tucker Kraft. If you agree with me on any of these guys, you can build a much better team focusing on running backs and receivers early in the draft and drafting one of these breakout tight ends later. Pair them with my favorite sleeper tight end this year, Travis Kelce, who is almost always available after Round 9.
Here are six more breakout candidates for 2026:
Heath's Breakouts 1.0 Projections powered by Sportsline
Jayden Daniels QB WAS Washington • #5
Age: 25 • Experience: 3 yrs. Fantasy Breakdown (PPR) OVERALL RNK 57th QB RNK 5th PROJ PTS 378.5 SOS 1 ADP NR 2025 Stats PAYDS 1262 RUYDS 278 TD 10 INT 3 FPTS/G 18.6 You may prefer to call Daniels a bounce-back candidate. After all, he did average 23.5 FPPG as a rookie. I just don't think that is anywhere close to his ceiling. Unlike last year, we should have Daniels and Terry McLaurin fully healthy and engaged heading into Week 1. I also think the addition of Chigoziem Okonkwo is an upgrade over what Zach Ertz had left in the tank. And Rachaad White has caught a ridiculous 89.1% of his targets in his career. That will help. The most appealing point in favor of a monster Daniels' season is that he has averaged 8.6 rush attempts per game in his career and 5.7 yards per attempt. That is why I thought he could be QB1 overall last year. Injuries and McLaurin's holdout got in the way, but there is no reason he can't be the best QB in Fantasy in 2026. 
Omarion Hampton RB LAC L.A. Chargers • #8
Age: 23 • Experience: 2 yrs. Fantasy Breakdown (PPR) OVERALL RNK 16th RB RNK 7th PROJ PTS 233 SOS 1 ADP NR 2025 Stats RUYDS 545 REC 32 REYDS 192 TD 5 FPTS/G 15.1 Like Colston Loveland, Hampton figures to be one of the consensus breakout candidates this year. He averaged 16.2 PPR FPPG in the seven games that he played at least half of the Chargers' offensive snaps. That would have been good enough to be RB9 last year. He could be even better with Mike McDaniel running the offense. McDaniel has talked about wanting to get the ball out of Justin Herbert's hands faster. One way he did that with Tua Tagovailoa was by throwing the ball to De'Von Achane a lot. Hampton has a chance to see 75 targets this year and be the team's clear top rusher. If he also gets an efficiency boost from McDaniel, Hampton has top-five upside. 
Ashton Jeanty RB LV Las Vegas • #2
Age: 22 • Experience: 2 yrs. Fantasy Breakdown (PPR) OVERALL RNK 17th RB RNK 8th PROJ PTS 275.2 SOS 1 ADP NR 2025 Stats RUYDS 975 REC 55 REYDS 346 TD 10 FPTS/G 14.4 I wrote about the risk for Jeanty in my Sleepers column, touting Mike Washington, Jr. What I didn't say was that Jeanty's efficiency boost could make up for lost volume. That is partially because of his new head coach, Klint Kubiak. It is also because the Raiders have rebuilt their offensive line, starting with All-Pro center Tyler Linderbaum. Last year, Jeanty averaged more yards after contact than he did before, and broke a tackle every 11.1 attempts, which was just behind De'Von Achane. He'll have more room to get going this year and still be amongst the league's best tackle avoiders. He should also maintain a healthy role in the passing game due to the lack of wide receivers on this roster. Jeanty was a Fantasy bust in his rookie season, but he should deliver on his Round 1 potential in Year 2. 
Quinshon Judkins RB CLE Cleveland • #10
Age: 22 • Experience: 2 yrs. Fantasy Breakdown (PPR) OVERALL RNK 41st RB RNK 16th PROJ PTS 209 SOS 1 ADP NR 2025 Stats RUYDS 827 REC 26 REYDS 171 TD 7 FPTS/G 12.2 Judkins won't be as popular as Hampton and Jeanty as breakout picks, but he is very close to them in my 2026 projections. If he's healthy, and that is still a question mark in May, Judkins has a chance to be one of the league leaders in rush attempts this season. I expect Todd Monken to run a run-heavy scheme and rely on his defense to keep him in football games. Judkins may lose some passing-down work to Dylan Sampson, but could average 20 rush attempts per game to make up for it. The offensive line is better, which should help improve his rushing efficiency. He should also dominate red zone rush attempts, giving him a chance to score double-digit touchdowns. 
Rashee Rice WR KC Kansas City • #4
Age: 26 • Experience: 4 yrs. Fantasy Breakdown (PPR) OVERALL RNK 11th WR RNK 6th PROJ PTS 288 SOS 1 ADP NR 2025 Stats REC 53 TAR 78 REYDS 571 TD 6 FPTS/G 18.8 We've had a lot of talk about whether it is okay to call Rice a breakout. After all, he has been a top 12 wide receiver per game in parts of three seasons already. But for one reason or another, he has never finished better than WR27 over a full season. This year, I have him projected as my WR5, worthy of a Round 1 pick in one-QB, full PPR leagues. The Chiefs added no target competition for him, and I would expect Patrick Mahomes to lean on short area targets as he gets his legs back under him. If Rice plays 17 games, he has a chance to lead all wide receivers in targets and Fantasy points. He averaged 18.5 PPR FPPG in the eight games he played with Mahomes last year. 
Luther Burden III WR CHI Chicago • #10
Age: 22 • Experience: 2 yrs. Fantasy Breakdown (PPR) OVERALL RNK 39th WR RNK 19th PROJ PTS 189.7 SOS 1 ADP NR 2025 Stats REC 47 TAR 60 REYDS 652 TD 2 FPTS/G 8.6 Burden's 2.71 yards per route run was one of the best marks ever for a rookie wide receiver. The problem was that he wasn't on the field often enough. With DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus gone, that should no longer be a problem. Burden, Colston, Loveland, and Rome Odunze should all be full-time players, and the three of them should dominate target share for the Bears. That is why I have Burden ranked as a top 20 wide receiver worth a pick as early as the three-four turn. If Caleb Williams takes a step forward in his second season with Ben Johnson, then Burden has a chance to crack the top 12. He is my favorite true breakout at wide receiver in 2026. Join the Conversation comments 
