2026 Fantasy Football: Early breakout candidates for each NFC South team
NFL Free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft will completely shake up the fantasy football landscape in the coming months.
Before the roster movement begins, Justin Boone is identifying one fantasy-relevant player from every team who's most likely to break out during the 2026 season.
Early Breakout Candidates
AFC East (Jan. 19)
AFC North (Jan. 20)
AFC West (Jan. 21)
AFC South (Jan. 22)
At the moment, the Falcons don't really have a true breakout candidate on their roster. Atlanta enters the offseason with several starters set to become free agents, like Kyle Pitts Sr. and Tyler Allgeier, as well as a lack of developmental depth pieces ready to step up behind them on the depth chart.
When you add in a new coaching staff and uncertainty at quarterback, this offense is likely to look a lot different in 2026.
So, that leaves Penix as the only possible breakout option - by default. The former first-round pick hasn't done much fantasy-wise since he took over as the starter late in his rookie season. He's a pocket passer who didn't offer much with his legs even before he tore his ACL in November.
Now, the injury puts his Week 1 availability in question, meaning any sort of fantasy breakout would likely come later in the season.
While we wait to find out who will be calling plays for the Falcons, it's worth noting that Penix did finish as a top-12 fantasy QB three times despite only playing half the season. The book isn't written yet on who the 25-year-old can be in the pros, but he's got a lot of question marks around him heading into his third season.
Fantasy breakout potential:
Carolina Panthers - Jalen Coker, WRCoker missed the first six games of the season with a quad injury and was eased back into the lineup when he finally returned. However, from Week 11 on, he emerged as a top-36 fantasy receiver on a per game basis.
The 24-year-old saved the best for last, delivering career-highs in the Panthers' wild card round loss with 12 targets, nine catches, 134 yards and a touchdown.
Tetairoa McMillan remains the No. 1 wideout in Carolina, but Coker has made a strong case to be a meaningful part of the passing attack moving forward.
Even if we go back to his rookie season in 2024, Coker's production flew under the radar due to missing some time with an injury. If you remove his first game, where he only played 10% of the snaps, the undrafted Coker was on pace for over 800 yards that year.
Injuries again are responsible for his lower overall numbers in 2025, but if he can stay healthy next season, Coker will be a fantasy starter as a WR3 with upside.
Fantasy breakout potential:
New Orleans Saints - Tyler Shough, QBShough was a surprise second-round pick last season who seemed unlikely to develop into a long-term starter for the Saints.
However, his outlook has changed completely after a strong performance in the second half of the season, where he looked in command of Kellen Moore's offense.
For fantasy, Shough was also a revelation, averaging the 13th-most points among quarterbacks (17 FPPG) over the final nine weeks.
Even as the roster around him was thinned out by injuries and trades, Shough found a way to produce. The 26-year-old eclipsed 30 rushing yards in three of his last five appearances (including Week 18) and scored three rushing touchdowns during that stretch.
Shough profiles as more of a fantasy QB2 or bye-week replacement, but there's a non-zero chance he turns into a top-12 option if he continues to use his legs and the Saints surround him with more talent.
Fantasy breakout potential:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Emeka Egbuka, WREgbuka had one of the most puzzling fantasy results of anyone in the league during the 2025 season.
When a rookie arrives on the scene averaging the third-most fantasy points per game over the first five weeks of his career - behind only Puka Nacua and Amon-Ra St. Brown - you take notice.
Unfortunately, that was the high point of his debut campaign. From Week 6 on, Egbuka was the WR57. He was held under 45 yards in seven of his last eight outings and failed to score a touchdown during that span. Injuries can take some of the blame since both Egbuka and several members of the Bucs offense dealt with a variety of ailments throughout the season, but that doesn't fully explain the sharp decline in performance.
While Egbuka still appears to be a promising young wideout, he'll continue to be a fantasy enigma until we get some clarity on who the new offensive coordinator will be in Tampa, as well as Mike Evans' future with the club.
There's no doubt Egbuka can be a fantasy difference-maker, but he comes with a wide range of outcomes heading into 2026.
Where his ADP lands will ultimately dictate whether he's worth the risk or not.
Fantasy breakout potential:
Early Breakout Candidates