Breakout offensive players to watch for 2026 NFL season include WR Ryan Flournoy, who could give Cowboys insurance for George Pickens

Breakouts! Leaps! It’s that time of year to predict the big seasons ahead for young players throughout the NFL. I looked at all types of players from the 2024 and 2025 draft classes poised for a big, or bigger, season.

Whether that’s a starter about to jump to a postseason award, a former first-rounder anointing themselves as a real player or a role player establishing himself as something much more, here are players ready to launch their careers forward.

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This week, we look at the offense (sans quarterback), and next week we’ll take a look at the defensive breakouts.

Offensive linemen

Paul and Beebe are two young offensive linemen who could really rise with how they’re ranked among their NFL peers. And they couldn’t be more opposite of players.

Paul is a massive player who entered the league with the obvious size and length, but real flashes of high-end athleticism made me put him as my 36th overall prospect in the 2024 draft. Paul was inconsistent with his hand placement at Houston, but he showed the ability to recover with his length and bend. And in the NFL, his strikes have become way more consistent and damaging as well. His length and light feet give him a fighting chance to stave away bendier NFL pass rushers, and he’s become a devastating run blocker firing off the football and in space tracking down smaller defenders down the field. While I wish I could have seen Paul in Mike McDaniel’s scheme for a few more years, I am particularly bullish on his continued development. He has All-Pro ability that he’s starting to hone and I’m excited to see what he looks like in 2026.

Beebe is a player whose build I once described as like Spongebob Squarepants. The Cowboys took him in the third round of the 2024 draft, bumped him to center, and it looks like they’ve found their next long-term answer at the position. While Beebe lacks length, he has plenty of bulk and maximizes it all with his ability to constantly put himself in winning positions as a blocker. He’s also created a great battery with Dak Prescott in how they communicate pre-snap.

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It was hard to narrow down the breakout linemen because there’s a ton I wanted to highlight here. Dylan Fairchild knocks defenders out of the park with some of his blocks, and got much better as the season went along. The Bengals’ offensive line as a whole is wildly underrated and should be looked at as more of a top-10 unit this year. And Fairchild’s strong play is part of that. Also a shoutout to his teammate Amarius Mims, who put together a full season and also showed off his high-end traits as the year went along. Mims has as high of a ceiling at tackle as anybody in the NFL. Offensive line coach Scott Peters has done a nice job in Cincinnati.

Jared Wilson getting an opportunity at center in New England has me very intrigued. I was high on him as a project-y type of prospect at the pivot position when he was coming out of Georgia, and am excited to see how he does after his rookie season at left guard. Kelvin Banks Jr. has a chance to solidify himself as a key piece of what should be a good line in New Orleans. He had strong stretches at left tackle during his rookie season. Grey Zabel for the Seahawks I would already consider a player who has broken out. If Josh Conerly Jr. was inconsistent in pass protection as a rookie, but he still had flashes of his length and athleticism that makes me continue to bet on his flashes, especially because it’s partnered with his plus, borderline plus-plus, run blocking. Armand Membou had as good of a rookie season as anybody, and continues to ooze with even more talent to tap into. He allowed 12 sacks his rookie year, but one of the lower quick quarterback pressure rates among last year’s rookie linemen class. He looked great while trying to keep his head above water in stretches amid the chaotic waters that we call the Jets’ offensive environment.

I’m going to stop, but the point is that there’s a lot of good players to mention (Aireontae Ersery! Kingsley Suamataia! Tyler Booker! Will Campbell redemption tour! Donovan Jackson! gets pulled away from keyboard) and I’m not making this an even longer blurb so my editor doesn’t kill me.

Wide receivers

Again, you could go a billion guys here, especially with the litany of former high draft picks who have polished their games and/or enter larger roles ahead and/or got a new shiny play-caller and/or quarterback.

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Instead, I wanted to use this space to highlight a Day 3 draft pick and undrafted free agent. Flournoy, a former sixth-round selection, projects to be the Cowboys’ WR3 in 2026, but with the George Pickens Contract Experience continuing its run into the summer, he may be stepping into a larger role sooner than later.

Flournoy had a long and winding road to the NFL, and even once he “made it” to the highest level, it still hasn’t been a clean and simple experience. Flournoy was a 25-year-old rookie who has done tenures on Dallas‘ practice squad. But with each new opportunity that Flournoy has been given, he keeps making the most of his chances. He went from a role player at the beginning of the 2025 season to a starter filling in for injured receivers to one the Cowboys coaches started to highlight on third down and in the red zone on designer plays.

The eye test points to a good-sized wideout who can play on the inside and outside. He is more than willing to do the dirty work as a power slot, but also showed the ability to win in one-on-one situations on the outside and the ability to make himself friendly to the quarterback. The consistent yards after the catch he creates are a nice bonus, too.

There are underlying stats beyond just the eye test and rise in box score stats that point to Flournoy becoming more of a player who makes a real impact on each game. Among 93 NFL wide receivers with 250 or more routes in 2025, Flournoy ranked 11th in first downs per route run, just below Drake London and Ja’Marr Chase and just above Rashee Rice, Keenan Allen and Nico Collins. He did a lot of his damage working underneath, as his route running still needs more polish on downfield routes, but there were moments of growth on more intricate routes as the season went along.

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There are so many wide receivers who will leap forward this year in ways that will help teams in real football and fantasy alike. I just really wanted to highlight Flournoy for more than his unique rise to the NFL and older age. I personally think the Cowboys’ offense will be among the league’s best this season, and Flournoy will be a part of the reason why (along with generally waves over to the Cowboys’ roster Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, the offensive line, the tight ends, Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams). And Flournoy just might be the Cowboys brass’ solution to the Pickens contract conundrum.

Jalen Coker, Panthers

Coker, a former undrafted free agent, agreed to an extension with the Panthers as I was writing this article. He has primarily been a power slot over the first two seasons of his career, aligning in the slot on nearly 59% of his snaps, per TruMedia. He has a big frame and strong hands that allow him to haul in throws through contact and away from his body. While Coker’s underlying stats are more “eh” than “wow,” I think that has to do with the below-par quarterback play he’s been paired with. Regardless, Coker’s contract was well earned and I think well timed for the Panthers.

Coker’s snaps on the outside have been encouraging along with the feel against zone and physicality he provides from the slot. While he may not be a burner, his catching range and strength really shine when defenders attempt to get physical with him. Coker’s inside-outside ability and grit as a blocker open up possibilities for the Panthers to run any type of personnel and with any other type of WR as their third option along with future star Tetairoa McMillan on the other side.

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Coker has emerged from an interesting role player to a full-fledged starter over some of his more highly drafted teammates. The Panthers did a really smart thing to extend him (undrafted free agents hit the market earlier than their drafted counterparts) before what might be a true breakout year in the larger role that Coker has carved out for himself.

Also, keep watching Isaac TeSlaa for the Lions. TeSlaa, a third-round selection in 2025 whom the Lions moved up in the draft for, has rare ball skills and might have had the most exciting 16 receptions you’ll ever see from a wide receiver during his rookie year. While I think he’s really more a year away from taking a true leap forward, TeSlaa is über-talented with speed, size and explosiveness. He started to add branches to his route tree, and ironing out other aspects of playing the position (he started to terrify cornerbacks that were pressing him as the season went along). He’s still learning the finer parts of playing receiver after starting his career at a smaller school and then spending so much time as a slot receiver in a very design-heavy offense at Arkansas. If he adds a few more layers and gets just a touch more comfortable working against zone, there’s a, forgive the pun, electric ceiling for TeSlaa to try and achieve.

Running backs

Picking a former first-round selection to make a jump in their second season isn’t the most original blurb written, but Hampton has a real chance to flourish in 2026 under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. I highlighted the blocking improvements the Chargers should have on their outside runs with two actually healthy offensive tackles and the reinforcements they’ve provided their tight end room with Charlie Kolar and David Njoku. The Dolphins, with a bevy of outside zone runs and change-up runs featuring tosses and pulling blockers out in space, constantly attacked the outside under McDaniel.

Even the threat of a big run going to the outside can open up other possibilities, something McDaniel helps weaponize with his play-action concepts, screens and even just that tossing the ball feature which can change the speed the running back can get to the outside and some possible cutback angles as well.

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The Dolphins had the highest rushing success rate (41.3% vs. the league average of 36.9%), the second-most rushing yards and second-highest explosive run rate on outside-hitting run plays with the RB as a ballcarrier over the past three seasons, per NextGenStats. A chunk of that has to do with the speed (and talent) of De’Von Achane. But other running backs, and ones I can easily say have less talent than Hampton, have had success in Miami‘s offense over the past few seasons.

Hampton has flashed being able to create a big play in a variety of run schemes at North Carolina and during his injury-riddled first year with the Chargers. Hampton is a simple runner, he is not one to slalom through blockers and set up his blockers, a trait Achane has a knack for on top of his world-class speed. Instead, Hampton likes to either race to the edge, or when he does work between the tackles, he will be patient until finding the first crease. Then when Hampton sees that crease, he will plant his foot and GO.

Hampton is a big athlete who can get downhill in a hurry. Watch those clips and count how many defenders bounce off of him as he charges (heh!) ahead. Those big runs from Hampton feature the aforementioned tosses, along with pullers and outside zone run concepts. Hampton is big and tough to take down once he gets going; he ranked 11th in yards after contact per run in 2025 among 49 NFL RBs with 100 or more designed runs, per TruMedia (Achane ranked first, of course). He also has the speed and explosiveness to race defenders to the edge, even on non-toss plays, too.

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I am beyond excited to see what McDaniel’s offense is going to do with Justin Herbert. But Hampton (and new teammate Keaton Mitchell) are set up to benefit as well with being in a true Shanahan run scheme, with the explosive play ability to take advantage of the looks this offense can create.

There are a few second-year running backs to tab here. Bhayshul Tuten as well as his teammate Chris Rodriguez Jr. could set up for an ideal 1-2 in Jacksonville (with LeQuint Allen Jr. being the perfect pass protecting-special team third back in the room).

The Jaguars’ offensive line and run game faltered as the year went along even as their passing game soared post-Jakobi Meyers trade and finished 23rd in success rate on running back runs and 29th in explosive designed run rate. Head coach Liam Coen and the auxiliary additions to the offensive side of the ball made in the draft signals the Jaguars are going to try and shore up their run game. Tuten has better vision than the recently departed Travis Etienne, and while it’s hard to match the speed and explosiveness that Etienne provides, he has the juice to make defenders miss in the hole as well as the consistency that will help the Jaguars’ offense stay in better situations for Coen and his staff’s pristine third-down designs. Tuten finished with a 47% rushing success rate on his runs last year, which ranked seventh among RBs with 80 or more carries in 2025. It’s a much higher clip than Etienne’s 34.6% (on far fewer carries, 83 for Tuten compared to 260 for Etienne). But it wasn’t like Tuten was getting ideal looks every time on his touches. Tuten’s .48 yards before contact per run ranked 54th out of 55 running backs while Etienne’s number of 1.22 ranked 32nd. Rodriguez was also an efficient runner in Washington, ranking fourth in rushing success rate last year.

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This room has a chance to be at the very least more consistent than what we’ve seen from the Jaguars’ backfield with Etienne spearheading it. Both of these players should stand for efficient seasons, with Tuten having a real chance to ascend during his snaps.

Speaking of first-round running backs, and perhaps this is me grabbing low-hanging fruit again, but not sure if you guys knew this: Ashton Jeanty is joining a Shanahan-Kubiak offense. The offense that shores up shaky offensive lines and creates top-10 run games with Day 3 selections and afterthoughts at running back. And they splurged at center. And their offensive line is actually going to get coached this year. Jeanty still has to learn when to pick and choose times for contact, but he still flashed his crazy contact balance and explosiveness last year, even when fighting for his life on a large swath of his touches. Now he has competence around him. From the run game to the passing game off of it (whether it’s Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza), Jeanty is going from one of the worst run game environments to at least something that’s just above board. His talent should be able to do the rest.

Tight ends

Let’s talk about a second-year tight end breakout candidate. Other than Colston Loveland. No, other than Tyler Warren. No, other than Harold Fannin Jr. I’m sorry, not Oronde Gadsden II, either. You can throw a rock and it’ll hit a tight end primed for a bigger role in their sophomore campaign. And Loveland, Warren and Fannin all have “STAR” in big flashing lights hanging over them (especially Loveland).

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There’s Mason Taylor. He has already shown plus-blocking ability in his rookie year along with the body control and hands to be an effective underneath and intermediate receiver, even during another lost Jets season. The Jets added Kenyon Sadiq in the first round of this year’s draft, and it’s a better fit after I reviewed Taylor’s rookie season and saw his real development as an in-line blocker. The Jets might not be good this year, but they sure are interesting!

There’s Terrance Ferguson, the big-play component of the Rams’ plethora of multi-tight end looks who could become a home run-hitting tight end and de facto third receiver in that offense. There’s the burly Jackson Hawes as a blocker in Buffalo, and the über-athletic Elijah Arroyo ready to carve out a larger role in Seattle in a hopefully healthier second year. Arroyo was already asked to win as an isolated receiver as a rookie. If he earns more trust with a new Seahawks offensive coordinator then who knows what other plays he’ll have dialed up for him as Seattle continues to build around Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

How about Mitchell Evans for the Panthers? Evans has sticky hands, and has also already shown that he can hold his own as an in-line blocker in the NFL. He might not be a star, but he could be a great auxiliary target in the Panthers’ offense to complement Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker (both players I’m also extremely high on). Evans finished with a 14.3% success rate on his routes, which ranked second behind only Hawes among rookie tight ends last year.

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Last year’s tight end crop was a really good one. From two-way blocker/receiver-types to receiving-only weapons to supreme role players, I don’t even have to tap into Year 3 players because last year’s class had so many interesting candidates. Tight ends are in vogue, and it’s a chicken-and-egg thing with the coaches finding more benefits to having them on the field. But it’s also an influx of players worthy of seeing the field in the first place.