2026 Fantasy Football Breakouts: The Next Wave of League Winners! (Ep. 2072)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
19 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jul 1, 2026
Published
Wed, July 1, 2026
3
Player insights
3
Players mentioned
Topics
Emeka EgbukaIsaiah LikelyQuentin Johnston
Player analysis
Player insights
Emeka Egbuka
PositiveBreakout9:03
Sophomore WR breakout candidate poised for year-two emergence. Egbuka was top-10 fantasy WR through week 11 last season before Buccaneers unraveled; offensive line injuries, Baker Mayfield playing through injuries, and Egbuka's own hamstring injury (no missed time) derailed second-half production (outside top 60 WR in PPG after week 11). Despite struggles, he posted 126 total targets as a rookie—top 10 overall among WR. No Mike Evans in offense anymore; coaching staff expects someone to step up as target hog. New OC Zach Robinson is comparing Egbuka's role to Cooper Cup, operating from Z spot in passing attack. If Egbuka recaptures healthy version from start of season when he was top-10, he's poised for breakout. Vacated targets especially valuable given Mike Evans' touchdown share.
Insight pageIsaiah Likely
PositiveBreakout13:23
Tight end breakout candidate finally positioned for elite production. Likely moved from Baltimore to Giants with head coach John Harbaugh, who acquired him specifically because he believes Likely has one of the highest ceilings at TE. Harbaugh was talking about Likely as all-pro type talent before his 2025 season-ending knee injury. No Mark Andrews blocking opportunities anymore—Likely is expected to be #1 receiver for Giants until Malik Nabors proves healthy (currently rehabbing knee injury). Every time Andrews missed time in past, Likely put up top-5 fantasy TE numbers: 11 PPG equivalent to TE5 in PPG last year. Volume and opportunities are the key for TE breakouts, and Likely will see both. Tara Roberts calls him the late-round TE you need because he's going to break out in 2026.
Insight pageQuentin Johnston
PositiveBreakout0:48
Breakout candidate moving to Mike McDaniel offense as primary deep threat with consensus WR43 ranking. Tara Roberts notes Johnston was overlooked after teasing breakout potential early last season (top WR through first four games with touchdowns and volume), then derailed by Chargers injuries. Now with healthier offensive line and McDaniel's scheme pushing more volume, Roberts compares him to Michael Pittman 2025—a guy everyone overlooks but massively outperforms. Johnston has the most secure role in the offense as the deep threat and is expected to benefit directly from Chargers' offensive improvements.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. You get the products you need, same or next day.
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0:09Grainger. For the ones who get it done. Welcome everybody to the FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast.
0:14This is Joe Pisapia here with Tara Roberts and Andrew Erickson.
0:18And we're talking about the big breakout performers that could be on the precipice of huge things in fantasy football this season.
0:24Make sure you drop your comments. Make sure you subscribe to the channel and of course like this video.
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0:38We do all of them here on the Fantasy Pros YouTube channel.
0:41And today guys we're going to talk about some of these candidates here that we think could have really, you know, big
0:48next level kind of seasons in 2026. And Tara, we're gonna start with a guy that kind of teased a little of that in Quentin Johnson last year.
0:57Quentin Johnston was kind of left for dead by a lot of the fantasy experts around.
1:02And all of a sudden he started catching touchdowns and Andrew Erickson will tell you that he was not buying in on it.
1:09Then of course, the drop seeds came back, but the Chargers had so many injuries and so many issues.
1:14Now he finds himself in a Mike McDaniel offense.
1:17So how could that potentially lead to big things from QJ in 2026?
1:21Maybe over a full season? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
1:24Yeah, he set it up perfectly. Actually, he finds himself now in this Mike McDaniel offense.
1:29I understand everyone's concerns. You know, I just want you to put that view of Quentin Johnston in the past, the rookie
1:36bias that we all had in terms of thinking this was not going to work out and buy into a breakout season for him here.
1:44He's got a consensus ranking of wide receiver 43.
1:47It's on the rise a little bit. I would like to think that is partially my help there for him going to
1:53bat literally video after video after video for him.
1:56But I mean, we've all acknowledged the positives that have come with this Chargers offense, the change in the offensive scheme that's
2:03going to push more volume with a healthier and reinforced offensive line.
2:06They made changes as well to that. We know the benefits for Lad McConkie and Orman Hampton.
2:12And I feel like we're just overlooking that those benefits directly translate to Johnston as the primary deep threat in the offense.
2:18And he's honestly got the most secure role in the offense in terms of what he does.
2:24And it sounds like the Chargers are trying to get more out of him as well.
2:28And at the beginning of last season, you can tease it there.
2:32We had that initial breakout where through the first four games of the season, he was operating as the wide receiver one
2:39over everyone else, putting up touchdowns, volume, yardage, targets.
2:42It was all there. That can exist now. It went away, unfortunately, because of all the injuries in the past game, just
2:48going sideways in general for the Chargers. But everything is pointing up for the Chargers here.
2:53And I want us to buy into Quentin Johnson and this pointing up for him as well.
2:58He's giving me Michael Pittman 2025 vibes of a guy that everyone's just overlooking, but is going to massively outperform what he did previously.
3:06Sticking with the Chargers on your list, Andrew Erickson, Maureen Hampton, who I am standing on business over.
3:11I'm very comfortable with him at the end of the first round.
3:15Some people are not. I think they're wrong. But talk to me about why a Maureen Hampton could be in store for
3:22a huge year in his sophomore season with the Chargers.
3:25Well, Tara just did a great job of kind of outlining the improvements that we're expecting to see from this Chargers offense,
3:32especially with Mike McDaniel coming in as the new offensive coordinator.
3:35And the fact that there's not going to be a broken offensive line anymore, at least fingers crossed that we get Slater
3:42healthy, we get Joel healthy, and that we're going to see this offense really cook with Mike McDaniel.
3:47Because even last year, Maureen Hampton, I think, did flash a little bit.
3:51RB 16 and points your game over nine games.
3:54He scored five touchdowns. But again, overcoming this really tough situation with all the injuries to not just the offensive line.
4:00Hampton himself only played in nine games because he was dealing with a lot of injuries, came back later in the season.
4:07And obviously, Justin Herbert also playing with a fractured left hand that he had to battle through, took the most hits of any quarterback last year.
4:15Justin Herbert, absolute warrior. That being said, when Orman Hampton had opportunities, he played four games, at least a 79% plus snap
4:22share, averaged 17.5 points per game during that usage.
4:24So that would be 17.3 touches per game. That was tied for top 12 at the position.
4:30He played four games, at least five or more catches, seventh in receptions per game at 3.6.
4:35And PFF still ranked him eighth best grader rusher, finishing 11th in yards after contact per attempt.
4:40And what excites me about him in a three down role is target share to running backs in McDaniel's offense over the
4:47last four years as a Dolphins head coach. Third, seventh, third and third.
4:51I'm not overly concerned about Keaton Mitchell. I think he's going to be more of a three to five touch type of player.
4:58He's explosive. He is the lightning to Orman Hampton's thunder.
5:01But honestly, I watched Hampton at the combine. I think he can bring a lot of lightning too.
5:06So in the schedule, this is the last thing I want to hit on with Orman Hampton.
5:12I don't see a scenario where he doesn't come out of the gates red hot and you are just loving that you picked him.
5:19Cardinals, Raiders, Bills. Could you ask for a better slate of matchups for a starting running back to face?
5:25Again, things can change. But right now, looking at these defenses on paper, I'm excited to get Orman Hampton.
5:31I think you're going to be excited for the first three weeks of what he can do.
5:36Oh, I know I am because I'm drafting him at the tail end of it.
5:40Like, I'll take him 10. I'll take him even eight.
5:43If you dare me, I'll do it. Don't dare me.
5:47From one sophomore running back to another, Cam Scadaboo, a guy that unfortunately had his rookie season derailed by a broken ankle, fibula, all kinds of broken things.
5:55Now he looks good, though, in some of the early training camp footage.
5:59Seems like everything is progressing very well. Tara, I think the one thing that people underestimate about Cam Scadaboo, if you didn't
6:06watch him in college, is the fact that he does catch the football out of the backfield very well.
6:12And that, my friends, could be a huge fantasy boon for him this season.
6:16There it is. That's what I'm talking about. Three down back.
6:19Now, he doesn't have the offensive upgrade that Orman Hampton is getting, but I love the potential for him.
6:25I've talked about my skepticism around Jackson Dart, but that does not mean that I don't like the other aspects of the offense, right?
6:32Particularly when it comes to running back, knowing that they don't want to overload Jackson Dart in terms of aggressive volume and have him chucking the ball downfield.
6:41We're going to see an increase, right? But they are still going to want to be very balanced and lean on the ground game.
6:48I was skeptical a little bit that, you know, Scadaboo was going to be ready to start the season healthy after that nasty injury.
6:56But it seems like he's on track for week one and our sample size is small.
7:01But, I mean, you hit on it right there with the receptions.
7:04What he showed us last year in terms of the ability to operate as a three down back, right?
7:10We got a nice little chunk here in terms of weeks two through seven before the injury where he had a minimum of 11 carries.
7:18He very quickly ascended and forced himself into dominance in terms of being the lead back of that offense.
7:24And he got a very healthy amount of targets, right?
7:27And that's what helped him not finish outside over that stretch, outside of the top 24.
7:32That's pretty significant because you see a lot of variance in terms of running backs.
7:36And, you know, they'll have a top 10 game here and then RB35 here.
7:40No, he was very consistently putting out volume, giving us RB1 performances and never really falling out of that RB2 territory there.
7:47And the Giants weren't a particularly good team last season.
7:50Their best pass that, unfortunately, due to the Malik Nabors injury was Wan'Dale Robinson.
7:54And it was during a very bad stretch of defenses that Scadaboo was putting up those numbers as well in terms of
8:01very difficult defenses that they were facing. The key there for me, again, is the usage in the pass game.
8:07He handled them well and there were yards after the catch.
8:11That's the key. He was not just catching the ball and falling down.
8:15He was running after as well. And considering that Tyrone Tracy Jr.'s specialty is receiving, the fact that he asserted himself that
8:21early tells us that for sure this is a three down back that is going to be able to potentially jump here to top 12 productions.
8:29So, yeah, I'm buying into it. And also the Giants upgraded their offensive line.
8:34This is a great setup for him. Yeah, I think Harbaugh is going to want to pound the rock with Cam Scadaboo
8:40and take some pressure off the second year quarterback.
8:43Staying in the sophomore class, though, let's continue to talk about a wide receiver, Emeka Egbuka, who was a top 10 guy
8:50for the first few weeks of the season. Before the wheels came off for the Buccaneers and the ship sank.
8:56So, how can Emeka Egbuka get back to being that guy, Andrew, for an entire season and break the fantasy wheel?
9:02They're week 11. Egbuka, top 10 fantasy wide receiver.
9:05So, more than halfway through the season. But then the Buccaneers unraveled at the seams.
9:10The offensive line had a ton of injuries. Baker Mayfield was playing through injuries.
9:14And Egbuka himself, he had a hamstring injury. He didn't miss any time.
9:18But it was pretty clear to anyone who was watching the Buccaneers offense that everyone was banged up to some extent.
9:24And I think that really hurt his production. That's why, in the second half of the season after week 11, it was
9:31outside the top 60 wide receivers and points per game.
9:34But I'm going to try to forget about that.
9:37Because I think that to start the year for the Buccaneers, we're going to see them, obviously, much healthier.
9:43And I want to chase that upside with Emeka Egbuka, who, coming out of Ohio State, this guy was viewed as locked and loaded.
9:50He's going to catch 100 balls every single year.
9:53Maybe the ceiling's not there for him. He's going to be an elite wide receiver.
9:58But he's going to be really solid. Well, last year, it wasn't anything like that.
10:02It was boom or bust with Emeka Egbuka. So if his prospect profile drives his floor and he's able to recapture a
10:09healthy version of himself that we saw to start last year where he was a top 10 guy.
10:14No Mike Evans in this offense anymore. They're expecting someone to step up and be the target hog.
10:20Last year, despite the struggles in the second half, still 126 total targets.
10:24That was top 10 overall as a rookie wide receiver.
10:27That is fantastic. And I love Egbuka. He's poised for a second year breakout.
10:31Again, the vacated targets with Mike Evans, especially when it comes to touchdowns.
10:35So the coaching staff has been pretty positive. Zach Robinson, the new OC, comparing him into his role to a Cooper Cup.
10:42He's going to operate from that Z spot in the passing attack.
10:46So for me, what we saw in the beginning of the year is not a mirage.
10:50And I think that's worth chasing for Egbuka, who's poised for a year two breakout.
10:55One more sophomore. Boy, this sophomore class is really loaded with some breakouts here.
10:59Tyler Shuck, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints. And he showed, I think for me, Tara, every single week improvement.
11:05And I think that's what you're looking for. And maybe it wasn't monumental.
11:09But on a weekly basis, you saw Tyler Shuck just improve.
11:13And they come back the next week and improve a little bit more.
11:17And that steady progression might not be the sexiest thing in the world.
11:21But it's certainly the most productive. And now he gets Jordan Tyson into this mix as well.
11:26He gets Travis HN into this mix. So all of a sudden, the weapons around have been upgraded.
11:32And I think that's a really good situation for him in 2026.
11:35Yeah, and we've talked a lot about the fact that we have so much value at quarterback later here.
11:41So you don't have to push early. You can wait a little bit.
11:45And Tyler Shuck is one of those guys. Obviously, he's a fantastic super flex target.
11:50But do not be shocked if Tyler Shuck ends up being your preferred weekly starter.
11:54Because the situation is just fantastic. I mean, you laid it right out.
11:58The Saints have done very, very well by him this offseason.
12:02Upgrading him to Travis Etienne from a, sorry, unfortunately aging.
12:05Downgrading, unfortunately, Alvin Kamara there. And they added Jordan Tyson in the draft.
12:09And honestly, they even have, you know, potential with wide receiver three.
12:12With drafting Bryce Lane, perhaps Devon Vele steps out as well.
12:16There is a lot of promise in this offense.
12:18And everything is moving forward here. So we love Kellen Moore.
12:22We love his system. We love the fact that he pushes aggressive volume here.
12:26And again, when we're looking at what Tyler Shuck did last year.
12:30While Chris Olave was fantastic. It was literally just him and Juwan Johnson.
12:34That was it. So this is a fully upgraded cast here.
12:37He couldn't even rely on an excellent running back to check down who.
12:41In a perfect world, if everything works out with Tyson, Tyler Shuck will have one of the most formidable wide receiver duos in the league.
12:49He has the benefit of going through the same system.
12:52Again, a good volume system. No changes. Everything is just pointing up in the right direction for him.
12:57He showed extreme promise in terms of volume last season.
13:00We factually know that he will average over 30 attempts per game.
13:04Showed rushing upside. Again, excellent pass catchers. Guaranteed volume.
13:07Rushing upside. Very suspect division. Does not hurt. That is a great combination for a breakout season for him.
13:13Well, we've talked about quarterbacks. We've talked about running backs.
13:16Wide receivers. But Andrew Erickson has a tight end who went from Baltimore, along with his head coach, to New York, Isaiah Likely.
13:23So let's talk about why this is finally the year Isaiah Likely breaks out.
13:27Because I've heard this story before, Andrew, from some different authors.
13:30What makes yours the bestseller? Dare I say the most likely season for Isaiah Likely to break out in.
13:36I wish you wouldn't. But you did anyway. Because there is no more Mark Andrews.
13:41There is no more veteran in his way. Hey, Isaiah Likely, I'm expecting to be the number one receiver for the New
13:47York Giants until Malik Nabors proves that he is healthy.
13:50And right now, he is currently not healthy and still rehabbing his season-ending knee injury.
13:55John Harbaugh went out and acquired Isaiah Likely after coming over from the Ravens for a reason.
14:00He believes that he has one of the highest ceilings at tight end.
14:04Last year, before his injury, which really kind of derailed his 2025 season, he was talking about Isaiah Likely as an all-pro type of talent.
14:12He's one of the biggest Likely stands, and that's going to mean opportunities for him in the passing game.
14:18That's really half the battle with these tight ends is, are you just running enough routes?
14:23Are you seeing opportunities? Are you seeing volume? Are you seeing targets?
14:26And Likely is going to do that. And every time Mark Andrews had missed time in the past, when Likely got those
14:33opportunities, he was putting up top five fantasy tight end numbers.
14:3611 points per game. That was equivalent to the tight end five in points per game last year.
14:42So I think this one is simple. Isaiah Likely is the late-round tight end you need because he's going to break out in 2026.
14:49Simple stuff, everybody. See that? Just draft all these players.
14:52That's a very easy thing for you to do.
14:55And of course, when you're doing it, use the tools.
14:58Don't be a tool. Draft Assistant is the perfect way to utilize the tools of Fantasy Pros.
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15:17It'll help you make the recommendations of which players to take.
15:20It'll tell you what's going on around you as well.
15:23The teams, you know, you're picking 10th and the Team 11th.
15:26Well, very have a tight end. So don't take Isaiah Likely here.
15:30Wait another round because they're probably not going to take a second tight end.
15:34It's stuff like that that separates you from the mid-level to the playoffs in all of your fantasy leagues.
15:40So again, check out Draft Assistant, one of the many amazing tools.
15:44Sync your leagues for free with Fantasy Pros. Download the app.
15:47Do it. Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Like this video.
15:50You know what to do. Great stuff as always from Tara and Andrew.
15:54That'll do it for us. But the story of the game goes on.
15:58For both of them, I'm Joe Pisapia We'll see you next time, kids.
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