When it comes to 2026 Fantasy football projections, perhaps no players are harder to predict than rookies. Top picks like Fernando Mendoza, Jeremiyah Love, Carnell Tate and Kenyon Sadiq could just as easily end up as Fantasy busts as they could Fantasy football breakouts 2026. The likes of Cam Ward, Ashton Jeanty and Travis Hunter seemed to fall into the former category last year, so there’s no shame in seeking out quality Fantasy football advice to avoid the same fate with this crop of rookies.

However, identifying a 2026 Fantasy football breakout doesn’t have to narrow the focus solely on first-year players. Anyone with untapped potential or getting more of an opportunity this season could fit the bill. Players on the move like Mike Evans, Kenneth Walker III and A.J. Brown could lead to those on their former teams breaking out and outperforming their 2026 Fantasy football ADP. Before crafting your 2026 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2026 Fantasy football rankings and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

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Last year, the model accurately predicted that Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan would comfortably outperform his ADP (WR28). The result: McMillan had 70 grabs for 1,014 yards and seven scores en route to being named Offensive Rookie of the Year. He finished as WR17 in CBS Sports PPR leagues and was a great addition to Fantasy football lineups.

The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020, nailing Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous season in 2021, correctly predicting C.J. Stroud would take a step back in 2024 and calling Daniel Jones’ huge 2025 season. Additionally, it’s called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.

Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2026, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them. 

Top 2026 Fantasy football breakouts

One of the 2026 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Chargers running back Omarion Hampton, who has an ADP of No. 17. As a rookie, Hampton played in just nine games due to injury and finished with 737 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns. He finished as the RB35 but injuries shouldn’t be a concern going forward. Hampton was a durable workhorse in college, not missing a game due to injury over his last two years at UNC, while leading the ACC in carries in both seasons.

His improved health is coupled with better health from Los Angeles’ starting tackles, Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, as the two Pro Bowlers combined for just six games a year ago. Their returns, plus the addition of former Pro Bowl center Tyler Biadasz gives Hampton one of the best O-lines in football. SportsLine’s model slots him ahead of the likes of Kyren Williams and Javonte Williams, despite those two being drafted earlier on average. See more Fantasy football breakout picks here.

Another potential breakout that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2026 have identified: Bears receiver Luther Burden III. A second-round pick in 2025, Burden ranked fourth among Chicago wideouts in targets last year with 60. He turned that into a stat line of 47-652-2, but two of the players who drew more targets in D.J. Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus are no longer in town.

That makes Burden, at worst, the No. 2 receiver for the Bears, and he actually had more yards last year than the presumptive No. 1 in Rome Odunze. Burden is an analytical darling as he ranked third among all NFL wideouts in yards after catch per reception (7.1) and ranked fourth in passer rating when targeted (123.1). The 2026 Fantasy football rankings have Burden as a top-30 wideout, despite him having a Fantasy football ADP of 50. See which other Fantasy football breakouts 2026 to pick here.

How to find proven 2026 Fantasy football rankings

SportsLine is also extremely high on a young tight end to make a huge impact. The model ranks this player as a top-8 option ahead of more established stars like Travis Kelce and George Kittle. You can only see who it is, and the 2026 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.

So which 2026 Fantasy Football breakouts should you target, and which TE shocks the NFL with a top-8 performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2026 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called Tetairoa McMillan’s breakout rookie season, and find out.

2026 Fantasy football ADP

(PPR, via CBS)
Get Fantasy football cheat sheets at SportsLine.

1. Jahmyr Gibbs (1.53)
2. Bijan Robinson (1.93)
3. Ja’Marr Chase (3.53)
4. Puka Nacua (4.07)
5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (5.27)
6. Jonathan Taylor (6.60)
7. Amon-Ra St. Brown (7.33)
8. Christian McCaffrey (7.87)
9. De’Von Achane (11.93)
10. James Cook (12.53)
11. CeeDee Lamb (12.60)
12. Chase Brown (12.80)

Earlier this week, the Atlanta Hawks made one of the NBA’s most surprising moves of the offseason.

The Zaccharie Risacher era ended just two years after Atlanta selected him No. 1 overall. In return, the Hawks acquired Luguentz Dort from Oklahoma City. The three-team deal also brought rookie guard Ryan Nembhard to the Hawks, and Atlanta sent Risacher to the Dallas Mavericks.

Anthony Joshua has been accused of lacking any real punch resistance as he inches closer towards a long-awaited Battle of Britain with Tyson Fury.

The 36-year-old was supposed to complete Saturday’s warm-up assignment with relative ease, only to suffer two knockdowns in the opening round against Kristian Prenga.

On paper, it was difficult to give the Albanian even a puncher’s chance against Joshua, who has faced a far superior level of opposition throughout his career.

After just 20 seconds of their heavyweight contest in Saudi Arabia, though, ‘AJ’ appeared to be staring down the barrel of a stunning stoppage defeat.

It was a right uppercut, in fact, that contributed to the first knockdown, with Prenga then flooring his man again in a truly dramatic series of events.

Yet despite enduring a nightmare start, Joshua managed to regain his senses and seemingly entered round two with a renewed confidence.

This ultimately saw him drop Prenga and finish his dinner in the same round, keeping himself in pole position for a lucrative Fury showdown later this year.

Sharing his immediate reaction via social media, though, top British trainer Dave Coldwell, who led Tony Bellew to cruiserweight world honours, insisted that the 36-year-old is far removed from his prime.

“Joshua is without a doubt shot to bits. Punch resistance looks completely gone. Last thing a fighter loses is his punch and that’s what got him out of jail tonight.”

While Joshua was made to survive two knockdowns, Fury’s warm-up fight against the 46-year-old Mariusz Wach – which resulted in a seventh-round finish on Friday – seemed rather plain sailing in comparison.

Errol Spence Jr announced his retirement from the sport of boxing following a unanimous decision defeat to Tim Tszyu. Terence Crawford gave his immediate thoughts on the decision from ringside.

This weekend in Sydney, Australia, Spence returned after three years of inactivity off the back of his 2023 loss to Crawford to face Tszyu. Though the former unified welterweight champion lasted the full twelve rounds and made the fight competitive in the beginning, Tszyu was far more effective down the stretch and won a wide decision on the cards.

Spence looked vulnerable when under pressure and far from his prime. Post-fight, he confirmed that he would be hanging up the gloves at the age of 36 and with a record of 28-2, 22 KOs.

“I’ve got my faculties intact. My money is good, it’s working for itself. Everything’s good. I’ve got a beautiful family. I thank God that I’m gracious enough to leave this sport with my faculties intact and my family still by my side.

“I asked a lot of questions of myself. Now it’s time to go home with my family and start a new life.”

In the aftermath, Crawford was asked by Fight Hub TV if he felt Spence had made the right decision.

“Yeah. He’s been in a lot of wars. With his fighting style – come forward, take some punishment, dish some punishment and try to break somebody down – that type of style only goes so far … Like I said, he was off-balance. He just didn’t have it tonight.”

Crawford dealt Spence the first defeat of his career when they clashed for the undisputed welterweight world title, three years on from a near-fatal car crash that left his future in the sport up in the air.

Worcestershire appeared to be cruising towards victory when Hampshire, chasing 308, needed 48 runs to win with 21 balls remaining and one wicket in hand.

Some big hitting from Andrew Neal took Hampshire to the brink of an astonishing success but, requiring five more off the final three balls, he edged spinner Fateh Singh behind to fall for 48 off 22 balls.

The late drama at New Road was in sharp contrast to events earlier in the day at Radlett, where Middlesex made short work of Glamorgan’s batting line-up.

Naavya Sharma (4-29), Toby Roland-Jones (3-35) and Noah Cornwell (3-1) were the only three bowlers used as Glamorgan, who were 44-1, lost their final nine wickets for 22 runs.

Josh de Caires hit 10 fours in his 45 not out as the hosts completed victory within three hours of the match starting.

At Hove, an early rain shower meant a slightly reduced match of 48 overs per side.

Opener Will Luxton made 117 in Yorkshire’s 325-7 and Coad’s four wickets with the new ball left Sussex on 21-5 as they chased a revised target of 325.

Coad ended with 5-12 from seven overs as Sussex were bowled out for 140 to lose by 184 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method.

Essex beat Derbyshire by nine runs at Chelmsford in the other match in Group B, with both captains leading their sides’ respective batting causes.

Westley, making his 500th career appearance in all formats, scored 102 off 97 balls in the hosts’ 257-7.

Harry Came (97) shared an opening stand of 113 with Martin Andersson but the match looked in the balance when Derbyshire needed 100 more with five wickets in hand.

Charlie Bennett (3-32) broke a seventh-wicket partnership worth 45 between Ross Whiteley and Nick Potts, which proved crucial.

Tadej Pogačar has done it again. The Slovenian cyclist has won the Tour de France for the third consecutive year. He’s won the race five times in his career.

Pogačar has now tied France’s Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx of Belgium and Spain’s Miguel Indurain for most Tour de France championships at five. Indurain remains the only cyclist to win the race five consecutive times, from 1991 to 1995.

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(Lance Armstrong won seven straight Tours de France from 1999 to 2005, but the International Cycling Union stripped him of those titles in 2012 due to alleged use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs, blood transfusions and schemes to deceive testing authorities.)

In the ATC Thank You Stable Staff Handicap (1800m) at Randwick, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Sly Boots initially took a commanding lead, only to be challenged strongly by Perfect Justice who surged down the centre of the track.

Adrian Bott, co-trainer of Sly Boots, confessed to moments of doubt as Perfect Justice closed the gap.

“I thought that the other horse (Perfect Justice) was going to go straight past us,” Bott said. “But to Sly Boots’ credit he really dug deep and found a way to win. He’s been up a while but has been racing very consistently without winning so he deserved to win this today.”

Sly Boots, the $4.80 second favourite, ridden by Rachel King, held off a determined Perfect Justice ($4.20) by a half-neck. The race favourite, Trapalanda ($3.50), finished a further three-quarters of a length behind in third.

Jockey Rachel King also had concerns as Perfect Justice made his move.

“But Sly Boots saw him coming and he raised another effort,” King said. “I think the drier track helped and he really wanted to win today.”

Bott indicated that immediate plans for Sly Boots were undecided. The gelding has now amassed five wins and seven placings from 27 career starts, with his earnings exceeding $400,000.

“We might look at a similar type of race in the next couple of weeks,” Bott said.

Perfect Justice, trained by John Sargent, continued his consistent winter form. This was his third second placing from his past four starts, with his only win in that period being a Midway event over 1600m where he narrowly defeated The Mona Lisa.

Excuses for Perfect Justice are scarce, although the gelding did sweep wide on the turn and embark on a long sustained run. In contrast, the winner benefited from saving ground by angling back towards the inside rail, a tactical advantage that likely proved critical given the slender margin separating the two competitors.

Place your bets on the next Randwick race with Australia’s top betting sites.

The San Francisco 49ers have officially reported to training camp but will begin building the foundation for the 2026 campaign with their head coach limited. The team announced in a statement Saturday that Kyle Shanahan was involved in a car accident last week and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Shanahan, 46, will still participate in team activities, but on a limited basis. Assistant head coach Chris Foerster and the team coordinators will handle the bulk of the head coach duties while Shanahan recuperates. In a press conference on Saturday, 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters that he does not expect Shanahan to miss Week 1 of the regular season. 

Here is the full official statement from the 49ers:

“San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan was involved in a car accident last week where he suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Coach Shanahan will participate in team activities on a limited basis at the start of training camp while he recovers. Coach Shanahan and the 49ers organization would like to sincerely thank all first responders involved for their efforts and care.

Assistant Head Coach Chris Foerster along with team coordinators will handle head coach responsibilities during this period.”

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The accident occurred July 14 when Shanahan collided with an SUV near his Northern California home, per ESPN. While the injuries weren’t life-threatening, they were significant. ESPN reported that Shanahan broke his nose, three ribs and his hand, suffered a severe concussion and needed more than 40 stitches to his face.

Shanahan was taken by paramedics to a local hospital and released later that day. The other driver was not injured, according to Palo Alto Lt. Nicholas Martinez. He also told ESPN that drugs and alcohol were not involved, and both drivers cooperated with law enforcement.

Since the crash, Shanahan has been recovering at home and informed the coaching staff of the incident on Tuesday. He has yet to be cleared by doctors for full coaching duties and won’t be until his concussion symptoms subside.

Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, who worked with Shanahan when they were assistants in Washington, said he’s spoken to the 49ers coach since the car accident. McVay, a fellow NFC West coach, said Shanahan has a great perspective on the accident and on his recovery. 

“I have talked to him. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family, and I know he’s got an incredible perspective on it all. And Kyle’s a stud. I have as much respect for him as anybody and he’s a friend of mine, and I love him and hope that he’s going to have a great recovery,” McVay said.

McVay expressed gratitude that the accident didn’t have a worse outcome and noted that Shanahan’s approach to his recovery is similar to how coaches run a team.

“Most importantly, thank God he and the other person involved are okay. Perspective is everything. We talk about that all the time as coaches, and everybody goes through different things,” McVay said. “I think the most important thing is that he’s on the road to recovery. His wife Mandy, and he’s got a beautiful family, and I think any time that something like that happens, it shakes you up a little bit.”

Shanahan is entering his 10th season as the 49ers’ head coach. Since being hired in 2017, he has become one of the league’s top coaches, compiling an 82-67 (.550) regular-season record and a 9-5 playoff mark. Under his leadership, San Francisco has made two Super Bowl appearances and is coming off a 12-5 regular-season campaign in 2025 that ended with a divisional-round loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

Former NFL passer Chase Daniel is now working as an analyst.

The long-time journeyman will be as qualified as essentially anyone to comment on the intricacies of the position. After all, Daniel soaked up a ton of coaching across the NFL, a workplace where he operated from 2009-2022. Better yet, Daniel worked alongside some of the great passers in recent NFL history. Very few know more about the position than him.

Consider the teams he played for within his time as a player: Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Chargers.

Nobody thinks he was as talented as Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or Patrick Mahomes. He nevertheless had an ability to stick around as a passer as somebody with more NFL addresses than a cat has lives.

In the above video, Chase Daniel offers some nice praise to J.J. McCarthy despite the poor mechanics.

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In particular, note the placement of the ball, something that Daniel discusses. To my eye, McCarthy could have done a hair better by putting the ball slightly closer to the middle of the field, but that’s a very minor quibble. The kid did a great job on that one.

As the former NFL passer indicates, the form still wasn’t perfect. Chase Daniel notes the leg kicking up, robbing the young fella of the power he could generate. How much more accurate could McCarthy be with his feet underneath him?

The Vikings’ young fellas arrive at TCO Performance Center today. The nine-person draft class will be joined by a pile of undrafted players. In a couple of days, the rest of the team will arrive, meaning Vikings football really gets cooking on July 28th.

J.J. McCarthy, 23, is considered an underdog to remain as the QB1.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.