One year does not define a draft bust -- especially if they were playing for the 2025 Tennessee Titans.
Indeed, there are plenty of highly regarded 2025 prospects who struggled in their NFL debuts, sometimes for extended stretches and sometimes, in the case of Cam Ward and the Green Bay Packers' rookie wideouts, for the bulk of the season. But development in pro football isn't linear. It also depends heavily on the other 10 guys around you on each play.
That leaves room to pick up some tarnished stars at bargain prices in your fantasy league. Who fits the bill in 2026? Why, I'm glad you asked!
I'm joined by fantasy football expert Mike "Yaj" Boyajian. Let's talk about the five second year players who are either positioned for big improvements as sleeper
pickups this fall or capable of building on impressive debuts.
Christian: QB Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
Let’s start with the first player selected last spring. Ward’s magic touch of pushing teams to new heights ended in 2025, in large part because his top three wideouts, in terms of targets, were two Day 3 rookie draft picks (Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike) and Van Jefferson.
Things are better in 2026. Brian Callahan is no longer around to stunt his growth, replaced with Robert Saleh who (looks at Jets’ quarterback performances between 2021 and 2024)... Ah, OK, I see the problem here. Well, at least the offensive coordinator is Brian Daboll, who (looks at Giants quarterback performances from 2022 to 2025)... Man COME ON.
OK, so the coaching situation isn’t great. But Tennessee invested heavily at wideout, giving Wan’Dale Robinson and his expanded route tree $17 million annually and drafting Carnell Tate fourth overall. A 31-year-old Calvin Ridley is no longer capable of being the centerpiece of an offense, but he could be an efficient third option if everything works as planned. Factor in growth from Dike and Ayomanor and Ward’s useful-but-rare scrambling (+12.3 expected points added as a runner), and you’ve got the makings of a useful fantasy streaming option with upside.
Yaj: TE Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
I’ll stick with last year’s first round for this selection, Tyler Warren. Yes, I’m aware that Colston Loveland is the Year 2 darling amongst fantasy circles (for good reason), but Tyler Warren could be in for a huge season in his own right.
Before Daniel Jones went down last season, Warren was on track for a top-five tight end finish with 50 catches, 616 yards and five touchdowns through a dozen games. Once Jones went out, Warren’s production cratered.
The catches were still there (26 through the final five games), but 201 yards and 0 touchdowns meant he went out like a lamb in 2025. Jones is back and ready to go for Week 1. In addition, there really isn’t any competition for targets, especially in the middle of the field after the departure of Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers.
Josh Downs is operating as the de facto WR1 until Alec Pierce makes his return. As of publishing, the Colts haven’t signed anyone of significance to siphon targets from Warren. The 111 vacated Pittman targets will have to go somewhere else in 2026. If Warren can inherit some of those targets, the sky is the limit for 2026.
Christian: WRs Matthew Golden and Savion Williams, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay was content enough with the potential of their 2025 draftees to let Romeo Doubs sign with the New England Patriots and trade Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles. That leaves what was one of the NFL’s deepest young receiving corps light on proven options behind Jayden Reed and Christian Watson, both of whom struggled with injury last fall.
That creates opportunity in an offense that consistently creates space for its wideouts and a steady diet of “no no no, YES” floaters into a bucket from Jordan Love. The bad news is neither of these guys showed flashes of stardom as rookies.
Golden notably struggled to prove he was worthy of breaking a two-decade streak of not selecting receivers in the first round. He finished 2025 with a negative yards after catch over expected (YACOE) and his 1.34 yards per route run (YPRR) was only better than Malik Heath among Green Bay wideouts to run at least 100 routes. Williams was more efficient (a 100 percent catch rate, 1.78 YPRR and 0.7 YACOE per reception, but he had more carries (11) than targets (10).
Still, Love needs targets. Matt LaFleur has given his implicit signoff on 2025’s underwhelming rookies. These buy-low candidates may wind up being better bargain daily fantasy pickups than season-long saviors, but the talent is there for an explosion.
Yaj: WR Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears
There are several other players to choose from (Emeka Egbuka, Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton), but I’d be remiss if I didn’t highlight one of my favorite rookies from last season, Luther Burden III.
With the departures of DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus, target competition shrunk significantly amongst Bears’ pass catchers. We can now look at a focus on Loveland, Burden and Rome Odunze. This is an exciting development for Burden fans.
We know Ben Johnson is an offensive guru who has a burning-hot passion for slot receivers and their impact on a high functioning offense. Burden and his role should be no different. Yes, it’s likely Loveland could be the top option in the passing game, but either way, Burden isn’t going away.
Most importantly, Burden’s skill set aligns beautifully with what Johnson wants to do with his offense. Burden has an elite ability to break tackles and create something out of nothing. In an offense designed around getting the ball out quickly, Burden’s speed and shiftiness are paramount in producing yards after catch and moving the ball downfield. Those quick passes make him especially valuable in PPR and Half PPR leagues .
Now, the groin injury he suffered during camp will keep him out for the rest of the preseason. This should help to deflate his ADP, which was actually pushing Burden into potential letdown territory pre-injury due to all the glowing reports out of Chicago. I’ll gladly scoop him up at his current ADP (56) with the potential to elevate himself into the league’s elite pass catchers by season’s end.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: 5 second-year fantasy football players who could break out in 2026
