2026 Fantasy Football: Early breakout candidates for each NFC North team

NFL free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft will completely change the fantasy football landscape in the coming months.

Before roster moves begin, Justin Boone is picking one fantasy-relevant player from each team who is most likely to break out in the 2026 season.

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early breakout candidate

chicago bears – Colston Loveland, TE

While some teams barely have a breakout candidate to stand out before the season starts, the Bears have multiple in Loveland and wideout Rod Burden III.

Loveland averaged TE18 in fantasy points per game during his rookie season, but he really started to prove himself in the final nine weeks of the fantasy season, becoming the fifth-highest scoring tight end during that period.

The 21-year-old has become the focal point of the Bears’ passing attack, posting numbers of 6-94-1, 10-91-1 and 8-137-0 over the past three games, including Chicago’s wild-card win. He also found that there were a total of 38 goals in these games.

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After Trey McBride and Brock Bowles, you could consider Loveland the next most valuable tight end in the 2026 fantasy draft. At worst, he should be considered a top-five player at his position next season.

His teammate Burden also began to spread his wings later in the year. In two fantasy playoff appearances, he completed 6 catches for 84 yards and 8 catches for 138 yards and a score.

While Burden has just as much upside as Loveland, he’s dealing with more competition in the receiver room (for now). Regardless, I will focus on these two players next season.

Fantasy breakthrough potential: ★★★★★

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detroit lions -Isaac Tesla, WR

The Lions are one of those offenses with a plethora of playmakers, making it difficult for any rookie to become a significant fantasy option.

It’s still hard not to recognize what TeSlaa did as a part-time player during his rookie season. Even in a passing attack that featured Amon-La St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam Laporta and Jameer Gibbs, the 23-year-old Tesla scored six touchdowns in his first season.

The fact that he did this with just 16 catches total is remarkable, but also unsustainable. However, it’s clear the Lions value TeSlaa after they traded three third-round picks and acquired him in last year’s draft. Therefore, you can expect his role to evolve in year two and become more than just a random receiving specialist.

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A true fantasy breakthrough would likely require an injury to one of the two top receivers. This makes TeSlaa a late-game target for fantasy only, but a very interesting dynasty collection.

Fantasy breakthrough potential: ★★★☆☆

green bay packers – Tucker Craft, TE

Kraft was one of my favorite tight ends drafted last summer, and it felt good to have him in the lineup for the first eight weeks of the season, when he was the top-scoring fantasy tight end (14 points per game).

Unfortunately, a torn ACL in early November ended the party prematurely and halted his full-blown campaign.

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While his rehab will need to be monitored throughout the offseason, there’s no doubt that a healthy Kraft will return as one of the top pass catchers in Green Bay’s offense and a monster after the catch. His YAC per catch average has led all tight ends the past two seasons.

While the 25-year-old has top-five potential in the 2026 fantasy draft, he could also get an injury-discounted ADP in the 2026 fantasy draft.

Fantasy breakthrough potential: ★★★★★

minnesota vikings – Jordan Mason, RB

The Vikings’ first priority is to find some legitimate veteran competition for quarterback JJ McCarthy.

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If Minnesota can get average quarterback performance, this team will return to being a playoff contender and an offensive fantasy that managers will want to invest in.

Despite the poor performance of the entire offense, Mason still performed well in his first year with the team. When Aaron Jones Sr. was out of the lineup for more than a month early in the season (Weeks 3-7), Mason served as RB16 in fppg.

While Jones was out in Week 18, Mason had his second-highest yardage total of the season against the Packers, rushing for 94 yards on 14 carries.

Jones will turn 32 next December, which is concerning for a player with an extensive injury history:

Jones has missed 11 games over the past three seasons, and it’s entirely legitimate to question his durability moving forward.

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Mason has been a fantasy difference-maker for a while over the past few seasons, but in 2026, we could see him actually taking over the Vikings’ backfield, which should be even more dangerous if they can find a reliable starting quarterback.

Fantasy breakthrough potential: ★★★★☆

early breakout candidate