We’re wrapping up the 2026 fantasy football breakout series with wide receivers. Typically, we see the most breakouts at wide receiver, as it’s the deepest group and small changes can make big impacts. For the top-five breakout candidates, “my vote” is based on whether each of the wide receivers can be top 20 at the position. I’ve also included a few more popular later-round picks with significant opportunities to break out, even if they don’t achieve top-20 finishes.“Big five” breakout candidatesEmeka Egbuka, TBCase for: Remember those first five games of 2025? In that span, Egbuka was WR3 (overall and in fantasy points per game) with 25 receptions for 445 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 38 targets. Those numbers point to Egbuka’s extreme talent. There is a mix of Jarvis Landry and Keenan Allen to his game, including the ability to line up inline or out wide. Mike Evans is gone, giving Egbuka a clear path to claim the No. 1 role, with Chris Godwin looking to bounce back, Jalen McMillan as the No. 3 (or pushing Godwin), and no notable depth behind them. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is looking to bounce back as well, including from a late-season AC joint sprain. If he manages a 4,000-yard and 30-touchdown season, Egbuka and others will benefit. Additionally, don’t forget that last year both Egbuka and the Bucs’ offensive line dealt with injuries.Case against: Remember everything after those first five games? How about zero touchdowns after Week 11 and only one after Week 5? And those first five big games came without Mike Evans in Weeks 4-5 and sans Chris Godwin in Weeks 1-3. The late-season decline brought back pre-draft concerns about Egbuka being great but not elite. Yes, he was a rookie, but we are projecting his improvement. His 2025 reality included middling separation scores and rates against both man and zone coverage. He also saw his reception rate drop from 65.8% to 42.7% after Week 5. Admittedly, that could be partly due to Mayfield’s play, which again points to several murky health situations in the Buccaneers’ offense.My vote: Strong yes. Even with the “ifs” surrounding the Bucs’ offense, there is an easy path to top-20 WR value and even WR1 numbers for Egbuka.Luther Burden, Rome Odunze, CHICase for: With DJ Moore off to Buffalo, the top two wideout jobs in Chicago are 100% Burden’s and Odunze’s. With Burden, we’re talking about a wideout with Garrett Wilson similarities, including an elite ability to find space in the defense, creating yards after the catch and elusiveness with the ball. Burden had a huge game against San Francisco in Week 17, which also came in the middle of a seven-game stretch (playoffs included) when he averaged over 6.5 targets. Head coach Ben Johnson said he’s “buying Luther Burden stock right now.” If that doesn’t get you excited, well … we need to talk.As for Odunze, like Egbuka, he started hot with five touchdowns in the first four games of 2025, ranking third at WR (Egbuka was seventh through Week 4). Odunze’s skill set isn’t too dissimilar from Burden’s, with a bit more outside ability. Both wideouts could succeed with Johnson and QB Caleb Williams, similar to Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams in Detroit.Case against: As with the Lions, there’s the looming tight end threat. Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta rarely hit simultaneously. With Colston Loveland looking to add his name to the Tier 1 tight ends, it’s likely that Burden or Odunze is a top-15 wide receiver, not both. Burden flashed, and he’s here based on potential. There are concerns with his contested-catch struggles. Odunze is coming off a foot injury and said he’s adjusting to a “new normal.”My vote: Yes for Burden. No for Odunze, but not by much, and it’s not unreasonable to expect a yes from him.Marvin Harrison, ARICase for: The talent is there. We’ve seen flashes. Despite struggles and some missed time, during his career, Harrison has been targeted on 20.5% of routes (TGT%) with 13.3 Air Yards per Target (15th out of 121 qualified WRs). He has a solid 1.62 Yards per Route Run (YPRR), 6.3 TD/TGT%, and 22.3% of his receptions have gone for 20+ yards. For all of the attention Michael Wilson received last year, Harrison was the No. 1 wideout, not Wilson, in the few games the two WRs played together with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback. In fact, Wilson’s TGT% when playing with Brissett and Harrison was just 13.5% compared to 28.5% without Harrison. Meanwhile, Harrison’s was 21.8% when everyone played together, with 19 receptions, 275 receiving yards one touchdown on 37 targets. Unlike Kyler Murray, Brissett knew where Harrison was.