At some point, every Fantasy Football analyst has to plant their flag on players they believe will so far outproduce their average draft position that they will in turn be the determining factor in winning leagues. This offseason, I've cycled through several breakout candiates and as late-August drafts are pushing closer, with the season just weeks away, there are three more breakout candidates I want to discuss. These players can be league winners at their current ADP so let's dive right into it.
Check out who's on the Fantasy Football must-draft list for Jacob and the entire Fantasy Football Today team! I highlighted Oronde Gadsden II as one of the pivotal players in 2026 Fantasy Football. As silly as it might seem, Gadsden's future could hold important ramifications.
If Mike McDaniel chooses to weaponize his massive Year 2 tight end, Gadsden could be a sleeper late-round solution for those who miss out on the early-round TE they wanted in drafts. There's really only one way to weaponize Gadsden, though, at this point. Play him as a receiver, detached from the line.
I'm afraid the jig is up. Last year's Chargers team was able to get Gadsden on the field a lot because the team basically had to take to the air, so deception wasn't really part of the equation. This year's Chargers team clearly wants to emphasize pre-snap deception.
Personnel packaging will be a big part of how Mike McDaniel looks to gain a leg-up on opposing defenses. With Charlie Kolar or David Njoku (both clearly ahead of Gadsden on the depth chart as of this writing) on the field, it's not clear if the Chargers might run or pass. If Gadsden is not weaponized, that means we're going to see more Kolar, Njoku, and Alec Ingold.
Those are decent players, but they're much less likely to receive targets than Gadsden. Gadsden is a former WR converted to TE. He's a hulking weapon who Justin Herbert put a lot of faith in last year.
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