​Each year in the NFL, a number of players announce their arrival in emphatic fashion, signaling to the rest of the league that a breakthrough season is underway. Some are rookies who quickly make their mark, while others are veterans who surge unexpectedly, delivering a career-best performance.
The Jacksonville Jaguars featured several breakout players in 2025. Wide receiver Parker Washington and safety Antonio Johnson both burst onto the scene, even though neither began the year as a starter. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone from Jacksonville followed that pattern this season and defied preseason expectations for the organization. But who will it be?
Among the likely candidates is the trio of Jaguars running backs — Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez Jr., and LeQuint Allen Jr. — each of whom will be stepping into larger roles than they have ever had in the NFL. While some view the group as a potential weakness for the team, there is a real possibility that at least one member could breakout in 2026 and prove the doubters wrong.
Another promising option is second-year safety Caleb Ransaw, who missed his entire rookie season due to a severe foot injury. Now back to full health, Ransaw appears poised for a significant role in 2026. Even if he doesn’t win the starting job next to Johnson, defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile has shown a fondness for three-safety looks, and Ransaw is the leading candidate to fill that third safety role.
However, ESPN’s Ben Solak highlighted a different breakout candidate for Jacksonville in his team-by-team feature, selecting a breakout player for each club. Solak chose newly acquired defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro, who joined Duval in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. The deal didn’t generate widespread buzz around the league. In the trade, Atlanta sent Maason Smith and Orhorhoro to Jacksonville, both of whom had disappointing starts to their NFL careers, and both are hoping a change of scenery will unlock their potential.
Solak argues that the combination of a fresh start in Jacksonville and a thinner defensive tackle room could enable Orhorhoro to have a breakout 2026 season. “It’s pretty easy to explain why Orhorhoro had such a tough tenure in Atlanta. He was overdrafted in 2024 and then injured during his rookie training camp, which meant a slow start: 11 combined tackles in eight games in Year 1,” Solak writes. “He was asked to play in two different defenses in two seasons, and his fit beside Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata was never ideal in either year. Atlanta’s situation was a mess, and a fresh start in Jacksonville could be exactly what he needed.” He continues, noting that Orhorhoro hasn’t yet delivered eye-popping splash plays to mark him as a flashy developmental project, but the opportunity in Jacksonville is compelling given a thinner depth chart.
In Jacksonville, the depth chart at nose tackle features DaVon Hamilton and the aging Arik Armstead as the clearest veteran presences above Orhorhoro. The rest of the room appears more rotation-driven, which could enable Orhorhoro to earn more versatile snaps and showcase his penetrating ability. If he can translate that potential into consistent disruption in 2026, he could justify Solak’s breakout projection and help redefine Jacksonville’s defense.
In summary, while several Jaguars players could emerge as breakout stars in 2026, there are multiple plausible paths. A running back trio member could seize a bigger workload and establish himself as a legitimate contributor. Caleb Ransaw could seize a prominent role in a three-safety look, even if he doesn’t win the starting job initially. And Orhorhoro’s fresh start in a lean defensive tackle group offers a realistic chance for him to transform into a disruptive presence inside Jacksonville’s trenches. The Jaguars’ coaching staff will be watching closely to identify which player rises to the occasion and exceeds the organization’s preseason expectations.