​Father Time always wins eventually. And at the same time, experience can give a boost as well. For both the NFL and fantasy football alike, players have their prime years, when they often succeed the most. Analyst Joel Smyth breaks down the age cliffs and boosts for 2026 fantasy players.Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL seasonGoing all the way back to the Year 2000, I looked at every RB and WR with an above minimal role (100+ touches or 50+ targets) to see who reached the 15+ PPR PPG mark. What year do players take the next jump? And what year do they fall off?Running BacksHere’s a look at running backs with 15+ PPR fantasy points per game since 2000 year-to-year.Joel SmythThe first real jump is from rookie seasons to the second year. There’s a 75% jump in the number of running backs to reach the 15+ PPG mark. So although there’s plenty of Year 1 backs who become fantasy RB1s immediately, the odds look good for Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton and others to break through in Year 2. There are so many great RBs from the 2025 class and a back’s prime starts now. There also is not much of a difference between Year 2 and Years 3-7.The RB1s in the NFL usually have a prime that lasts from Year 3-7. After Year 7, the number of top RBs is cut in half, and even the percentage of Year 8 RBs that are still good enough to be around in the NFL sees a substantial dip.Year 8 RBs in 2026:Josh Jacobs, David Montgomery, Tony PollardSince 2000, only 0.62 Year 8 RBs averaged 15+ PPR PPG per season. Only five RBs have done it in Year 10+, and only ONE since 2010: 2025 Derrick Henry.Year 10+ RBs in 2025:Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Aaron Jones Sr., Alvin KamaraAnd as you may notice above, Derrick Henry is going into Year 11 this season; can he be the first of the five Year 10 RBs to survive going to Year 11?Wide ReceiversHere’s a look at wide receivers who scored 15+ PPR fantasy points per game by season in the NFL.Joel SmythWide receivers take a huge leap in Year 2 as well, with the third-year breakout being more of a thing than it is for running backs (like Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zay Flowers). No rookie WRs hit 15+ PPG last season, but a good thing for Tetairoa McMillan, Emeka Egbuka and Luther Burden III: there is a 135% increase going into Year 2. Their first real offseason and a year of experience under their belt does wonders.As a breakout stat, Year 2 becomes more impressive when you remember three 2024 rookies hit 15+ PPG, and, oddly, none repeated. Malik Nabers, Ladd McConkey and Brian Thomas Jr. will all head into their third season, with Rome Odunze and Marvin Harrison Jr. looking to break out.​Subscribe to Fantasy Ultra to unlock our Strategy Lab, 150+ page Draft Playbook and more!The make-or-break year is a WR’s fifth season. In the middle of their prime, are they finally going to hit big? Or just be another solid player? It’s the clear No. 1 on the list with 25% of Year 5 WRs hitting 15+ PPG, right after the original