Players can get forgotten easily with a 53-man NFL roster. It’s hard for fans to keep track of every player, but that’s just the nature of the NFL. It’s a “what have you done for me recently” business, and that mindset drives the opinions of fans online. The reality is, it takes players time to find their footing in the league, which is why we’ve seen older quarterbacks steal the show: the Seattle Seahawks ’ Sam Darnold and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ’ Baker Mayfield come to mind.
Every team has a potential breakout player on their roster, and today, we’ll go over those candidates in the AFC West. We highlight one player on each team who can rise to stardom in 2026.
The Kansas City Chiefs lost a majority of their starting secondary from the 2025 season. The team traded away All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson left in free agency. Looking at what’s left, the team drafted Mansoor Delanewith the No. 6 overall pick and Jadon Canadyin Round 4 of the 2026 NFL draft. One is an outside corner, and the other will likely work in the slot. It leaves one of the outside cornerback positions open, where Nohl Williamscould step into the starting role.
Williams was taken in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft. Coming out of the University of California, Berkeley, Williams was 6 feet, 199 pounds, and ran a 4.5 40 at the NFL combine. He was a five-year college player, playing his first three years at UNLV before transferring to Cal in 2023. His best season came in 2024 when he was a second-team Associated Press All-American and First-Team All-ACC cornerback. His strengths were his instincts on the outside and his physicality. He had 14 career interceptions in college, and a lot of it was that he could anticipate routes and jump on them.
In 2025, he totaled 458 defensive snaps with the Chiefs and allowed 19 receptions on 35 targets for 223 yards. He didn’t officially start until Week 15 and started the remainder of the season for Kansas City . He gave up 96 yards in that time and totaled one pass breakup.
There’s a lot to like about Williams; he just needs to be more consistent with his frame and technique on the outside for the Chiefs. With the departures in this offseason and the track record the Chiefs have when it comes to drafting cornerbacks, don’t be surprised when you hear Williams’ name pop up repeatedly throughout the 2026 season.
It’s still one of the more surprising picks in the 2025 draft, but the Denver Broncos selected Jahdae Barronwith the 20th pick. Looking at the roster going into last year, there was no real need for an outside corner with the Broncos having Pat Surtain IIand Riley Moss , but Barron was viewed as a slot corner in the NFL. He never fully got the starting role in 2025 and only started in spurts for the Broncos. He played a total of 352 snaps with Denver and gave up 293 yards on 43 targets. Pro Football Focus gave him a coverage rating of 45.4.
Coming out of Texas, Barron was one of the higher-rated corners throughout the draft process. He was smaller at 5-foot-10 and 194 pounds, but was a good athlete running a 4.39 40. In 2024, he was named a first-team AP All-American and a first-team All-SEC selection and won the Jim Thorpe Award. He excelled in covering short routes and mixed that with his elite instincts in zone coverage; he was a tremendous prospect coming out. One issue was that he didn’t have much experience playing man coverage, and the Broncos ran man coverage at the second-highest rate in the NFL last season, leading to some struggles.
Going into 2026, there is still faith that Barron can take that leap and become the starting nickel for the Broncos. The current starter is Ja’Quan McMillan, with Moss and Surtain in the outside positions. With the tape from college and the talent he has, Barron is a breakout candidate for this already dominant Broncos defense.
The Los Angeles Chargers struck gold when they selected Cam Hartin the fifth round of the 2024 draft. He’s been a favorite of mine to watch grow over the past two seasons, with Los Angeles and former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter helping him take significant steps in his game.
Hart played his college ball with Notre Dame and is a tall corner at 6-foot-3 and 202 pounds. He ran a 4.5 40 and jumped a 39.5 vertical jump during the pre-draft process, putting him on the radars of NFL teams. Hart was more of a gamble as a prospect, as he had flaws in his game. The mix of his athleticism and size popped on tape. But there were reps where you could see he struggles with the technique and finding the ball.
In 2025, with the Chargers, Hart played 678 snaps and gave up 568 yards on 65 targets. He gave up more yards last season, but had 10 pass breakups with one interception. There are still signs of inconsistency, but when Hart is on, he’s on. The departure of Minter hurts, but with new defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary, Hart can potentially take another step in his game and fully break out for the Chargers.
It’s no secret that the Las Vegas Raiders were dysfunctional last year. It’s the worst thing for a young player; when the team is in such a bad place, it hinders development. Jack Bechwas taken in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft and played just 344 snaps with the Raiders in his rookie season. NFL veteran Tyler Lockett joined the team in Week 9 and had 308. It was clear former Raiders head coach Pete Carrolldidn’t want to play young talent, which can delay development for players like Bech.
When he did play, he showed signs of why he was a second-round pick out of TCU. He totaled 224 yards on the season and works best when he’s working down the field. He has good size, which allows him to use his frame to win at the catch point. The ball-tracking is there and is the exact type of receiver the Raiders quaterback Fernando Mendozawill love.
Bech will likely get the starting spot opposite Tre Tuckeron the outside and should make his presence felt. He’s one of the bigger breakout candidates in the entire league with new head coach Klint Kubiakrunning the show.
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