My Potential Breakouts
It’s July and the Fantasy Football Season is finally upon us. The usual off season shenanigans have led to a few suspensions. A few Players have announced that they are retiring. There’s always the talk about whether Tom Brady can keep up his high level of play for another year. Well I’m not interested in any of that. During the off season I’m only interested in figuring out one thing. Who are going to be the breakout players next season? Well I have selected eight players that should have the opportunity to put up some serious Fantasy Football numbers this year. I’ll begin with the Quarterback.
QUARTERBACK
Deshaun Watson
– If it wasn’t for the injury he sustained to his ACL in the first week of November last Season there’s no way he would be on this list. Deshaun Watson looked so good in the 7 games he played that I made a pretty big trade for him after week 5. He was on pace to eclipse 4000 yards and 40 touchdowns. I’ll take those numbers any day. Had he been healthy he could have finished the season with more fantasy points then Tom Brady. That’s all it will take for Deshaun Watson to have a breakout season. He just has to stay healthy. I’ll definitely be targeting him in drafts. There’s a good chance that a lot of Fantasy Football managers will be worried about picking a player coming back off a torn ACL. Well I’m not. Modern medicine has made the career ending ACL injury a thing of the past.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Josh Gordon
– I really struggled with whether I should include Josh Gordon in this list or not. In 2013 he put up amazing numbers. He had 87 receptions for 1646 yards with 9 of those being for touchdowns, and got selected to the Pro Bowl. So can a player who has demonstrated that kind of ability be considered as a potential 2018 breakout? The answer is yes. Josh Gordon finds himself in a rather unique situation after missing almost three Seasons due to suspensions for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy multiple times. He finally returned to the field for the first time since 2014 at the end of last season. Although we didn’t get to see much of him. It was enough for me to recognize that although he’s been away from the game for awhile, his skills haven’t diminished. With an improved situation in Cleveland, and a much better Quarterback throwing him the ball. This could be the official return of Josh Gordon as a truly dominant Wide Receiver to the NFL. I would draft him as a high end number 2 with upside, or a low end number 1 if I went RB – RB to start the draft.
Will Fuller V
– You have already read how I feel about Deshaun Watson. Well I expect Will Fuller to be one of the major beneficiaries of that arm talent. Best of all there’s a very good chance that he will get overlooked by most people and fall in drafts. The main reason that might happen is because he isn’t the number 1 Wide Receiver on the Houston Texans. That honour belongs to what has to be considered one of the top 5 Wide Receivers in the league DeAndre Hopkins. Do I expect him to compete with DeAndre Hopkins for the top spot in Houston? Hell no! What I do expect to see him do is plenty of endzone celebrations. It took a few games for Will Fuller V and Deshaun Watson to get in sync last season but once they did they hooked up for 7 touchdowns in 4 games. SEVEN TOUCHDOWNS IN 4 GAMES! Sorry it just had to be said once more. That’s just ridiculous. Even if you count the first three games where their timing was off, that’s still an average of one touchdown per game. Across a full season that’s 16 touchdowns, or 96 fantasy points in standard leagues and 112 points in PPR before you calculate yardage. Sign me up for some of that. If I don’t draft Will Fuller V somewhere in the middle rounds of my draft I’ll hate myself a little. Trust me when I tell you that you had better be willing to do the same or suffer the consequences.
DeVante Parker
– Parker makes this list because for the first time in his career he should be the man in Miami. He has spent the last couple of seasons being overshadowed by one of my favourite PPR monsters Jarvis Landry. Although DeVante Parker is more of a true number 1 Wide Receiver, Landry was targeted so often in Miami that it didn’t leave much for anyone else to shine. Well Landry is in Cleveland now, and Miami appears to be ready to open up the offense a little more. The Player who should benefit the most is DeVante Parker. He could finish the season as a low end number 1, but you might be able to draft him as your number 2, or even number 3 he’s so under the radar.
Mike Williams
– I was a big Mike Williams fan in the 2017 draft, and when he got selected by the Chargers I figured he would have a good rookie season. Well a series of injuries prevented that from happening. I did see just enough to know that I was correct about his ability. Missing most of his rookie season could actually be a blessing in disguise. Wide Receiver is one of the most difficult positions to transition into the NFL with. They need to learn a whole new playbook. The catch windows are smaller. The Cornerbacks are smarter, faster, and bigger. They need to get in sync with a new quarterback. There are a lot of reasons why I generally don’t draft rookie Wide Receivers. Well Williams has had a full Season to study the playbook, and get a feel for the offense. I’m sure he’s spent a lot of time with Philip Rivers to get a sense of his timing. I just have a feeling that although Keenan Allen is Rivers’ number 1 target. It’s my belief that Williams will get a lot of targets in the endzone. Do yourself a favour and draft him.
JuJu Smith-Schuster
– This probably won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone. With a name like JuJu Smith-Schuster it’s hard to miss his highlight reel catches from last season. I’m not even sure the Pittsburgh Steelers knew what kind of a talent they had in JuJu until about midseason last year. That’s why I believe that although he had a great season last year, JuJu Smith-Schuster could have an even better one this year. His targets per game doubled in the second half of last season. Those kinds of target numbers should continue from Week 1 of this Season. I’m sure the Steelers have made some changes to their playbook to specifically target him more this season as well. It might require a bit of a reach in some drafts to get him but he might be worth it.
RUNNING BACKS
Dalvin Cook
– Dalvin Cook is another rookie who was on his way to having a great Fantasy Football Season when he got sidelined by injury. Like Deshaun Watson in suffered a torn ACL and only got to play in a few games. In those few games we got to see a Running Back that was strong through the line, elusive, and could catch out of the backfield. In the four games he played he went over 100 scrimmage yards twice while splitting time with Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray. Now McKinnon is gone, and although I do expect Latavius Murray to get some of the short yardage work. Dalvin Cook is sure to be the lead back in Minnesota. The addition of Kirk Cousins with his ability to throw the deep ball will only help create additional space at the line of scrimmage. I expect Dalvin Cook to have an exceptional season.
Derrick Henry
– I am a huge Derrick Henry fan. I have been since before he entered the league. He is an absolute monster of a Running Back. If you are a fan of Marshawn Lynch, then pay attention to Derrick Henry because he should be the next “beast mode” in the NFL. As a Tennessee Titan he was forced to take a back seat to DeMarco Murray. It’s only for that reason he hasn’t already established himself as a number I Running Back. This Season I expect the Tennessee Titans to finally utilize him as their lead back which will mean more touches, more opportunities, and more touchdowns. By midseason if he isn’t on your roster, you will be trying to figure out a way to trade for him. Don’t put yourself in that position. Just draft him when you have the chance.
Hopefully I’ve provided you with a little extra ammunition against the other Managers in your league. Good luck this Season.
