Can you believe that football is back? Well, at least in my mind it’s back. We’ve got more and more rankings flowing in from the experts, the number of fantasy articles is increasing, we’re even recording multiple podcasts a week now (yes, this is a shameless plug for our podcast, but it truly is great stuff and we’re even giving away a signed Le’Veon Bell jersey right now). Of course, if you’re reading this, you’re just as much geeked out about football as we are.
So without further ado, we asked our featured pundits below who they feel are the breakout candidates of 2017. We’ve broken it down into three groups (RBs, WRs and TEs) so that you’ve got players to pay attention to come draft day.
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Q1. What RB has the best shot of having a breakout year in 2017?
Mike Gillislee (NE)
“A large part of me wants to use Derrick Henry or Jamaal Williams, who are both elite talents, but with the question being “best shot”, it is almost certainly a player with an inside track to a bunch of touches. Mike Gillislee is a fresh-legged 4th year running back out of Florida with 5.6 yards per carry through 154 career attempts, which is best in the NFL among active players with as many carries. What’s more, is that his 6 TD in 6 attempts from inside the 5 yard line is by far the best conversion rate in the NFL and the fact that New England led the league with both 32 carries inside the 5 and 62 inside the 10, it seems clear that Gillislee is in the ideal situation to break out.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
Joe Mixon (CIN)
“As evidenced in my series about age, it doesn’t make a difference how young a running back is, and that he can break out as a rookie. For that reason, Joe Mixon would be my choice. The Bengals lost left tackle Andrew Whitworth, as well as right guard Kevin Zeitler, who were both phenomenal in the run game. Some will say this is a negative, but Mixon’s best quality is catching the ball out of the backfield. The only way the Bengals quiet the media storm on Mixon is to put him on the field and let his play do the talking. So long, Jeremy Hill.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
Isaiah Crowell (CLE)
“Crowell came out of the gates hot in 2016. Through four weeks, he ranked second in rushing yardage (394 yards) and fourth in yards from scrimmage (447 yards) for all backs while scoring three touchdowns. He then fell victim to Cleveland being non-competitive as the Browns trailed for 67.6 percent of their plays for the season, the highest rate in the league. For the rest of the season, Crowell ranked just 20th in rushing attempts (137), 18th in rushing yards (558) and 15th in yards from scrimmage (824) while scoring four times. There are some positives here, however. Cleveland invested into one of the best lines in the league and in the seven times they got Crowell to at least 15 touches in a game, he was a top-12 scorer five times. He also sneakily out-targeted Duke Johnson 34 to 27 over the final eight weeks of the season. Crowell is popular choice given where his initial ADP is set, but I see him as much closer to a player like Jordan Howard who is a top-15 draft pick that you can land two rounds later. ”
– Rich Hribar (The Fake Football)
Derrick Henry (TEN)
“The path to touches is not ideal, but my pick is Tennessee Titans RB Derrick Henry. The second-year back is poised to blow up behind an absolutely dominant (and often underappreciated) offensive line. DeMarco Murray is going to get banged up at some point and I feel Henry will outperform the incumbent this season.”
– Matt De Lima (ScoutFantasy)
Q2. What WR has the best shot of having a breakout year in 2017?
Breshad Perriman (BAL)
“Perriman was by in large a rookie in 2016 after missing all of 2015 with a knee injury. As an inexperienced player behind the depth of two veteran players, Perriman’s initial development was a slow burn, as he caught 33 of his 66 targets for 499 yards (15.1 Y/R) and three touchdowns. He did get progressively better in that first action on the field as the season went on. After their Week 8 bye, Perriman saw a spike in efficiency as his catch rate went from 42 to 61 percent and his yardage output went from 26.1 yards per game to 45.1 yards. No team lost more passing game opportunity from a year ago than the Ravens and even if Baltimore ends up landing Jeremy Maclin or Eric Decker in the coming week(s), there’s a wealth of opportunity for Perriman to jump into fantasy relevance in his third season.”
– Rich Hribar (The Fake Football)
“If your answer is Michael Thomas or even Cameron Meredith, those are too obvious. A breakout player can’t be drafted in the first few rounds. Here’s someone a little further down the ADP list: Baltimore Ravens WR Breshad Perriman. It’s taken him some time to put it altogether, but 2017 is where he takes the big leap into fantasy relevance.”
– Matt De Lima (ScoutFantasy)
Donte Moncrief (IND)
“Similar to Davante Adams last year, Donte Moncrief is set up for a career-year in 2017. He’s got an elite quarterback who throws a lot of pass attempts, a bad defense to keep opponents in games, and has dropped down draft boards because he’s never lived up to expectations. He’s also got another threat on the field (T.Y. Hilton) taking attention away, similar to how Adams had Jordy Nelson. Moncrief could be drafted as a WR1 this time next year.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
Kevin White (CHI)
“Back in college, Kevin White’s West Virginia had an unbelievably difficult schedule, but White torched each and every team to put himself firmly into the first round. Then, he proceeded to dominate the combine, running a 4.35 despite being 6’3″, 215 lbs. The injuries make it easy to forget just how special of a prospect White was, but we should see it on full display this season. The Bears should spend plenty of time playing from behind, and with Alshon gone, this will quickly become the Kevin White show.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
Q3. What TE has the best shot of having a breakout year in 2017?
Jack Doyle (IND)
“Doyle had a small breakout in 2016, catching 59 passes for 584 yards and five touchdowns on 75 targets as he shared time with Dwayne Allen. The Colts have moved on from Allen this offseason, elevating Doyle even further entering the season. Doyle was a top-8 scorer in each of the two weeks Allen missed last year. 32 percent of Andrew Luck’s targets inside of the 10-yard line over the past four years have gone to tight ends, giving Doyle scoring upside on top of pushing 100 targets this season.”
– Rich Hribar (The Fake Football)
“It’s tough to say Jack Doyle because he already had somewhat of a breakout in 2016. But I’m using him because he’s not being drafted as a TE1 right now, making him undervalued. We’ve seen both Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen finish as TE1’s with Andrew Luck, simply because he targets them, regardless of who is playing. The Colts made it a point to lock up Doyle once they shipped away Allen, so we know he’s a big part of their plans. If he plays all 16 games, mark my words, he’ll finish as a top-10 tight end. ”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
Jesse James (PIT)
“It’s best not to overthink the tight end position. In Pittsburgh’s offense, we’re talking about a team that can score 40 points in any given week and while TE Jesse James is probably the fifth- or sixth-best option available, this team will be sniffing around in the red zone and defenses will try to take away AB, Martavis, and Le’Veon so much that James will be wide open on many, many occasions.”
– Matt De Lima (ScoutFantasy)
Hunter Henry (LAC)
“While Antonio Gates is still lingering, Keenan Allen is returning and Mike Williams will be joining the fray, Hunter Henry is too dynamic of a talent to ignore. When he was on the field last season, it was clear that this is a potential superstar in the making. Henry is a matchup nightmare who can line up all over the field and was extremely efficient last season with 478 receving yards in just 254 passing-down snaps. Seeing how difficult it has always been for rookie tight ends to transition to the NFL, it makes you wonder just how good Hunter Henry can be.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
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Thank you to the experts for naming their top breakout candidates. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter and check out our latest podcast below for more advice.
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