Even though things may change over the next couple of months, it’s not only fun to find the next big breakout, but it’s also especially useful for fantasy owners who want to gamble and acquire a potential future stud long before their leaguemates catch on. As such, Kyle Yates is here to share his 10 favorite breakout players for the upcoming season!

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Michael Pittman Jr. (WR – IND)
Pittman showed enough last season for me to believe that he’s ready to take a massive leap in 2021. With Carson Wentz now at QB, he should be more willing to push the ball downfield, which means good things for someone with Pittman’s skillset. With an aging T.Y. Hilton and an oft-injured Parris Campbell as his main competition for targets, we could see Pittman enter into the WR2 conversation this season. My Very Early Projection: 71-846-6 receiving.

Michael Carter (RB – NYJ)
I was a big fan of Michael Carter in this 2021 pre-draft process and had him ranked as a top-5 RB. While he fell further in the NFL Draft than I was anticipating, he fell into a perfect landing spot for fantasy football. The Jets have an oft-injured Tevin Coleman above him on the depth chart and a second-year RB in La’Mical Perine that certainly doesn’t have this job locked down by any means. With Carter’s agility and explosiveness in this scheme, there’s a strong possibility that he takes over this job a few weeks into the season. The Jets will rotate in RBs, so it’s unlikely that Carter gets a massive workload, but he has the talent to capitalize on his opportunity. You might have to be patient for a bit if you end up drafting Carter in the mid/late rounds this year, but he could end up being a very solid contributor for your roster. My Very Early Projection: 165-791-5 rushing & 53-452-2 receiving.

Adam Trautman (TE – NO)
If you’re looking for a sleeper TE that could absolutely breakout this season, it’s easy to get excited about Trautman in New Orleans. Trautman needed some time to adjust to the NFL level after coming out of Dayton, but he’s got some big time talent that flashed in his limited opportunities last season. With Jared Cook now out of the picture, plus a very top-heavy receiving corps, Trautman’s staring a massive opportunity in the face. It’ll be up to him to see if he can rise to the challenge, but someone else in this offense will need to step up. Why not Trautman? My Very Early Projection: 58-593-5 receiving.