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With NFL training camps set to kick off here in just a few more weeks, it is never too early to predict who the breakout candidates in fantasy football will be. Especially if you're in it to win it this year!
One of the most important ways to win in fantasy football is to find breakout players during drafts and auctions well ahead of time by doing your homework. You snag them in the middle-to-late rounds or for pennies on the dollar and watch these youngsters spread their wings and become forces to be reckoned with on Sundays. If you are smart enough and lucky enough to get a few breakout players on your fantasy squad, your chances of winning your league go up exponentially.
So which players are potential breakout fantasy candidates this season? Without further ado, here are my three choices for 2024!
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers won two writing awards and received 12 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. A big congrats to our very own Byron Lindeque (Golf) and Jordan McAbee (NASCAR) for both winning Writer Of The Year awards! Be sure to follow RotoBaller's analysis and advice all year long, and win more. Win More With RotoBaller!Zamir White, RB - Las Vegas Raiders
Josh Jacobs is no longer around to monopolize 99.9 percent of the backfield touches for the Raiders anymore. Now that he is gone and there is no one around to be the bell-cow back, White is the odds-on favorite to be the top running back on the team in 2024. White might not get the touches and carries Jacobs received, but he probably will not be too far off.
White’s only competition is Minnesota castoff Alexander Mattison, who failed miserably last season when gifted the No. 1 RB job after the Vikings released Dalvin Cook. Mattison did not score a rushing touchdown or even have a run of more than 21 yards despite being handed the ball a whopping 180 times. Mattison has already proven that he is better suited as a complementary back and is not a workhorse.
White’s work with limited snaps in 2023 was not overly impressive (451 rushing yards, 98 receiving yards, one TD). The fact of the matter is that White has the best skill set of any runner on the Raiders roster and should be the first choice to lead the ground game. He has Jacobs’ between-the-tackles running style and can avoid tacklers with his quick feet. If White can improve his pass-catching skills, he could sneak into the hearts of fantasy managers and supply 1,000 rushing yards, 250 receiving yards, and eight touchdowns or more.
Jahan Dotson, WR - Washington Commanders
Dotson has not exactly been a fantasy darling during his first two seasons. While he's had a nice nose for the end zone (11 TDs in 29 games), back-to-back 500-yard years do not normally make fantasy football managers feverish for him to be on their rosters entering Year 3. The bottom line is Dotson has had to watch from the wings while top target Terry McLaurin has gotten the majority of the targets in the Commanders offense the last two seasons.
You are too low on Jahan Dotson. We haven’t seen a man’s feet move like this since Michael Jackson moonwalked to Billie Jean. pic.twitter.com/eSNZB7iHgh
— Kyle Lindemann (@LuckIsMadeFF) April 12, 2023
Opportunity is knocking on Dotson’s door like a landlord looking for his rent. He should be Washington’s No. 2 WR now that Curtis Samuel is gone, so look for his target total to go up from the 4.8 per game he averaged in 2023. He also has a potential franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels who could become a superstar and take Dotson along for a fantastic ride over the next several seasons.
Dotson should receive more targets than veteran tight end Zach Ertz and rookie wide receiver Luke McCaffrey as long as new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and his pass-first offense use him properly. If you draft Dotson in the late rounds this September, you might get a WR3 who can hook you up with 800-900 yards and eight touchdowns -- as well as someone you can keep in dynasty leagues for the next several seasons.
Kyle Pitts, TE - Atlanta Falcons
Fantasy footballers have waited for Pitts to have his breakout season since he put up over 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie in 2021. The poor kid has been held back by a combination of terrible quarterbacks in Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder followed by a run-first head coach in Arthur Smith.
It's a shame that such a talented player like Pitts has just six touchdowns to his name despite playing in 44 career games. Pitts came out of college being touted as one of the greatest tight-end prospects of all time and was selected fourth overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
One great thing going in Pitts’ favor is that former tight-end teammate Jonnu Smith signed with the Miami Dolphins. Smith had 70 targets last season while the Falcons had both of their tight ends running a high amount of routes. Imagine if Pitts now gets half of those targets to go along with his usual amount. He could be looking at a 120+ targets type of season. With Kirk Cousins now being the one throwing to him, more of those targets will be turned into receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Fantasy managers will finally see the real Kyle Pitts in 2024, and he will become a top-five fantasy tight end, if not the top overall tight end in fantasy.
Another example of how Zac Robinson will utilize Kyle Pitts. This is the year to be excited especially when his QB shreds the middle of the field. pic.twitter.com/ITffjgMrHn
— BroTalk Offseason Mode (@BKsquared7) June 17, 2024
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