2014 Fantasy Football: 6 Players Entering Make or Break Seasons

A lot of different aspects of fantasy football lead fantasy owners to believe a player will bust out and be a hit. One of the biggest ones is a make or break season.

Every year NFL players are pushed to that edge due to injuries, roles or even a contract situation. If they’re ever going to truly make it in the league, they need to eventually put their money where their mouth is and become that player their franchise drafted or signed them on to be.

The difference is figuring out which of those players will succeed, and which of those success stories will translate positively to fantasy football. Here are six guys facing a make or break season that could work out for fantasy owners in 2014:

Nov 3, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker (10) looks to pass against the St. Louis Rams during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Sam Bradford, QB, St. Louis Rams

Sam Bradford heads the list mainly because he’s the most likely make or break player that just might pull off the impossible. In fact, prior to going down with a torn ACL in week seven of last year, he was on a somewhat torrid TD:INT ratio pace. If he had kept that up, he may have ended the year with 30+ passing scores and a career best in passing yardage.

That pace is no lock to magically be back again to get 2014 rolling, but it looked like Bradford was starting to heat up with his weapons. He’ll need some improvement from guys like Jared Cook and Tavon Austin, but solid offensive line changes should go a long way in at least keeping him healthy. As long as he’s on the field, Bradford stands a good chance to shock some people and put up decent fantasy digits.

Jake Locker, QB, Tennessee Titans

The second quarterback facing a big make or break year, Jake Locker enters 2014 in the final year of his rookie deal as a lame duck. New head coach Ken Whisenhunt brings in a new offense too, which could make life difficult on the slow to develop mobile quarterback.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Locker is going to be asked to operate more out of the pocket than on the run in the new system. All while trying to recover from a painful lisfranc injury. His recovery is nearly complete and word on the streets suggests he’s got the offense down pretty well. Now he needs to go out and crush it in order to save his job. If he can do that, he does possess the size, arm, and natural running ability to turn into a fantasy asset overnight.

Dec 15, 2013; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Buffalo Bills running back CJ Spiller (28) runs past Jacksonville Jaguars safety Winston Guy (32) during the first half of the game at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland Raiders

Run DMC is running low on eligibility for “make or break” seasons, so consider this his true last chance. After yet another season was destroyed by injury and inconsistency, McFadden returned to Oakland on a one-year deal.

To make matters worse, he has to share the backfield with Maurice Jones-Drew. It all looks bad on paper, but McFadden is still only 26 and he’s also better than MJD at this point in their careers. If he can just stay healthy for once, he’s going to give fantasy owners a sweet return in relation to where they’re drafting him. And if he doesn’t make it happen this year, he probably never will.

C.J. Spiller, RB, Buffalo Bills

Spiller busted out in 2012 with his first 1,000+ rushing season, which catapulted him to the first round of nearly every league’s fantasy draft in 2013. A nagging ankle issue ruined his season though, and forced meager numbers through long stretches.

Spiller was still a solid play when he took the field most weeks, but he wasn’t the elite performer fantasy owners drafted him to be. That led to the Bills trading for Bryce Brown and could lead to a role change as well. His value is sinking with no one knowing exactly how he’ll be used, but a healthy Spiller is still a heck of a fantasy option. Make sure you snatch him up anywhere beyond round three in drafts.

Stevan Ridley, RB, New England Patriots

It was just two years ago that Ridley was a borderline RB1 in fantasy leagues as a 1,000+ yard and 10+ touchdown producer. Then the fumbles came back.

Ridley coughed up the ball too much early in 2013, which immediately gave way to Shane Vereen in week one and eventually LeGarrette Blount as well. Blount is gone now, so Ridley should get at least one more chance with the Pats. That should give him a shot at RB2 value or better in 2014. If you can land him as a Flex or your RB3, you’re already ahead of the curve.