5 breakout fantasy football stars to pick up for Week 1
By Cody Rivera
Here are five players that may have gone undrafted in fantasy leagues, but could put up decent numbers in Week 1.
With the 2018 NFL season kicking off on Thursday, you have most likely wrapped up your fantasy football drafts, or at least should be wrapping them up in the next day or so.
Hopefully, you drafted some bona fide superstars like Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, Antonio Brown or Rob Gronkowski with your early picks, and hopefully you picked up a solid quarterback in the early-middle rounds to go with them. Those are your biggest keys to winning your fantasy league.
Another key, however, is to have a few sleepers that other fantasy owners in your league overlooked. There are always players that nobody thought to draft because their names don’t jump out on the computer screen, but they end up breaking out during Week 1 for big time fantasy points, and only the lucky fantasy owner who cleverly thought to pick them up in advance is getting those points.
With that being said, here are five players that might not currently be owned in your league, but could put up decent numbers in Week 1 and would be worth giving a look…
5. James Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers
James Washington is a rookie wide receiver out of Oklahoma State, drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 60th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. When you think of Steelers receivers, obviously the first name that comes to mind is Antonio Brown, one of the best receivers in the league, as well as JuJu Smith-Schuster.
But the Steelers are opening up the season against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, and they plan on utilizing the skills Washington brings to the table just as much as the more experienced guys. Even though Brown is the biggest pass-catching name on the roster, expect Washington to get plenty of looks from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Washington broke out onto the scene for the Steelers during training camp. He did leave the team’s third preseason game with a minor abdominal injury, but it’s not really a concern and should be in fine condition for Sunday’s game.
The most notable performance from Washington’s preseason came against the Green Bay Packers, when he caught five passes for 114 yards along with two touchdowns. If he can recreate performances like that this season, he’ll be considered a fantasy steal.