5 breakout fantasy football stars to pick up for Week 1
By Cody Rivera
2. Alfred Morris, San Francisco 49ers
A huge opportunity opened up for veteran running back Alfred Morris to put up big time fantasy points when Jerick McKinnon was ruled out for the season with a torn ACL. Now it’s looking like Morris will be the No. 1 running back for the San Francisco 49ers in 2018.
It’s been awhile since Morris has found himself in this role; the last two years, he’s served mostly as a backup for Ezekiel Elliott while with the Dallas Cowboys, although he did get some opportunities to start while Elliott was serving his six-game suspension.
Now Morris, who is entering his age 29 season, will get the chance to revert back to the form he showed during his early years in the league. After all, he did earn his way to two Pro Bowls in 2013 and 2014 while with the Washington Redskins.
Even though Morris is 29, he’s only had 1,265 rushing attempts in his career, which means that his body isn’t nearly as worn down as other running backs his age. This should make him extra durable for an entire season as the lead running back, which is a huge bonus from a fantasy standpoint.
It’s highly unlikely that Morris was drafted in many fantasy leagues, given the fact that he’s now become more of backup and was expected to continue that role with the 49ers. But now that the circumstances have changed with the loss of McKinnon, Morris could turn into one of the biggest sleepers in all of fantasy football in 2018.
The time is now to add him to your roster, before he has a breakout game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.