Fantasy Football: 5 Breakout Wide Receivers for 2019

Fantasy Football – 5 Breakout Wide Receivers for 2019: Robby Anderson, NYJ

First, a quick DISCLAIMER: These picks are made base on PPR Fantasy Football  scoring formats and are players who I believe are ready to take a big leap in their new offensive situations in 2019.

As the term “breakout” would imply, players who have reached a 1,000-yard season (at least once) in their career have been eliminated from consideration.

Kicking off the list is a player that many had as a 2018 breakout candidate following a strong 2017 season with a line of 63/941/7. But in the first 9 weeks, Jets WR Robby Anderson struggled to get much of anything going (8.6 FPPG). However, his fortunes began to change once Sam Darnold returned in Week 10.

Anderson saw a hefty spike in targets (10 per game) and was fantasy’s second-best wideouts in weeks 14-16, only behind DeAndre Hopkins. Over that span, he put up an average of 23 fantasy points per game.

With a healthy (and sharp-looking, according to camp reports) Darnold entering season two as the Jets’ QB, it’s not hard to see the excitement surrounding Anderson. Referring back to his play down the stretch last season, the connection he had with Darnold was amongst the most efficient in the league. Both players, from Weeks 14-17, were graded as top-5 players at their position by Pro Football Focus.

The Jets’ offense should have a little more firepower this year thanks to prized-FA acquisition Le’Veon Bell and slot receiver Jamison Crowder who joined forces with Gang Green this offseason. With Anderson set to hold his role as Darnold’s clear-cut no. 1 guy, he’s got a WR1 ceiling in 2019.

Fantasy Football – 5 Breakout Wide Receivers for 2019: Tyler Lockett, SEA

A player who had one of the most efficient seasons in the league last year, Seahawks’ WR Tyler Lockett isn’t being talked about maybe as much as he should be.

Although he lacked the volume of a top-20 receiver (his 71 targets ranked just 58th among all WRs), he made the most of his opportunities.

The sure-handed wideout caught an impressive 81.4 percent of his targets (2nd in the NFL) to combine for 10 touchdowns. More impressively, his 3.10 fantasy points per target we second to none at his position.

It’s no secret that this level of efficiency will be hard to replicate in 2019, but with Doug Baldwin now retired, Lockett is going to have to step into a larger role in Pete Carroll’s offense. The team did go out and draft D.K. Metcalf this offseason, but like with most rookies, it’ll take him some time to digest Carroll’s playbook and get acclimated to the next level.

Now absent from the Seahawks’ offense is 73 targets from 2018. Baldwin dealt with injury much of last season, but he has been a staple of this team’s passing game since 2014. Now, Lockett will get the “next man up” opportunity.

As QB Russell Wilson’s top target, Lockett will have a chance put up similar numbers to last year. With a slight target increase, a top-15 WR fantasy season could be in-store for the 26-year-old.

Fantasy Football – 5 Breakout Wide Receivers for 2019: Dante Pettis, SF

Former Washington Husky Dante Pettis has a enticing opportunity ahead of him in his sophomore season for the 49ers. Although he finished as the fantasy WR71 in PPR formats, he flashed enough upside down the stretch to pique the interest of owners heading into this summer.

Pettis suffered a left knee injury in Week 4 that forced him to miss 3 games as a rookie. While dealing with this, he also struggled to learn the Niners’ playbook early in the season.

After the team’s Week 11 bye, he showed rapid improvement before re-injuring his knee leading up to the season finale. In Weeks 12-15, Pettis managed to snag four TD catches while posting an average of 18.6 fantasy points. Had it not been for his injuries, we could witnessed him have a much stronger rookie year.

Luckily, with QB Jimmy Garoppolo set to be back under center at full health by training camp, he and a new-and-improved Pettis could make some noise this Fall.

According to multiple people around the 49ers, Dante Pettis’ improvement from his rookie season to this year has been “monumental.” As opportunities were hard to come by for him in year one, a full offseason under his belt in San Francisco should change that.

If he and Jimmy G can build a strong rapport during camp, Pettis could be in-line to post high-end WR3 numbers with upside for more, which isn’t a bad bargain for his current 8.06 ADP. If you want a high-upside investment later in fantasy drafts, Pettis is your guy.

Fantasy Football – 5 Breakout Wide Receivers for 2019: Donte Moncrief, PIT

One of the bigger surprises from OTAs, it hasn’t been James Washington or rookie Dionte Johnson who’ve been drawing most of the buzz, but instead it’s been NFL journeyman Donte Moncrief.

After struggling to find a featured offensive role in either of the last two years on the Colts and Jaguars, perhaps he’s found a nice home in Pittsburgh as the post-A.B. era begins. Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reported last week that Moncrief thus far looks like a “slam-dunk no. 2” wideout. Kaboly went on to say that Moncrief “easily looks like a 50- or 60-catch guy with five or six touchdowns.”

With a whopping 168 targets and 15 touchdowns from last year’s offense now missing, the Steelers need someone in the WR corps to step up in a big way. If the early-offseason reports are any indication, he’s done just that so far in the Steel City.

Still just 25 years old, it’s certainly possible we could see a resurgence this year from the Mississippi alum.

He’ll of course need to stay healthy to carve out a role in Mike Tomlin’s offense, something he’s struggled with in the past to an extent (11 games missed since 2016). But if he can prove his injury woes are a thing of the past, he’s got top-25 WR potential.

Right now, per Fantasy Football Calculator, his current ADP stands at 13.08, which is a fair price for what could be Pittsburgh’s no. 2 receiver with future Hall of Famer Big Ben at the helm.

Fantasy Football – 5 Breakout Wide Receivers for 2019: Christian Kirk, ARI

One of the more intriguing breakout candidates in 2019, Cards’ WR Christian Kirk is a good bet to take big strides in Arizona’s new-look offense led by no. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray. Now free of the prehistoric Steve Wilks play-calling shackles, Kirk will look to turn an underperforming rookie season into a sophomore surge.

Kirk’s lackluster rookie year may not entirely be his fault, as he was playing on the NFL’s far-worst offense that was dead last in points scored (14.1 points per game). A combination of questionable play calling and horrific quarterback player lead the team to the league’s worst record.

Kirk’s 2018 season began with the woeful play of QB Sam Bradford (133.3 passing yards per game, 2 TD:4 INT in 3 starts), which didn’t exactly help him get things going early on.

All-time great Larry Fitzgerald, for many years, was the clear-cut no. 1 wideout in the team’s passing game, but that may no longer be the case as the now-35-year-old (will be 36 by the start of the season) has noticeably lost a step. In fact, 2018 marked his lowest receiving total (734 yards) of his 15-year career.

In addition, There have been reports that Kirk had been turning heads this Spring. MMQB’s Albert Breer even went as far as saying Kirk “has been the best receiver on the roster” during the offseason program.

Former teammates at Texas A&M, Murray and Kirk had noticeably-strong chemistry in OTAs.

There are still plenty of questions surrounding this team, but they’ll go as far as Murray and Kingsbury can take them. Still, Kirk’s upside is just too much not to love him at his current price tag of 8.01. He’s another potential top-20 pass-catcher in 2019, especially in PPR formats.