Dynasty Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Breakouts
Rookie drafts are coming fast, officially kick-starting the next calendar season. Lost in the promise of new talent is a buy window for other young breakout players. This window is your opportunity to acquire players who have already shown special flashes, but have lost the initial hype they had when entering the league. The time to acquire these four young wideouts is now with their breakout is imminent in 2021.
CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
Lamb entered the league with a lot of anticipation and he posted two 100-yard games in his first five outings. However, the Cowboys' offense saw a significant decline in efficiency once star quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending injury.
Even in a crowded receiver's room, Lamb was able to carve out a roll in the offense. He worked out of the slot 84.7 percent of the time, which netted him 111 targets for just shy of 1,000 yards. When Prescott is healthy, the Cowboys average over 525 passing attempts per season. If Lamb had held his five-game pace with Prescott throughout his rookie season, he would have finished with 92 receptions and 1,385 yards, which was equal to eighth in PPR production.
Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Higgins has solid athleticism and the ability to catch the ball at its highest point. Entering his rookie season, he was not expected to be a massive offensive contributor with Tyler Boyd, A.J. Green and John Ross still on the roster. Despite quarterback Joe Burrow being lost for the season in Week 11, Higgins still amassed 908 receiving yards with six touchdowns in 14 games. That was good for 14.1 fantasy points per game in PPR formats.
In 2021, Higgins will likely become the Bengals' No. 1 wide receiver. He was targeted only 11 times in the red zone last year, but converted 54.5 percent into touchdowns. Those targets are likely to increase. The rapport Higgins has with Burrow will only grow next season. In 2020, Burrow was third in the NFL in pass attempts per game. Even if Burrow misses a portion of the season, Higgins should be able to provide a safe floor as he did in 2020. He could be on track to put up top-15 fantasy wide receiver numbers next season.
DJ Moore, Carolina Panthers
Coming into his fourth season, Moore has been on the cusp of a breakout since entering the league. Despite playing well in his early career, Moore has not found the end zone enough to be constantly relevant for fantasy football managers. A major part of this was due to an anemic offense that finished near the bottom of the league in points scored the last two years. With Moore’s current volume and yardage totals, positive touchdown production should come.
Moore proved he can be a field-stretcher in Joe Brady’s offense, finishing fifth in the NFL in air yards last season. Brady’s offense has shown a willingness to push the ball vertically. The Panthers' front office is aggressively aiming to upgrade the quarterback position this offseason. The Panthers ranked 28th and 31st in the league the past two seasons. Even a slight improvement at quarterback can boost Moore into contention for a top-12 wide receiver finish in 2021.
Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers' 2020 first-round selection got off to a slow start in 2020. Through Week 6 he eclipsed the 70-yard receiving mark on just one occasion. In Week 7 he popped for 115 receiving yards and from that point onward, he finished below the 70-yard mark only once. Aiyuk concluded his season with 825 combined rushing and receiving yards with seven touchdowns.
He managed this impressive rookie campaign despite playing in just 14 games. By the end of the year, head coach Kyle Shanahan was making it a priority to get the ball in Aiyuk’s hands. Aiyuk scored double-digit fantasy points in six straight games in the back half of 2020 and will look to carry that over to this upcoming season.
In 2021, the 49ers should have a healthy Jimmy Garappolo, or an improvement through free agency, at the quarterback position. The 49ers will also have tight end George Kittle back from injury to attract double-teams, which should continue to allow Aiyuk opportunities to get open. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel had difficulty staying healthy, giving Aiyuk the chance to carve out a massive role for himself.
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