Every year there are players who unexpectedly emerge as fantasy football studs, and they can be the difference between victory and defeat.
By Ben Schriver
Last season, we witnessed the likes of Justin Forsett, Jeremy Hill, CJ Anderson and Odell Beckham Jr put together breakout seasons and become starting caliber players as the season wore on.
Let’s be honest, how many of us actually drafted Odell at the beginning of the season? Not many, yet he was a major factor in thousands of championship runs for fantasy owners around the country.
Without further ado, here are ten players who have the potential to turn into fantasy studs this season.
10. Jordan Matthews, WR-Eagles
As a rookie Jordan Matthews broke onto the fantasy scene with the Philadelphia Eagles. Lining up in the slot, Matthews accumulated eight touchdown receptions over the course of the season (a good portion of which thrown by Mark Sanchez).
Matthews will be a prominent part of the Eagles offense once again, especially with the addition of Sam Bradford, which should provide an upgrade at quarterback given that he can stay healthy.
Also, with the departure of Jeremy Maclin, Matthews targets are expected to rise significantly. There’s really nothing stopping him from putting up Maclin-like numbers this season.
9. Jonathan Stewart, RB-Panthers
With seven seasons now under his belt, Jonathan Stewart assumes the role of a reemerging fantasy star.
Stewart ended 2014 playing the best he has in years. With no DeAngelo Williams to get in the way, Stewart finished two out of the last four regular season games with over 100 rushing yards, the first time he’s had two 100 yard rushing games since 2010. He carried that success into the playoffs where he had another 100 yard game against the Cardinals, and made the Panthers run game look the best it has in quite awhile. With Williams gone,
Stewart will take most of the carries for the Panthers, especially on the goal line, as he looks to re-spark the Panthers offense which has sizzled out a little with Cam Newton’s injuries.
8. Devonta Freeman, RB-Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons know that if they want to make another playoff run, they need to get more out of their run game. They were ranked dead last in rushing yards in 2013 and ranked 24th last season, and they knew it was time for a change.
With Steven Jackson leaving in free agency, Freeman is expected to take the lead in the backfield alongside rookie, Tevin Coleman. While Coleman has that big play ability, rumor has it that the Falcons are content with Freeman taking the bulk of the carries this season.
7. Josh Hill, TE-Saints
Lurking in the shadows behind Jimmy Graham has been Josh Hill, a 6’5″ tight end out of Idaho State. Now that Graham has been shipped off to Seattle, Hill is expected to take over the starting job.
Even though New Orleans is progressively becoming a more run-heavy team, we’re still talking about Drew Brees here and he loves to target tight ends in the red zone. Unless you’re able to grab a stud like Gronkowski, Graham, or Olsen, you may just want to wait and grab Hill later in the draft.
6. Eli Manning, QB-Giants
Yes, I know Eli Manning seems bit out of place on this list as a two-time Super Bowl champion, but we can’t simply forget his struggles two seasons ago when he threw a record number of interceptions.
Luckily, he was able to rebound last season, and was worthy of being a starting quarterback in 12 (or more) team leagues. However, this year, I believe he can propel himself easily into the top ten ranked quarterbacks.
We never really got a chance to see Odell Beckham Jr truly blend with Victor Cruz before Cruz’s season ending injury. With Cruz back on the field (hopefully for week one), along with the improving players of Rueben Randle and Larry Donnell, Manning has a slew of solid receivers to throw to.
5. Kevin White, WR-Bears
Kevin White wasn’t selected at pick number seven to sit back and gain experience. The Bears hope that he can quickly fill the void left by Brandon Marshall and why not? Even with Jay Cutler’s struggles, Bears receivers are typically able to rack up plenty of fantasy points; just look at Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey.
If Jeffrey continues to excel and draw more and more attention from defensive backs, the field should open up for White and leave him plenty of room to accumulate yardage and touchdowns.
4. Brandin Cooks, WR-Saints
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why Brandin Cooks should be given a chance on your fantasy team.
With both Kenny Stills and Jimmy Graham being traded away, it’s obvious that the Saints are hoping for big things out of Cooks this year. Even as a rookie, it became clear that he was already one of Drew Brees’ favorite receivers, being targeted 70 times in 10 games before getting injured, while also being given some chances to run the ball out of the backfield.
His speed and big play ability is amazing and suits him well with a quarterback like Brees, who can throw downfield with ease. With Marques Colston fading, Cooks is now surely the number one receiver on the Saints.
3. Teddy Bridgewater, QB-Vikings
While Derek Carr ended the season as the top rookie quarterback in fantasy football (partially due to Teddy not competing in three games), Teddy Bridgewater closed out the Vikings season with a bang. After their week 10 bye, Teddy threw for 11 touchdowns in their final seven games while also eclipsing 300 passing yards in two of those.
That’s not bad considering their leading receivers were Greg Jennings and Jarius Wright. Teddy also poses a threat outside of the pocket, closely resembling Russell Wilson in the way he can take off with the ball. With the free agent acquisition of Mike Wallace, Teddy now has a clear-cut number one wide-receiver to throw to.
2. Joseph Randle, RB-Cowboys
After seeing how good DeMarco Murray was able to perform behind the Dallas Cowboys dominant offensive line, I think any running back placed in that system would at least be able to enjoy some of that same success.
The question is who that running back will be.
Will Randle be given most of the carries, or will they go to Darren McFadden? Or will they split carries rather evenly? We’ll have to see how they fare in training camp before we can assume an answer.
However, right now, the edge should go to Randle. In Darren’s seven year career, last year was the first time that he’s been able to take the field every game without an injury keeping him on the sidelines.
Knowing that, the chances are pretty high that he won’t be able to stay healthy all year long. So as long as Randle doesn’t steal anymore underwear, he should be able to get the opportunity to be the full-fledged starting running back on the Cowboys.
1. Carlos Hyde, RB-49ers
The San Francisco 49ers will undoubtedly struggle this season after losing what seems like half their team, but there’s no rule that struggling teams can’t still have fantasy upside.
One of the bright spots for them last season was Carlos Hyde, who had some exciting moments backing up Frank Gore. Now, with Gore out of the picture, Hyde will take over the lead running back duties.
Yes, they added Reggie Bush, but he was not much of a factor last year in Detroit, and continues to have issues with injuries. Meanwhile, Hyde is a young player who’s had flashes of brilliance, and may end up as one of the best running backs on your team.