2010 Breakout Candidates

Next fantasy football season these are the guys you are going to want to target in the later rounds when most of the studs are off the board.

Devin Aromashadu, a WR for the Chicago Bears, stepped his game up at the end of the season last year when Devin Hester went down. And I believe he'll be able to carry that success over next season. Aromashadu 22 catches, 282 yards and 4 touchdowns in the last 4 games of the season last year. Which made him a viable #2 Fantasy receiver. Despite that success, Aromashadu will probably be drafted as the 50th-60th best WR! If you can get "Z" (Nickname given by his QB, Jay Cutler) in the 40's range then I think that's a huge steal. Some of the reasons why I like Z is because he doesn't have any stand out receivers in front of him on the depth chart, and because he has a good relationship with his quarterback Cutler.

Felix Jones, running back, Dallas Cowboys. As much as I hate Dallas, I love this kid. He averaged 9 yards per carry at Arkansas........Which means he's a big play threat. Felix has had trouble with durability but if he can stay healthy he'll be a top 10 RB this year. He can catch the ball well out of the back field and hes lightning fast. That coupled with the recent decline of Marion Barber should have him in line to receive the majority of the carries in Big D next year. If you can get Felix Jones as your 3rd running back, where he's typically being drafted, you might have just secured a fantasy championship.

2009 Fantasy Heroes: Sidney Rice and Miles Austin

This past year in fantasy, if you drafted Sidney Rice or Miles Austin late in your draft then you probably fared pretty well this season. Both of these wide receivers average draft position was somewhere in the 50-60 range. Which means they weren't even drafted in most leagues! But both of these guys put up huge numbers and made it to their first pro bowls.

1 Key to winning a fantasy football leagues is to hit big in the later rounds of the draft. So I applaud those who drafted Rice or Austin.

Sidney Rice, a former first round pick in the 2007 draft by the Minnesota Vikings, was considered to be a bust. After having a disappointing rookie campaign, Rice followed it up with an even worse Sophomore season. Despite his size and freakish athletic ability, he was written off in most fantasy leagues this year.

But by week 3, Sidney Rice became one of Brett Favres favorite targets. From there he continued to put up big fantasy numbers. Against tough defenses in Baltimore and Pittsburgh, Rice put up a combined 212 yards to go along with 17 catches. From there Rice never looked back, finishing the season as the tenth best WR in fantasy. His 84 receptions, 1312 yards and 8 touchdowns also won him his first Pro Bowl honor.

If there was anyone who surprised fantasy players more than Rice, it was Miles Austin, the wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. Austin, an undrafted rookie out of Monmouth in his 3rd year, entered the season as the 3rd WR on the Cowboys depth chart.

After an injury to Roy Williams, Austin became the starter in week 5. He did not let the opportunity pass by as he put up HUGE numbers against the Kansas City Chiefs. 10 catches for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns! After a game like that Dallas had no other choice but to make him a starter.

Going from relatively unknown to becoming a star on america's team the Cowboys, Austin had a probowl season and helped Dallas win the NFC East. He ended up with 81 catches 1320 yards and 11 touchdowns. Thus pleasing the few fantasy owners who took a risk in drafting him.

My VERY Early 2010 Fantasy Rankings (Without Rookies)

Fantasy Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Peyton Manning
2. Drew Brees
3. Aaron Rodgers
4. Tom Brady
5. Matt Schaubb
6. Philip Rivers
7. Brett Favre
8. Kurt Warner
9. Tony Romo
10. Ben Roethlisberger
11. Eli Manning
12. Donovan McNabb
13. Jay Cutler
14. Matt Ryan
15. Carson Palmer
16. Joe Flacco
17. Kyle Orton
18. Mark Sanchez
19. David Gerrard
20. Jason Campbell
21. Alex Smith
22. Matthew Stafford
23. Vince Young
24. Matt Cassel
25. Kevin Kolb
26. Chad Henne
27. Brady Quinn
28. Josh Freeman
29. Mike Vick
30. Matt Moore

Runningbacks

1. Chris Johnson
2. Adrian Peterson
3. Ray Rice
4. Maurice Jones Drew
5. Steven Jackson
6. Michael Turner
7. Frank Gore
8. DeAngelo Williams
9. Jamal Charles
10. Joseph Addai
11. Ronnie Brown
12. Cedric Benson
13. Ryan Grant
14. Felix Jones
15. Matt Forte
16. Pierre Thomas
17. Chris Wells
18. Jonathon Stewart
19. Knowshon Moreno
20. Thomas Jones
21. Rashard Mendenhall
22. Jerome Harrison
23. LeSean McCoy
24. Shonn Green
25. Ricky Williams
26. Justin Forsett
27. Fred Jackson
28. Ahmad Bradshaw
29. Ladanian Tomlinson
30. Brandon Jacobs
31. Reggie Bush
32. Darren McFadden
33. Cadillac Williams
34. Clinton Portis
35. Marion Barber
36. Michael Bush
37. Marshawn Lynch
38. Darren Sproles
39. Steve Slaton
40. Laurence Maroney
41. Julius Jones
42. Donald Brown
43. Tim Hightower
44. Willis McGahee
45. Kevin Smith

Wide Receivers

1. Andre Johnson
2. Brandon Marshall
3. Reggie Wayne
4. Larry Fitzgerald
5. Randy Moss
6. Miles Austin
7. DeSean Jackson
8. Calvin Johnson
9. Vincent Jackson
10. Sidney Rice
11. Roddy White
12. Wes Welker
13. Greg Jennings
14. Santonio Holmes
15. Marques Colston
16. Chad Ochocinco
17. Anquan Boldin
18. Mike Sims Walker
19. Steve Smith (CAR)
20. Steve Smith (NYG)
21. Robert Meachem
22. Dwayne Bowe
23. Hines Ward
24. Jerricho Cotchery
25. Michael Crabtree
26. Derrick Mason
27. Devin Hester
28. Hakeem Nicks
29. Percy Harvin
30. Donald Driver
31. Terrell Owens
32. Jeremy Maclin
33. Antonio Bryant
34. Mike Wallace
35. Steve Breaston
36. Kenny Britt
37. Pierre Garcon
38. Malcolm Floyd
39. Braylon Edwards
40. Laurent Robinson
41. Bernard Berrian
42. Santana Moss
43. Chris Chambers
44. TJ Houshmanzadeh
45. Donnie Avery
46. Mohammed Massaquoi
47. Devin Aromashadu
48. Roy Williams
49. Johnny Knox
50. Nate Washington
51. Devery Henderson
52. Davonne Bess
53. Austin Collie
54. Earl Bennet
55. Jabar Gaffney
56. Nate Burlesson
57. Mario Manningham
58. Josh Morgan
59. Kevin Walter
60. Andre Caldwell
61. Jason Avant
62. Greg Camarillo
63. Early Doucet
64. Brian Hartline
65. Josh Cribbs

Tight Ends

1. Dallas Clark
2. Antonio Gates
3. Jason Witten
4. Vernon Davis
5. Tony Gonzalez
6. Brent Celek
7. Chris Cooley
8. Owen Daniels
9. Heath Miller
10. Kellen Winslow
11. Jermichael Finley
12. Greg Olson
13. Zach Miller
14. Visanthe Shiancoe
15. Jeremy Shockey
16. Todd Heap
17. Fred Davis
18. Dustin Keller
19. Kevin Boss
20. Brandon Pettigrew
21. John Carlson
22. Ben Watson
23. Mercedes Lewis
24. Bo Scaife
25. Tony Scheffler