3rd Year Breakout Wide Receiver

3rd Year Breakout Wide Receiver: "

The NFL draft is over and the rookies are getting acclimated to their new teams with their training camps and activities. Most of the veterans have also reported for their minicamps, as well. Chris Johnson wants to be paid and looks to be missing some minicamp. Some veterans don’t have a team to report to yet….Terrell Owens is one such player. Every year, a WR in his 3rd year has a breakout campaign that vaults his attentive owners to a championship. Steve Smith of the Giants was one such player last year and he’s a big reason I took home the FantasyFootball.Com Staff League title this past season. Theory dictates that a WR in his 3rd year is acclimated to the league, knows the system and is heading into the prime of his career and ready to breakout. Obviously, for every Steve Smith, there’s a Mark Clayton. There might be a few names missing here and that’s DeSean Jackson and Mike Sims-Walker. IMO, Jackson had his breakout last season and should be considered one of the elite WR heading into 2010 (even with Kevin Kolb at the helm). Walker has also established himself in Jacksonville and, should be one of the top 25-30 WRs taken. These guys should be on your sleeper radars as breakouts so, here are the guys that I think are primed for their 3rd year breakout:

1. Early Doucet, WR, Arizona Cardinals - Doucet should move up to the #3 spot behind Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston. Early season projections have the Cardinals not running nearly as many pass plays and running the ball a bit more with Chris Wells. I still think the Cardinals will be more of a passing team. He opened up the eyes of the Cardinals brass by posting 2 huge games in the playoffs, which is hoping to be a sign of things to come. I believe he’s ready to emerge from the depth chart and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him snag 50 receptions this season.

2. Pierre Garcon, WR, Indianapolis Colts – Garcon showed numerous signs of breakout last year. He stepped in for an injured Anthony Gonzalez and became a reliable target for Peyton Manning to go along with Reggie Wayne and Company. Don’t let the frenchy-french name fool you…the guy’s tough and can play. His target numbers were big as he had only two games where he had less than 4 targets. I don’t count week 17 where all of the starters rested. But, he had 10 targets in the Divisional Playoff, 15 in the Conference Title and 7 in the Super Bowl. I believe even with Gonzalez back and Austin Collie still in the mix, Garcon is the one that should still see the majority of the playing time and targets opposite Wayne. I’m projecting about 65 receptions for him this season and he should be drafted as a WR3 but has WR2 upside.

3. Devin Thomas, WR, Washington - He could be the one that benefits most with Donovan McNabb heading into the beltway. McNabb has only one true WR to throw to and that’s Santana Moss but, he’s been on the downside for a few seasons now. Devin Thomas has stated that he’s matured and ready to play and his type of game could fit in with Donovan McNabb’s abilities. Thomas was a starter from week 6 on in 2009, which included a huge game in week 13 which he posted 7 catches for 100 yards and 2 scores (which made up 2/3 of his total). With Mike Shanahan in town running a west coast offense, he could turn out to be a DeSean Jackson type WR with this abilities. Don’t draft him like DeSean Jackson but, is worth a late round flier with his deep route abilities and upside.

4. Chaz Schilens, WR, Oakland Raiders – The Jason Campbell trade has opened things up in Oakland as they finally have someone that can actually read a playbook and throw the ball, relatively, accurately. Well, compared to JaMarcus Russell, Campbell hits bullseyes every time. The offseason foot surgery is a bit concerning but, if he’s healthy and can stay healthy, he should be a huge sleeper in 2010. Schilens received no less than 4 targets per game once he returned to the lineup in week 10, after being out with a foot injury, and he was able to post 29 catches for 365 yards in that timeframe. I like him to post at least 50 catches and should be a quality reserve/starter for bye weeks or injuries.

5. Davone Bess, WR, Miami Dolphins - Bess should be thankful to see Brandon Marshall in Miami and should be a nice complimentary WR Marshall. Defenses won’t be able to double him or key on him and should quite productive as their slot receiver. I do believe he’ll be able to build on his 2009 campaign and let’s hope more scores are in his future, as his 2 last season won’t cut it. Also, with the emergence of Chad Henne and an already established chemistry, things are looking for Bess in 2010. I like Bess to reel in 70 receptions and build on his scores to 6 this season.

Some other 3rd year WRs to target: Eddie Royal, Mario Manningham, Malcolm Kelly, Donnie Avery and Josh Morgan.

Keep following us throughout the entire season for more insight as we prepare you for the 2010 Fantasy Football here at fantasyfootball.com. I’m also going to be on Twitter, so please follow me there @MentalAcumen.

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