2024 Breakouts

Isaiah Pacheco, RB

“But Scott, this is not the Chiefs RB you are in love with.” Yes, make your CEH jokes, I am here every year for it, but I still have to pick a KC player for my Breakout. Pacheco is the clear RB1 in the KC backfield and it really isn’t even close. In his first two seasons, we always saw McKinnon be involved in the offense and mostly for the third down/passing option out of the backfield. McKinnon was not brought back and I know they brought him back later in the summer last season, but I feel he would already be signed by now if he was coming back. Pacheco will now take over a lot of those passing duties that McKinnon had in the past. We saw he only had 14 targets his rookie season, but he followed that up with 49 targets last season in only 14 games. It is hard to find a RB in fantasy who is a clear bellcow for their team and Pacheco is just that. He is also on one of the best offenses in the NFL who will put up plenty of points this season. Whoever wins the backup RB role is only there for when he needs a breather, no one there is going to take away passing down duties to him. I can see him finishing as a top 7 RB this season and he is going as the RB11 in drafts. (Scott Miln)

Keon Coleman, WR

I always like to take at least one rookie in this section every year, the ones I feel are headed into a situation where they can use their skills to burst onto the scene and make an impact, but not the ones that are so obvious that everyone is thinking it (MHJ I’m talking about you). And this year, I think Coleman is exactly that guy. A Buffalo team that will throw the ball a lot, a QB who is not shy about taking risks and forcing throws in there, a coaching staff that is largely unchanged and has the same philosophy as past seasons, and a WR room with very few guys in front of him. You mix this all up into a hearty stew and you can call it Touchdown Jambalaya, and if you take Coleman you may be feasting on it all season. Alright enough with the drawn out soup metaphor. In all seriousness, Coleman is a fantastically gifted physical specimen who can play a variety of roles in the Bills offense, and with good pieces around him and the right coaching, he could be in for a monster season. (Cory Dows)

Tank Dell, WR

Tank Dell sort of broke out last season before his season ending injury, but I don’t want people to forget. Everyone is viewing Dell as the WR3 in the Houston offense behind Nico Collins and Stefon and I get it. Nico just got paid and they just acquired one the best WRs the last several years in Diggs this offseason. Dell is also coming back from a bad injury, but also a freak injury. People will view him as injury prone, but before last season, he has not missed a game since his first season in college. Dell has 700 yards and 7 TDs his rookie season and that was only in 10 games (I do not count the game he was hurt in the first quarter). That stat line would be great for many rookies if they played a full season, but Dell did that in only 10 games. Nico did have some big games while Dell was healthy, but when Dell was out is when Nico really was the WR1 on the offense and demanded a lot of work. There are a lot of mouths to feed in this stacked offense, but do not be surprised if Tank Dell finishes as the top WR out of the three. (Scott Miln)

Zamir White, RB

This one may be too easy, but the starting RB in LV that no one is talking about is Zamir White. Josh Jacobs has left town. Alexander Mattison, who stunk last year, is not a threat to White’s role. Ameer Abdullah is not overtaking Zamir any time soon. His RB56 finish last year is exactly that, his finish LAST year. THIS year… It’s a brand new game. And while I expect to see Vegas struggle to be an elite offense, I think there will be plenty of touches to go around and White will have the lion’s share of them coming out of the backfield. Opportunity is the first step in the direction of success for a running back, and he should have plenty of chances to seize the role for the long haul. He has all the physical tools to be a top runner in the league, he just has to put it together on the field and deliver, which I think he will in 2024.  (Cory Dows)