Fantasy football leagues are won by selecting players in your draft that outperform expectations. These are the players that take a massive step forward in their careers and defy the odds to be solid contributors for fantasy lineups, which we commonly refer to as breakout candidates.
In a recent episode of The PFN Fantasy Football Podcast, we discussed eight players at the RB and TE positions that could be in line to produce in a big way in 2023.
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RB Breakout Candidates for Fantasy Football
Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Pacheco emerged over the latter half of last year as a reliable and steady fantasy option. In fact, over the final eight weeks of the season, Pacheco averaged 5.8 yards from scrimmage per touch, which was the highest mark out of 34 qualified NFL RBs.
Heading into 2023, Pacheco will have had a full offseason to prepare as the starting RB for this offense, and that role certainly has value for fantasy football. While he’s currently banged up and not fully practicing, all signs point to him being ready by Week 1 and being ready to take another massive step forward.
D’Andre Swift, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Swift simply fell out of favor with the coaching staff in Detroit, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t play football at a very high level. We need to remember the talent level of Swift and what he can do for an offense, especially as a receiver out of the backfield.
According to Pro Football Network NFL Insider Adam Caplan, Swift is going to be utilized heavily as a receiver in this offense this season, and the team loves what he brings to the table. With Rashaad Penny perennially dealing with injuries, there’s a significant opportunity waiting in front of the ultra-talented RB out of Georgia.
We shouldn’t be shocked if we look back and see that Swift finished the season much higher than where he’s going off the board currently in drafts.
James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills
Cook showcased some special playmaking ability last season in his rookie campaign. Along with averaging an impressive 5.7 yards per attempt last year, Cook averaged 7.8 yards per carry on rush attempts up the middle through the last eight weeks of the season. That was the highest mark for RBs across the league over that time frame.
Cook has the potential to be an electric change-of-pace weapon for an offense, but is he more than that in 2023? While his size may play a factor in preventing him from seeing 200+ carries on the ground, he’s proven that he doesn’t need that to be relevant in fantasy.
Add in what he can do as a receiver, and we could easily see Cook push top-20 RB status throughout the year, and that’s not where he’s being drafted right now.
Miles Sanders, RB, Carolina Panthers
Sanders proved that he could be a valuable fantasy asset if he was simply given the opportunity that had alluded him for several of the previous seasons. In 2022, Sanders posted an RB13 fantasy finish at the end of the year, and he saw an impressive 279 touches for Philadelphia.
He was one of the few free agent RBs to sign a contract this offseason, though, and he quickly migrated over to Carolina to be their lead option under Frank Reich.
There’s simply not a ton of competition surrounding Sanders in the Panthers’ backfield that’s going to prevent him from seeing a similar workload to what he did in 2022.
While the offense may sputter a bit in Bryce Young’s first NFL season, Sanders should be leaned on heavily to take the pressure off of the young QB. Fantasy managers need to go after volume at the RB position, and Sanders seems poised to take another step this season with that opportunity.
Khalil Herbert, RB, Chicago Bears
Herbert was one of the most efficient RBs in the NFL last season, and he ripped off big run after big run in this Chicago Bears offense. He easily looked like the best RB in town last season, and he proved that he’s worthy of handling a larger workload going into 2023.
While there were other additions made to this offense this offseason, Herbert should get the first shot at carving out a substantial role this year. He lacks upside as a pass catcher, but there’s the possibility that Herbert more than makes up for it with insane efficiency.
At his current ADP, Herbert can be added as the fourth or fifth RB on your fantasy roster, and he could dramatically outperform that draft cost if he retains the starting role for this much-improved — on paper — offense.
Roschon Johnson, RB, Chicago Bears
Speaking of the other additions to this roster this season, Johnson found his way to Chicago via the NFL Draft after playing behind Bijan Robinson at the University of Texas. While he was never able to handle a significant workload — due to Robinson’s presence — Johnson was incredibly effective whenever he got the opportunity.
Not only does Johnson have the size to be a workhorse option for the Bears’ rushing attack, but he’s an excellent pass protector and receiver out of the backfield, too. This should easily get him onto the field early on in his rookie season, and he can take the opportunity and run with it.
One of the most overlooked factors that impact the playing time of a rookie RB is pass protection.
One reason I'm so high on Chicago Bears RB Roschon Johnson is that he put a lot of great pass pro reps on tape playing behind Bijan Robinson.
His current ADP is in the 13th round pic.twitter.com/VbIF9Y6QII
— Derek Tate (@DerekTateNFL) July 29, 2023
There’s more than enough volume in this offense for both Herbert and Johnson to take massive steps forward this season. It’s not a bad strategy to draft both players and completely lock up this backfield.
TE Breakout Candidates for Fantasy Football
Tyler Higbee, TE, Los Angeles Rams
Did you know that Higbee saw 108 targets last season? Unfortunately, the quality of those targets wasn’t great due to the QB play, but it was still enough for the veteran TE to finish as the TE9 in half-PPR formats.
Moving into 2023, there’s very little target competition in this offense outside of Cooper Kupp. If Matthew Stafford can bounce back to full health, there’s no denying the fact that Higbee could dramatically outproduce expectations this season.
Greg Dulcich, TE, Denver Broncos
Sean Payton has loved utilizing athletic players in gadget-type roles throughout his time coaching in the NFL, and he’s already discussed deploying Dulcich as a do-it-all type player in this offense.
Last season, Dulcich put up impressive things on tape in a not-so-impressive offense, which should give fantasy managers some confidence when projecting his fantasy outlook in 2023.
Add in the fact that Tim Patrick is done for the season already with an injury, and KJ Hamler was just released, and there’s a path for Dulcich to ascend to the No. 2 target option in this offense.
If you don’t want to lock up one of the top-tier TEs with a premium selection this year, Dulcich will be sitting there waiting for you in the later rounds, and he’s absolutely worth drafting due to the potential upside.