Fantasy football: Brandon Aiyuk, 4 other wide receivers who break out

Fantasy Football Breakout No. 1: CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys

Fantasy owners who took an understandable flier on then-rookie Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb a year ago were in for heartbreak when Dallas’ quarterback, Dak Prescott, suffered that horrid season-ending ankle injury early in the season.

Suddenly, Lamb was forced to catch passes from the Cowboys’ backup, Andy Dalton, and not Prescott. Lamb owners couldn’t have wished for much worse.

Live Feed

SideLion Report

That said, Lamb was still more than effective for an otherwise disappointing Dallas squad last year, hauling in 74 passes for 935 yards and five touchdowns while adding another 82 rush yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Like Brandon Aiyuk, Lamb already showed some versatility and could easily emerge as the alpha receiver in the Cowboys offense this season.

Particularly with stock levels dropping a bit for Lamb’s teammate, wide receiver Amari Cooper.

Cooper is trending towards Dallas’ No. 2 option, meaning Lamb isn’t just only emerging as the go-to receiving target, but he’ll also have the added bonus of catching passes from Prescott over the course of a full season.

While the bulk of other breakout-type fantasy football wide receivers on this list could get into the 1,200-yard range, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Lamb wind up with 1,400-plus yards and 10-plus touchdowns.

Lamb’s current ADP is 4.07. But there’s an awfully good chance he far exceeds that mark over the course of 2021 and winds up being a first- or second-round selection in 2022 fantasy drafts as a result.