Fantasy Football Breakout Candidate: Jameis Winston

Breakout.

That word is used too loosely in today’s world of sports. Players have breakout games. Breakout seasons. I even heard someone refer to a player having a “breakout quarter”. What does it mean to breakout?

To me, a breakout can’t be determined in the moment. You cannot know for sure if a player has truly broken out till a much later date. Their breakout game or breakout season must be accompanied with consistency in the following games or seasons. One big game or season does not a breakout make.

In the world of fantasy sports, we live for the breakouts. We draft “late round fliers” that we hope have that breakout season or we take chances on guys that have underperformed for the first few years of their career. The breakout is an elusive creature to capture, but if you can catch it, fantasy immortality awaits…

What’s up, GF2 Fans! I’m going to be giving Geoff a hand with some of these 2016 fantasy football breakout candidates. Keep your eye out for other installments between the two of us going forward. The season is drawing near for us, which means that it’s already time to be thinking about our fantasy football drafts.

Please don’t confuse a candidate as someone I’m necessarily recommending you draft. In fact, I expect some of these guys will fail and I will say so in my narrative. I’m simply highlighting a few guys that will be drafted with the expectation of having a breakout season, and at the end of each profile, I will assign that player with a percentage. That percentage will represent my thoughts on him having that coveted breakout.

QB Jameis Winston | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2nd Year

2015 Stats: 

Passing: 4,042 yards, 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions

Rushing: 53 attempts, 201 yards and six touchdowns

I was very low on the Winston bandwagon going into the 2015 fantasy football season but he eventually proved himself to me. He took major strides throughout the year to be not only a better player for Tampa Bay but also for our fantasy lineups. He ended the year as the 13th ranked quarterback overall on most sites and has the ability to be right back in that area this season. Right now, his preseason ranking on ESPN is 19th but I feel like he has way more upside than that. Guys such as Matthew Stafford and Marcus Mariota are ahead of him currently in the rankings but I see that changing during the year.

Coming off a Pro Bowl rookie campaign and turning a terrible Buccaneers lineup into something worth watching, Winston will once again be an under the radar fantasy option for our squads. He will have Top-3 potential in a ton of weeks this season with Mike Evans by his side. Speaking of Evans, Austin Seferian-Jenkins and him both seem to be healthy for the time being, which should give you guys loads of confidence in Winston’s fantasy value.

This offseason, Winston has made it a point to lose some weight and prove to his teammates that he’s is indeed the next big thing that the quarterback position in the NFL has to offer. I’m reading that the coaching staff has said that Winston looks much more comfortable within this Tampa Bay offense, which is good news to my ears. He’s already an ultra-confident athlete but adding in knowing a team’s playbook from front to back makes me like the kid even more for the upcoming season.

When it’s all said and done, I feel like Winston has the ability to be a potential Top-10 fantasy quarterback but will probably be more around the 13 range. I’d be willing to bet you guys that in all of your redraft leagues that Winston will be drafted as a backup option for you quarterback but I’ve got a great feeling that he’s going to surprise many avid fantasy players.

2016 Projection

4,300 passing yards, 27 touchdowns & 12 Interceptions | 350 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns

Potential Breakout Percentage

70%