Ten 2021 Breakout Wide Receivers You Need to Buy Now

I asked the GoingFor2 team to give me one of their breakout players for the 2021 season. We defined breakout as someone that has not finished in the Top 24 in their career, but finishes in the Top 24 in 2021. Here are their answers:

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Wayne Brady @socratictheory – Rondale Moore (ARI)

Moore is a WR who does his best work after the catch. Expect the cardinals to use him in a variety of short-yardage roles such as jet sweeps, drags, WR screens and possibly some work out of the backfield as an RB. Moore should have plenty of touches to generate fantasy points even in year 1.

Bo McBrayer @Bo_McBigTime – LaViska Shenault (JAX)

Laviska Shenault, Jr is not your prototype slot receiver. He is a weapon with ideal size (6’2” 220), exemplary ball-carrier vision and elusiveness, good football speed, and underrated route-running and contested catch ability. He led all NFL wide receivers in 2020 by breaking a tackle on 28.9% of his receptions, which is a massive number that sheds light on his elite ability with the ball in his hands.

Shenault heads into 2021 with a new head coach, offensive system, and a highly-touted kid from Clemson at quarterback. When given proper volume, such as the final four games in 2020 where he averaged more than eight targets per contest, there is little reason to question his upside as a fantasy asset. In Meyer’s “Power Spread” scheme, I fully expect both Shenault and rookie Travis Etienne to have packages at the ‘H’ position.

Shenault will also move around as the Z receiver and even the Y, which traditionally would be a blocking tight end, but could create matchup nightmares for defenses. With the immense talent of LaViska Shenault, combined with a high-volume, fast-paced offense that figures to play from behind a good amount, the second-year pro from Colorado is a sneaky candidate to break out and crack the top 24 wide receivers. 

Joe Puerschner @JoePuersch22 – Jerry Jeudy (DEN)

After catching passes from Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, Jeff Driskel and Kendal Hinton… the fact that Jeudy even had 856 yards is mind-boggling and speaks to Jeudy’s potential. It is the perfect time to buy Jeudy as a QB upgrade would be beneficial to a player who ranked 6th in air yards, 2nd in Unrealized Airyards, and 105th in catchable target rankings.

Crisp route running and 4.4 speed should help Jeudy become a monster even with Bridgewater/Lock or possibly Rodgers/Watson or a potential rookie upgrade in 2022. Buy now before it’s too late.

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Jay Christensen @JayC_DFF – Michael Pittman (IND)

Is 2021 the year of Michael Pittman? The Indianapolis Colts second-year receiver had an up and down rookie season after being selected 34th overall in the 2020 NFL draft. However, it’s hard to ignore the impressive stretches where Pitmman showed off his size and speed. For instance, the highlight reel 45 yard touchdown against Green Bay in Week 10. He also looked the part of an alpha wide receiver during the Colts playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. Pittman possesses all the tools to take his game to the next level in 2021.

A plus in 2021 will be Carson Wentz at quarterback replacing Philip Rivers. Rivers became the master of the check down late in his career. He was inconsistent down field and in 2020 targeted tight ends and running backs in half of his attempts (over 250 times). Pittman should see far more targets in total than his 60 last year. At six foot four, Pittman is an ideal red zone target for Wentz, and I expect his touchdown numbers to increase significantly. Overall, Pittman is a solid pick in the middle stages of the draft. He has a great shot at being a top 36 receiver with top 24 upside. 

Colt Schroeder @Colt_Schroeder – Gabe Davis (BUF)

The Bills ran four-wide receiver sets, the second-most in the league in 2020. Davis finished the last eight weeks of the season with four top 25 finishes. He ended the season as the 54th overall WR; this should be his floor with Brown gone, second-year with Allen, and 12 RedZone targets last year. Davis is in a prime position in a pass-heavy offense to break out this year.

James “Doc” Ferretti @TFSDoc – Russell Gage (ATL)

If Julio misses time like he did last year, or is traded, I love Gage’s chances to have some sneaky value in 2021. Gage averaged just short of 15 PPR points per game in the 5 weeks JJ missed at the end of 2020. NOW with Julio almost assuredly on the way out ATL, oh my…and — if you are on the “Kyle Pitts will struggle year one” train — Gage should be on your radar even more. 

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Jeff Bell @4WhomJBellTolls – Deebo Samuel (SF)

Injuries derailed Deebo Samuel’s 2020 season. In a brief glimpse in weeks 12 and 13 we saw his impact in the offense. 22 targets between the two games would put him at the top of the league. His role as an extension of the run game creates a high PPR floor and his FantasyPro’s WR34 bakes in any injury risk.

Miguel Chapeton @ProFootballPSI – Elijah Moore (NYJ)

The Jets hit the reset button on the whole franchise this off-season. With a new regime in charge it puts all holdover players on notice as the new coaching staff will want “their guys” to be the starters. This spells bad news for current WR1 Jamison Crowder who is already in a contract dispute with the team.

The NYJ added Corey Davis this off-season and have last year’s 2nd rd pick Denzel Mims as well, but Davis has been good but unremarkable and Mims did not do very much last year to that would give you hope for being a future alpha. Enter Elijah Moore, Moore dominated in college at Ole Miss and is widely praised by AJ Brown as being the best of the three (Brown, Metcalf and Moore).

Moore is a little undersized but with his skill and route running it is not hard to envision AB 2.0. Moore has already been a standout at OTA’s and if he’s as good as his profile suggests he could easily grab hold of the WR1 role in NY in 2021

Geoff Lambert @GeoffLambert77 – Darnell Mooney (CHI)

Whether it’s Andy Dalton or Justin Fields, I think both are upgrades over what Mooney had to deal with last season. Mooney had a solid rookie season, especially when you consider where he was drafted in the 5th round in the NFL Draft. Mooney surprised even the Bears with his route running ability, especially on deeper routes. Unfortunately, he did not have the QBs that could get him the ball downfield. Nothing proves my point better than the video below.

Erik Johnson @FantasyBBQ – Mecole Hardman (KC)

Hardman is the number three target on the highest-powered offense in football. He balled out early in his rookie season in the four games Tyreek Hill missed due to injury. He earned 22 targets, 12 receptions, 246 yards, and two TDs. That is a very small sample size, but it shows what he can do with more volume. Increased target share plus his blazing speed and after the catch ability could catapult him into the top 24 WRs in 2021.

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