Every season of fantasy football does have certain players as the ‘busts’, the players who fail to live up to the expected potential. Signing these players is always a risk, it is still conversely that these perceived ‘bust’ players are gems that are just waiting to shine. Particularly, what if many players are ignored by most individuals? Are they the players who can transform your season in fantasy football?
Following the rankings and opinions of the top experts, it is quite simple to do. However, no season is dull and some of the expected to underperform generally perform well. These players are those who have gone up a level, received a boost in motivation, or are simply being forgotten about and can be those players who can turn your entire fantasy team around if they perform to there full capacity. The strategy here is to focus on the observable factors that may trigger an outbreak and the potential causes.
Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Even the critics believed that Tee Higgins and there are high chances that he will be a bust again this season, options are again interesting for fantasy football managers. Higgins had quite a tough time last year, even a whole year full of troubles that lowered people’s expectations about his ability to get back on the right track this year. As per the drafts prior to the start of of last season, Higgins was established as a prime WR2, but he struggled to meet the expectations with only 42 receptions for 656 yards and five touchdowns, all the while dealing with injuries. This was a career-aberrant season for Higgins who has been within touching distance of 1,000 yards in his first three NFL seasons, playing only 12 last season.
Nonetheless, Higgins had a full offseason to recuperate; in addition to that, he wants really wants to show his worth after a miserable season. With talent and earlier successes on his resume along with a fresh attitude, he has all that is needed to silence the critics. The fact that Higgins was negotiating contract discussions with the Bengals makes him an even more attractive target for the 2024 season, which gives him even more hope to show merit.
The threat that Higgins gets to unleash within the Bengals’ offense also boosts him. Since many defenses focus on stopping Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon are leaving the team, Higgins is expected to get more attention from his team and targets. The offense of the Bengals maintains what the wide receivers do best, thus Higgins will have to make those deep catches that open up games. Signing Higgins now, bearing in mind that he received wide spread criticism last season, could turn out to be a tactical move that could see the star come back strong as power forward.
Christian Kirk, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Contrary to other expectations that Christian Kirk will be a bust, it is safe to expect that he will be a good draft selection. Ridley left Jacksonville, and this has left a huge gap in the team’s receiving end, something that is perfect for Kirk.
With Ridley out, there are 136 more targets that can be targeted by Trevor Lawrence. And in 2024, Kirk show that he is capable to be a more consistent and versatile weapon, and with Ridley leaving, will soon be one of Lawrence’s favorite targets. Kirk featured in only 12 games in the previous season, where he gained 787 yards, without scoring three traversing touchdowns. Even though, the touchdown number is quite alarming, it is expected to rise in year three against the Jaguars.
Another positive factor leading to a possible breakout season for Kirk is that he already knows the Jaguars’ offense well and has a good relationship with Lawrence. However, this also should tell everyone how much Ridley’s absence would not only grow Kirk’s target share but also how he would probably face better matchups against the defensive side of the ball. Thus, this potential of being used more often within the offense represents a clear roadmap through which Kirk could step up his production and maybe justify his draft slot. Even the inclusion of Gabe Davis, a wideout whom the Buffalo Bills recently released, should not drastically reduce the receptions which Kirk gets.
Due to his versatility and skills, Kirk should benefit from the new situation and as such can be recommended to work harder and accomplish more. Drafting Kirk might prove to be fruitful as the player who can easily fill a big part in the team and give decent number of fantasy points. Prepare for a similar performance to his 2022 output, while around 1,108 total yards and eight TDs would also be good. Their No. 1 receiver is still awake.
Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
It is about time that people started to calm down with the doubtfulness that goes around Justin Herbert, young quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers. Listed as the QB16 this season on most rosters, this decline is quite expected although he had his worst performance in 2023 settling at 3,134 yards, 20 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in 13 games. Herbert also was deprived of top receiver production options in Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler for this season.
However, this should not result in such a sharp reduction of Herbert’s estimated ADP. A few years ago he was regarded as one of the five best options for a quarterback, but one bad year drops him to the double digits. While new head coach, Jim Harbaugh could come in with a different style of play, which opens Herbert up more. Later in this article, it will be argued that after reviewing Harbaugh’s history of coaching, Herbert will be well protected with creative play-calling and an offense built to exploiting his assets. Still, the Chargers lacked some of their top receivers and selected a rookie Ladd McConkey.
The Chargers will arguably add some new and exciting players into their passing game, which will create more opportunities for Herbert especially in the deep ball. He will excel well because of his capacity in terms of arm strength and accuracy regardless of receivers that the team may have newly signed.
The new sets of change as the team adapts are a good advantage for Herbert to produce good results and make better use of the novel weapons in contributing more points for fantasy managers. However, drafting Herbert can be profitable as Harbaugh brings the makings of a new played up offense. This means that, whenever circumstances that require flexibility and resilience take the speaker on high-risk tasks, he becomes a high-upside pick. Reports suggest that Herbert can throw 4,000 yards; thus, he should surpass QB16 standards and be among the top 10 best fantasy quarterbacks by the end of the season.