2019 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: A six pack of breakout questions, answered

Breakouts are a little easier to define than sleepers. Everyone pretty much agrees on the definition — it's somebody who has the chance to join the upper reaches of the Fantasy pantheon.

Last year, Christian McCaffrey, Joe Mixon, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Zach Ertz pulled it off; Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, and Corey Davis didn't quite manage the same. On Draft Day, you want to secure one stud with your first-round pick, but you'll also need to find a player or two who can make that jump a little later on, too.

On Wednesday's episode of Fantasy Football Today (live on CBS Sports HQ at Noon EST), we'll be talking about our favorite breakouts for the 2019 Fantasy season. Let's get our staff's thoughts on the breakout landscape for 2019, along with some of their favorite picks.

Here's who you'll be hearing from:

Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Fantasy Senior Writer
Dave Richard, CBS Fantasy Senior Writer
Heath Cummings, CBS Fantasy Senior Writer
Adam Aizer, Fantasy Football Today host
Chris Towers, CBS Fantasy Senior Editor

1) How do you define the term "Breakout"?

Jamey Eisenberg: A player who goes from being good to a potential star and a must-start Fantasy option every week.
Dave Richard: A player I expect to have a career year. Best stats ever.
Heath Cummings: Someone who is going to do something they've never done — who preferably has league-winning upside at their cost.
Adam Aizer: Like a sleeper, a breakout will significantly outperform his draft value. But more specifically, breakouts are players who go from being good Fantasy options to great or elite Fantasy options.
Chris Towers: A breakout is someone who is going to establish a new level of production. It could even be an early-round pick, if you think they are going to make the leap from very good to elite — Leonard Fournette or JuJu Smith-Schuster would be examples for this season.

2) Who is your ideal breakout candidate for 2019?

Jamey: Kerryon Johnson. I'm excited about his outlook this season now that he's healthy with Darrell Bevell calling plays.
Dave: Damien Williams is on the obvious side since he's never had the opportunity he's about to have, but he's a great example. He should be on the verge of a very busy season as a byproduct of being in the Chiefs offense.
Heath: Kerryon Johnson, because I have no doubt about his talent, he's available in the third or fourth round, and I believe he legitimately has first-round upside.
Adam: Dalvin Cook. Everything we've seen tells us he just needs to stay healthy to become one of the best running backs in football. And Minnesota wants to run the ball, a lot!
Chris: Tyler Lockett. This isn't going to be a high-volume passing offense, but Lockett doesn't need 150 targets to make a leap to the second-best tier of wide receivers. If he gets Doug Baldwin's target volume from 2017 — 116 — 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns isn't out of the question.

3) Who is your favorite post-hype breakout?

Jamey: Chris Godwin. I expected him to be a breakout candidate last year. He was good, but he should be exceptional in 2019.
Dave: Let's roll with D'Onta Foreman, who should get numerous opportunities to unseat Lamar Miller as the Texans' top running back. He's looked good in spring workouts and offers more physicality and upside.
Heath: Did Kenyan Drake ever have enough hype to count? As long as Drake gets his touches it's hard for me to see how he doesn't have a breakout season, finally.
Adam: Does Jimmy Garoppolo count? I'm excited for this 49ers offense and I believe Garoppolo could have a huge season. But if he doesn't count, then Jameis Winston it is!
Chris: Post-hype breakouts are some of my favorite players to target — chances are, the reason we were so excited about them last year hasn't completely disappeared, even if the cost has. I'll go with Will Fuller, who carries significant injury risk, but at a price (WR32) that makes him well worth it. He's another player with 1,100-yard, 10-touchdown upside.

4) Which popular breakout candidate are you most skeptical of?

Jamey: D.J. Moore. I like Moore a lot, but Curtis Samuel could end up as the best receiver in Carolina. And Samuel is a lot cheaper on Draft Day based on his Average Draft Position.
Dave: I'm a little nervous about D.J. Moore being consistent and returning value. His 2018 finish was on par with that of teammate Curtis Samuel. They kind of have a similar skill set and could both be good, but not great. Except, Moore is garnering an ADP as a top-70 pick on NFFC, FantasyPros and Fantasy Football Calculator; Samuel is going in Round 8-plus.
Heath: Probably Marlon Mack. It's really hard to be great at RB without catches and I worry about Mack's durability.
Adam: Nick Chubb in PPR, possibly even 0.5 PPR. Chubb was on pace for 32 catches after becoming the starter, and considering 16 running backs had 50 or more catches last season, Chubb's upside in PPR is limited.
Chris: Derrick Henry. The Titans want to run the ball, sure; but they wanted to run the ball last season, too, and he was almost entirely ineffective until the last four games of the season. With zero pass-catching upside, he'll need to score 10-plus touchdowns in a mediocre-to-bad offense to be a breakout.

5) Who is a better breakout: O.J. Howard or Evan Engram?

Jamey: I'll give the slight nod to Engram. He's scored at least 15 PPR points in nine of the past 16 games Odell Beckham has missed over the past two seasons, and Beckham, as we know, is no longer with the Giants.
Dave: Engram is in the better situation. He's the Giants' most impressive pass catcher and can be a mismatch for opposing defenses. Howard is similarly a mismatch but might be the third-best option in the Bucs' passing game. He's also never had the target share Engram has had.
Heath: I believe O.J. Howard is more talented but Engram has a path to be his team's No. 1 receiver, so I'll say he'll be better for Fantasy.
Adam: I'll take Evan Engram in PPR, O.J. Howard in non-PPR and I'll flip a coin in 0.5 PPR (the coin landed on Engram). I love both of these guys, though a mid-season QB change for the Giants would scare me a bit.
Chris: I want to give a different answer, but it has to be Engram, given the expected workload. That being said, Howard might just need 100 targets to break into the Zach Ertz/George Kittle tier at the position, given his career averages of 16.6 yards per catch and 11.5 yards per target. He might be the third option in Tampa, but there isn't a fourth.

6) Who is a better breakout: Kenny Golladay, Chris Godwin, or or Calvin Ridley?

Jamey: I like all three of these guys, but give me the slot receiver in Bruce Arians' offense. Godwin could be awesome in his third year in the NFL.
Dave: As big of a fan of Ridley as I am, I've got to go with Godwin as the best Fantasy option. The combination of his size and quickness will make him a highly productive slot receiver in the Bucs offense, and the shrinkage of options for Jameis Winston to throw to should push him over 120 looks for the year. I'm drafting him first.
Heath: For Fantasy purposes I'll take Ridley in 2019, but I think Golladay has the most talent and upside. I just worry about the Lions passing game with Bevell calling plays.
Adam: Golladay is my favorite of this group. I hate that he has to play the Vikings and Bears twice, but I love his talent and the fact that he is the No. 1 WR on his team unlike Calvin Ridley and Chris Godwin.
Chris: I have to go with Godwin. Golladay is playing in what should be a low-volume passing offense, and Ridley just wasn't that good as a rookie outside of a few big games. Godwin, Howard, and Mike Evans might combine for 300-plus targets in that offense, so opportunities shouldn't be a question for Godwin.