AFC NORTH BREAKOUTS TO BUY

Continuing the All 32: Breakouts to Buy in the AFC North division, by @GNFF_Dynasty

BALTIMORE RAVENS: MARK ANDREWS – TE 

We called Andrews one of our top sleepers two months ago and it seems the rest of the fantasy football community has woken up to him. Going undrafted in leagues last year and earlier this offseason, Andrew’s ADP has been rising since the season ended. Still only going in the 14th round Andrews is a bargain at tight end and could be in for a huge year. According to the Ravens website Andrews has been “a big body over the middle” for Jackson this offseason. Hayden Hurst should never have been taken in the first round last year and there’s no reason to worry about his draft capital. Andrews is younger, faster, and a better pass catcher. Andrews had quietly one of the most efficient rookie seasons from a TE all time. He ranks first among rookie tight ends in yards per reception and second in yards per target amongs all historical rookie tight ends. The Ravens brought in two rookie WRs, but don’t be surprised if Andrews become a big part of this passing game. It’s hard to predict stats for Andrews with all the questions marks in Baltimore. He finished last year with 34/552/3 line after only three starts. He was out-snapped by Boyle but that’s because Boyle specializes in run blocking. Andrews will be the primary pass catching TE in 2019. Don’t be shocked with a solid 50/675/7 this year, which would have been TE7 last year.

CINCINNATI BENGALS: TYLER BOYD – WR

While some would argue that Boyd broke out last year, we can see him take another step this year and become a WR1. Last year Boyd finished as the WR15 despite playing only 14 games. Having AJ Green and Andy Dalton back will only help Tyler Boyd our as his full season pace with both players in the lineup would have put him as the WR9 last season. Boyd was a phenomenal prospect coming out of college with an 86 percentile dominator ranking and a 92nd percentile breakout age. This shows that his year three coming out party likely wasn’t a fluke and he is actually a very good player. Boyd was not only productive last year, but extremely efficient when the ball was thrown his way. He finished top 20 in key efficiency metrics such as fantasy points per target, production premium, target premium, QB rating when targeted and dominator rating. Boyd currently has an ADP in the sixth round of re-drafts and is a great target for someone who should outproduce that ADP this season.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS: JAMES WASHINGTON – WR

Onto the Pittsburgh Steelers, second-year wideout James Washington is ready to emerge in this explosive offense. Instead of dropping stats, let’s look at what Washington has done this offseason to prepare. According to Steelers.com, he has lost 15 pounds – dedicating himself to the weight room, studying film and working overtime on his routes. “I watched some game film by myself and just tried to become more of a football junkie,” said Washington. “I wanted to look at the game like a quarterback. Quarterbacks see everything.” Ask Juju Smith Schuster what he thinks about Washington. Pittsburgh’s number one wideout says his teammate has the ropes down, calling him up and coming. “This past summer workouts that we had, he’s been doing amazing, a great job. I’m super excited to see how he does this year. He’s our guy that’s going to sneak up on everybody,” said Smith Schuster. Washington only caught 16 passes for 217 yards and a TD in 2018 but with Antonio Brown gone, there’s huge opportunity share for Washington to capitalize on.

CLEVELAND BROWNS: NICK CHUBB – RB

Wrapping up the AFC North Breakouts with an unexpected selection – Nick Chubb. Selecting Nick Chubb as the breakout player on a team with a dearth of talent on offense may not be the most popular choice but here’s why you should give Chubb a second look. Chubb accumulated a total of eight touchdowns and rushed for just under 1,000 yards in only nine starts. Chubb has shown he can have a big game with as little as three carries when he had 105 yards and two TDs in Week 4. He has also shown he can grind out big games when he carried 20 times for 176 and a score in Week 10. With the elephant in the room, Kareem Hunt entering the equation after his seven-game suspension, Chubb had proven that he can be effective with carrying or sharing the workload. With OBJ and Baker Mayfield stretching the fielding, Chubb will have more space to operate and convert long runs. Also, having all the Browns talented WRs all over the field will help Chubb  get an opportunity to improve on his receiving numbers with check downs and underneath routes. If Chubb can have a great start in the first seven games and hold off Hunt for touches later in the season, Chubb could easily have 1,500-plus yards from scrimmage and double digit touchdowns in an offense that’s going to be explosive.