Sophomore Studs On The Rise

It’s interesting to look back at some of these players going into their sophomore season and try to predict who will be a stud in fantasy football. It’s hard to predict who will be a stud but there are some players that really stick out to me. My top 3 players that will breakout include Matthew Stafford, LeSean McCoy and Shonn Greene.

Philadelphia finally let Brian Westbrook go in favor of McCoy as there new running back. That goes to show the faith the organization has in him. Philadelphia has been known to be a team to use their running backs in the passing game as well out of the backfield, so McCoy should add value in that aspect as well. With Kolb the new starter in Philadelphia, Andy Reid may opt to lean on McCoy a bit more as a runner this season too.

Stafford showed a lot of promise last season and he is ready to make the next step in his career. The former number one pick should be able to put up some good fantasy numbers this season, despite a few setbacks that hurt his stats last year. Stafford was injured early on and so was Calvin Johnson, which really hurt their timing and progress as a tandem. Now this young gun slinger is healthy and has had a full off-season to work with Johnson and company. Another reason to remain optimistic is that the Lions added receiving TE Tony Scheffler, Nate Bureleson, a 2^nd WR who has been successful under offensive coordinator Linehan, and explosive running back Jahvid Best. All of these new additions should help the former Bulldog flourish. Stafford will make a great late round sleeper that you can stash on your bench for a rainy fantasy day. Remember, bad teams with great offensive talent are always throwing the ball, as they’re usually trailing at half time.

Lastly you should definitely circle Shonn Greene. I really felt he would be a steal for someone coming out of Iowa last year and he showed a tremendous amount of talent late in the season. Greene really came on late and now has been given the starting job. The Jets also brought in Ladanian Tomlinson but he has been very pedestrian like the last few seasons, so I’m not concerned with him taking stats away from this young talent. Sure LT will get carries and spell Greene throughout the game, but I feel the former Hawkeye will be there go to guy especially around the goal line. Greene is a physical runner and has a great offensive line to run behind. He had a very good rookie season with the Jets and now he is the starter so look for him to take a big step forward.