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Fantasy football scorching hot takes are less about accuracy and more about staking your reputation on a particular player you feel is primed to wildly exceed or disastrously fail to meet expectations. Many of the following takes from our featured experts won’t materialize, but they all have a realistic chance of coming to fruition.
What is one fantasy football scorching hot take (player-related) you have for the upcoming season, and why could it happen?
“Zamir White has an opportunity to finish as a top 12 running back this season due to his projected workload. Las Vegas’s current quarterback situation and the preferences of head coach Antonio Pierce to run the football puts White in a prime spot to carry the bulk of the work. While Alexander Mattison was signed in the offseason, I don’t think he has the efficiency metrics that could compete with White’s late-season sample that has given him the driver’s seat towards the starting running back slot in Vegas this season.”
– Rhett Manuel (Fantasy In Frames)
“Brian Thomas Jr. leads all rookie WRs in receiving yards. Reports out of Jags OTAs have stated that their first-round wide receiver will take on the vacated role left by Calvin Ridley. That role could be insane for Thomas’ fantasy ceiling in Year 1: 1800-plus air yards, 23% target share, 36% air yards share, NFL leader in end zone targets and WR10 expected points per game. Don’t get caught sleeping on the 23rd overall pick.”
– Andrew Erickson (FantasyPros)
“Jaleel McLaughlin will finish the season as a top-24 running back in fantasy football. McLaughlin excelled in every efficiency metric that I care about last year, ranking 14th in explosive run rate, fifth in missed tackles forced per attempt, and fourth in yards after contact per attempt and yards per route run. He should be the passing down back in a Sean Payton-led offense that LOVES to feature running backs in the passing game. Going all the way back to 2014, Payton’s offenses have never ranked lower than fourth in targets to the running back position in the NFL. McLaughlin is one of the best picks you can make in fantasy football drafts this year.”
– Derek Brown (FantasyPros)
“Javon Baker will be a top-24 wide receiver on a points-per-game basis. We have seen NFL Draft Day 3 picks turn into fantasy stars as a rookie, including Puka Nacua and Amon-Ra St. Brown. The New England Patriots have the worst wide receiver core in the NFL, lacking a clear-cut No. 1 option. Baker had the 11th-high PFF receiving grade in the draft class last season and posted a higher yards per route run average than Rome Odunze (3.21 vs. 2.93). Furthermore, he ranked in the 97th percentile in college target share. Baker has been the star of offseason workouts for the Patriots. Don’t be surprised if he quickly turns into Jacoby Brissett/Drake Maye‘s go-to target.”
– Mike Fanelli (FantasyPros)
“Kyle Pitts finishes as fantasy’s top TE, and T.J. Hockenson is a bust. I don’t know what my fellow analysts are thinking and drinking with their stratospheric current consensus ranking of T.J. Hockenson at TE13, but pour me a glass because it must be really good, haha! Hockenson is coming off major reconstructive knee surgery, which was performed January 29, 2024. At the time of this writing (June 12, 2024) it hasn’t even been five months post surgery! There is no way T.J. will be 100%, not just for week one, but for the entire season! Even if, by some act of God, Hockenson makes a miraculous Adrian Peterson type of recovery, which I highly doubt, the Vikings will still be without QB Kirk Cousins (who left in free agency) and could very well be eliminated from the playoffs by the time he comes back, lessening the odds T.J. plays much, if at all. As for Pitts, he’s finally healthy, and he gets the best QB he’s ever had (you know Captain Kirk, whom I mentioned earlier), along with a new coaching staff that wants to pass it more often and, the last time I checked, it’s Pitts who holds the second most receiving yardage for a rookie TE, with only Mike Ditka surpassing his 1,026 yards. Helm, lock phasers on Kyle Pitts (one of Ringo’s favorite draft targets in 2024)……Fire Mr. Sulu!”
– Mark Ringo (Sleepers and Busts)
“Kyle Pitts finishes the season as THE TE1 in fantasy. Though he’s a dark horse to do so, Pitts is an elite athletic talent with a brand new scheme and QB to help him get there. Arthur Smith and his old-guard OC Dave are Ra-gone, but Raheem Morris and new OC Zac Robinson should be upgrades for the offense as a whole. And as the top TE when it came to Average Depth of Target, Air Yards and Unrealised Air Yards last season, Pitts has nowhere to go but up. With the potential for double-digit TDs and Kirk Cousins at the helm, I like Pitts to beat out all other tight end talents in fantasy this season, eating good alongside Drake London, who should also smash in 2024.”
– Jeremy Shulman (Fantasy Football Universe)
“Stop drafting that WR who is always going to REALLY breakout next year. Since some of them already have fairly low ADPs, let me make this a parlay of hotness. Marquise Brown, Jameson Williams, Jerry Jeudy, Jahan Dotson, and Rashod Bateman will all finish below ADP. Among 95 WRs with 41+ targets (Jameson’s 2023 target total) in 2023, all the WRs above fell into the 36th percentile or lower in one of two stats: PFF RECV Grade or Yards per Route Run. These disappointments are opposed to other WR bets in the same range who are there because of the unknown, not because they’ve slowly been taking the ADP elevator down to irrelevance, one bad season at a time. Give me the unknowns, even if they prove to be useless by October when more is known. It’s the upside bet to make.”
– Seth Miller (Crossroads Fantasy Football)
“Dalton Kincaid will finish as TE1 in the season. Currently going off the board 81st overall as TE7, Kincaid has a clear path to not only being the number two in targets on the Bills but potentially even the number one. Stefon Diggs has departed for Houston, and the next best-receiving option on this team is either a rookie receiver (Keon Coleman) or a running back (James Cook). Aside from those two options, the Bills have nothing more than Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel. Kincaid finished his rookie season at TE12 with 73 receptions, 673 yards, and two touchdowns. He should have little trouble setting career-highs in all three of these areas and a scenario in which he doubles his yardage and scores double-digit touchdowns is well within the realm of possibility. ”
– Aaron St Denis (Fantasy Football Universe)
“Najee Harris will finish as a top 10 or better RB in 2024. I am not sure how HOT this take is, but it seems most have him rank outside the top 20 which to me is absurd. Look Najee Harris is a bell cow RB, and he is getting an offensive coordinator that loves to run the ball. They built up their offensive line this off season to protect their QB and create holes for their RB. Harris with OC Arthur Smith is a match made in heaven. Did I mention this is a contract year? The Steelers can run him to the hottest core of the Earth, and then allow him to test free agency to get “fresher” legs. Plus, he has proven to be a reliable pass catcher too! Najee will be the guy in Pittsburgh and he will be a top 10 RB in 2024! Book it!!!!”
– Miguel ‘SC’ Romero (Fantasy Football Universe)
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