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It's never too early for owners to dive back into the deep end of fantasy football.
Teams reporting to camps as early as this week ahead of preseason exhibitions means fantasy football drafts firing up over the next month in droves of different leagues ranging from standard to points-per-reception (PPR) and beyond.
Said drafts have a way of sneaking up on owners despite the anticipation. One week the NFL isn't active at all, the next there's live football—literally, seeing as the Hall of Fame Game is August 3.
Owners who want to compete for league titles and still have some time to come up with amazing team names can use the guide below as a baseline for early draft-prep work, though keep in mind the mock and rankings could change in dramatic fashion as training camps get going.
2017 Fantasy Football Mock Draft
2017 Fantasy Football Rankings
2017 Breakout Candidates
Terrelle Pryor, WR, Washington Redskins
One could argue Terrelle Pryor broke out last year with the Cleveland Browns, though looking at the numbers, it was more of a real-world breakout for a former quarterback on a miserable team than it was a fantasy breakout.
The fake-football breakout might still be in the works.
Pryor oddly landed with the Washington Redskins in free agency, though it's something would-be owners shouldn't complain about. He goes from names such as Cody Kessler, Josh McCown and Charlie Whitehurst under center on a one-win team to an offense that amassed 589 passing attempts and nearly 5,000 yards while three wideouts hit 97 targets or more.
Now would be a good time to mention the two names at the top of the targets list, coming in at 216 total, left Washington this offseason.
While Pryor hit on eight double-digit performances with the Browns last year, he still didn't break into the top 15 scorers at his position. He could force his way into the top 10 this year, which isn't a bad value for a guy with an average draft position (ADP) of 3.08, according to Fantasy Football Calculator.
Cameron Meredith, WR, Chicago Bears
There's little in the way of hyperbole here—Chicago Bears wideout Cameron Meredith could be the breakout player of 2017.
Like Pryor, Meredith had a breakout year of sorts a season ago, at least in the sense the 2015 undrafted free agent entered last year with 11 catches to his name and wound up leading the Bears in receiving, tallying six double-digit outings despite little usage over the first four weeks of the season and doing so while catching passes from guys like Matt Barkley and Brian Hoyer.
Got all that? It gets better.
The Bears didn't add much in the way of competition for Meredith's No. 1 slot on the depth chart despite the departure of Alshon Jeffery. In fact, complementary adds like Markus Wheaton, Kendall Wright and Victor Cruz could leave Meredith in favorable solo matchups often.
Keep in mind the Bears upgraded under center, too, inking veteran Mike Glennon to a deal over the offseason. Technically the Bears will still execute a run-first offense, but more weapons and better quarterback play should mean Meredith can blow past the 888 yards and four touchdowns he put up last year.
From Week 5 on last year, Meredith slotted as a top-20 scorer at his slot. The whirlwind of events around him mentioned above could catapult him into the top 10 over a full season.
Did anyone mention Meredith has an ADP of 9.10?
Rookie Running backs
Is it cheating to list more than one player at a time?
Owners, at least, shouldn't complain. A year ago, two rookies disrupted the running back hierarchy charts as we know them, shoving aside regulars for massive breakout years.
Those names were Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago's Jordan Howard. The following guys seem poised to do the same:
- Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
- Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
It's not hard to see why Leonard Fournette would get a mention after the Jacksonville Jaguars jumped on him with the fourth pick. He's a bowling ball of an NFL-ready runner who doesn't have much in the way of competition thanks to TJ Yeldon and Chris Ivory on the depth chart and Blake Bortles under center means a likely pass-first offense.
It helps the LSU product has turned heads with his ability as a receiver, too, according to Hays Carlyon of 92.5 FM in Jacksonville:
The hype understandably has Fournette's ADP sitting at 2.08, though Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers isn't far behind at 4.01.
McCaffrey, taken four spots later, is an every-down weapon who at Stanford showed he is a threat to score from any part of the field via any facet of the game. Perhaps the only reason his ADP isn't higher is because he'll have to deal with a quality backfield ally in Jonathan Stewart, not to mention Cam Newton's propensity to take off with the ball on his lonesome.
In fact, McCaffrey even falls behind Joe Mixon of the Cincinnati Bengals in this area. The No. 48 pick boasts an ADP of 3.07 in large part because many would argue he was the most talented back in the draft, with off-field concerns hurting his stock.
Mixon has the talent to finish as the top-scoring rookie at his position. The Bengals might take a conservative role with him to start, though Jeremy Hill's past fumbling issues and Giovani Bernard's recovery from a knee injury might push Mixon on the field right out of the gates.
Owners can't go wrong with any of the three rookie runners mentioned, as they could all rule the "breakout stars" awards doled out at season's end.
All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com. Average draft position (ADP) courtesy of Fantasy Football Calculator.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
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