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Ellis Johnson selects a fantasy football player on each NFC West team for the 2024 season. These are players who have the talent and opportunity to become league- winners.
The NFC West is loaded with potent offenses and a variety of defensive abilities. From the reigning NFC champs to the new home of Marvin Harrison Jr., it’s easy to get excited about this division.
Although this division has some outstanding NFL talent, it’s predominantly made up of players who have already broken out. If you have followed these articles, you know I avoid selecting rookies, further narrowing down the potential options.
In this series, I select a potential fantasy breakout player for each of the 32 NFL teams. I have divided the teams by division and sequenced the players in from most to least confident in a breakout season. If this is your first article of mine, thank you for checking it out and please check out my other work!
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Seattle Seahawks Fantasy Football Breakout
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR, SEA)
In my intro, I discussed how there aren’t a lot of players to choose from in this division. That might be true for the other three teams, but this one is a slam dunk. JSN was a highly touted prospect and the first WR selected in the 2023 draft. Praised for his all-around skill set and slick route running, there is plenty to be excited about this season.
Unfortunately, the Seahawks ran into some passing regression in 2023 and JSN was unable to consistently be on the field over his teammate, Tyler Lockett. Although Lockett is back, JSN has received plenty of praise out of camp and should have the second receiving role locked down.
The team also brought in offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb from the University of Washington. Grubb organized a high-flying offense last season with Michael Penix Jr. under center and heavily using three main receivers (Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk, and Jalen McMillan), who were all selected in the first three rounds of this year's draft. That opens the door for JSN to produce even if Lockett continues to take snaps away from him. This could be the first pass-heavy Seattle team we’ve seen in a while and JSN could be a huge part of it.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Complete 2023 NFL Rookie Season Highlights Seattle #Seahawks
JSN finished the 2023 NFL season with 628 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns on 63 receptions and 93 targets in 17 games.
Full video 📽️ https://t.co/TWP0kO9XJB#Football #NFLFantasy #Geno #OhioState pic.twitter.com/EFn8mX2TrK
— @NFLStudy (@NFLStudy) January 11, 2024
San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Football Breakout
Ricky Pearsall (WR, SF)
I’m going to cheat on this one. I have managed to avoid rookies for this entire series; however, I think he is the only realistic option here. The 49ers are stacked with veterans across the board, with Deebo Samuel Sr., Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, and even Elijah Mitchell having breakout moments.
Especially in light of the recent news that Aiyuk has officially requested a trade, this year’s first-round selection deserves to be highlighted in this article. Coming into the league, Pearsall was a surprise first-round selection. The surprise was not hated by most fans, as Pearsall is a very solid prospect. With good hands and a feel for the game, his main weakness was contested catches. Thankfully, when you play for Kyle Shanahan, players are rarely found in contested situations.
Last season, Aiyuk truly broke out in this offense, finishing as the WR14. Although Pearsall does not have the profile to step into this exact role if Aiyuk is traded, he will be leaned on a lot in the passing game. If Aiyuk is not a 49er come September, Pearsall joins the likes of Keon Coleman and Ladd McConkey as rookies with an immediate path to target volume.
HIGHLIGHTS: San Francisco 49ers rookie first round pick Ricky Pearsall working on cuts and foot work on Friday. #NFL || #49ers #FTTB || #RickyPearsall
— Justin David Kish • Sports Journalist (@JustinDavidKish) May 11, 2024
Arizona Cardinals Fantasy Football Breakout
Michael Wilson (WR, ARI)
From one second-year WR to another, Wilson also flashed some playmaking last season. The Stanford product was selected by the Cardinals in the third round of the 2023 draft. As a prospect, he was praised for his toughness after the catch and the intensity of which he played the game.
Last season, without Kyler Murray for a significant portion, Wilson tallied nearly 600 yards and three scores. More impressively, he had six games with over 50 yards. With the departure of Marquise Brown and the main incoming competition being veteran journeyman Zay Jones, Wilson should be the second outside WR.
Both the emergence of Trey McBride and the addition of Marvin Harrison Jr. in the draft means Wilson may struggle to see weekly volume. However, he did enough last season to keep an eye out for this season.
Michael Wilson Week 4 Every Target and Catch Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers NFL 2023
Wilson finished with 7 Rec for 76 Rec yards and 2 TDs.#nflfootball #fantasyfootball #football #nflhighlights #highlights #Dynasty #Gannon #Dobbs #Cards #AZ #Rookie #Stanford #WR pic.twitter.com/Sg2QnrBnVL
— NFL Film Study (@NFLFilmStudy) October 2, 2023
Los Angeles Rams Fantasy Football Breakout
Colby Parkinson (TE, LAR)
I’ll be honest, this is a very lackluster name to finish this edition. Regardless, Parkinson fits the bill for a breakout player in a great situation. For some reason, the Rams aren’t always viewed as a great offense, despite being electric last season. With head-coaching savant Sean McVay, perennially underrated Matthew Stafford, as well as Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, and Kyren Williams, it’s not hard to see why this offense could be fantasy gold.
The auxiliary piece on this offense is Colby Parkinson. Seattle’s fourth-round pick in 2020 joined the Rams on a three-year, $22.5 million deal this offseason. With Tyler Higbee tearing his ACL and MCL in the team’s final game last season, Parkinson was a necessary addition to the team. Although Higbee only ever had one stretch of fantasy relevance (and it was an elite stretch), this team likes to use the same players on the field for every down. With Parkinson’s blocking prowess and athleticism, these snaps could lead to some fantasy spike weeks in a high-powered offense.
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