The NFC South: 2009 Fantasy Football Breakout Player

Every year there are multiple players at each position that have breakout seasons and put their name on the fantasy football map.

In 2008, we saw players like Matt Cassel, Aaron Rodgers, Michael Turner, Derrick Ward, Antonio Bryant and Dwayne Bowe put together what is considered breakout season and because of this they will be highly targeted in 2009 fantasy football drafts.

With it never being to early to start planning for your fantasy football draft, the Bruno Boys offer you their opinion on what players will flourish in 2009 and have a breakout season. In our first installment of 2009 Fantasy Football Breakout Players we bring to you the NFC South division.

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New Orleans Saints: If you're reading this column thinking the Bruno Boys like Reggie Bush as a breakout player in 2009, think again. Bush has done nothing but fail his owners throughout his three year NFL career and until the Saints realize he should be a slot receiver and nothing else, his fantasy football value is hit or miss.

In fact, the emergence of Pierre Thomas has the Saints heading into '09 wanting to utilize both options, thus leaving Bush and owners uncertain about his role heading into training camp.

Speaking of Thomas, the second year running back played as a RB1 towards the end of last season, finishing with nine touchdowns over his last six games and leading the Saints in rushing yards and TD's.

Still, many fantasy football owners will head into '09 erring on the side of caution because he lacks experience, but with New Orleans having the best passing offense in football, Thomas should have no trouble finding holes in the ground game.

If you have him on your radar heading into this year's fantasy football drafts, target him as a RB2 and if you are snagging him in the fourth or fifth round, consider it fair value.

Also Consider: WR Robert Meachem (see Lance Moore)

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Atlanta Falcons: When looking at the Falcons' roster heading into next season, there is no single player that jumps out as a "breakout" candidate. The one guy we had in mind was wide receiver Laurent Robinson, but that came to a halt when Atlanta shipped him to the St. Louis Rams for draft picks earlier this month.

The two players you can make a case for signal caller Matt Ryan and veteran wide-out Michael Jenkins. Both had promising '08 seasons but lacked the consistency to be an every week option in the world of fantasy football.

Jenkins finished with a career high 777 receiving yards and a 15.5 yard-per-catch average, but was only able to find pay-dirt on three different occasions. With teams making it a priority to shutdown Roddy White, you can expect Jenkins along with second-year receiver Harry Douglas to see a steady amount of targets in '09.

We aren't saying that Jenkins is a WR2 or even a WR3 to start the season, but he is a player that you should target as a late round flier.

After all, Jenkins has shown flashes of having the season Atlanta fore-casted when they drafted him with the 29th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, and he is a low risk/high reward option.

Also Consider: WR Harry Douglas, RB Jerious Norwood

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Carolina Panthers: Like most NFC South teams, the Carolina Panthers roster fails to have any eye-popping talent that is setup for a big showing in 2009.

Once again they will rely on DeAngelo Williams, Steve Smith, Jonathan Stewart and Muhsin Muhammad to carry the load and hope that quarterback Jake Delhomme limits his turnovers while making smart decisions.

Other than that, the offense is boring and the only guy on the current roster that has any "breakout" ability is over-hyped wide-out Dwayne Jarrett. After being drafted 13th overall in the 2007 draft, Jarrett has just 16 receptions for 192 receiving yards and zero TD's during his two year NFL career.

There is no doubt about it Jarrett has the physical ability to do big things in the NFL, but he has had trouble learning the Panthers' offense and staying healthy.

However, he received a boost of confidence from head coach John Fox when he told the Charlotte Observer that Jarrett made great strides in his second season and that "the light definitely came on."

Still, Jarrett will start the season as the third wide receiver in an offense that ran the football 55 percent of the time and finished last season with just three TD passes over the last five games.

Heading into 2009 you are better off shying away from Jarrett on draft day but he is someone to keep an eye on throughout the preseason and at the start of the season.

If his numbers start to increase and he is receiving a steady amount of targets you should consider employing him if your roster allows you to do so. He is considered a long-shot to have a fantasy football worthy season, but did anyone think Lance Moore would score 10 TD's last year? Probably not!

Also Consider: None (talent is that thin in Carolina)

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Just two years ago Kellen Winslow was arguably the best tight end in the NFL, but after a dismal 2008 season and a trade from the Cleveland Browns, he must re-establish himself around the league and in the eyes of fantasy football owners.

After having 82 receptions and 1,106 receiving yards in 2007, Winslow could muster only 43 receptions for 428 receiving yards in '08. Plus, he missed six games due to injury and his 55 fantasy points was good for 20th at the position, despite being ranked third in our preseason magazine.

The addition of Winslow is not the only change in Tampa, as the Buccaneers have a new head coach and offensive coordinator in Raheem Morris and Jeff Jagodzinski.

Both coaches should help bring some much needed life to the Tampa Bay franchise and Jagodzinski, who will be calling the plays, has a nice track record at developing tight ends.

He spent some time as the tight ends coach in Green Bay, helping mold the king of one-yard TD's Bubba Franks, and Alge Crumpler had one of his better years in Atlanta when Jagodzinski was a coach.

This leads us Bruno Boys to believe that Winslow, if healthy, should bounce back in '09 and once again be a TE1.

Also Consider: QB Luke McCown (take the wait and see approach), WR Michael Clayton (remember his '04 season?)

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To see who the breakout players are from the league's other divisions, click the link below...

Bruno Boys Fantasy Football