Fantasy Football is potentially the best hobby I’ve gotten myself into. At first, I was skeptical; it felt strange to not care about the outcome of an actual NFL game as long as an individual player did well. It felt as though I was supporting something that took away from the integrity of the game. But as I got into the intricacies of fantasy football and looked at it for what it was, I soon realized just how much fun you can have if you follow football; not to mention just how much research you need to do in order to compete at the top of your league (unless of course you get lucky and all your draft picks pan out). However, therein lies the kicker (no pun intended).

In order to guarantee your success as a fantasy football player, you first need to have a solid draft. Unless you become the waiver wire hero, you will most likely have to depend on the strength of your draft picks to carry your team to victory. Part of successful drafting involves knowing which players are going to exceed their predictions based on their preseason draft value. A player’s draft value is the average place he’ll get drafted in every draft by whatever site you’re using. Antonio Brown and Adrian Peterson, who both commonly provide a large percentage of their team’s offensive output in any given week, are two classic examples of players who are perennially selected high in the draft and are considered first round picks for this year. Players who are more consistent and the focal point of their respective offenses are players you should target for your team. Obviously there’s much more involved when selecting a player, but I’m not attempting to get into everything at the moment.

Right now, I want to share with you my top five lists of sleepers and breakouts for this upcoming fantasy football season. A sleeper is a player whom not many are talking about or someone who is noit currently getting pegged as a potential stud for the season, but that you think will do well. These are not players I’m saying will break out and become stars, but players who will certainly exceed their current expectations. The breakout players are ones I believe will become stars and establish themselves as kings among the fantasy world. So without further ado, let’s get to it.

SLEEPERS:

Giovani Bernard

I’m honestly kind of surprised people aren’t talking about him more. He’s shown he can be a productive back when he’s on the field for Cincinatti and his only other competition is Jeremy Hill. I’m not trying to knock Hill here, but he was in the dog house quite a bit last season and showed quite a bit of regression instead of living up to his first round ADP. On top of his inconsistent competition for the top spot on the depth chart, Bernard is also going to benefit from the departure of Marvin Jones and Mohammed Sanu. There are a lot more targets to pick up now and the top two receiving options in the offense (AJ Green and Tyler Eifert) both have their fair share of previous injuries. He’s already in line for some more targets, but throw in another potential injury for one of the those two and we have a very nice season awaiting Bernard.

DeVante Parker

I absolutely loooove DeVante Parker. I’ve been high on him since last season. He only played in eight games for the Dolphins but would’ve been on pace for just under a thousand yards receiving and six touchdowns last year as a rookie, not bad for someone who was stuck in an abysmal offense. I’m not suggesting you’re going to see the second coming of Dan Marino in Miami this year, but the addition of Adam Gase should do wonders for Ryan Tannehill and their their offense. Gase loves to use his X receiver, the split end usually set up on the weak side of the ball, and it’s currently DeVante Parker who’s in line to get the starting nod for that position. Add all that up with his great frame and some pretty impressive athleticism and you have a recipe for a giant step up during his sophomore season.

Sterling Shepherd

Shepherd is the new diaper dandy for the New York Giants. He may only be a rookie, but he’s got some already very polished skills for his young age. He’s being touted as a great route runner with nice hands. Remind you of anyone? Oh yeah, his teammate Odell Beckham Jr. I’ve heard he’s pretty good. Back to Shepherd though; he’s second on the depth chart above Victor Cruz and will be lined up across from one of the most talented receivers in the league. ODB will see double coverage a lot and Shepherd will be there to clean up the mess when Eli Manning needs to throw it somewhere. If Manning competes anywhere near the level he did during his championship runs, we’re talking about a very strong rookie season for Sterling Shepherd.

Coby Fleener/Dwayne Allen

I’m putting them both in the same spot because they were splitting time on the same team last year. Coby Fleener jumped ship in Indianapolis and landed in New Orleans as the single top tight end in that offense. Drew Brees managed to orchestrate the resurgence of Benjamin Watson last year. I can only imagine what wonders he’ll do for Fleener this year. Dwayne Allen, on the other hand, now gets the benefit of being Andrew Luck’s big bodied target for the upcoming season. In a year where I think Andrew Luck will bounce back and remind everyone why he’s a top three QB in the league, Dwayne Allen will get to be one of Andrew Luck’s top three passing targets as the main tight end. They will both succeed in taking over their respective team’s starting roles.

Clive Walford

I remember when Mychal Rivera was supposed to be the up and coming tight end for the rebuilding Raiders. Then Clive Walford came along. He quickly eclipsed Rivera on the depth chart and showed some flashes of greatness. He didn’t put up crazy numbers and only had limited action to show his skill last year, but with a whole offseason to work with potential sleeper quarterback Derek Carr and a clean bill of health heading into next season, we could see him put up top eight tight end numbers in an offense I think will surprise people this year.

BREAKOUTS:

David Johnson

As much as a I love DeVante Parker and I really do, I love David Johnson way more. It’s not even close. He has everything going for him. His offensive line is solid. He’s getting the ball handed off by what would’ve been the reigning comeback player of the year if Eric Berry hadn’t made his miraculous recovery. He has great vision. He has great hands and he’s a playmaker whenever he has the ball in his hands, regardless if it came from a screen pass or a hand-off. Bruce Arians already said he intends to use Johnson as his bell cow back, so there shouldn’t be any concern that Chris Johnson or Andre Ellington will take away his touches. Johnson is also one of the younger feature backs in the league. He hardly has any wear and tear for anyone that might think about injury concerns. Last year he finished as the seventh highest scoring running back in standards scoring leagues despite having only started five games (check me on that but I’m pretty sure it was only five). I know it wasn’t above six. Anyway, he’s already shown us he’s a force to be reckoned with, so it should come by no surprise if Johnson has a monstrous breakout year this season.

Lamar Miller

I think Lamar Miller is going to have an incredible season. He is another player that has everything going for him. Underutilized in Miami, he comes into a great situation as the lead back in Houston behind the great offensive mind of Bill O’Brien. He will finally be used in the bell cow role he deserves. Essentially an Arian Foster 2.0, Miller hits holes with ease, has great hands, and deceiving strength. Miller has averaged over 4.5 yards per carry his entire career and should presumably have his best year so far. Whenever he was fed the ball last year like he should’ve been, he produced both on the ground and through the air, showing you why he should be given the chance to be an every down back and the focal point of an offense. This year, he’s finally going to get that chance.

Amari Cooper

Amari Cooper could very well follow in former Alabama star Julio Jones’ footsteps. He’s itching to break out. He was another player who showed flashes of brilliance last year and showed why he was drafted so highly by the Raiders. Only coming into his second season, he has so much potential and so much going for him. He’s in an up and coming offense with a gun-slinging quarterback in Derek Carr, a potential 3-down back in Latavius Murray, and a great number two wide out in Michael Crabtree. Not to mention Clive Walford as a third receiving option as well, and Oakland suddenly has a multitude of weapons at its disposal, none of which are more talented than Cooper. He’s the number one receiver on an offense that wants to throw the ball. He’s in a great position to break out.

John Brown/Michael Floyd

The reason I put both of them on the same spot is because at least one of them will break out. In taking over the top two spots on the depth chart at WR for the Cardinals, a lot of targets will be coming their way. Larry Fitzgerald should still be effective in that offense, but he’s getting older and it’s time for the new regime to step in. While I see John Brown as settling more into the slot role, he should still certainly see a significant uptake in his targets. He is another payer that showed flashes of brilliance last season, getting behind secondaries with his elite speed and knowledge of the coverages. However, Michael Floyd may be the more popular breakout pick of the two due to his prototypical size and speed you look for in a number one wide receiver in today’s NFL. He too has shown flashes of his potential and has the ability to create match-up problems for almost any team. If he can stay focused and not make as many questionable decisions next year, Michael Floyd should see himself stepping into Larry Fitzgerald’s shoes as the number one receiver in Arizona. If he fails to live up to the task, John Brown will most definitely be there to pick up his slack.

Ladarius Green

This is my gutsiest breakout pick. I know he hasn't proved himself in the league yet but he’s an extremely athletic tight end that just came into an offense with its second best wide receiver (Martavis Bryant) suspended for the year and its workhorse running back (Le’veon Bell) potentially suspended for the first four games of the season. Green has the chance to establish himself as a reliable target for Big ben during those first four games and if he does that, I think we’re looking at the potential for a top five fantasy season. He has all the physical tools and the best opportunity a player could ask for, not to mention the ability to be used as a vertical threat. If you put a linebacker on Green he’ll just outrun the guy, but a safety doesn’t have the strength to match up either. He’s a match up nightmare. Unless he gets injured, there’s no reason he shouldn’t break out and become Roethlisberger’s new favorite target aside from Antonio Brown.