Week 8: Possible Breakout

We are right in the middle of bye season. Going into week 8, this one appears particularly difficult as a whopping six teams get the week off. So for this week and each subsequent week, we are introducing a new set of articles entitled “Possible Breakout.” The purpose of these articles each week is to give you a player that in most other weeks would not be considered a starter. Maybe the player is still on waivers in some of your leagues, or maybe they’re sitting deep on one of your opponents’ benches and could be very easily traded for with one of your current reserves. To be clear, this is not a player that you should hold in very high regard going forward. Yet, they’re a player that could possibly breakout during a week where you may really need some upside given a difficult roster situation. With that being said, let’s get to week 8’s possible breakout.

Troy Franklin

After exploding onto the scene in week 2, when he caught 8 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown, Troy Franklin looked like he was going to be in line for a very serviceable season as Denver’s WR2 behind Courtland Sutton. Fast forward 6 weeks from that point and he has exceeded 10 fantasy points only once during that time. This has certainly been disappointing for managers who picked him up over a month ago thinking they might’ve just found their league winner. It’s likely he’s even been released back to waivers during these dismal previous 6 weeks.

However, after Franklin found the end zone last week, albeit on only 3 catches for 19 yards, he now enters week 8, going up against a Cowboys defense that can only be described as putrid. The Cowboys have given up at least 22 points to all 7 of their opponents this season. To quote one of my favorite football videos of all time, their secondary is like Oprah: “You get a touchdown! You get a touchdown!” And this week, Franklin will look to build on the momentum of finding the end zone last week and capitalize on an ideal matchup against Dallas. If you find yourself in need of bye week replacements, don’t be afraid to take a risk and turn to a player who has shown upside earlier in the year, as he finds himself in a picture perfect matchup.