Can the 2021 Fourth-Year Breakout Class Follow in the Footsteps of Antonio Brown and Tyler Lockett?
Image Credit: Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire. Pictured: Tyler Lockett.

Shawn Siegele dives into the class of fourth-year breakout options who hope to follow in the footsteps of Antonio Brown and Tyler Lockett.

For many years, third-year WRs were the most coveted asset in fantasy. That infatuation has long since gone the way of the dodo, but the vestigial disillusionment leaves an opening for savvy owners. And the best way to take advantage isn’t to target Year 3 breakouts – wait one more year.

Fourth-year breakouts offer a tremendous opportunity to land emerging players, and that upside is rarely priced into ADP. Three years ago Tyler Lockett was our top breakout recommendation, and he soared from 118 to 220 points. A year later, we recommended Sterling Shepard, who went on to finish as the WR25 on a per-game basis. Last season, I pointed out that Curtis Samuel was expected to flourish in his new offensive role. He emerged with 211 points.

Could one of 2021’s five most appealing candidates follow in their footsteps? We’ll break down their profiles in the second installment of the Breakout Series.

Breakout WRs – Year 4: What to Know, Who to Target, and How Much to Pay

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

Please subscribe For Full Access to all RotoViz content and tools!

 

What’s included in your subscription??

  • Exclusive Access to RotoViz Study Hall
    • A treasure trove of our most insightful articles that will teach you the metrics that matter, time-tested winning strategies, the approaches that will give you an edge, and teach you how to be an effective fantasy manager.
  • Revolutionary Tools
    • Including the NFL Stat Explorer, Weekly GLSP Projections, NCAA Prospect Box Score Scout, Combine Explorer, Range of Outcomes App, DFS Lineup Optimizer, Best Ball Suite,and many, many, more.
  • Groundbreaking Articles
    • RotoViz is home of the original Zero-RB article and continues to push fantasy gamers forward as the go-to destination for evidence-based analysis and strategic advantages.
  • Weekly Projections
    • Built using RotoViz’s unique GLSP approach.
  • Expert Rankings
  • And a whole lot more…

Shawn Siegele

Author of the original Zero RB article and 2013 NFFC Primetime Grand Champion. 11-time main event league winner. 2015, 2017, 2018 titles in MFL10 of Death.

The Banana Stand: Thriving in a World Without Brock Bowers and Malik Nabers and With Jerry Jeudy

Shawn Siegele examines his redraft portfolio, looking at the impact of key losses and bad selections. Do the myriad hits simply swallow up the misses? The 2025 season has been a bit weird. Injuries always happen, but it’s tough when they befall your three favorite players. Misses always happen, but they don’t always happen with your highest exposure. And yet despite that, this year is…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

The Banana Stand: Rework Your Dynasty Team on the Fly – Breaking Down the Top 100 Players, Plus Updated Tiers and Rankings

Shawn Siegele updates his dynasty rankings with a detailed breakdown of the top-100 players in fantasy football. If your fantasy football interest skews toward dynasty leagues, an RV subscription has paid for itself many times over across the last several years. The dynasty teams crushed in 2024. Perpetual Reloading opened the Permanent Championship Window on a multitude of squads. Our dynasty approach features a marriage…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

The Banana Stand: The RBs Threatening to Change Fantasy Football

Every season has one week where everything seems to go wrong on the injury front. If we’re lucky, it’s one week. Sometimes there are two or three. Of course, it depends a bit on your specific players. If you have a lot of Malik Nabers and Lamar Jackson, this feels like the end, but it also feels a bit like the end if you have…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

The Banana Stand: Thriving in a World Without Brock Bowers and Malik Nabers and With Jerry Jeudy

Shawn Siegele examines his redraft portfolio, looking at the impact of key losses and bad selections. Do the myriad hits simply swallow up the misses? The 2025 season has been a bit weird. Injuries always happen, but it’s tough when they befall your three favorite players. Misses always happen, but they don’t always happen with your highest exposure. And yet despite that, this year is…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

The Banana Stand: Rework Your Dynasty Team on the Fly – Breaking Down the Top 100 Players, Plus Updated Tiers and Rankings

Shawn Siegele updates his dynasty rankings with a detailed breakdown of the top-100 players in fantasy football. If your fantasy football interest skews toward dynasty leagues, an RV subscription has paid for itself many times over across the last several years. The dynasty teams crushed in 2024. Perpetual Reloading opened the Permanent Championship Window on a multitude of squads. Our dynasty approach features a marriage…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

The Banana Stand: The RBs Threatening to Change Fantasy Football

Every season has one week where everything seems to go wrong on the injury front. If we’re lucky, it’s one week. Sometimes there are two or three. Of course, it depends a bit on your specific players. If you have a lot of Malik Nabers and Lamar Jackson, this feels like the end, but it also feels a bit like the end if you have…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here

The Blitz

Connect
Support

rotovizmain@gmail.com

Sign-up today for our free Premium Email subscription!

Data provided by

© 2021 RotoViz. All rights Reserved.

Welcome Back to RotoViz...

– IF YOU HAVE ISSUES LOGGING IN PLEASE CONTACT ROTOVIZMAIN@GMAIL.COM

– PLEASE NOTE THAT ROTOVIZ USES WORDPRESS FOR ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT. IF RESETTING YOUR PASSWORD YOU MAY BE FOWARDED TO A WORDPRESS PAGE.