Second-year breakout candidates for fantasy football

I rarely like to draw comparisons between pro athletes and those of us who, well, aren’t paid to play sports for a living.

But indulge me for a moment by thinking back to your first day of something: high school, college, a job, you name it. There are nerves, there is uncertainty, there is excitement, too. But speaking generally, it’s fair to assume that your readiness to handle whatever is in front of you grows as your experience increases.

Now the comparison: Rookies in the NFL can have an immediate and incredible impact. Saquon Barkley was arguably the most valuable player in fantasy football last season. But he was also an exception. We often see NFL players make a notable leap from their rookie season to Year 2. Guys are far more familiar with the speed of the game, they have a full offseason of NFL training under their belt and are simply better equipped to be major contributors — especially at wide receiver, where the learning curve has proved to be steep.

So using that premise, let’s do our annual look at players in their second pro season who profile as possible breakout candidates in 2019.

Before we do, a list of those whose rookie merits were substantial enough to exclude from this list: Barkley, Baker Mayfield, Sony Michel, Nick Chubb, Kerryon Johnson, Calvin Ridley and Phillip Lindsay.