Game-Changers Only: Five Players That Will Elevate Your Fantasy Football Team

We’re late into August, and preseason football is in mid-swing. Through highlights and lowlights, we’ve seen stars emerge and others struggle under the spotlight. But for fantasy football players, finding game-changers can be harder than ever. So we’re highlighting five fantasy football league winners you need to have on your team this season.

Christian Kirk, WR – Jacksonville Jaguars

Coming off the board in Round 7, Christian Kirk is one of my favorite players to target in drafts. Last season, Kirk finished as the WR12 in fantasy football. The 26-year old was Trevor Lawrence’s primary target on a Jaguars team that took a big leap forward under head coach Doug Pederson. Yet despite finishing as a WR1, Kirk is going off boards as the WR31. Believe it or not, Kirk’s value has actually gone down since the start of this month. This likely has to do with the addition of former Atlanta Falcons WR Calvin Ridley.

Ridley was traded to Jacksonville last season, and is currently the WR16 in ADP. I think Ridley can be a great wide receiver in fantasy, but I believe Kirk will be the true League Winner this season.

Last season, Kirk was a T-5th with Amon-Ra St. Brown in red zone receptions and targets, with 13 and 22, respectively. With Ridley taking the attention of defenses’ CB1, I think Kirk will have more opportunities to succeed in the red zone.

So far in the preseason, we’ve already seen Kirk pick up where he left off last season. Despite only being on the field in 11 personnel (three wide receiver sets with one tight end and one running back), Kirk had the same amount of targets as Ridley, yet it was Kirk who scored in the red zone.

Kirk may only see himself in 11 personnel this season, but that won’t hurt his fantasy potential at all. Last season, Kirk had the second-most first downs from the slot with 41 – only behind Dallas Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb. The Jaguars used 11 personnel at the 18th-most rate last year, but with the addition of Ridley, you can almost guarantee that number goes up this season.

If you’re like me, you’re expecting the Jaguars to take another leap forward this season. Yet while everyone is chasing the likes of Travis Etienne and Ridley, I’ll gladly wait until the seventh round to target Lawrence’s favorite target, Christian Kirk.

Javonte Williams, RB – Denver Broncos

Coming into the NFL, Javonte Williams was one of my favorite players to target. Williams’ rookie season was promising, but his second year was cut short after tearing his ACL in Week 4. Now, the 23-year old finds himself being taken as the RB29 – an ADP that the third-year RB should obliterate this year.

Most players who suffer ACL tears are eased into a heavy workload, but Williams seems like he’s already ahead of the curve. In his first action since tearing his ACL, Williams was heavily relied upon. The former UNC RB was involved on the first four plays of the first drive by the Broncos. On team’s second series, he again touched the ball four times. Overall, Williams rushed three times for 12 yards and caught four passes for 18 yards. It wasn’t a mind-blowing performance, but it showed what fantasy managers needed to see. Williams trusts his knee and will be an integral part of the Broncos offense. Not only in the rushing attack, but in the passing game as well.

Williams is an elite playmaker when he has the ball in his hands. He refuses to go down at first contact, and has the finesse to be an elite pass-catching option out of the backfield.

As a rookie, Williams was in a near 50-50 split with Melvin Gordon. He was still able to finish as the RB17 despite only playing 51% of snaps. This year, the Broncos added Samaje Perine as an insurance policy in case Williams can’t be their 1A. But so far, it seems like the third-year running back is ready to showcase his talents.

We’ve seen what head coach Sean Payton can do with a versatile running back. Just look at Alvin Kamara during Payton’s time with the Saints. It’s not outrageous to believe Williams can have top 5 upside in the Broncos offense this year. After all, when your running back can catch passes and do this to defenders, the sky is the limit.

Jahan Dotson, WR – Washington Commanders

I’ll be the first to admit that I was not high on Jahan Dotson as a rookie. Between talent and situation, I wasn’t sold. This season, my opinion has completely changed – and it started from watching his film from last season.

Dotson always seemed to be open last season. His success against press coverage was in the 87th percentile among WRs last season; and while he wasn’t the greatest against man coverage, he did have a ‎80% success rate in zone coverage. Overall, Dotson was a star on Matt Harmon’s Reception Perception; getting open at an elite rate among his peers.

It’s hard to find a wide receiver who was this successful as a rookie, yet still underrated by the fantasy football community. Yet that’s where we find Dotson going into 2023.

This year, Dotson will have Sam Howell throwing him the ball, with Eric Bieniemy as the offensive coordinator. With these two additions to the offense, we’re likely to see an increase in Washington’s passing attack. Howell was a dual-threat quarterback in college, while Bieniemy helped facilitate a Patrick Mahomes-led offense in Kansas City. And so far through camp, we’ve seen Dotson have immediate success.

Currently, Dotson is going in the middle of Round 8 in fantasy football drafts as the WR39. We saw what Dotson could do last year when healthy – finishing as the WR21 in from Weeks 13-18. Expect the 23-year old to start the season hot and not look back.

Brandon Aiyuk, WR – San Francisco 49ers

After being in the doghouse to start his career, Brandon Aiyuk has become an elite wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers. And despite finishing as the WR15 last season, Aiyuk is going off boards as the WR28 in the middle of the Round 6.

Believe it or not, the only wide receiver better than Aiyuk against man coverage last year was Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Aiyuk has posted above-average success scores on Matt Harmon’s Reception Perception charts as a rookie, and has only continued to improve.

Did I mention that the 25-year old has been able to perform despite competing for targets with the likes of Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey.

Deebo Samuel may be the 49ers swiss-army knife of the offense, but Aiyuk is the team’s best pure wide receiver. He’s one of the best route-runners in the NFL on a high-powered offense. That’s everything you want in a wide receiver for fantasy football. And, he can only get better as he continues to establish himself.

You want to leave your fantasy drafts with Aiyuk on your team. And if you can’t, he’s worth trading for. Expect another explosive year working with Brock Purdy in the Niners offense.

Juwan Johnson, TE – New Orleans Saints

To be honest, I’ve written about Juwan Johnson extensively, and will continue to do so until the masses catch on. Somehow, Johnson is the TE18 off the board in fantasy football drafts – yet he could finish the season as a top 5 option.

This offseason, the New Orleans Saints signed Johnson to a two-year $12 million contract based on his emergence last season. The 26-year old finished as the TE15 on 42 catches for 508 yards and 7 touchdowns. He did all of that while playing the third-fewest snaps among the top 15 tight ends last season. With a new contract and Derek Carr in town, expect those numbers to balloon this season.

Throughout the offseason, there have been nothing but rave reviews surrounding the connection between Johnson and Carr. Carr, the former Raiders quarterback, has a history of favoring talented tight ends. After all, we saw Darren Waller emerge from obscurity to become a household name. We could soon see the same with Johnson.

The converted wide receiver has elite size and speed at the position; and without any reliable receiving threats beyond Chris Olave, Johnson could thrive in a Saints offense looking for an identity. So far, the 26-year old is taking advantage of his opportunities early.

Johnson is so far down in ADP, that he is essentially free – going 202 overall. At that ADP, and with the potential ceiling, Johnson has the ability to be one of the true fantasy football league winners this season. After all, when the starting quarterback is telling you to draft their tight end, you should listen.