Two players poised to bounce back in fantasy football

The final week of the NFL preseason is upon us, which means most fantasy football drafts are just around the corner.

Each year, a number of players who disappointed during the previous season, no matter how talented they are, often find themselves going off the board later than they have in the past. While there's an increased risk that comes with selecting these types of players, a few always end up rebounding in a big way, just as WRs Keenan Allen and D.J. Moore did in 2023.

With that in mind, here are two bounce-back candidates you should consider taking a chance on in your 12-team ESPN PPR leagues.

Wide receiver Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams

A high-risk, high-reward selection in drafts, the 31-year-old Kupp, who caught 59 passes for 737 yards and five touchdowns in 2023, hopes to turn in a healthy season in 2024. After missing the final eight games of the 2022 season with an ankle injury, Kupp missed the first four games of 2023 due to a hamstring strain suffered during training camp.

Of course, the hamstring injury, which affected Kupp throughout the regular season, opened the door for Puka Nacua to kick off his record-setting rookie year in style. However, once Kupp returned to action in Week 5, there wasn't a massive difference in his utilization compared to Nacua's, which is particularly noteworthy considering the veteran wasn't fully healthy.

In the 12 games they played together, Nacua earned 102 targets , while Kupp received 95. Kupp also had a higher first-read target share than Nacua when they shared the field together (29.7% to 28.7%), as pointed out by Fantasy Points' Graham Barfield . Additionally, despite missing time and being limited when he played, Kupp still finished with the ninth-most red zone receptions among wideouts (h/t Underdog Fantasy's Hayden Winks ), suggesting he could be a major positive touchdown regression candidate.

While many expect Nacua to fully supplant Kupp as the top option in the Rams passing attack this season, a recent report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler indicates otherwise. Earlier this month, Fowler wrote after visiting Rams camp that "Kupp is all the way back" and "the offense clearly runs through" the Super Bowl LVI MVP.

Considering Nacua is a first-round pick in some fantasy drafts, Kupp is a screaming value as the WR22 and No. 41 overall player on ESPN. Kupp probably won't return to his legendary 2021 form, barring a significant injury to Nacua, but he offers greater league-winning upside than some players who are being drafted ahead of him.

Running back Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

Jacobs was arguably the biggest steal in 2022 fantasy drafts, as he went on to rush for a league-leading 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns that season en route to finishing as the RB3 overall. However, Jacobs was a colossal bust in 2023. Not only did the two-time Pro Bowler rush for just 805 yards and six touchdowns on a career-low 3.5 yards per carry, but he also missed the final month of the season with a quad injury.

Even so, now that he's gone from a bottom-10 scoring offense to one with the potential to be among the NFL's best, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Jacobs' 2024 fantasy outlook. In free agency, the former Raider signed a four-year, $48M deal with Green Bay, making him the fifth-highest-paid running back in the NFL.

Although there's a stigma around paying running backs lucrative contracts, the Packers' investment in Jacobs signals that they plan to get their money's worth out of him. Second-string running back AJ Dillon and rookie MarShawn Lloyd will surely get their share of carries, but it's hard to imagine Jacobs not receiving bell-cow usage, given his salary.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Jacobs' fantasy prospects this season, especially in PPR scoring formats, is the fact that he'll be more involved in the passing game than in years past. Jacobs has caught 197 passes in his career but has yet to score a receiving touchdown. If he catches five more passes without finding the end zone, he'll surpass former running back Gerald Riggs' record of 201 receptions without a receiving touchdown.

Packers QB Jordan Love has already said he intends to make sure Jacobs doesn't break the record, though his involvement as a pass-catcher won't stop there. Earlier this month, Packers HC Matt LaFleur told reporters that he was "excited" about Jacobs' ability to be a receiving threat, praising the tailback's "great hands." If Jacobs can receive substantial rushing volume while sprinkling in a few receptions per game, he should easily outperform the RB16 price tag ESPN has given him.