The Houston Texans and the San Diego Chargers are playing the second game on Monday Night Football after the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Washington Redskins in the early game on ESPN and there are plenty of players with the potential to breakout on Monday night, including DeAndre Hopkins, Ben Tate, as well as Owen Daniels at tight end.
The Texans are coming into the season with high expectations and this season they feel like they are Super Bowl contenders and one of the biggest reasons is due to running back Arian Foster, as he has been one of the most consistent running backs in football over the past few years. Foster dealt with some injury issues heading into the season and now he has the chance to get on the field and the Texans need him to play well against the Chargers to get a win. Foster has been one of the main reasons why the team has been successful and now he will get the start against a Chargers D that's trying to improve.
Foster should be ready to go, but if he isn't quite all there, Ben Tate can fill the void and has done that in the past for the Texans, including two years ago when he rushed for nearly 1,000 yards while playing for Foster. Tate could be a starting back on other teams, but with the Texans he provides solid replacement options for Foster and he can also be a factor in the passing game.
Hopkins is being looked at as one of the top fantasy sleeper players in football and he finally gives Andre Johnson a potential target on the other side of the field to play off of. Johnson has been the main target for defenses to focus on for the Texans and now the team has the chance to put someone else on the outside with great speed and after the way he played in college he should be a prime option for fantasy owners, especially against a young and new defense in San Diego. Hopkins has great speed and skills and after starring at Clemson, he looks ready for the NFL despite getting a little banged up in the preseason.
Hopkins could be a surprise player in the touchdown game when it comes to fantasy, as he has nice speed and big play ability with Matt Schaub. While playing at Clemson Hopkins was a star and had over 200 receptions and nearly 30 touchdowns and he was a very productive player, going for over 3,000 yards and he also returned kicks nearly as well as anyone in the nation. The Texans had one of the best offenses last season and adding Hopkins should only make it more productive and for Matt Schaub as well.
Owen Daniels had a very solid fantasy season in 2012 and he is a good choice for players looking for deeper tight ends. Matt Schaub likes to look for Daniels and he had 62 catches last season on 103 targets and ended up with 716 yards and six touchdowns and he could have a nice game against the Chargers, who are breaking in some new players at linebacker. The Texans run the ball a lot, but look for Daniels to get some nice looks on third down.