RADIO
I have been looking at data from the 2020 season since the Super Bowl finished. I have been looking at projections for the 2021 season for the past few weeks. I have been writing fantasy football columns from different perspectives for the upcoming year for quite some time now. Do you know one thing I haven't done? I haven't tried to condense my thoughts on the longer-than-ever 2021 NFL season, division by division, in a minute of your time (kind of). Now that's challenging.
We are accustomed to talking about players rising and falling in the ADP leaderboards, about specific positions and their boom/bust candidates, about sleepers in different places, etc. But it feels like we never look at the bigger picture at once.
Up next, you'll find a list of the 16 NFC teams and their outlook for the 2021 season in just a handful of words. With such small descriptions, it is possible that you have another view of things. I hope I can hit the nail on the head on the majority of lines, though!
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: Welcome back, Dak! The Cowboys finished 2020 with the most PPR/G of all teams considering all of the players that got to play at least a snap last season (in a league-leading combined 1,682 opportinites+passing attempts), so it's not that they need that much help; even then, though, the trio of Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper, and Ezekiel Elliott look as scary as ever--if they can stay on the field for the full campaign, that is.
New York Giants: After a year in which no Giant crossed the 200-FP mark, New York put in some offseason work to improve their results through 2021. Big Blue emerged without a single fantasy-relevant player leaving the franchise and the likes of Kenny Golladay and Kyle Rudolph/John Ross/Kadarius Toney joining it. Now, do you trust Daniel Jones raising the bar on his third year as a pro after his dud of a 180-FP season?
Philadelphia Eagles: I was highlighting the boom/bust nature of every Eagles' player last season. That has changed now--for the bad. Carson Wentz is out of town, Zach Ertz is definitely cooked and might not even make it to Week 1 in Philly, and Miles Sanders will be the only sure thing of an offense that projects to paltry numbers all around the field. A lot of stars have to align for this team to succeed this early in both real life and fantasy contests, so you'll be better fading all Eagles or just getting shares in dynasty formats.
Washington Football Team: God bless Ryan Fitzpatrick for never thinking about retiring, which might not happen for the next 10 years or more. The combination of Fitz, Terry McLaurin, and newly acquired Curtis Samuel/Adam Humphries/Dyami Brown looks super tasty right now. No subtractions from an already nice roster in 2020 make the Footies a great place to target in all-format drafts this summer.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons have lost their top-three scoring rushers in PPR leagues last season and replaced them with Mike Davis, which is great if you're looking for a massive bargain about to rack up points. Not so good, though: Atlanta trading away Julio Jones after a career played out in Georgia. The Falcons drafted the ultimate tight end in Kyle Pitts (or so they say) and although I wouldn't encourage you to chase him like crazy, the truth is that this offense is so barren of talent that he'll get points whether he plays well or not. Also, Matt Ryan will be the same great Matty of old for fantasy GMs.
Carolina Panthers: Not the greatest unit out there with QB Sam Darnold now leading the team, but hey, it could be worse (I guess?). Christian McCaffrey is back healthy and hoping to remain in such condition for the full season, but other than CMC, the options are rather thin at all skill positions. If you feel dangerous, maybe Robby Anderson can be a viable play. Other than that, you can avoid this squad.
New Orleans Saints: First post-Drew Brees season in New Orleans, which means we will get either a running back masquerading as a quarterback (Taysom Hill) or a bomber throwing rocks downfield on a snap-by-snap basis (Jameis Winston). Fade the former, smash "draft" for the latter. Also, get some Michael Thomas shares in your leagues because this offense is a two-man unit comprised of the now-sleeping giant and RB Alvin Kamara.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tom Brady is still manning the pocket, so shout-out to him and the Bucs for snatching another Super Bowl title come January. Some things never change. Go draft everybody in this receiving corps early, target Brady with a mid-to-late round pick, and absolutely fade the backfield. I am still processing the fact that Lenny Fournette has a ring to his name.
NFC North
Chicago Bears: Improvement over Mitchell Trubisky at the QB position? Check. Rookie QB with rushing upside? Check. Monster of a wideout with a clear no. 1 role in the offense? Check, check, check. Don't lose your mind drafting Bears like a madman, but consider Justin Fields a more-than-capable sleeper with high-QB2 upside and Allen Robinson II a must-draft receiver with everything going his way. Also: don't forget about RB David Montgomery, who projects to make it to the top-five once more after his RB4 explosion in 2020.
Detroit Lions: Do you really trust Jared Goff making some noise in 2021, playing for a putrid squad in Detroit? Nah, I'm passing on it, folks. It's not even clear who the top fantasy-scorer will be among all skill-position players with none of them expected to top 200 PPR points over the season. That tells you everything you need to know. Don't waste draft picks on this offense, honestly.
Green Bay Packers: Writing about the Packers feels like writing about potentially any NFL team. Because we don't know where QB Aaron Rodgers will be come Week 1, that is. Anyway, draft Rodgers and WR Davante Adams without any kind of concern, no matter if the first leaves for a sinking offense or the latter stays playing without Rodgers. Other than that, though, don't risk it just one bit with any other receivers--absolutely fade TE Robert Tonyan--with Rodgers' exit looming, and make sure to make Aaron Jones part of some of your squads around the fantasy landscape.
Minnesota Vikings: Easy peasy decisions to make surrounding Minny. Cook is the RB2 in ADP at the time of this writing and that's well deserved, both Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen (steal at WR23) should be good for 250+ PPR points each, and if you punt on your starting QB early, you can do much wrong than drafting Kirk Cousins late. Four men of interest in Minnesota sharing the field in a balanced way without clogging any single position. Must love it.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray has two seasons under his belt and a couple of top-eight finishes to his name already. Yes, what I'm saying is that he will be the absolute QB1 next season. There you have it, and although his rushing will make wonders for him, his passing will elevate DeAndre Hopkins too so make sure to get him early. The backfield looks more clustered to me than to many fantasy GMs out there, but I just don't see the viability of drafting either of a field-sharing Chase Edmonds and James Conner.
Los Angeles Rams: Under the radar target: TE Tyler Higbee now that he got rid of his partner at the position in Gerald Everett. Other than that, the offense might be a booming one with newly-acquired Matthew Stafford throwing the rock to Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and deep-threats like DeSean Jackson and Tutu Atwell. People are not talking enough about the massive potential for huge plays that the Rams' unit boasts. Too bad expected-RB1 Cam Akers is going to miss the year with an Achilles injury...
San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers are no bueno, amigos. QB Jimmy Garoppolo could fall out of grace early, the receivers are a couple of middling guys and a bunch of fillers, and the lone viable play from San Fran is an often-banged-up George Kittle that seems to be closer to his decline than the other way around. Draft Kittle while it lasts, and throw a dart toward rookie-QB Trey Lance in 2QB leagues. No one else is going to hand you a league-winning campaign from the Bay, I'm afraid.
Seattle Seahawks: I could have copy-pasted last year's text here and no one would have noticed. Seattle is the same team of last season only now with a rookie WR3 (D'Wayne Eskridge) and a new TE in Gerald Everett. Those are cool additions and all, but you know where the mojo is at and don't need me to remind you about it. Efficiency is the name of their game, and all of Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf, and Tyler Lockett are locks to become top-50 players overall in PPR leagues and beyond. Draft them at whichever price they come.
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