Fantasy Football Player Notes
2021 Half PPR Draft Rankings
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36.
Mike Evans
WR - (vs . CAR)
There may be no fantasy wide receiver who's continually undervalued more than Mike Evans. He's now turned in at least 1,000 yards in seven straight seasons with a handful of different quarterbacks, and has scored at least eight touchdowns in five of them. The reason he can't be considered in the elite tier is due to the number of mouths to feed in the Bucs offense. Think about it this way: Despite Chris Godwin being hurt for a while and Antonio Brown not joining the team until mid-season, Evans finished with just 109 targets. He's one of the better WR2's to have in fantasy, but he doesn't come with top-five upside unless there are injuries to those around him.
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38.
Chris Godwin
WR - (vs . CAR)
If there's one thing we can say about Godwin with Tom Brady under center, it's that he's a near lock for six-plus targets per game. He saw at least six targets in 10-of-12 games despite all the other talent on the roster, which is never a bad thing. The downside is that Godwin never really got into any sort of WR1 groove. He didn't hit the 100-yard mark until Week 17, when Mike Evans was essentially out of the lineup. To be fair, Godwin was playing through a few injuries last year, which may have hindered his upside, but we did watch Mike Evans' relationship with Brady grow as the year went on. On top of that, Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski returned to game shape, which will certainly cap everyone's upside. Godwin should be a solid WR2 on a weekly basis, but it's tough seeing him approach top-12 territory without an injury to one of Evans or Brown.
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73.
Ronald Jones II
RB - (vs . CAR)
I know Leonard Fournette had a strong finish to the season while Jones was hurt, but we mustn't forget that Jones averaged 5.14 yards per carry and nearly hit 1,000 rushing yards despite finishing with just 192 carries. There are just eight running backs in the post-merger era who've finished with as many yards as Jones did with 192 or less carries. He's not going to be heavily utilized in the passing game, which severely caps his upside, but Jones is the Bucs best ball carrier.
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80.
Leonard Fournette
RB - (vs . CAR)
It's easy to recall the good times Fournette had in the playoffs and use that as a reason to move him up draft boards, but don't let a couple games spoil what was a very mediocre season. He finished with more than 52 rushing yards just once all year, and that came in Week 2 against the Panthers. Fournette's primary source of fantasy points in 2020 was via the passing game, as he saw 47 targets in 13 games. Unfortunately, the Bucs added Gio Bernard, who's a much better receiver out of the backfield. Knowing that Bernard is the more reliable third-down option and that Ronald Jones is probably the better two-down option, that leaves Fournette in no man's land. He's not someone you're going to want to start every week.
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96.
Tom Brady
QB - (vs . CAR)
To think that Brady would join a new team at 43 years old, have zero offseason, then proceed to throw for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns is mindblowing. He's going to be 44 years old when the season starts, which brings us back to the conversation, "When does he fall off?" I'm done trying to predict that, but it must be factored into his price in fantasy drafts. Was last year a best-case scenario? He finished as the QB8 even with those numbers, as mobility is almost neccesary to finish higher in today's game. Because of that, Brady shouldn't be drafted as anything more than a low-end QB1 with a limited ceiling.
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114.
Antonio Brown
WR - (vs . CAR)
Brown was expected to be back with the Bucs all along. From the time he joined them in Week 9, Brown finished as the No. 38 wide receiver in fantasy. And to be fair, he got better as the year went on, as he had to get back into football shape. Over the final three games he saw 27 targets and turned them into 19 receptions for 266 yards and four touchdowns. Look, he's not going to surpass Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but he'll be closer than some think.
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134.
Rob Gronkowski
TE - (vs . CAR)
Naturally, we should've expected some rust on Gronkowski after taking a year off football. He was a bit slot out of the gate, but was ultimately able to finish as the No. 8 tight end in 2020. That's not a huge accomplishment or anything, as he still failed to record more than 48 yards in 11-of-16 games, and that's despite Chris Godwin missing time to injury, and Antonio Brown not joining the team until midseason. We also can't forget about O.J. Howard, who had more production and targets than Gronkowski when he tore his Achilles. Gronkowski will certainly offer some streamable weeks, but relying on him as your every-week tight end would be a mistake with all the mouths they have to feed in Tampa Bay.
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161.
Giovani Bernard
RB - (vs . CAR)
Some are expecting Bernard to come in and play a big role on passing downs for the Bucs, though it's tough to see where that's coming from after the team re-signed Leonard Fournette. While Ronald Jones was the best early-down back for that team last year, Fournette was the primary passing-down back. Sure, Bernard is better in that role, but then why re-sign Fournette? Whatever the case, Bernard is going to be nothing more than a third-down back who might help during bye weeks in PPR formats.
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193.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
DST - (vs . CAR)
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229.
O.J. Howard
TE - (vs . CAR)
We barely got to see Tom Brady toss the ball to Howard in 2020, but what we did see was Howard out-producing Rob Gronkowski. It's easy to forget that Howard was supposed to be the next big thing at tight end, similar to how people feel about Kyle Pitts today. Early reports out of Bucs camp suggest Howard is being flexed as a receiver and that Brady sees him as a legit threat in the passing game. With Gronkowski getting up there in age/bumps/bruises, we could see Howard finally take the step many thought he would years ago. Best of all, you'll find out for free.
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241.
Ryan Succop
K - (vs . CAR)
Succop had a fine season in his first year with Tamp Bay, converting 90.3% of his field-goal attempts and 52 extra-point attempts. He doesn't have a huge leg (his career long field goal is just 54 yards), but he's consistent and playing in a dynamic offense. He should be a fine option in most standard-sized leagues, but if your league awards bonus points for long kicks, you'll need to take into consideration that Succop won't help you much there.
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288.
Ke'Shawn Vaughn
RB - (vs . CAR)
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301.
Scotty Miller
WR - (vs . CAR)
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376.
Tyler Johnson
WR - (vs . CAR)
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399.
Cameron Brate
TE - (vs . CAR)
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489.
Jaelon Darden
WR - (vs . CAR)
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591.
Troymaine Pope
RB - (vs . CAR)
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625.
Justin Watson
WR - (vs . CAR)
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720.
Jaydon Mickens
WR - (vs . CAR)
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755.
Tanner Hudson
TE - (vs . CAR)
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775.
Cyril Grayson Jr.
WR - (vs . CAR)
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780.
T.J. Simmons
WR - (vs . CAR)
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791.
Travis Jonsen
WR - (vs . CAR)
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794.
Josh Pearson
WR - (vs . CAR)
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802.
Jerell Adams
TE - (vs . CAR)
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814.
C.J. Prosise
RB - (vs . CAR)
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827.
Kyle Trask
QB - (vs . CAR)
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888.
Blaine Gabbert
QB - (vs . CAR)
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955.
Ryan Griffin
QB - (vs . CAR)
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