Fantasy Football Player Notes
2021 Draft Rankings
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13.
Antonio Gibson
RB - (at NYG)
I like Gibson, it's not that I don't. The issue is that he's not heavily involved in the passing game, and he topped 94 yards on the ground just twice all of last season, with both of those games coming against the Cowboys. In fact, 28.7 percent of his fantasy points in 2020 were against the Cowboys. I can certainly see Gibson finishing higher than my ranking, but those above him have either (a) a more consistent track record, or (b) less question marks. He scored a touchdown once every 15.5 carries last year, a number that's surely to go up.
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28.
Terry McLaurin
WR - (at NYG)
Despite playing with a mixture of Dwayne Haskins, Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, and Taylor Heinicke the last two years, McLaurin has managed to produce 2,037 yards and 11 touchdowns. While that's not enough to get into the WR1 conversation, maybe the addition of Ryan Fitzpatrick is. We've watched Fitzpatrick support many fantasy wide receivers throughout his years, and he's been willing to target them relentlessly. It's part of the reason we loved DeVante Parker when Fitzpatrick was under center in Miami. There are suddenly a lot of mouths to feed in Washington, but McLaurin is the clear-cut No. 1 option who should be targeted 140-plus times in 2021 en route to what might be his first top-12 finish.
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92.
Logan Thomas
TE - (at NYG)
We certainly watched Thomas break out last season, particularly from Week 6 forward. Head coach Ron Rivera said a lightbulb went off for him, and it led to him finishing as the No. 3 tight end through his final 11 games, behind only Travis Kelce and Darren Waller. The issue with expecting that continue into 2021? Well, there are many variables. The Football Team went out and acquired Ryan Fitzpatrick - who's never targeted tight ends heavily - as well as Curtis Samuel in free agency, Dyami Brown in the draft, and they've vowed to give Antonio Gibson more work this year. Volume is everything for tight ends, and if we can't guarantee it for Thomas, he's not worthy of an early-round pick. There's still certainly an avenue for 100 targets; it's just not guaranteed. Thomas should be considered a mid-to-low-end TE1.
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109.
Curtis Samuel
WR - (at NYG)
It was good to see Samuel finally have his breakout season in year four, though it's worth noting that his numbers have improved every year. The issue, however, is that he's being reunited with offensive coordinator Scott Turner, who couldn't get the most out of Samuel during the 2019 season. While Samuel saw a career-high 106 targets that year, he averaged a minuscule 5.9 yards per target while used in an incorrect role. Will that change? It's tough to say, but Terry McLaurin, J.D. McKissic, Antonio Gibson, and Logan Thomas are all competition for targets with his new team. Samuel should have plenty of manufactured touches, but don't automatically assume he's as valuable as he was in 2020.
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137.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
QB - (at NYG)
This might seem weird to some, but Fitzpatrick has produced QB1-type numbers in 18-of-37 games over the last four years (includes seven games where he threw 18 or less passes). Do you know how many quarterbacks posted QB1-type numbers in better than 50 percent of their games in 2020? 10 of them. That's it. Under Scott Turner, the Panthers threw the ball 633 times with Cam Newton, Kyle Allen, and Will Grier in 2019. Then, in 2020, Washington threw the ball 599 times with Dwayne Haskins, Alex Smith, and Kyle Allen.
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148.
J.D. McKissic
RB - (at NYG)
It seems that Washington is going to utilize Antonio Gibson in the passing game much more often in 2021, which will come at the expense of McKissic. It's not just Gibson, either. The Football Team also signed Curtis Samuel in free agency, a player that's used in a hybrid role who gets plenty of intermittent targets, as well as a handful of carries per game. While McKissic was a hidden gem in PPR formats last year, it appears his role is shrinking in this offense. As someone who relies on volume to produce, McKissic is more of a passing-down handcuff to Gibson.
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165.
Washington Football Team
DST - (at NYG)
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292.
Dyami Brown
WR - (at NYG)
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319.
Jaret Patterson
RB - (at NYG)
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325.
Joey Slye
K - (at NYG)
Slye isn't an elite kicker. He's converted just 79.4% of his field-goal attempts and 90.1% of his extra-point attempts in his career. That's not often good enough to hold down a job for long, and especially when you're 1-for-6 from 50 yards or more, as Slye was last year. He'll likely begin the year as the Panthers' closer, but he could certainly lose the job if he can't straighten out his accuracy.
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361.
Adam Humphries
WR - (at NYG)
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401.
Taylor Heinicke
QB - (at NYG)
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411.
Cam Sims
WR - (at NYG)
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436.
Antonio Gandy-Golden
WR - (at NYG)
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523.
Kelvin Harmon
WR - (at NYG)
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565.
Alex Armah Jr.
RB - (at NYG)
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575.
Sammis Reyes
TE - (at NYG)
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585.
Dax Milne
WR - (at NYG)
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586.
Temarrick Hemingway
TE - (at NYG)
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590.
Ricky Seals-Jones
TE - (at NYG)
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591.
John Bates
TE - (at NYG)
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704.
DeAndre Carter
WR - (at NYG)
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873.
Marken Michel
WR - (at NYG)
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