Fantasy Football Player Notes

When drafting a wide receiver in the first couple rounds, you can't afford to miss on them. Is there anyone more reliable than Hopkins? He's now seen at least 150 targets in six straight seasons and has finished as a top-five receiver in five of them. Sure, the Cardinals added A.J. Green and Rondale Moore, but that's not going to stop Kyler Murray from going to his favorite target.

There was a stretch of games during the 2020 season where Kirk was finally living up to his potential, as he posted 9.4-plus half-PPR points in five straight games, including three games with 18-plus points. He fell off a cliff after that, leading fantasy managers to search for new options in 2021, but there might be a reason to head back to the well. With the addition of A.J. Green, it's likely we see Kirk move to the slot, which is where I believe he should've been playing all along. Despite being inefficient and limited in athleticism at his advanced age, Larry Fitzgerald saw 112, 109, and 72 targets as the primary slot receiver over the last three years under Kliff Kingsbury. If Kirk can get near the 100-target mark, he'll be a value in drafts.

There are some fascinating things Moore can do on a football field. The question is whether he'll get the opportunity to showcase his talents in Kliff Kingsbury's offense. We already know DeAndre Hopkins is getting his share, and they've been talking up A.J. Green's involvement, which means Moore would have to surpass Christian Kirk in order to see the field in 3WR sets, which seems unlikely. To be fair, they do run 4WR sets more than any other team, but Andy Isabella is still in line for some snaps as well. It's tough to see Moore as a reliable fantasy option without an injury ahead of him on the depth chart.

Is he done? That's the question most believe has already been answered, though the Cardinals beg to differ. Giving him $8 million is not peanuts by any means and they have talked about how big of a role he'll have with the team, including Kyler Murray who said, "A lot of people are sleeping on him." The Bengals wide receivers all underperformed expectations last year, though Green was the ringleader, finishing with 63.8 fewer fantasy points than his opportunity suggested. We saw Hopkins make a difference in year one of the Cardinals system, so it's not like they discriminate against new bodies. Green is currently free in fantasy drafts, and knowing this team targeted wide receivers 65.5 percent of the time in 2020 (sixth in NFL), it makes sense to grab him with your final pick. If he gets six-plus targets in Week 1, he's going to be a popular waiver wire addition.

It's been odd to watch Isabella not gain a bigger role in the offense over the last two years while Larry Fitzgerald faded into oblivion. He's only received 48 targets over his first two years in the league, though they've netted 413 yards and three touchdowns, so it's not like he wasn't productive with them. The issue is that we now have DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green, and then a trio of second-round picks fighting behind them. Moore, who was drafted at 49 overall this year, Kirk who was drafted at 47 overall three years ago, and Isabella, who was drafted at 62 overall. If they didn't give Isabella the nod over Fitzgerald last year, I can't see it happening, especially when they chose to draft another second-round receiver.