Author name: Brad Hartnett

Joe Burrow. Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Countdown to Kickoff: Day 1

Dynasty / By /

This will be the final article of twelve, counting down the days until we can once again sit and watch this sport that we love (and dominate our fantasy leagues in the process). Each article will have a numeric theme, which will also count down as each day ticks the calendar. In this piece, I’ll be discussing the top-10 players who will increase their dynasty value in the 2021 NFL season. So, without further ado, I am thrilled to bring you DFF’s 2021 “Kickoff Countdown”!

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The 2021 DFF Fantasy Guide

Dynasty / By /

As we quickly approach our final fantasy drafts, the team at DFF wanted to provide everyone with a free one-stop-shop to head into Week 1. In the 2021 DFF Fantasy Guide, we will walk you through the different league formats and offer advice on how to best attack those leagues from a strategic perspective. We will then shift into looking at how positional values are changing over time. Our own Chris Miles compiled player projections for all fantasy-viable players that you can print out and bring to dominate your final fantasy drafts. Shifting back to a dynasty lens, several of our writers provide you with their favorite early-round, mid-round, and late-round targets in the ‘My Guys’ section. We will also take you behind the scenes of our ranking summit and compare where our rankers have players valued versus consensus ranks. Finally, we will look towards the future with an in-depth positional analysis of the upcoming rookie drafts. Our own Willie Beaman will close out the guide with his crystal ball rankings where he predicts the top-12 positional rankings that we could see heading into the 2023 fantasy season.

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Countdown to Kickoff: Day 10

Dynasty / By /

This article will be the third of twelve, counting down the days until we can once again sit and watch this sport that we love (and dominate our fantasy leagues in the process). Each article will have a numeric theme, which will also count down as each day ticks the calendar. In this piece, I’ll be discussing the top-10 players who will increase their dynasty value in the 2021 NFL season. So, without further ado, I am thrilled to bring you DFF’s 2021 “Kickoff Countdown”!

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The Freakiest Athletes in College Football for 2021: Part 6

Devy / By /

The Bearcats breakout quarterback is getting first-round hype for the NFL draft, and rightfully so. He provides a tantalizing combination of passing accuracy, completing 61% of his passes for 6,905 yards and 57 touchdowns with elite rushing abilities. This elite rushing ability is highlighted by his 391 college rushes that yielded 1,825 yards and 22 touchdowns. His 6’4” and 215 lbs. frame provide the prototypical NFL quarterback size to go along with his long speed, which is validated by his 4.55-second 40-yard dash spring testing time. He also can make defenders miss in space, as evident by his 4.0-seconds flat short shuttle time. Ridder is a player similar to Jalen Hurts, who will be a fringe first-round to the second-round draft selection, whose stock will skyrocket if given extended NFL starts by the franchise that drafts him.

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The Freakiest Athletes in College Football for 2021: Part 5

Devy / By /

The USC receiver also participates on the USC basketball team. Standing at 6’5” and 210 lbs. London has a skill set that allows him to succeed in both basketball and football at the division-one collegiate level. His 38” vertical leap along with his stiff, and ridged running style project him to be a solid big-slot receiver or tight end at the NFL level. His decent athleticism to go along with elite size yielded 72 catches for 1,069 yards and eight touchdowns during his USC career. With Amon-Ra St. Brown transitioning to the NFL, and Bru McCoy being released from the USC football program, London should be in line for a high target share in 2021 despite his DeVonta Smith BMI levels.

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The Freakiest Athletes in College Football for 2021: Part 4

Devy / By /

Justin Hall is the most productive FCS receiver of all time, having hauled in 257 passes for 2,772 yards and 13 touchdowns also adds peripheral production in the rushing game. It is clear why Ball State focused on feeding Hall throughout his career. The 5’9” and 186 lbs. super senior is known for his insane strength. Along with being very productive through the air and ground, Hall tested very well this Spring with a 500 lbs. back squat and a 305 lbs. power clean. Because he plays in the FCS, he is not eligible for Campus to Canton leagues, but remember the name when the NFL Combine for 2022 rolls around.

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The Freakiest Athletes in College Football for 2021: Part 3

Devy / By /

The most electric-skill position player in the FCS is Sam Houston’s 5’9” and 192 lbs. wide receiver and kick returner Ezzard. He dominated Sam Houston’s competition over his career averaging 27 yards per reception and 18 yards per return. He wins with his dynamic burst, testing out of this world in spring ball with a 4.28-second 40-yard dash and a 45.5” vertical leap. Ezzard is a big play waiting to happen, and with his frame, he could transition into an NFL slot receiver and difference-maker on special teams. His addition in the special teams game may garner day-two draft capital, though the non-savvy dynasty players may take this to believe that draft capital is an indication of early offensive success.

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The Freakiest Athletes in College Football for 2021: Part 2

Devy / By /

This year we will be counting down the most athletic players from the least likely to make an impact in the NFL to the most likely. In doing this we are going to combine the players’ athletic traits, production profiles, and competition levels to highlight undervalued devy assets as well as players to keep an eye on for late breakouts. In this article, we will start with the uber-athletic athletes that do not have the production that indicates NFL Draft capital. Let’s dive into the higher-end devy dark horses!

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The Freakiest Athletes in College Football for 2021: Part 1

Devy / By /

This year we will be counting down the most athletic players from the least likely to make an impact in the NFL to the most likely. In doing this we are going to combine the players’ athletic traits, production profiles, and competition levels to highlight undervalued devy assets as well as players to keep an eye on for late breakouts. We will start with the uber-athletic prospects that do not have the production to indicate NFL Draft capital. Let’s dive into the devy dart throws!

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The Next D.K. Metcalf is in College and He’s Free…For Now

Devy / By /

There is a player from the 2020 class who compares favorably to Metcalf and is on pace to outproduce Metcalf’s college statistics considerably. This prospect is on the same trajectory as Metcalf was in his early college days and could even surpass Metcalf when it comes to his upside. This prospect ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at his high school combine, at the same weight that Metcalf ran a 4.68. Metcalf gained over 20 lbs. in college and his agility was impacted. His 4.3-second high school short shuttle decreased to 4.5-seconds at the NFL Combine. His three-cone drill also dropped from 6.8-seconds to 7.38-seconds at the NFL Combine.

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DFF Redraft League: Drafting From the Fourteen Spot

All Access / By /

For this NFL season, a collection of 14 DFF analysts took their talents to a new Redraft league. As the analyst with the 14th pick, I knew it would be an uphill climb to add value. Despite this being a redraft league, I decided to go with my favorite dynasty strategy, the zero-RB. Knowing that this is a 14-team league, we had to adjust compared to the standard 12-team leagues in which elite positional players hold even more of a premium.

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Soothsayers Roundtable: Quarterback Carousel

Dynasty / By /

Beware of the Ides of March, the date March 15th was viewed by the Ancient Romans as a deadline for settling debts. The year was 44 BC and the Soothsayers informed the Dictator that their readings indicated death. A soothsayer is a minor priest also known as a haruspex, otherwise known for practicing animal sacrifice and reading the remnants of the body for signs from their deities. The practice of animal sacrifice is very similar to us fantasy players praying to the fantasy gods for a player they roster to get put back in for the goal line work as they fret a close competition. Back in Ancient Rome, the dictators and government generals would often consult with the Soothsayers regarding future war campaigns.

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Dynasty Debates: Derrick Henry Buy or Sell

Dynasty / By /

Derrick Henry is the starting running back for the Tennessee Titans, and he may be the most polarizing single player in fantasy football right now. The 27-year-old, sixth-year back out of Alabama is currently being valued by some as an elite fantasy running back, but many others are selling now projecting his market value to plummet due to his age. The Titans have Henry under contract through the 2023 season for approximately $12M per year. However, the Titans do have a potential out following the 2021 season where they would take on only a $6M dead cap hit that they may prorate over two seasons. The Titans had considerable offensive gains when they A) enabled Arthur Smith to call plays for the offensive unit, B) named Ryan Tannehill as the starting quarterback, and C) drafted A.J. Brown to become the new Alpha wide receiver.

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Rapid Reaction: Cam Akers’ Torn Achilles

Dynasty / By /

Cam Akers suffered a torn Achilles while training, a headline first reported by the NFL Network’s Tom Pelisasero. Akers was trending up in all fantasy football formats, going as a late second to early third-round draft pick in Superflex start-up leagues. He also was going as early as the first round in Redraft formats. This is a crushing loss, and we hope for a safe recovery for this promising young man. With an injury of this magnitude, we cannot dwell in our sadness, we must look for opportunities that this has created for us to gain advantages in our fantasy leagues for 2021.

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Devy Player Comps: Class of 2022

Devy / By /

In this article, I will take you through the top devy options that are eligible for the 2022 NFL Draft. We will look at their listed measurements according to their college programs as well as their projected 40-yard dash times. We will project 40-yard dash times by taking their high school combine testing results and adjusting them based on the expected positional progression as these players progress from being 18-year-old kids to 21-year-old NFL players. We will also use film analysis to tweak these projected times on a player-to-player basis. Finally we will look at players who tested similarly to create a superimposed range of outcomes for these players. Let’s dive in with the top options from the class of 2022.

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Devy: Fancy Deep Diving

Devy / By /

The 6’0” and 208 lbs. sophomore sure has a great pedigree, although he didn’t get much action in the COVID-19 impacted PAC-12 2020 season. His father, Emmitt Smith, is the NFL All-Time leading rusher amassing 18,355 yards over his 15-year career. E.J. Smith showed off a similar rushing capability as his father did in Texas High School Football, also showing off elite receiving abilities with 114 receptions over his final three high school seasons in Dallas. He is currently being selected outside the top-50 in devy drafts and is outside the top-100 in some of the “big-name” devy site rankings. Smith is a player that I can’t get enough of this offseason, and I can’t wait until the consensus sees his value skyrocket.

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Devy Dive: High Upside High School Prospects To Watch From the 2022 Class

Devy / By /

To explain the methodology of this process I have broken down many of the top recruits into three cohorts. First, we have the #TeamPedigree. These are highly rated players who retain value in devy leagues based on their recruiting hype alone and will be projected for high NFL Draft capital even if they do not succeed in achieving an early collegiate breakout. Secondly, we will look at the #TeamPotenial cohort. These are prospects that in the right situation, and if given opportunities early in their college career, can skyrocket to the top of the 2025 Draft class. Finally, we have my favorite type of players in the #TeamFun cohort., players who have unparalleled potential as NFL prospects but need several events to unfold for that potential to be realized and also offer dynasty league-changing upside.

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Campus To Canton Devy Leagues

Devy / By /

Campus to Canton is a devy fantasy football format that is swiftly escalating in popularity among fantasy football enthusiasts. We can take a step back first and cover a few items worth noting. A devy league is a league in which you roster players that are not yet in the NFL, typically college football players. The word devy is a shortened version of developmental players. Campus to Canton leagues is the furthest down the devy rabbit hole that you can go!

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Julio Jones Traded to the Tennessee Titans

Dynasty / By /

Julio Jones will be traded to the Tennessee Titans for future second and fourth-round picks. Jones who was drafted as the sixth overall selection in 2011, spent 10 productive seasons in Atlanta. In that time Jones became one of the most productive wide receivers in NFL history hauling in 848 catches for 12,896 yards and 60 TDs. He will instantly become Tennessee’s WR1 sufficiently boosting the outlook for Ryan Tannehill’s 2021; let’s dive into how it impacts his fellow Titans teammates along with how his departure impacts the viable fantasy options in Atlanta.

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