Atlanta Falcons

baker

One Question For EVERY NFL Team: NFC South Edition

Dynasty / By /

Welcome back to my “One Question” series, and thank you to everyone who read last week’s AFC South edition — are you buying Cam Ward’s redemption story? Let’s stay in the South, but make our way to the NFC. The NFC South has no shortage of playmakers — guys like Drake London, Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, Chris Olave, Travis Etienne, Emeka Egbuka, Tetairoa McMillan, and Jonathan Brooks have fantasy players in a frenzy to add them to their teams. The only real question with this division is: what will their quarterbacks do this year? Can Baker earn another payday with Tampa Bay, or will his contract situation linger into the season? Can Bryce Young take the next step, or is he who we think he is? Will either QB in Atlanta be good enough to elevate their skill players? And is Tyler Shough the real deal, or was 2025 just a flash in the pan?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers look like the team to beat in the NFC South, but was last year’s brutal Week 18 loss to division rival Carolina Panthers the beginning of the end? Tampa Bay has been active this offseason, bringing in new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and signing running back Kenneth Gainwell. But there’s been no shortage of drama, as Baker Mayfield (QB – TB) goes into the season without a new deal and has been vocal about his displeasure. Two-time Pro Bowler Vita Vea (DT – TB) requested a trade after not getting a new deal — thankfully, that got reconciled quickly with a one-year contract. Between the new OC, the loss of Mike Evans (WR – SF), Emeka Egbuka’s (WR – TB) toe injury, and a disgruntled quarterback, a lot is riding on 2026 in Tampa. And it starts with figuring out Mayfield’s future.

My question for the Buccaneers is: Should Tampa Bay re-sign Baker Mayfield?

After a promising start in Cleveland, things went south for Baker out of nowhere. After winning their first playoff game in 26 years, he suffered an injury the following season, played through it rather than have surgery, and it likely cost him his job. Things got worse when the Browns pursued Deshaun Watson (QB – CLE) while Baker was still on the roster. Cleveland traded for Watson, dealt Baker to Carolina, and the rest is history.

Baker joined former first-round pick Sam Darnold (QB – SEA) in what looked like a fresh start. It didn’t last. He won the job over Darnold in the preseason, suffered another injury, and played through it again. The Panthers went a dismal 1-5 in games he started. He requested a release, and the Rams picked him up — and that’s when things turned around.

Baker landed with a Rams team, the defending Super Bowl champions, desperate at quarterback of their own. It only took 48 hours for him to make his presence felt. Starter John Wolford, playing through a neck injury, went three-and-out on the Rams’ first series, and the coaching staff pulled him to protect him. Baker took over and led the Rams back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit, capped by a 98-yard drive with no timeouts to steal the win.

Baker’s Rams stint ended at 2-3, highlighted by a Christmas Day 51-14 win. His next opportunity wasn’t far behind. In 2023, he was part of another QB battle, this time in Tampa Bay, on a one-year “prove-it” deal against Kyle Trask (QB – TB). He won the job, helped the Buccaneers win the division and a playoff game, and earned a three-year, $100 million extension the following offseason.

But as resilient as Baker is…can he win when it matters? In five playoff appearances, he’s 2-3, and his teams held fourth-quarter leads in two of those three losses. In the divisional round against Washington, a bad exchange with Jalen McMillan (WR – TB) led to a fumble and a short-field touchdown. His playoff woes go back to Oklahoma too, where he lost both of his playoff games.

But does that mean he’s not a franchise quarterback? Not so fast! Let’s look at Baker’s resume: the first walk-on player in college football history to win the Heisman, led Oklahoma to two playoff appearances, was the number one overall pick, guided Cleveland to their first playoff victory in 26 years, won a QB battle, won two playoff games, and won two division titles after taking over for Tom Brady.

My question for Tampa Bay: Should they re-sign Baker Mayfield?

My answer: If they don’t, someone else will — and he’ll make you regret it.

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Tyler Allgeier: Grab, Stash, Profit

Dynasty / By /

Let’s talk about Tyler Allgeier, one of the most underrated bench stashes in all of Dynasty and Redraft right now. He’s going late in the double-digit rounds of most startup drafts, if he’s even being drafted at all in shallower formats, and that’s exactly the kind of profile I want to scoop before the rest of the league catches on. If you’re rostering Bijan Robinson he’s a must. But even if you’re not, Allgeier is one of the best handcuff values you can grab and stash right now.

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Keaontay Ingram

Late-Round RBs Worth Buying

Dynasty / By /

In startup drafts, I believe it’s best to focus on RBs with contingent value in the later rounds, as it’s much more likely that these backups will hit your starting lineup than someone like Alec Pierce or Cedric Tillman. It only takes one injury for handcuff RBs to catapult into bell cow roles and potentially league-winning roles for your fantasy team. The 70th-best WR or 25th-best TE is much less likely to give you viable productivity during the season; too much would have to go right for them. As an example, Cedric Tillman (the current WR69, according to Bulletproofff.com) would need multiple injuries to the Browns’ receiving corps to see consistent targets in 2023. Even then, it would be unreasonable to expect Tillman to replicate the production of Amari Cooper. 

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Kyle Pitts

Comparing ADP, Dynasty to Redraft: NFC South

Dynasty / By /

A much-overlooked aspect of Dynasty is value comparison, or comparing the values of Dynasty players to Redraft players and seeing which is worth more or less. You might be thinking, “Well, duh! Of course, older players are worth less in Dynasty than Redraft!” to which I agree. But what about Daniel Jones (QB – NYJ), who is only 25 years old? Should he be worth more in Redraft or Dynasty? Or how about Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR – DEN), who in Redraft has an ADP of WR10, but in Dynasty, he’s valued as WR6. Which side more appropriately values players? In this series, which will take place over eight parts (one part for each division), I’ll be evaluating every skill position player on every team and giving my thoughts on their value, whether they are overvalued compared to Redraft or undervalued. Usually, the appropriate value will be somewhere in the middle.

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Will Levis

Best Rookie Landing Spots

All Access, Rookie / By /

Can’t you feel the excitement as we get closer to the draft? With free agency winding down, we now start to see the core of what each of these NFL teams will look like when we get into the fall. There is still one more piece to the puzzle though and if you play dynasty then it is probably amongst your favorite NFL events of the year—the NFL Draft. While I have learned not to take too much from the landing spot, I think many of us are still hurting from Clyde Edwards-Helaire in 2020. It does have an impact though and we would be foolish to ignore it. I find the best practice is to have everyone divided into tiers before the NFL Draft, then move players within a tier instead of jumping them an entire tier based on landing spot. We also have draft capital to consider but that is beyond the scope of what we will be discussing today. Let’s dig in!

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Desmond Ridder

Fantasy Football Fallout: Falcons Bench Mariota – Desmond Ridder Named Starter

Dynasty / By /

The Falcons selected Ridder with the 10th pick of the 3rd round, making him the second quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft behind Kenny Pickett. Ridder’s mid-round draft capital and middling collegiate profile leave much to be desired but his other-worldly athleticism is more than enough to warrant interest for fantasy purposes. Quarterbacks in Ridder’s tier of career trajectories rarely outperform their supposed hit rates. Managers should tread with caution when placing investments into the stock of third-round developmental prospects that could be replaced as early as the first round in the 2023 NFL draft.

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Marcus Mariota

Week 7 Streamers

All Access / By /

We’re now inching toward the halfway point of the season. Your league standings are starting to shape up, as we get into the pivotal time of the year for your week-to-week matchups. Week 7 brings some repetitive (but decent) streaming options. We will always provide the best players to stream at quarterback, tight end, and D/ST. Remember that each streaming option will be below 60% owned, according to ESPN.

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Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down: NFC South

Dynasty / By /

Welcome back to the “Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down” series (preseason edition). Week 2 of the preseason is just about over, and we are just over two weeks away from the regular season. Positional battles are ramping up. Injuries are opening up opportunities for players looking to earn significant roles and/or roster spots. And the time to be the most active in dynasty leagues is NOW. We are going to hear “hype” reports from beat reporters. And we are going to hear some reports that make us feel a little uneasy about our player investments. Us dynasty managers must constantly research ways to bolster our rosters. In this continuation series, we will dive deep into one player whose dynasty stock is increasing and one player whose dynasty stock is decreasing from each team in every division. Today, we will break down the NFC South.

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2022 DFF SF Rookie Mock Draft – Post NFL Draft: Round 3

Mock Drafts / By /

The DFF Army banded together once again for another 2022 DFF Superflex Rookie Mock–post Draft! Now that we have seen where all of the top talent that college football has to offer has landed, it’s time to update those draft rankings. Check out every third-round selection below and each writer’s reasoning behind their pick.

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2022 DFF SF Rookie Mock Draft – Post NFL Draft: Round 2

Mock Drafts / By /

The DFF Army banded together once again for another 2022 DFF Superflex Rookie Mock–post Draft! Now that we have seen where all of the top talent that college football has to offer has landed, it’s time to update those draft rankings. Check out every second-round selection below and each writer’s reasoning behind their pick.

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2022 DFF SF Rookie Mock Draft – Post NFL Draft: Round 1

Mock Drafts / By /

The DFF Army banded together once again for another 2022 DFF Superflex Rookie Mock–post Draft! Now that we have seen where all of the top talent that college football has to offer has landed, it’s time to update those draft rankings. Check out every first-round selection below and each writer’s reasoning behind their pick.

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2022 Projections: Atlanta Falcons

Dynasty / By /

I do not like the Falcons’ offense for fantasy, they will play slow, they will not score many touchdowns, and they will not pass the ball much. The only asset worth spending a high pick on is Kyle Pitts. I could see myself owning some Patterson, Allgeier, and Mariota though as I think they will be fairly cheap options. I do think London may be over-drafted though, given the recent rookie WR production and not thinking about how inept this offense may be. I have Mariota as a mid to high QB2, Patterson as a high RB3, Allgeier as a low RB4, London as a mid WR3, Edwards and Olamide are not on my board, and Pitts as a mid to high TE1. Hopefully, this offense is good and passes a lot in 2022 but I would not bet on it.

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The WR1 Rating Dynasty Rookie Wide Receiver Countdown (Post Draft Update): Part 3

Dynasty / By /

For those new to the WR1 rating, this is a proprietary formula I developed to provide a data-driven forecast of future dynasty value for incoming rookie wide receivers. The WR1 model scores rookies on nine predictive metrics and then combines those individual metric scores into a single WR1 rating. The goal is to provide a single easy-to-use score for those who don’t want to spend all the time dissecting different metrics. 

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Dynasty Market Sweep: Post-Draft Rookie QB Market Report

Dynasty / By /

Malik Willis’ draft week freefall finally ended in the third round. By that time, it was too late. Willis’ drastic drop down draft boards caused an aftershock throughout the dynasty community, dropping the value of all rookie picks in Superflex leagues save for the 1.01. Managers reacted by reshaping rookie ADP overnight, forcing nearly every skill position player into first-round value. 

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