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Backfield Breakdown: Reflections After Two Weeks of the NFL Season

We are entering Week 3 of the NFL season, and so with two weeks of information, we are starting to see how the backfields of certain offenses are taking shape. This report looks at weighted opportunity (WOPP), as well as some other metrics to help you identify buys and sells for your running back room for Week 3 and beyond. I will revisit this article at several points of the season to help you get ready for a playoff push, and ultimately a run at the championship! What is WOPP? It is a metric that apportions value to a running back opportunity (either a carry or a target). Targets are worth approximately 2.74 times the value of a rush attempt in PPR scoring, and as such, they are more valuable. 

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Paul’s Picks: Week 1

Week 1 has finally arrived. You’ve waited months for this moment, and now it’s time to set your lineup and get the fantasy season started with a 1 in the win column. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with “Paul’s Picks.” Each and every week, I’ll be bringing you names at every position that I believe will exceed expectations or fall flat. So, without further ado, let’s get into my picks for Week 1.

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Jalen Richard OUT Indefinitely: It’s Time to Stop Sleeping on Kenyan Drake

Earlier this week, Tashan Reed of The Athletic reported that Las Vegas Raiders’ running back Jalen Richard sustained a foot injury after returning from the COVID-19 list and will be out indefinitely. The report had zero mention of what injury Richard suffered but to be immediately labeled as “out indefinitely” I have to assume it was fairly severe. Plus, foot injuries for skill position players are never a good thing as we have seen in the recent Carson Wentz saga and with Joe Mixon in season’s past.

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DFF Redraft League: Drafting From The Nine Spot

When entering a fantasy draft, the first thing I do to plan out my strategy is to look at the league settings. In this draft, there were a lot of irregular rules, like getting points for rushing attempts and first downs, but none of that changed how I evaluated those players. Two rule changes caught my eye as having the biggest impact on weekly scoring. The first is how points are scored for quarterbacks. Instead of the typical four-point passing touchdowns and negative two points for throwing an interception, passing touchdowns are worth six and interceptions take three points away. The next rule change has to do with team defenses. Typically, my strategy is to stream defenses all year long. But in this league, there is a huge bump for allowing low point totals, and there are event points for tackles for loss, QB hits and passes defended. 

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Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down: AFC West

Welcome back to the “Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down” series. This week’s coverage will focus on the AFC West. You can find breakdowns on the AFC East, the NFC East, the AFC South, and the NFC South divisions here at DFF as well. Keep in mind, there will be a player whose stock is up and a player whose stock is down from each team in this division. Let’s get started. 

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Navigating Your Rookie Draft- 2021 Running Backs

Dynasty Build or Dynasty Maintenance?: Najee Harris

The building or maintenance of a dynasty team can be such a fragile project. One early missed pick can quickly change the direction of your team. Such as using a second-round startup pick (1QB) or the 1.01 in rookie drafts on a player who doesn’t project to be worth the price. I am talking about Najee Harris.

Harris was selected 24th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers who were lacking any sort of production from their backfield. But the bigger part of this is that he became a first-rounder, the 19th running back to do so since 2010. This is great for Harris because between 2010 and 2019, 43.8% of first-round running backs achieved at least an RB5 finish, and 75% achieved at least an RB12 finish.

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2021 Rookie RB Comps

In this series, we are going to do a deep dive into the top 2021 NFL Draft Class running backs, and see who they compare to historically. We are going to build them out from the standpoint of their physical acumen, their athletic abilities, and then bring it full circle by looking into their college production. Combining these three components we will settle on a final comparison that I believe most accurately outlines each player’s potential range of outcomes in the NFL. In this article, we will make comparisons for the top five running back prospects in the draft.

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Joe Mixon: 2021 Dynasty Profile

Joe Mixon played college football at the University of Oklahoma from 2014-2016. As a redshirt sophomore, Mixon racked up over 1,800 yards from scrimmage and scored 15 TDs. After his strong 2016 season, Mixon declared for the 2017 NFL Draft. During the pre-draft process, he measured in at 6’ 1”, 226 lbs. and registered an impressive 92nd-percentile speed score with his 4.50 40-yard dash. Under different circumstances, Mixon could’ve easily been a first-round pick. Due to character concerns and an incredible RB class that included Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, and Christian McCaffrey, Mixon slipped into the second round where he was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Navigating Your Rookie Draft- 2021 Running Backs

Navigating Your Rookie Draft: 2021 Running Backs

Whether the running back position “matters” in football can be debated, and likely will continue to be debated as analytics become more commonplace, however, it cannot be argued that running backs are ultimately the lifeblood of a fantasy football roster. In this segment, we will be looking at the hit rate of rookie running backs based on the inputs of draft capital, and age. Using DLF’s trade finder tool we will look at the market value of some of the top running backs in the league. For this exercise, to stay uniform with the quarterback segment, we are using values based on superflex leagues.

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Risers and Fallers from Super Wild Card Weekend

In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding. Even in the playoffs, dynasty values still change weekly. I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. With that said, let’s jump into the risers first, followed by the fallers.

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Risers and Fallers: Dynasty Offseason Edition

In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding. I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Also, of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. However, it’s impossible to cover every single one of them, as dynasty values change weekly for many players.

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 15

Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 15

In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding. 

I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Also, of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. However, it’s impossible to cover every single one of them, as dynasty values change weekly for many players. With that said, let’s jump into the risers first, followed by the fallers.

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Week 10 Late Game Storylines

I love writing these storyline pieces. I will go through the games and discuss one dynasty-relevant storyline per team that I’m excited to see. Usually, I’ll split the games into two sets, covering the early games in one story and the later games in another. Also, I’ll do a special spotlight on the Thursday night game from time to time, as that’s a midweek contest. I like to go into more detail for that game, just for a change of pace.

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dynasty sleeper

Dynasty Sleeper of the Week: Devontae Booker

Welcome back to another dynasty sleeper segment. Receivers have been a hot target throughout this series due to the sheer volume at the position. This week I will be looking at the scarce position of running back and a veteran, by position standards, Devontae Booker. Booker is currently a backup in the Las Vegas Raiders backfield coming off a nice game in Week 9. As always, this is not necessarily a pickup column but rather we will look at players off the beaten path and that you can keep an eye on or add to the end of your bench.

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Week 8 Early Game Storylines

I love writing these storyline pieces. I will go through the games and discuss one dynasty-relevant storyline per team that I’m excited to see. Usually, I’ll split the games into two sets, covering the early games in one story and the later games in another. Also, I’ll do a special spotlight on the Thursday night game from time to time, as that’s a midweek contest. I like to go into more detail for that game, just for a change of pace.

This piece will give you something specific to look for in each contest, which I hope helps you enjoy the games even more. We all play fantasy football to enhance our enjoyment of football, and I’m trying to add to that sense of happiness here. Fun is the most essential part of this hobby for all of us, including me.

I’ve listed the home team first for each game to keep things organized. I won’t waste any more time, so let’s jump straight in!

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Hunter Renfrow: 2020 Dynasty Profile

The Raiders selected Renfrow in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Clemson. At the time, the Raiders had Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams as their primary outside receivers, but they didn’t have any underneath or over the middle weapons. Tight end Darren Waller eventually emerged as their top target, but we didn’t know that when they picked Renfrow.

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NFL Player Props: Week 3

In this article, I look at three player props that I feel have a strong chance of paying out. This article will run the gamut and will include bets such as ‘passing yard totals’, ‘first player to score’, and even ‘total tackles’ for those who love defense. In addition, I will also make one “Longshot Pick of the Week”. This pick will always feature a more difficult bet that has a greater than 2:1 payout. The odds may be tougher, but if you’re into some fun player props take a peek!

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