juju smith-schuster

Bull’s Crystal Ball: Predicting the Top Three at Each Position for 2021

I don’t see too many changes amongst the rankings at the top of the list. Josh Allen has a huge amount of rushing upside and if he can be close to as efficient as he was last year, with an upgraded receiving corps, he has the likelihood of repeating. Patrick Mahomes is on another level, but I do expect the Chiefs to utilize their RBs at some point. While this may seem like slander to not predict Mahomes at 1; he is still my Dynasty Startup 1.01 as I think we can expect top-5 performances into his 30s. That consistency is the value to pay up for early in a startup, but Allen’s rushing upside cannot be overlooked. Jalen Hurts has the luxury that Lamar Jackson had in his second season. Hurts started enough games to have a taste, but teams haven’t schemed for him yet. He has the potential to put up 1000 yards on the ground and is in an offense that will throw the ball more than Baltimore has, and will likely trail in more games which will necessitate airing it out. I would like to be proved wrong but I think this will be the ceiling season for Hurts and at some point this year we should seek to move your shares or ride him to the ship and move on. Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, and Justin Herbert will likely feature in or around this list but regression or low volume will likely limit their vault into the top-3. 

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tigh end adp gains

DFF Redraft League: Drafting From The Thirteen Spot

Two weekends ago the #DFFArmy organized its annual staff redraft league composed solely of DFF writers/editors as owners. Upgrading from 12 to 14 owners this season, your author willingly joined in the fun. The settings of the league are pretty conventional: a 0.5 PPR league with a starting lineup of 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 3 W/R/T, 1 K, and 1 DEF. Passing TDs are worth six points while rushing and receiving first downs are worth 0.5 points. There is also a 0.1 point per carry bonus and a 0.5 TE reception bonus.

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Rapid Reaction: Michael Thomas’ Ankle

Thomas injured his ankle twice during the regular season last year and was expected to undergo surgery on it as early as January of 2021. Unfortunately for his team, it looks like now he won’t be looking 100% until we hit the ⅓ mark of the season. The Saints schedule has a bye Week 6 before they head into a Monday Night Football matchup against the division-rival Seahawks in Week 7. Given the expected timeline, it’s hard for me to imagine the Saints rushing him back there for the week 5 game against WFT at about the 3 to 3.5-month mark given the uncertainty of when the surgery actually occurred in June. Expecting a push for a Week 7 return makes the most sense when projecting this early on.

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JuJu Smith-Schuster: 2021 Dynasty Profile

JuJu Smith-Schuster played college football at USC from 2014-2016. JuJu registered a breakout season as a true freshman with 54 receptions for 724 yards and five TDs, but he was truly dominant as a sophomore, racking up 1,454 yards and 10 TDs on 89 receptions. After a solid junior campaign, JuJu declared for the 2016 NFL Draft and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 30th pick in the second round.

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Dominating Your Rookie Draft: Rookie Pick Value and Tiers

There is no time when a draft pick is more valuable than when it is on the clock in your rookie draft. You have the power to select your favorite rookie prospect, but you also have the opportunity to trade the rights to the pick for what you view as more value to a league mate. By the time rookie drafts roll around, the ADP is more or less settled and we are targeting our favorite prospects within their given tier. Being right on one player versus another player is very important, but being in the situation to control your draft is even more crucial to success in your fantasy leagues.

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Treylon Burks: 2021 Devy Profile

As of now, Treylon Burks is a consensus top 5 WR in the 2022 class. I am very confident he will end up in my top 3. What will propel Burks up boards is his athleticism and size. With a frame very similar to D.K. Metcalf and speed of his own, Burks could be a big combine riser. Reports are Treylon has been clocked with a 4.4 40 which is not D.K. Metcalf fast, but fast enough to turn heads and get NFL coaches and GMs talking.

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Start/Sit Week 16

Congratulations on making it to your league championship! Take a moment to bask in the glory of your accomplishment… alright, that’s enough. It’s time to get down to business and lock in those championship-winning lineups. In this article, I’ll be covering a handful of players at each position that I believe will either lead you to the promised land or down a path of misery and despair. Let’s dive in!

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 7

Dynasty Risers and Fallers: Week 7

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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Start/Sit Week 7

Each and every week, I’ll be covering a handful of players that I believe will either exceed expectations or let your team down in a major way. Here’s who you should be looking at for Week 7. In terms of points per game, Justin Herbert is the QB8. Through four games, Herbert has 10 total TDs, and he’s averaging nearly 300 passing yards per game. You can trust the rookie against Jacksonville’s atrocious defense in Week 7.

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Week 6 Early Game Storylines

As usual, I’m trying a different type of article this week. I will go through each of the early slate games and discuss one dynasty-relevant storyline per team that I’m excited to see. If I get a chance, I might look at the rest of the games in another article, but I wanted to start with only the first set. This piece will give you something specific to look for in each contest, which I hope helps you enjoy the games even more. I’ve listed the home team first for each game. I won’t waste any more time, so let’s jump straight in!

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week Six

Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 6

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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Start/Sit Week 6

You guys might be wondering why you’re hearing from me since I don’t typically do the start/sit article for DFF. Well, @fantasyfreezer is on vacation, so I’m filling in for him this week. I’ll try to keep the same format and bring you good start/sit advice for the week. I won’t discuss obvious starts or sits, but I’ll focus on borderline players where fantasy owners might have difficult decisions. With that said, let’s jump straight into it.

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Dynasty Story: James Washington

In a dynasty story, I’ll look at a single player and how his value has fluctuated over time, starting from their college profile. I’ll factor in his NFL stats and generally discuss what he did in each of his NFL seasons. Then, I’ll look at his 2020 prospects before wrapping it up with a final recommendation and dynasty strategy.  Today, it’s time for a deep dive into James Washington. Let’s jump right in!

Today, it’s time for a deep dive into Dante Pettis. Is there any hope for a revival in his value, or is Pettis done? Let’s jump right in!

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dynasty sells

Sell-Fish: The Players I’m Throwing Back In Dynasty

In this article, I’ll be discussing a few players that have been hyped up this offseason to the point where they have become obvious sells for me in dynasty formats. This article is not to say that these are bad players, but rather, their hype has exceeded their true value.

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Diontae Johnson: 2020 Dynasty Profile

At Johnson’s current value, he likely represents a dynasty sell. I’m a firm believer in a bounce-back season for Smith-Schuster, and I expect the Steelers to reach a long-term agreement with him. I don’t see Johnson as having the same ceiling as some other players in his value range, such as Christian Kirk, Mecole Hardman, N’Keal Harry, or Tee Higgins. For those reasons, I’d float Johnson in trade talks if I had him on one of my dynasty teams.

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#TomBomb: Pittsburgh Steelers

Now, if you’re not careful you may subconsciously find yourself thinking Ebron’s name has been a topic of conversation for quite a while now. Which, consequently, must mean he’s… you know… old. Well, at just 27 years of age, he’s not placeable in that category quite yet. One thing I don’t want to do is discount Vance McDonald and his ability to contribute, in a real-football-sense, to this ball club. He’s a terrific player in his own right and I genuinely think he’s a quality asset to any organization. Nonetheless, Eric Ebron walks into that locker room as the unquestioned TE1 with some pretty monster upside, especially in the touchdown department.

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Redraft Mock – Zero-RB Approach

Mock drafts are a place to let your wildest ideas play out in hopes of developing a new strategy for how to attack your 2020 drafts. In this 12-team redraft mock, I selected out of the 10th spot. I chose this spot because I typically don’t like to draft from the end. So, to be as prepared as possible, I wanted to see what kind of team I could come up with selecting at the end of this snake draft. Going into the draft I did not have a set plan on what I wanted to do other than to choose who I felt was the best available player on the board regardless of position. This process turned into a zero-RB approach, which I have never endorsed or tried previously. So join me as I venture into the always polarizing strategy of the zero-RB.

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dynasty sells

JuJu Smith-Schuster: 2020 Dynasty Profile

In his rookie campaign, Smith-Schuster had 58 receptions for 917 yards and seven TDs while playing behind Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, and Martavius Bryant. In his sophomore campaign with Bell holding out and Bryant no longer with the team, Smith-Schuster exploded for 111 receptions for 1,426-yards and seven TDs. Per playerprofiler, Smith-Schuster was top six in the NFL in percent targeted on routes run as well as red zone target rate. Smith-Schuster joined Odell Beckham Jr. and Michael Thomas as the only three players with 165+ receptions for 2,300+ yards, and 14+ TDs within their first two seasons in NFL history. 2020 was not kind to Smith-Schuster as Roethlisberger played only two games as Devlin “Duck” Hodges and Mason Rudolph showed terrible quarterback play in his absence.

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