julio jones

Looking Ahead to Week Two

Ryan Tannehill: Still Underrated

Ryan Tannehill revitalized his career when joining the Tennessee Titans in 2019. After taking over in Week 7 as the starting quarterback in 2019, Tannehill never looked back. From Week 7 on, Tannehill was the quarterback three with 225 fantasy points, averaging 22 points per game. The following year, he finished as the quarterback seven with 350 fantasy points in 16 games. Even after these stellar finishes, people are still doubting him. This is evident by his ADP, which, according to DFF Rankings, is the 11th quarterback off the board. I am here to tell you that you are too low on Tannehill.

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Startup Strategies: Drafting to Reload, Not Rebuild: Part 2 – Depth Evaluation

Hurray for the start of Training Camps!! We can finally begin overhyping Twitter highlights while we listen to the sweet voice of Liev Schreiber give hope to Cowboys fans via Hard Knocks. So as we squeeze in a few more startups before the regular season starts, let’s dive into Part II of our Startup Strategies series. Make sure to check out Part I where I focus on drafting a strong core pick-by-pick through the first nine rounds of a real draft I participated in, and how you can take my strategy and deep dive to draft a roster competitive enough to win now without having to rebuild later. In Part II we’ll take a broader look at the full roster post-draft to evaluate depth by position and consider immediate and future roster moves needed to bring home The Ship. 

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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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Building a Redraft League Winning Roster: Part 2

Having a consistently high floor allows for a better chance to make the playoffs. But the title of this series is not how to make the playoffs. Our goal is to win. Assuming you read Part 1 of this series, you know that our plan in rounds 3-6 is to go after high upside wide receivers. This doesn’t mean that we are neglecting other positions and only looking at wide receivers, but the value here is tremendous. This is also why solidifying the running back position is so important to do early. It now allows us to chase value in these rounds. 

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Dynasty Debates: Derrick Henry Buy or Sell

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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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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Startup Strategies: Drafting to Reload, Not Rebuild

Rookie drafts are wrapping up and startups are the only thing getting dynasty owners through the off-season. If you’re a true dynasty degenerate, at least set yourself up for success from the draft. We’re not going to just set ourselves up for success now, but build a sustainable roster for the future to create a true “dynasty.” You don’t have to go all-in on big-name vets, nor do you need to only draft players under 26. Mix a little of both strategically.

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The 2021 Definitive DFF BestBall League Guide

As with any league, the context is everything. Your author shares this brief disclaimer as both a reminder for your own best interest as an owner and as a primer to start this article. There are many important questions you need to know the answer to in order to correctly utilize actionable advice. Is the league redraft or dynasty? Are there 10 owners, 12 owners, 14 owners, 16 owners, or is it a multi-copy league? How many roster spots are there? Is it SuperFlex or TE premium or tiered PPR? Is it an IDP league? How many starters are in the lineup? Is the draft third-round reversal? Do you have taxi squads? Each of these questions plays a vital role in analysis within the realm of fantasy football. Before you boldly and blindly follow advice from a website or analyst, make certain you know the context with which the advice is shared. 

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Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down: NFC South

Tampa Bay made it apparent that they wanted to retain Brady’s pass-catchers by re-signing both Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin. Add them to the mix of Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, Rob Gronkowski, and Cameron Brate, and this group may be the deepest receiving crew in the league. To add more fire to the mix, O.J. Howard will come into the 2021 season fully healthy again. Brady finished as the QB8 last season, but most of his damage came in the second half of the season. From Weeks 7 and 17, he served as the QB6, but what’s more impressive is that he finished as the QB2 during the last three weeks of the season. Why is that the more impressive part? Maybe it’s because those last three weeks are typically the FANTASY PLAYOFFS!

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Elite: The Case for D.J. Moore

The receiver with two 1,000+ yard receiving seasons in their first three years or the receiver with just one top-24 season? Whichever way you want to portrait it, D.J. Moore has a lot of different interpreters that are struggling to find consensus. The range on Moore’s ADP is one of the most drastic out of all players. But where should we be valuing him? Is his WR16 ADP low enough to find value gains or not quite worth the price?

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Julio Jones Traded to the Tennessee Titans

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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Selling High on Hype

During this “dead period”, of impact Fantasy Football content, it’s always good to take inventory of your roster and identify “who’s hot” and “who’s not”, from a Dynasty values perspective. The idea lends itself to helping you make strategic moves and improving your starting line-up production while insulating with production potential. The following recommendations are meant to help you find ways to expand your production potential via the off-loading of “hyped” assets, whether proven or unproven. These examples are not to say that these players possess poor value; rather it’s due to the perceived value that might allow you to move them in to strengthen your overall roster.

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The Case for Chase: 2021’s Sure Thing

Get familiar with 2021’s closest sure thing. Ja’Marr Chase is the best wide receiver prospect we’ve seen since Julio Jones. No really, Julio Jones. Chase checks all the boxes we look for in wide receiver prospects and then some. Let’s first look at his draft capital. Draft capital is a great indication of what an NFL team thinks of a prospect and just how much they like (or don’t like) him. The Bengals made Chase the fifth overall selection on April 29th. What other receivers have been drafted with such elite draft capital? (All Data is from 2010-2021)

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When Is It Time to Rebuild?

As an Eagles fan, I know how fickle NFL success can be. One minute you’re high off your first Super Bowl win. Your head coach and young quarterback are rising stars in the NFL. Then you whiff on a few draft picks, retain a few players past their prime, and a couple of years later you’re dead last in the worst division in football. Your coach is fired, your quarterback is traded, and the once talent-rich roster is almost unrecognizable.

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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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DK Metcalf vs. A.J. Brown

DK Metcalf vs. A.J. Brown: Which Ole Miss WR is Better?

Believe it or not, Ole Miss is not known for producing great wide receiver talent. In fact, outside of Eli Manning and Evan Engram, they haven’t produced many fantasy-relevant players. After the 2019 NFL Draft, that changed. A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf were taken with the 51st and 64th picks, respectively. In year one, Brown finished as WR21, and Metcalf finished as WR33:impressive considering rookie wide receivers don’t usually break out until the back half of the season. The two both jumped up in the rankings and flipped positions in year two with Metcalf finishing as WR7 outpacing Brown who came in at WR12. 

Both receivers find themselves as top ten dynasty assets entering the 2021 season. However, the fantasy community is divided on which player is better.

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new coaching hires

New NFL Coaching Hires: Where The Dust Settled (Part 1)

All seven of the vacant head coaching positions that were available in the NFL this offseason have been filled. In this piece, your author is giving a rapid reaction to each hire, along with some brief fantasy football implications. Understand that these are the analyses and opinions of your author, based on the knowledge and information he possesses. The NFL is a dynamic league, and turnover at the head coach and GM positions not only occur each year but also keeps interest in NFL franchises fresh and relevant. The complete slate of additions will be covered in two articles, the first three breakdowns are here. Overall, the decisions made were underwhelming but interesting. Some teams made strong hires, some underwhelming hires, and some were true boom or bust hires. Now it’s time to dive in, in no particular order, and unpack the new coaching hires… 

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NFL Team Deep Dive: Atlanta Falcons

In this series, I’ll be taking a deep dive into an NFL team situation as we turn to 2021. We will look at coaching/GM changes, team needs, salary cap/free agents, and overall fantasy outlook for 2021. The next team on the list: the Atlanta Falcons. COACHING/GM CHANGES The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Dan Quinn

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 16

Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 16

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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