The TNFF #EhTeam is back for the 2nd annual “Must Have” players for the upcoming 2021 NFL season.
RB Jonathan Taylor – Indianapolis Colts
The recent injury to Carson Wentz does absolutely nothing to hurt Indianapolis Colts’ running back Jonathan Taylor’s fantasy value in 2021. In fact, it might actually benefit Taylor owners. The Colts offense ranked 10th in total yards and 9th in total points in 2020 but those numbers were in spite of a mediocre passing game. The Colts ranked only 20th in passing attempts, 22nd in passing TDs, but ranked 9th in the league in interceptions. The offensive production actually came on the ground where the Colts hammered their way to 11th in total rushing yards and 6th in rushing touchdowns. Colts RBs accounted for a solitary fumble all season long while Philip Rivers himself had two. With Rivers at the helm, and an underrated defense making timely plays, the 2020 Colts bullied their way to an 11-5 record and a playoff appearance. The forecast for the 2021 Colts is no different. The offensive line is stout and built to blow open holes at the line of scrimmage. The defense is quick, aggressive, and capable of making big plays. Wentz or not, this team, with Taylor fully entrenched in the offensive playbook, is set to make another run in 2021.
As a rookie, Taylor was dominant in the categories that fantasy football owners salivate over. He finished the 2020 season 3rd in rushing yards (1169), 4th in total TDs (12), and 4th in total fantasy points (217) amongst RBs. He was also 8th in red zone touches (52) and had a higher yard per touch rate (5.5) over fantasy football studs Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook. All while head coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni spent the early part of the 2020 season easing the Wisconsin product into their offensive game plan. Once Taylor’s workload ascended to an RB1 level, so did his production. Over the final five games of the season, Taylor averaged an astronomical 25.06 fantasy points per game to help lead his fantasy owners to championships (myself included). If I am in the market for consistent fantasy production, I’m building my roster around Taylor all day long in the upcoming 2021 season.
– Jason Ferris (@jferris72)
TE Kyle Pitts – Atlanta Falcons
For the second season in a row, my must have player is from the Atlanta Falcons. However, this year it is the highest drafted TE in NFL history, Mr. Kyle Anthony Pitts. The 2020 John Mackey Award winner for Most Outstanding Tight End in college (who did it with 20% more TDs than any winner in the last 20 years) profiles like a player you would custom-build in a video game with unlimited stat points. Pitts is a gifted receiver in a giant TEs body. He can literally line up anywhere in formation and not only be successful, but a true threat. The biggest thing that swayed me was the fact that the Falcons knew Julio Jones was gone before the draft. Before! So they knew their first ballot Hall of Fame franchise WR was gone, they had the 4th overall pick in the NFL Draft and they still went with Kyle Pitts. When he hits his stride, he can blow past defenders with his 98th percentile Speed Score in the blink of an eye. History and the usual production of rookie TEs is against him. Yet, what other TE has profiled like him, coming into a situation as the #2 receiver used in multiple spots within a voluminous pass friendly offense, with a terrible defense? It all adds up to a perfect storm of a situation and I’m ready to catch lightning in a bottle.
– Josh “Smokey-Hell” Nelson (@TNFF_Smokey)
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TE TJ Hockenson – Detroit Lions
TJ Hockenson has two things leaning heavily in his favor in 2021. For starters, he is entering his third NFL season as a pro. It’s well-known that the TE position is one that generally takes a few years to become aquatinted with at the professional level. Additionally, he also has a very favorable situation in the Motor City.
Gone is longtime QB Matthew Stafford, and taking over the helm for the Lions is former fellow No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, Jared Goff. Goff has shown a tendency to lean on his TEs during his first five seasons in the league with the Los Angles Rams. Goff’s likelihood to throw a majority of underneath passes should theoretically benefit guys like Hockenson, RB D’Andre Swift, and rookie WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. Even with his ADP at 63 overall in PPR (an all-time high), there is still tremendous upside to be had.
– Nate Williams (@Nate_FFL)
WR Ja’Marr Chase – Cincinnati Bengals
I’m all in on this pick and if you’ve followed my work with FantasyPros or RotoBaller, you could have probably guessed who my must have player is. Although the noise out of the Bengals camp does not inspire confidence, it’s only a matter of time until Joe Burrow settles in and the offence erupts. More specifically, the reports about Ja’Marr Chase’s separation needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Separation has never been Chase’s forte, nor did he rely on it in his success. The recent reports, to me, sound like a way to reinforce the mentality that “receivers take time to produce for fantasy”. Firstly, this is an outdated concept that needs to be revisited. At least one rookie WR has finished in the top 24 at the position in each of the last eight seasons (with two finishing top eight). Over these eight seasons, no prospect has received a higher college grade (as per ESPN) than Ja’Marr Chase. From winning the Biletnikoff in 2019 (awarded to college’s best WR) to succeeding against college’s best corners, Chase has done everything needed to demonstrate he has what it takes to be an NFL star.
Unfortunately, the jump between college and the NFL is very real. There is definitely the possibility that Chase may take some time to adjust his game to the NFL, however, he is in arguably the best situation to make an immediate impact. The fifth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has the opportunity to reignite the flame with QB Joe Burrow that torched the college football world. Burrow averaged the seventh-most passing yards per game last season (ahead of Aaron Rodgers). Despite Burrow’s gruesome injury that ended his season last year, he has created a lot of buzz at camp with his recovery. Based on the fact that the Bengal’s defence remains at the bottom of the league, this high-passing output should be maintained. As a result, there will be a lot of yards to go around for one of the league’s best trios of WRs. Even if he takes some time to adjust to the NFL, Chase has the talent, chemistry and opportunity in 2021 to be a league winner. I expect big things from the rookie as I have him ranked as a top 15 WR for 2021.
– Ellis Johnson (@YoitsEllis_FF)
WR Tyler Lockett – Seattle Seahawks
What if I were to tell you that a 28 year old, top 20 fantasy WR in the last 3 years was being drafted outside the top 30 WRs in dynasty startups? Since 2018, Tyler Lockett has been the WR16, WR13 and WR8 in PPR formats yet he is currently being drafted as the WR37! My mind is exploding trying to understand this. His per game points average has gone up the last three straight seasons (13.9, 14.7 and 16.6) as he enters into the prime of his career as well as a commitment from the Seahawks with a new contract extension.
Can Tyler Lockett be a volatile play? Yes. Over the last three seasons he finished with 15 games under ten points. Is that a reason to draft him so far outside of his last three years of fantasy finishes? No. In the last three years he finished as a WR1, nine times and a WR2 19 times. He has finished with 16+ PPR points, 18 times in the last three seasons. He can certainly have his bust moments, but at his ADP he certainly proves to be a capable flex option. Back-to-back 100 target, 1000 yard seasons plus three straight seasons of eight plus TDs, makes him a far more reliable option then most wide receivers you will be drafting as a WR4 or worse.
– Connor Donald (@Connorten)
RB Austin Ekeler – Los Angeles Chargers
Yes, Austin Ekeler burned many people last year with his week four hamstring injury (though if you hung through those six weeks, he probably put you in the playoffs), but he’s being slept on now. His ESPN redraft ADP is 14.3 which is RB9. Of course, McCaffrey, Cook, Henry, Kamara, Barkley, and maybe Ezekiel Elliott should be taken ahead of him, but, taking Kelce, Adams, Hill, Diggs, and possibly Chubb and Aaron Jones over him? That’s criminal! Even after getting knocked out three carries into his fourth game of the season, Ekeler averaged 16.5 points per game in PPR. If you take out his 2.4 points in week four on three touches, it goes up to 18.1 ppg. That would have made him the RB6 last season in PPR leagues.
Not to mention that he has no competition for carries next season. Justin Jackson and Josh Kelley haven’t shown anything to prove that they can do much more than give Ekeler a breather; and while Larry Roundtree has potential, he’s a sixth-round pick. He’s not going to threaten Austin Ekeler primary role.
Bottom line: If I’m drafting in the second half of round one, I’m taking Ekeler (unless a top five RB has fallen).
– Matt (@TexasTrojan2004)
WR Robert Woods – Los Angeles Rams
Much like the late, great Rodney Dangerfield, Rams wide receiver Robert Woods suffers annually from a lack of respect. All Woods does is produce low-end WR1 numbers for fantasy purposes year after year, yet is never among the top 12 players selected at his position. In fact, based on current ADP data from DLF, Woods is being selected as the WR24, 56th overall! If you even look at our own rankings here at TNFF, he is ranked as the WR22, or the 51st player being selected in fantasy drafts. If you told me I could go into a startup draft right now, and wait until the fifth round to snag a guy who has put up over 1000 total yards each of the last three seasons, I would snap him up without giving it a second thought. Add to this the fact that he now has an upgraded QB under centre throwing to him, and that his team recently lost their top playmaking running back for the season and Woods just SCREAMS value to me.
Signed to a brand new 4 year $65 million contract extension which takes him through the 2025 season, Woods enters his 9th NFL season at just 29 years of age. He has not missed a game due to injury since 2017, when he missed 3 with a sprained shoulder, proving him to be a sturdy, reliable option. He is also a rare dual-threat offensive weapon as he has over 100 rushing yards and at least one rushing touchdown in each of the last three seasons. Over those seasons he has never finished lower than PPR WR14 despite questionable QB play from Jarred Goff. Now tethered to a much more accomplished passer in Matthew Stafford, expect Woods to meet or exceed his career best 86 reception, 1219 yard 6 touchdown season that he accomplished in 2018. I would reach a round if necessary and gladly enter the 2021 fantasy season with ‘Bobby Trees’ as my team’s WR1.
– Jesse Patterson (@df_patterson)
Thank you reading our article. Do you agree or disagree with any of the #EhTeam’s Must Haves for 2021? Please leave a comment or message us on Twitter.
Editor: Joe Simonetti
Graphic work: Dan Made Graphics (@DanMadeGraphics)
