The season is upon us, all off season multiple players have been hyped up or hyped down. I have a few players I want to give you some insight on. As we are drafting or making trades we have to sift through the headlines to really find the truth. The preseason is full of over reaction tweets and takes, however some become fact and some become fiction. I have put together a list of a few players to go over and determine if they are in for real. I know you are excited to see who is on the list so lets get right into it!
MIA RB1: Myles Gaskin out, Malcolm Brown In?
Last season Gaskin burst on to the scene with the Dolphins. He was a weekly fantasy option for the lucky ones who rostered him. Coming into the 2021 season the Myles Gaskin outlook was looking to be the same, until the Dolphins signed Malcolm Brown. They would then go on to draft Gerrid Doaks in the NFL Draft. These addition created a storm on all social media platforms, Gaskin’s stock dropped quickly. The problem here is most people over reacted to a team adding depth to a position of need. To make the story line even worse in last weeks preseason game Gaskin played a majority of the first and second quarter. Due to this everyone believes he is all of a sudden the second option in the back field to Brown. However If we look at the numbers over there career we will see there is little to be worried about.
Brown has never seen anything over 110 attempts, while carrying only a 4 ypc average for his career. He has also never seen more that 35 targets in a season. Brown has never been a lead back type nor is he now. Yes you could argue he takes some upside from Gaskin, in the short yardage area. But Gaskin saw over 130 carries and 47 targets in 10 games in 2020. The worst case scenario is Gaskin getting all the receiving work. This is huge for PPR leagues, he is very efficient in the passing game with a 9.1 yards per reception average for his career. However I am a firm believer that Gaskin will lead this committee on the ground and through the air and be a viable option in 2021.
Conclusion: Fiction
Ja ‘Marr Chase is the New WR1 in Cincinnati.
As soon as his name was called on day one of the NFL Draft the takes came flying in. Some of them had a fact based stance as it is in Burrow and Chase being college team mates. What is forgotten is Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd were NFL teammates of Burrow in year one. For me this has little value to the true usage of Chase in 2021. The belief that Chase is going to come in and led this team in targets is hard for me to believe. The Bengals had three wide receivers with over 90 targets in 2020. They also had over 580 passing attempts in 2020, this was with Burrow missing the end of the season.
For 2021 I still think Higgins or Boyd will finish higher than Chase. There have been some reports Chase has struggled to create separation in camp. I am not to worried about this as he was never a crazy separator in college. He brings a physical and aggressive style to the wide receiver core. However I can not ignore the fact that Tee Higgins led the team in targets with 107 in 2020 or the fact that Boyd also saw 107 targets. Higgins was second on the team in air yards at 1252, and led the team in YPC at 13.6. Tyler Boyd led the team in red zone targets with 13. I do not see these efficient NFL players being removed from there roles for a rookie unless he earns it. I do believe Chase will see his fair share of opportunity but to declare him WR1 in Cincinnati its a touch to early!
Conclusion: Fiction
Quez Watkins Preseason standout to NFL contributor?
There may be no bigger riser than Quez Watkins this training camp. Drafted in the sixth round in 2020 by the Eagles, he was used sparingly in 2020. He only appeared in six games, he produced 106 yards on seven receptions! Yes he did in fact average over 15 yards a reception. This season he had a full offseason to train and prepare. He has taking training camp and the preseason by storm. Showing a good ability to beat players off the line with his 4.3 speed and foot work. He’s not all speed though as he has shown an ability to hand fight and break off press coverage as well. Watkins has also demonstrated sure hands and a diverse route tree.
He has come in and took over the slot role for the Eagles, that most thought Jalen Reagor would do. In week one of the preseason we saw him house one from 79 yards out on a wide receiver screen. Then he followed that up with a good week of practice against the Patriots, in which we have a clip of him freezing JC Jackson and running by him for the deep TD pass. Watkins never left the field in this weeks matchup against the Patriots. It would appear that he may have taken over the second wide receiver role for now. With his big play ability the sky is really the limit for him. He may not reach WR2 numbers but he will for sure have an impact on fantasy in 2021.
Conclusion: Fact
