Fantasy football – CeeDee Lamb tops 2021 field favorites list

Each year each of us has a roster of players that we want in as many of our fantasy football teams as possible. They are not the highest ranked players on my board. These aren’t sleepers or names you don’t know. These are just players I’m on this year for various reasons.

Field’s fantastic favorites, if you will. This year the list goes up to eight.

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

This is my first year writing this article, but I’m already inclined to come up with what will be annual traditions. And one of them appoints a captain from this arbitrary list of favorites that I’m putting together. It is the I’m the most excited player in the squad, the one who oozes fame in fantasy this season. You don’t need me to tell you that Lamb entered the NFL with a hype; it was an act of divine intervention from Dallas that he slipped to the 17th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, and I suspect other teams will regret that day for a while. It is really hard to be one of the top 10 receivers in the preseason standings given the abundance of stars in the position, nearly all of whom are several years older than Lamb. But Lamb ranks 10th on my chart, and the possibility of looking back to January and saying to me, “You were just too low,” is already one that I’m afraid of. He’s playing on an offense that has another star receiver in Amari Cooper, but I think Lamb is the one heading to the moon this season in fantasy. Lamb’s capture ray is comparable in diameter to planet Earth, it is amazing after capture, it is a precise road runner … the strokes follow each other over and over again. Once again, CeeDee Lamb on the moon!

Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals have what could be the AFC’s best wide receiving line for the next five years, and many are benefiting from the buzz surrounding Ja’Marr Chase, the team’s top pick in last April’s draft. And while I like myself a little Chase, Higgins is the player who seems to me to be the forgotten star of the wide receiver class of the 2020 NFL Draft. Higgins posted a 67 catch slash for the rookie season for 908 yards. and six touchdowns, which was basically in 14 games played. (He managed a total of 18 shots and one target in weeks 1 and 17.) And while it’s easier to identify targets for a gap in an attack that doesn’t have three receptors relevant to the fancy, volume shouldn’t be a problem for Higgins: The Bengals’ porous defense last season led Joe Burrow to pitch at an historic rate, ahead of his season-ending injury. I don’t foresee a lot of change this season. There’s plenty for the wide three, and Higgins’ top-flight skills should push him to exceed 1,000 receiving yards.

Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers

In a season lost in some ways, the 49ers have found a gem in 2020 in Aiyuk. The second of their two first-round picks blossomed in a year when San Francisco was desperate for pass catchers amid a litany of offensive injuries. The signs of fame became constant in Week 7 when Aiyuk first broke 100 yards in a match, and things increased from there. Over the course of a six-game streak, Aiyuk recorded 45 catches for 568 yards and four touchdowns while displaying a trait necessary for success with the San Francisco offense: elite post-capture skills. Aiyuk is an open field surveyor, displaying a balance of contact, vision and gust. Feed him. Following.

Jonnu Smith, TE, New England Patriots

The Patriots’ offseason spending spree began by signing Smith to a four-year, $ 50 million contract, immediately making him one of football’s highest-paid players. Those looking through the previous stat lines might think that’s a steep price for a player who’s never had 500 receiving yards in a single season; I think of this as a reminder that Smith’s skill set is one of the most special for any tight end in football. Seriously. Go back and watch a highlight of Smith from his Tennessee days and you’ll find a tight end who sometimes looks like a wide receiver and a running back to others in the open field. In fact, Smith even took a field off the backfield for 57 yards in 2019. He’s an incredible player who is exceptional in the red zone and a shift waiting to happen. Yes, the Patriots doubled down on the tight end so Smith or Hunter Henry didn’t become a staple on the weekly lineup. I think both can be helpful, but I take it out on Smith. This guy is unique.

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

A dominant stretch to close last season – including a 253-yard effort in Week 17 – showed the star potential that Taylor possesses. He was a record in Wisconsin whose collegiate production was no accident: he is a certified baller. And while there has been a bit of skepticism this preseason around Taylor’s position as a potential Tier 1 running back, I’m on him. The root of the skepticism was due to injuries to All-Pro goalie Quenton Nelson and quarterback Carson Wentz, as each could miss time early in the season. Marlon Mack being re-signed also means some competition in the backfield for carries. These points are on my radar, but they’re not enough to dissuade me from waiting for a gigantic sophomore year for Taylor. His ferocity as a runner, his speed and his power on open field make the Colts salivate over his prospects this season; I suggest fantasy managers follow their lead.

David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears

Montgomery is no stranger to the fantastic spotlight, as just two seasons ago he seemed poised for instant success as a rookie in Chicago. Things didn’t go as planned in 2019, as Montgomery recorded 889 rushing yards and six touchdowns, short of the hype surrounding him that year. But Montgomery finished his second season with a six-game streak in which he rushed for 598 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with another 226 receiving yards and one scoring. Montgomery was the the Bears’ main man, and coach Matt Nagy’s confidence in him is deep. Although the team signed Damien Williams and drafted Khalil Herbert in the sixth round, I have no doubts Montgomery is heading for a heavy workload this year, especially as Tarik Cohen continues to recover from an ACL tear. right suffered last season. (As of this writing, Cohen is still on the list physically unable to play.) With good footwork, vision, patience and power, Montgomery will show his end-of-season push in 2020. was a sign of things to come.

Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins

When I’m not preparing for my fantastic draft, I spend several months preparing for the NFL Draft every year. And throughout the pre-draft process this year, there was one player I paid more attention to and found myself more in love with than anyone else: Jaylen Waddle. Man is the definition of an explosive game waiting to happen, as my favorite draft statistic involves Waddle: he’s had 17 touchdowns over his Alabama career, and the mean the length of these hits was over 44 meters. Think about it a bit. Yeah, it’s nonsense. But Waddle is far from just a downstream threat, as he’s also shown fearlessness and strength in competitive capture situations in midfield. This year’s rookie wide receiver class looks full of stars in the making, and the overall depth of the broads makes it difficult to declare Waddle an immediate weekly fantastic starter. But I think its benefits are limitless and therefore it is one of my favorite targets for beginners.

Trey Lance, QB, San Francisco 49ers

I’ve tried to avoid quarterbacks on this list because there really is a lot to choose from. Since year after year we have more ‘start-worthy’ quarterfinals than there are weekly starting points in a fantastic league (unless you are in a two-quarterback league), it Seems like there are no cases for many quarterbacks to crack this list. But I’m making room for Lance, even though he’s yet to be named a starting quarterback in San Francisco. The promising recruit will take this position on time, and I suspect it will be by week 1; this is where the fantastic fun begins. Lance’s physical abilities are exceptional and he has the power to show off shades of Cam Newton or Josh Allen near the goal line. While San Francisco has a large number of running backs, you just know that coach Kyle Shanahan is salivating at the idea of ​​bending to tracks designed for Lance in a way he couldn’t do with. a quarterback since Robert Griffin III’s rookie season in Washington. Lance is expected to grow momentum upward every week, and his rocket arm is going to cause some “wow” moments this season.