I'm testing out a new draft strategy this year: Zero RBWR. Intrigued? You only draft quarterbacks and tight ends for the first ten rounds, then key in on all the value running backs and wide receivers from there. I'm thinking my opponents will never expect it, and by the time they realize what's happening it'll be too late. Game over. Donkey wins. Alright, I'll quit Donking around. Let me say that I oppose entering any drafting with a rigid strategy such as Zero RB, Zero WR or Zero DongB. Take what your draft gives you. I've found this year's drafts often give opportunity for intriguing wide receiver picks through the middle rounds where running back options become squanchy. Again, don't box yourself into taking RBs early but give it strong consideration when you're on the clock with those first couple fateful picks. Anyway, here's my top 40 wide receivers for 2021 fantasy football:
Click here to see all 2021 Fantasy Football Rankings.
*Note: These rankings are geared toward half PPR scoring. Projections provided in this season's rankings are NOT my own, they come from Rudy Gamble's World-Renowned 2021 Fantasy Football Projections. These preseason projections are available free of charge, while Rudy's in-season weekly projection subscription is currently available until August 31st at an early bird discounted price of only $17.99 for the entire season! These are the same weekly projections that won Rudy Gamble the FantasyPros designation of "Best Bold Ranker" for the years 2017-2019 (and likely 2020!).
Before you go any further if you haven’t read the previous articles from this series, we recommend you do so. You can find those articles here:
Points Per Rush Attempt Analysis for 2021 Fantasy Football
Point Per Rush Attempt Analysis – Regression Candidates
Fantasy Points Per Reception – Running Back Edition Part 1
In this article we breakdown Fantasy Points Per Reception or FPPR regression candidates from 2020 at the running back position to help you identify players to potentially fade in 2021.
As a reminder the league average for FPPR over the past 10 seasons is 1.49. For a running back to see a half point less per game they need to catch 40 passes and see a drop in FPPR of .2.
| 2020 PPG |
2021 Projected PPG
|
|---|---|
| 14.1 | 13.6 |
Chris Carson has been as consistent as they come over the past three seasons seeing his PPG range from 14-14.8. However, somewhat of a red flag heading into 2021 was Carson’s big drop in touches. From 2019 to 2020 Carson saw his touches decrease from 21.5 to 14.8. Carson was able to keep up his PPG by seeing a 16% increase in his PPRA and 10% increase FPPR vs. his career norms. Based on what we learned over these past few articles one if not both will drop in 2021.
The next question we need to answer is “what does the floor for Carson look like if he were to return to his career norms without an uptick in touches”. The short answer is 12.4 PPG. That would put him outside the top 25 running backs in PPG last season. Currently Carson’s ADP is RB18 which isn’t a terrible price to pay based on his PPG over the past three seasons. Currently backup RB Rashaad Penny is out again so Carson could be leaned on early. This makes it likely for him to see a bump in touches in 2021.
Before you go any further if you haven’t read the original article on the Points Per Rush Attempt Analysis (PPRA), we recommend you read that first. You can find that article here. In Part 1 of the running back edition, we break down Fantasy Points Per Reception or FPPR outliers from 2020 to help you identify players to potentially buy in 2021.
Yes, we will be diving into the receiving portion of our analysis, but the concept is the same as the original PPRA article. The biggest difference is the numbers are a bit higher. For example, the league average FPPR over the past 10 seasons is 1.49. For a running back to see a half-point more per game they need to catch 40 passes and see an uptick in FPPR of .2.
The running backs who saw an outlier season of -10% in FPPR on average saw an increase of .47 or 40% increase in FPPR the next season. That means for every 40 receptions these running backs saw an increase of just over one fantasy point per game in .5 PPR the year after they had an outlier season.
A late Target is a term describing a retail store open after 10 PM. A deep sleeper is a term you and your cousin Melinda use to describe your fat old uncle Bart. Neither are relevant in the realm of fantasy football, unless you and Melina decide to invite uncle Bart to the home decor section one night but end up staying past close because Bart got lost walking from the bedposts to the nightstands. That's why any term can have an alternate meaning, such as a player to go after late in a fantasy football draft, or a player literally no one is in on except for a select few enlightened souls. For the most part, we all have preconceived notions regarding the players at the top of fantasy football drafts. Donkey Teeth will continue to target sexy upside with reckless abandon. I'll continue to have nothing to do with Joe Mixon and receive thundering boos from the Reddit militia. And you, dear readers, will be no different. It's when we get late into drafts that we start to lose our way and look for high-upside fliers, and far too often I see my peers wasting draft capital as the rounds creep deeper into the double digits. This week, I'll break down one late target and deep sleeper at running back, wide receiver and tight end -- and leave it up to you who to go after and include in your 2021 late-round draft strategy.
B_Don and Donkey Teeth are joined by Darik Buchar of Sports Hub Technologies (they bring you the NFBC, NFFC, BB10s, Fanball, League Safe, etc. etc. etc.) to discuss B_Don and Darik's RazzBowl draft along with some of the offerings that the NFFC has to offer this fantasy football season.
We'll recap Darik's draft and how the room drafted differently than the normal on NFFC. We also announce the Beat B_Don (Cutline) and Beat Donkey Teeth (Draft Champions) leagues. Need some incentive? Well, the winner of each league gets a spot in next year's RazzBowl! BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE... Darik has given us a code for Cutline and Draft Champions to get $25 off your entry fee using promo code: razz25.
Review Cutline rules and prizes here. ($150 entry using $25 discount code above)
Review Draft Champions rules here. ($125 entry using $25 discount code above)
I've now ranked the top 30 quarterbacks, top 25 running backs, top 25 wide receivers and top 10 tight ends. You should now be good to go for your fantasy drafts. Go get 'em, tiger! What, you want more? Is it because of my very subtle and mature penis jokes masterfully woven throughout the rankings like a Dan Brown novel? I could just write a long list of penis jokes, if you prefer. More rankings you say? Alright, I get it, not everyone is playing in an 8-team league where they own 7 of the teams like my home league with Cousin Cletus. We will rank on. Longer. And harder. And with more thrusting. Anyway, here's my top 40 running backs for 2021 fantasy football:
Click here to see all 2021 Fantasy Football Rankings.
*Note: These rankings are geared toward half PPR leagues. Projections provided in this season's rankings are NOT my own, they come from Rudy Gamble's World-Renowned 2021 Fantasy Football Projections. These preseason projections are available free of charge, while Rudy's in season weekly projection subscription is currently available until August 31st at an early bird discounted price of only $17.99 for the entire season! These are the same weekly projections that have won Rudy Gamble the FantasyPros designation of "Best Bold Ranker" for the years 2017-2019 (and likely 2020!).
Everyone has their secret shames. My wife is a high school biology teacher who has a master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Central Florida. However, every Friday night she cracks open a couple cans of her preferred adult seltzer and binge watches those Housewives shows. She is nothing like the larger-than-life personalities featured on Bravo! but it helps her zone out I guess. My secret shame is much like the Housewives in the scale of drama and infighting: professional wrestling. If you have ever found yourself glued to your favorite cable television station on a Monday or Wednesday night in the last thirty years, you know sometimes the best action occurs before the wrestlers ever enter the ring. I am talking about the elaborate entrances wrestlers make into the arena before the matches even begin. Stone Cold Steve Austin’s glass shattering, CM Punk’s needle scratch leading into Living Colour’s ‘Cult of Personality,’ and my personal favorite, Atsushi Onita’s often imitated Tokyo Dome "Wild Thing" entrance. All shining examples of starting off a match on the right foot to get into your opponent's head even before the bell rings. Your entrance into the 2021 fantasy season needs to be just as grand!