At NBC Sports EDGE, our goal is to give you the tools to guide you towards winning a fantasy football championship. As such, we’ll be providing you with a few looks into a variety of the tools available in our 2021 NFL Draft Guide from the NBC Sports EDGE+ Premium package as we march closer and closer to the start of the regular season.
Complete with content aimed at providing the knowledge you need to make the perfect draft decisions in a variety of league formats — from projections, tiers, rankings, league sync, sleepers and busts to exclusive expert columns and mock draft analyses — this year’s edition is the finest we’ve ever produced.
Check it out:
Tier One
1. Christian McCaffrey - CAR
2. Dalvin Cook - MIN
3. Derrick Henry - TEN
4. Alvin Kamara - NO
The first tier consists of outlier workhorses either guaranteed to catch passes or handle the lion’s share of touches (and, in some cases, both) from the backfield. McCaffrey is a prime example of that, returning from a six-week absence last year to immediately handle 18-of-19 backfield carries (including 100% of the team’s carries inside the five) and see 16 targets before re-injuring himself. That type of usage (when the team was 3-5) also proves that any discussion of a committee from Carolina’s coaching staff can be ignored. Cook averaged 28 touches, handling 220-of-250 backfield carries, across his last nine starts as Minnesota clearly wanted to establish the run with the league’s third-highest run play rate from neutral game script. Barkley will reportedly be limited during the first month of the season, but still fits the archetype of a three-down option, especially after the Giants allowed Wayne Gallman, Alfred Morris, Devonta Freeman and Dion Lewis to walk in free agency. Henry has totaled 400-plus touches and rushing crowns in back-to-back seasons, but could still potentially be game-scripted out of contests since his alleged uptick in targets consisted of a career-high 31 last year. Kamara’s tepid outlook without Drew Brees is another elephant in the tier after the former’s pitiful 14% target share accrued in Taysom Hill‘s four starts. He has still fortuitously totaled 97 targets in four consecutive seasons.
Tier Four
24. Myles Gaskin - MIA
25. Chase Edmonds - ARI
26. Travis Etienne - JAX
27. Javonte Williams - DEN
28. Leonard Fournette - TB
29. Ronald Jones Jr. - TB
You would think that Gaskin would open the year as Miami’s starter by default after he handled 19.7 touches per game in eight appearances from Week 3 on, but the front office reportedly tried to move up for Broncos RB Javonte Williams in the draft before putting in for Kerryon Johnson (and being out-claimed) off waivers. That’s a telling sign the organization is in the mix for another back whether we believe that’s the correct move or not. Edmonds, on the other hand, was given a nod of approval from Arizona, which glossed over his position entirely in the draft and only added veteran James Conner on a one-year, $1.75 million deal. Edmonds still may be the odd man out for goal-line carries, which would unfortunately cap his ceiling. Etienne has been used as a slot receiver throughout camp and, coupled with his handful of weekly carries, offers a high floor as a hybrid chess piece that should play all around OC Darrell Bevell’s formations. The fact the Broncos traded up for Williams tells us he’ll split carries with Melvin Gordon from Week 1, a la Phillip Lindsay’s role with the latter when healthy last year. Fournette and Jones have no choice but to stay two peas in a pod together until one separates from the other. Even in rushing for a career-high 192/978/7 last year, Jones was usurped by Fournette late in the season, being out-touched 59-35 while seeing 17 targets to Jones’ two in their last three appearances together.
To see every positional tier with full analysis, the full rankings for a variety of formats and all that our Draft Guide and Season Tools for NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL have to offer, you can purchase EDGE+ Roto here for as low as $3.99 per month! And if you’re into DFS and betting, be sure to check out our EDGE+ Max package that includes our DFS and Betting Tools for as low as $11.99 per month.
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