2021 Breakout Candidates
Written by: Auhsten Serrano
With the 2021 fantasy football season approaching in the near future, we as managers prepare our draft strategies, do our homework on our sleepers and keepers and most importantly watch and read many different fantasy angles. I personally am in one dynasty league and believe me when I tell you that all I want to do every year is collect and conquer, I strongly believe if you set your team up with that goal in mind that you will never obtain last or anywhere near that place in your leagues. With all of that being said I am here to give you my take on certain players that will boost your team’s overall stock for this year and the future to come! So on to the first candidates!
Quarterbacks: Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts
This is somewhat ironic in a way since these two products both started on the Philadelphia Eagles and one ended the other opportunity in Philly. First off, I would like to talk about the leaving Philly candidate Carson Wentz and how he is due and primed for a break-out year in 2021. I 100% believe that Wentz will be a top 10 quarterback by the end of this fantasy season. Yes! I know he absolutely stunk it up in Philly but believe me if you were the franchise quarterback in Philly during that losing season you would be stressed and pressured out of your mind. Wentz was set up to fail this past year and the reasoning for that is he had no frank wright with him (who just teamed back up with him in Indianapolis and not to mention they won a Super Bowl together). He had Jalen Hurts breathing down his neck every game just waiting to get the nod by Peterson.
Last year was a brutally ugly year for Philly and honestly, it’s a beautiful situation that Wentz left Philly for both parties. Wentz will now go on to flourish in Indianapolis with a system he is very familiar with that happens to have one of the best offensive lines in the game (not to mention one of the best run games as well) But it’s also amazing for Jalen Hurts who finally got the nod and Philly will march forward with.
This brings me back to my second booming candidate, Jalen Hurts. Hurts will also be a top 10 quarterback by the end of this fantasy season and the reasoning for that has much to do with the lack of competition there. Philly has a new style of a quarterback on their hands! Hurts is a very patient and smart passer and decision-maker but let’s not forget that this guy ran for 3,274 yards while in college (while tagging on 43 rushing TDs). Hurts is not to be played lightly with if you’re the defensive coordinator because this guy has it all and honestly he was slept heavily on coming out of college and as a fantasy manager I want every part of this “bidness” cause he’s young, he’s quick, he’s mobile, he’s got an arm and he’s a talented passer! So this is my gift to all fantasy managers looking for an unheard edge in leagues because lastly you can definitely draft these candidates or pick them up cheap as both of their ADP’s sit in the 100’s and they are both below QB15. GO GET EM!
Running Backs: Antonio Gibson and Cam Akers
These are both some young dynamite candidates that are ready to rock n roll! The first candidate to discuss is Gibson, Gibson is someone who for some odd reason fly’s unseen on most people’s fantasy football radars. This dude is lightning fast just like every other Memphis product, Gibson runs a 4.39! However, here is some things that I promise you do not know about Gibson; this dude is also 6’2 220lbs! We’re dealing with an absolute animal here, make no mistake, Gibson’s ADP currently rests at RB18 and at an ADP of 27. He is affordable; Gibson is also a part of something great in Washington, With Ron Rivera turning this program around he is definitely going to see more usage and more production. One thing that limited both usage and production last year for Gibson was the absence of a passing quarterback. They did not only sign a pure pocket passer in Fitzmagic but they signed wide receiver Curtis Samuel to help Terry McLaurin in their pass approach. What does this do for Gibson? It allows the defense to be on their heels and not just focus on Gibson 24/7, that will allow him to take advantage of the holes and openings he will see this upcoming season!
My next candidate is Cam Akers, Yes, Cam Akers did not even start every game this past year. Akers is going to blow things up this season and I’d even say expect him anywhere around the top 12 to top five range in running backs this season! My reasoning is because now with Stafford on the Los Angeles Rams, they can actually have a passing offense they’re proud of and still take the world by storm with their run game. That is where Akers comes in, he has been said “to be the guy” by Coach Sean McVay. That tells me two things: one, Akers will be the feature back for at least two years, and two, Sean McVay is a smart person when it comes to knowing his stuff and if he casts his ballot for Akers, I’m going to follow plain and simple. Akers has a lot going for him this upcoming season, even though a lot with him is still a blur and we won’t find out until the season starts, I’m here to tell you if you’d like an edge that most don’t know its in the path of Cam Akers! He’s ranked at RB17 and his ADP is 24… GO GET EM!
Wide Receivers: Corey Davis and Robbie Anderson
The wide receiver pool is very vast and very deep this year but there are always some diamonds in the ruff if you search hard enough to find them. New York Jets wide receiver Corey Davis is on my radar to make a huge splash in his new offense. With the Jets trading quarterback Sam Darnold, it ultimately decides that the Jets will take Wilson with the 2nd pick in the draft. Wilson loves to throw the rock and any receiver in that offense will benefit from having him throw the ball. Crowder will likely require a double team just by his stats he produced last year, which will open up Davis for a big year. Davis is a huge receiver who was forgotten because of the rising of A.J. Brown. Now that he can be in an open offense with no definitive number one wide receiver, Davis will thrive! All this being said the main reasoning for Davis in your roster is the fact that he is drafted in the 7th and 8th round in most drafts based on ADP. That’s crazy! If he’s there in the 5th round, I’d say take a flier on him and thank me later.
On the flip side of the Darnold trade, there is a sole beneficiary on the Carolina Panthers and his name is Robbie Anderson. Anderson will be a top 10 product this upcoming season in my prediction and my reasoning for this claim is this; his chemistry with his new quarterback will be unmatched in the Panthers offense and with Curtis Samuel leaving it opens up more opportunity for Anderson to shine to define himself as their primary air option. His competition for volume is very low with it only being him and Moore in the wide receiver core, but lastly and probably, the most important reason is his ADP. His ADP is lower than DJ Moore and he has more upside than Moore. These two receiver candidates are valuable options for everyone to know for the simple and consistent reason…THEY’RE CHEAP! GO GET EM!
Tight Ends: ???
The bottom line with tight ends in fantasy football is there is an elite group of three tight ends that can carry your team to success; Kittle, Kelce, and Waller. If your tight end isn’t one of those three options I truly believe you need to have a better all-around team and tight end that will efficiently give you a consistent 8-12 points a game. There’s multiple out there with the capability of that so instead of me picking out two and telling you why I like them for a minuscule reason over the others I’ll help you guys out and list all that I believe can produce those numbers!
Mark Andrews
T.J. Hockenson
Noah Fant
Irv Smith Jr.
Hunter Henry
Anthony Firkser
Dallas Goedert
Zach Ertz - If he goes to indy
Eric Ebron
Jared cook - Parham when Cook gets too old
Robert Tonyan - Big maybe if Packers gets Antonio Brown
Kyle Pitts - Great long term pick for dynasty
Rob Gronkowski - He is getting too old though
Mike Gesicki
Tyler Higbee - Sleeper TE of my choice
Concludes list…
If you thought I might’ve forgotten a TE…Trust me I didn’t.
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