NFC: Fantasy Football Factors

Fantasy Football Factors, what exactly do I mean by that? Super simple answer, it's one thing to keep an eye on when tracking each team's preseason performances. Fantasy Football Factors was just the shortest way I could come up with to say that.

Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott’s ankle

Prescott is the engine that will drive this offense. If he’s at 100% then he raises up the value of Elliott, Cooper, Lamb, Gallup and Jarwin. If he looks like he’s still hobbled, or he’s mentally shaken from the injury, then those other guys will struggle too.

New York Giants: Daniel Jones and his Receivers

I think Darius Slayton will excel as the WR2, and since he already has a rapport built with Jones there isn’t a need to really focus on him this preseason. You should be keeping an eye on Kenny Golladay (health included in that) and Kadarius Toney, and how well they’re meshing with Jones. Not to mention keep an eye on how the Giants are deploying Toney. This is a make or break year for Jones and he now has a lot more talent around him, let’s see what he can do with it.

Philadelphia Eagles: The Running Backs

Jalen Hurts and Devonta Smith are the low hanging fruit; of course you should keep an eye on Hurts’ growth and how his connection looks with the first rounder. It’s the backfield that intrigues me. They have Miles Sanders who seemed like he was on the verge of a breakout year and then 2020 happened. You’d think they’d give him the benefit of the doubt and see what the talented back could do, but instead they went out this offseason and drafted Kenny Gainwell in the fifth round, and then snagged Kerryon Johnson. They don’t seem convinced that Sanders is their guy. If Gainwell comes out firing, like I think he will because the man is a beast, we could see this turn into a committee real quick.

Washington Football Team: Fitzmagic

This has a lot to do with what I wrote for new QBs in other places. He’s entering a new scheme, has a new play caller, and he’s throwing to guys he hasn’t played with before. Which is why you want to keep an eye on how he does through preseason. To extend that further, Fitzpatrick isn’t as young as some of these other guys who are switching teams, he’s 38. We need to know if age is catching up to him yet. There’s a lot of talent on this Washington offense (Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Logan Thomas, Dyami Brown, Adam Humphries and Antonio Gibson) and most of the fantasy value there hinges on the QB play.

Chicago Bears: Dalton vs Fields

Like most of the rookie QBs, Fields is going to have to compete for the starting job. News out of the Bears camp so far has been that Fields is looking good. He has the arm and athletic ability to thrive and offer very good fantasy potential, that’s one reason you should watch this battle. The other is Darnell Mooney. Allen Robinson is going to get his as long as he’s on the field, but Mooney needs someone who can hit him in stride as he’s blowing past defenders. If Dalton wins the starting job and Fields plays badly enough to make you believe he won’t start until the second half of the season, then Mooney becomes nothing more than a WR5 target on your draft day. But if Fields looks good, or wins the job outright, Mooney’s value could shoot up to a WR3.

Detroit Lions: The Receivers

This Detroit Receiving corps is going to look way different. And based on who they added this offseason I’d say the primary focus of this team will be to run the ball. Tyrell Williams flopped when the Raiders tried to put him in a WR1 role. He’s more of a WR3 type. Unfortunately, the Lions only really added Breshad Perriman, another burner type who doesn’t excel when put in a primary role, and Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round of the draft! They have Quintez Cephus who they took in last year’s draft, but I don’t have high hopes for him. Hockenson is going to be the top pass catcher in this offense, just keep an eye on who Goff likes to throw to most during the preseason, that guy could carry solid late-round value on your draft day.

Green Bay Packers: The Defense

We’ve been expecting Green Bay’s defense to become a top ten fantasy option for some time now, but it hasn’t happened yet. With Za'Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Kenny Clark and Jaire Alexander, you’d expect a whole lot more out of this unit then what they’ve given us (24th in 2018, 16th in 2019, 18th in 2020). They drafted Eric Stokes in the first round to hopefully hold down the spot opposite Alexander, they signed De’Vondre Campbell to give them a boost at Linebacker, and *checks notes* that’s it. Honestly, with the talent already on the roster and the potential growth from their young Linebackers, they probably could’ve gotten by with just the addition of Stokes. Keep an eye on how the unit is looking as a whole to see if they’ll be worth a fantasy pick this year.

Minnesota Vikings: The Offensive Line

Brian O’Neill has been solid at Right Tackle and toward the end of last year they slid Ezra Cleveland in at Guard and he played well. But beyond that there’s a couple of unknown quantities that may be starting in Christian Darrisaw (Left Tackle) and Wyatt Davis (Guard). Davis will likely have to beat out Dakota Dozier who started all 16 games last season. Garrett Bradbury has been struggling at Center since they drafted him, which prompted the Vikings to trade a sixth rounder to Arizona for Mason Cole, so that’s something to keep an eye on too. This Line has the potential to be the best one that Cousins and Cook have played behind since they came to town, but we’ll need to see how they do together during the preseason.

Atlanta Falcons: All the Running Backs

The front runner for the starting job is Mike Davis, but prior to last season he hadn’t done much in his career to lead me to believe he could be THE guy for a team. They also signed Cordarrelle Patterson and there are a few lesser known quantities still on the roster like Qadree Ollison. I think they’d be best off targeting a veteran to add to the mix, but they don’t seem interested in doing so as it stands right now. So, keep an eye on who is getting the bulk of the work, who looks the best and how the carries are being handed out.

Carolina Panthers: Darnold’s Comfort

CMC is going to get his, doesn’t matter how well Darnold is doing. It’s Anderson and Moore we have to worry about. If Darnold looks comfortable under Center then Anderson and Moore should be on par with where they were last year. That’s a big if though after seeing how his first few years went. There’s also the sleeper value of their mid-round rookie, Terrace Marshall, at stake here.

New Orleans Saints: Winston vs Hill

As fantasy fans, what we want is Winston to win the job. His arm opens up the field and his limited mobility will keep the ball in Kamara’s and Murray’s hands on the ground. Hill winning the job would lower Thomas (when he returns) and Kamara’s value. He’ll steal carries from Kamara and there will be times where he’ll opt to scramble instead of throwing which hurts his Receivers’ value.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Brady’s arm

The only thing that can slow this Bucs team down is father time knocking Brady down a couple notches. Watch how he does in what should be limited playing time through preseason. If he still looks like a spring chicken then there’s nothing to worry about when it comes time for you to take a Buc on draft day.

Arizona Cardinals: Chase Edmonds or James Conner

The RB1 in this offense can carry great value in fantasy football. Two years ago Kenyan Drake was just outside the top 15 at the position. Last year Drake didn’t perform all that well and Edmonds saw a big uptick in touches. He didn’t do as much as one would’ve hoped with his touches and that’s why the Cards brought in Conner. Keep an eye on who wins the starting job (I think it’s going to be Edmonds).

Los Angeles Rams: Matthew Stafford

I’ve mentioned with others before, it’s a new team for a veteran passer. How will he fit in the scheme? How will he adapt to a new play caller? How quickly can he build rapport with his pass catchers? All of those will be important factors in determining how well Stafford, Woods, Kupp and Higbee can do in the world of fantasy. The other thing to watch is their Running Back situation. Akers is done for the year, which means Darrell Henderson steps into the RB1 role, but if last year was any indication, he can’t handle that role by himself. It will be interesting to see if the Rams opt for a veteran like AP or Gurley, or if they give seventh round rookie, Jake Funk, a larger workload than one might have expected back at the beginning of May.

San Francisco 49ers: Health across the board

The Niners were snakebit last year, but this is a very talented team with plenty of fantasy value all over the place including the defense. So, if the team is looking healthy and can stay healthy through the preseason, there is a lot to like come your draft day. Trey Lance’s growth was another one I wanted to list here, but health really is the key for San Fran.

Seattle Seahawks: Gerald Everett

We’ve seen Everett has the talent and now he’ll have the opportunity to be the primary Tight End in his offense. He offers sleeper value in fantasy land and the preseason will show us if that’s something we can try and bank on. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are obviously the #1 and #2 guys in this pass game, but Everett can take on the role of the #3 guy.