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Tuesday, January 19, 2021
We're down to the final four teams for the 2020 season, as the Packers, Bucs, Chiefs and Bills will be playing this weekend for a spot in the Super Bowl. Three of those aren't much of a surprise, but the Bills continue to prove their dominance, this time taking down the Ravens 17-3. They've been one of the biggest surprises in the league, though at this point, there's really no reason to be surprised at all. The only question at this point is how much of their dramatic shift toward being one of the pass-happiest teams in the NFL will stick in 2021 -- and even in a low-scoring game they led pretty much the entire way, they still threw the ball 37 times this week compared to just 16 runs. This is who they are now.
What else did we learn from the divisional round slate of action? Make sure you check out Jamey Eisenberg's recap of this weekend's action here, including updated playoff challenge rankings and some thoughts on the eliminated teams, and then go listen to Monday's episode of Fantasy Football Today , where we broke down every game with our biggest takeaways. Then, read on in today's newsletter for my picks for the biggest winners and losers from the games, with an eye on what it means for their 2021 value. 
Divisional Round Winners
Nick Chubb: Figuring out what is a real trend and what is just noise is a tricky business at the end of a season, and Chubb and the Browns gave us a lot to sort through over the last month of the season. In the first 11 games of the season, Chubb had just 12 targets, and he had just 17 in eight games playing alongside Kareem Hunt in 2019; in the last four games of this season including the playoffs, he had 14, including five Sunday. It's a small sample size, but that 56-target pace would dramatically alter Chubb's Fantasy outlook for 2020. I'm not counting on Chubb being much of a pass-catcher in 2021 -- let's not forget, the Browns should have Odell Beckham back next season -- but it looks more possible than it did a month ago. 
Leonard Fournette: For anyone who was doubting whether Fournette could still be a lead back, he's answered that over the last two weeks, rushing for 156 yards and adding 83 more in the passing game with a pair of touchdowns while playing 76.6% of the Bucs snaps with Ronald Jones ailing. Jones is still healthy enough to play a significant role, but he came up limping after one long run Sunday, so Fournette figures to continue to be the lead back for the NFC Championship against the Packers. However, the more important implication of this recent run is what it means for Fournette's 2021 value. He'll be a free agent, and while it's possible he'll return to Tampa, the hope is he finds a three-down role elsewhere. Still just 26 -- his birthday was Monday! -- Fournette could be a major bounce-back candidate if he lands somewhere with 250 touches available.
Taysom Hill/Jameis Winston : One of these two is going to be the starting quarterback for the Saints in 2021, a statement that moved from assumption to something close to a fact Sunday with reports that Drew Brees is planning to retire. Of course, which one actually gets the starting job remains to be seen, but if you're asking me, my preference is for Hill to be the Saints starter. Not necessarily because I think he will be a better quarterback option for the Saints, but because I imagine that would mean Winston is moving on to another opportunity. That could create two starting-caliber Fantasy options out of this combo -- especially if Winston lands somewhere with a strong set of skill position players. Denver would be an optimal landing spot, and I just might view both him and Hill as top-10 quarterbacks if that were to pass. 
Allen Lazard: A core injury sidelined Lazard after just three weeks, and he failed to do much in a limited role upon his return in Week 11. However, Saturday's game against the Rams saw Lazard show what he is capable of again, as he caught four passes for 96 yards including a 58-yard touchdown to seal the game in the fourth quarter. It's hard to say what could have come from Lazard if he had managed to stay healthy, but he has averaged 9.8 yards per target and showed the potential to be the No. 2 receiver for the Packers. We'll see if they opt to bring anyone into the receiving corps to compete for targets, but I'll still view Lazard as an enticing sleeper for 2021 if they don't. 
Van Jefferson: The decision to take Jefferson in the second round was a bit of a surprise, and he didn't do much to vindicate the Rams, finishing seventh on the team in targets with just 19 catches for 220 yards and a touchdown on 31 targets in 16 games. However, with Cooper Kupp sidelined by a knee injury in an elimination game, Jefferson stepped up Saturday, catching six of seven targets (both second on the team) for 46 yards and a touchdown. This hasn't been the same Rams offense we saw support three must-start receivers in years past, but Josh Reynolds and his 81 targets will be a free agent this offseason, and it's possible Jefferson could be looking at a 100-target role in 2021, which would make him a viable late-round sleeper. 
Divisional Round Losers
Michael Thomas: It's hard not to be discouraged about Thomas as he heads into the offseason coming off a zero-catch game and with Drew Brees seemingly likely to retire. No matter who the Saints choose to replace Brees, Thomas is heading into an offseason of significant change, and uncertainty is always a tough thing to deal with from a Fantasy perspective. However, I don't want to be all doom and gloom. The Saints targeted Thomas heavily when Hill was starting in Brees' place, and Thomas' 16-game pace in those four games was 120 catches for 1,372 yards. And, if it's Winston at QB, Thomas' upside might be even higher, given Winston's willingness to throw the ball down the field and the added value that could unlock for Thomas after a career spent mostly running shorter routes. There's less certainty in Thomas' outlook without Brees -- and Sunday's catchless game won't endear him to anyone -- but it might just make him a solid value. 
J.K. Dobbins: I've been harping on this for a while, and it won't make me particularly popular in Fantasy circles this offseason, but I don't see how you can't be alarmed by Dobbins' usage at this point. Sure, the five targets were an unexpected bonus Saturday, but that equaled his total from the previous seven games, so it's likely an outlier. Which leaves us with Dobbins' 10-carry, 42-yard line as a rusher, identical to what ostensible backup Gus Edwards managed. That's one week after Dobbins had just one more carry (nine) than Edwards in the wild-card round. Dobbins still closed out his rookie campaign averaging 15.1 Fantasy points per game over his last eight, including the playoffs, but that was with eight touchdowns in that span. He had a 16-game pace of just 192 carries, with just 16 more carries than Edwards. Dobbins is an impressive talent, but I saw little evidence the Ravens will use him in a way that figures to make him much more than a mid-range No. 2 RB for 2021, one who will need touchdowns to have big upside. 
Devin Singletary: No Zack Moss, no pro- … actually, big, big problems for Singletary, who rushed for just 25 yards on seven carries Saturday. He added three catches for a whopping 12 yards, all despite playing 84% of the Bills snaps. Maybe the Bills will revert back to being more of a running team in 2021, but it's hard to see why they would do that, which means Singletary and Moss are stuck in a timeshare on an offense that's likely to remain pass-first and doesn't produce much Fantasy value for running backs anyway. Neither Singletary nor Moss is ranked as a top-28 running back for me, and I'll probably just pass on this backfield entirely. 
Cole Beasley: Beasley had a terrific season, but he benefited from John Brown's absence at times, and he took a back seat to Brown Saturday. Beasley was targeted just two times in the win over the Ravens, catching neither, while Brown had eight catches on 11 targets for 62 yards. Brown is the better player of the two and he's younger, so it will be interesting to see how the Bills prioritize the two in 2021 -- especially with promising rookie Gabriel Davis looking like he deserves a bigger role. There could be a crunch coming here, and Beasley seems to be sputtering out at the end of the season. 
 
 
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