Florida Players to Target in NFL Fantasy Football
The NFL season is here, which means fantasy football is back! Each of the three Florida NFL teams have players you will want to have on your fantasy team. Andy Holloway of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast helped to break down what you need to know.
Quarterbacks
The biggest target at quarterback in Florida is Baker Mayfield. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB finished fourth in total fantasy points at his position last year, and only added more weapons for this season. Holloway believes another big season is in the cards, but said “Baker probably won’t throw 40+ (touchdowns) again…” He did discuss Mayfield’s ability on the ground to be the key to his fantasy success this season. Holloway has Mayfield ranked as his No. 6 quarterback for this season.
Holloway has some concerns about Tua Tagovailoa. Coming in as his 18th-ranked quarterback, Holloway is worried about Tagovailoa’s health. “I’m not targeting (Miami) Dolphins as a stack, Tua has been too injury prone and inconsistent and the line worries me.” Injuries have been a problem for Tagovailoa, who missed six games last year with a concussion and a hip sprain. Tagovailoa has struggled when healthy as well, with defenses doing a better job slowing down coach Mike McDaniel’s offense.
Despite liking some of his weapons, Holloway is out on Trevor Lawrence this season. Coming in as his 25th-ranked quarterback, the fifth-year man for the Jacksonville Jaguars has not proven enough through the air to make up for his lack of rushing. He threw for just more than 2,000 yards across 10 games last year and has not shown he can be a reliable fantasy starter.
Running Back
The biggest question mark at running back in Florida comes from the Jaguars. Holloway described it simply as “The RB situation is a mess!” With that being said, Holloway likes Tank Bigsby to be the back to rise to the top. He cited Bigsby’s potential goal-line work and volume to be enough to push him over the top. He does have the two main Jacksonville backs right next to each other in his rankings, with Bigsby at 41 and Travis Etienne Jr. at 42.
There are a lot of situations where drafting the backup to your starting running back makes sense in fantasy football. The Buccaneers backfield is an exception to this. While Bucky Irving is a standout, being ranked eighth by Holloway, if he were to get injured there is not a clear second man up. Holloway said “If he went down it’d be a committee that’s hard to predict the value on…” Of the two backup options, Holloway said he is more likely to take Rachaad White over Sean Tucker.
In Miami, De’Von Achane is the clear leader of the backfield. The biggest problem with him is his injury risk, as he has been dealing with a calf injury in the offseason. Holloway looks to rookie Ollie Gordon II as the running back to have behind Achane. He cited the lack of “it” shown by Jaylen Wright to this point, and said “… if Gordon somehow succeeds on the goal line we’d have a huge upside player.”
Wide Receiver
There are some great pass catchers across Florida, and Miami is no exception. The question for the Dolphins is which receiver is the No. 1. In the past it has been Tyreek Hill, but Holloway believes this may be the year of Jaylen Waddle, saying “Waddle could end up the true fantasy #1 this year.” The combination of Hill’s age and potentially strenuous connection with Tagovailoa lead to the potential for Waddle to take the leap. Both Hill and Waddle are inside of Holloway’s top 24 wide receivers.
Brian Thomas Jr. is in line for another big season for the Jaguars, but the addition of Travis Hunter is the most noteworthy thing in the receiving room. When asked how much Hunter would need to be on the field on offense to be a fantasy contributor, Holloway said between 70-80%. While there are exceptions, if he is playing less than that he will likely not return the draft capital a fantasy player would have to invest to draft him. Holloway ranks Hunter as his 40th wide receiver.
The star for the Buccaneers is still Mike Evans. Holloway says “If Evans doesn’t score double digits, people will probably be disappointed this year.” While expectations are still high for Evans, there is intrigue surrounding rookie Emeka Egbuka. The talented receiver out of Ohio State steps into a big opportunity with Chris Godwin Jr. sidelined at least four weeks with an ankle injury he suffered last season. Holloway expects a big role for Egbuka, even once Godwin has returned. The biggest thing is that “… Egbuka’s talent is too much to keep off the field.”
Tight End
Florida does not possess the most top end talent at tight end, but one player to keep an eye on is Brenton Strange. Stepping into vacated targets with Evan Engram leaving the Jaguars for the Denver Broncos this offseason, Strange has a chance to take the next step as a sleeper target. Holloway said “He showed he could do it last year, and think he could surprise and be a streaming TE option.” Should you decide to wait on a tight end, Strange is a player you can take with your last pick or even pick up off the waiver wire. While he is not the safest player, his upside in the Jaguars offense is high.
Category: Fantasy Football, Football, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
