Hot Takes

Big Risk Big Reward free agents available after draft

-Tevin Coleman

News came out that Tevin Coleman will be the lead back for the Jets. Currently Coleman is coming off a few injury plagued seasons and looking to prove everybody wrong. If you believe in Zac Wilson like many do, then Tevin Coleman could be a great option. Zac Wilson will be looking to throw to his running back. Tevin Coleman proved in his last healthy season in Atlanta that he can be a dual back. That year Coleman finished with 800 rushing yards and over 400 receiving yards paired with a total of 9 touchdowns. The jets have a new Quarterback and coach who are both trending in the right direction but this is still a risk since it might take time for the players to adjust to coach. New, young quarterbacks have been taking the league by a storm. If you believe Coleman will stay healthy and that Jets offense to pan out, look for Coleman to have a successful year.

-Carson Wentz.

Realistically there is no reason for Carson Wentz to not put up big numbers this year. He is already listed to return to full practice and ready to go. If a quarterback could pick everything he would want and make a team it would be equivalent to Carson Wentz joining indy. To start the Colts have one of the best offensive lines in the league, pair that with solid offensive talent with young players who have a lot of upside, and a coach staff you have had previous success with. The Colts receiving core is great and their running game is lead by Jonathan Taylor. Taylor is a second year back who rushed for 253 yards and two touchdowns in the last game of the season. This year will prove a lot about a former MVP Carson Wentz. If you skip last year and went to the 2019 Season Wentz threw for over 4,000 yards, 27 touchdowns, with only 7 interceptions. That quality should be replicated for Wentz with the Colts.

-Marquez Callaway

After an incredible preseason outing Callaway definitely developed some chemistry with Jameis Wintson. Michael Thomas is out a big chunk of this season and also Tre’Quan Smith has injuries lurking as well. At the end of the day everybody can hate on Winston but he has always put up a lot of yards and touchdowns. Having a receiver who developed that chemistry and now is the only threat on the team besides Kamara would be incredible threat to have. Sean Peyton is an offensive mastermind. Expect the saints to get their offense back on the field with their tough defense, and for Jameis to throw a lot of deep balls Callaway’s way.

Which rookie will have the best year? Kyle Pitts

Atlanta Falcons offense is still very good even with the departure of Julio Jones. Calvin Ridley has proven he is a number 1 receiver and Matt Ryan has proved he can put up numbers for receivers in fantasy. Over the past couple of years the trend has been that the Falcons defense is poor and could not stop teams which allowed the offense to be on the field most of the game. This is good for Kyle Pitts because he will get a nice workload and a lot of repetitions. As a rookie, Pitts is an instant number 2 option on the team behind Calvin Ridley.

You also can’t sleep on the additions of Mike Davis and Cordarrelle Patterson which is a nice duo back combo. That is great news for Pitts If the Falcons can have success on the ground because their receivers will get a lot more open. Matt Ryan has defenses knowing that he is one of the best play action artists in his league and it is his best trait. During training camp Pitts is being lined up everywhere on the offense and Atlanta is anxiously coming up with different formations and plays for him to strive. Besides Zac Wilson, I don’t see another rookie from this past draft with the amount of workload that the player has coming in the league. Expect Pitts to strive and be a rookie of the year candidate.

Sam Darnold has potential

Sam Darnold has not had the best start to his career his first three years in the NFL. Having a losing season every year on top of throwing a good chunk of interceptions every year. In his defense he has been a part of an organization that has not provided him with the proper surrounding pieces whether it was his offensive line, receiving core, or even their running game. Everything about the Jets has been bad especially the coach Adam Gase. Just ask Ryan Tanehill who very few people thought would pan out including myself. Now looking at Tanehill who is easily a top 10 quarterback in the league after leaving Adam Gase and made immediate impact in Tennessee.

There is a lot of room for Darnold to improve in his new situation in Carolina. Mainly the best part for him is his new offensive threats. Obviously starting with Christian McCaffrey, being able to throw screens to a running back who has talent like Christian does is a blessing and not only will boost his confidence but his stats. Also having a receiver like DJ Moore who can catch those short passes and has great yards after catch stats is incredible. Once Darnold’s confidence is up he has a deep ball threat who he already has chemistry with from the Jets in Robby Anderson. Lastly is the coach Matt Rhule, even though the Panthers were 5-11 last year a lot of their lost games were within one score due to Teddy Bridgewater’s passive quarterback play. Darnold has the opportunity to turn the table on his legacy and has everything he needs to be a better quarterback.

Travis Etienne will be a league winner for fantasy

Travis as a true freshman at Clemson led the team in rushing with 766 yards and added 13 touchdowns plus he wasn’t even a starter. Later in his college career he set a school record for yards totaling 1658 yards on 204 carries on top of the 24 touchdowns. That’s 8.1 yards per carry! Being 5’10” and 215 pounds he will be a great receiving back as well and in my opinion Alvin Kamara is a great comparison to what Travis can pan out to be since Alvin is also 5’10” and 215 pounds with great receiving capabilities.

Not only did Travis achieve all of this he got experience playing with Trevor Lawrence who is his current starting quarterback on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Trevor having chemistry with a running back to throw to not only on designed plays but plays where Trevor might need a bailout option is fantastic for a rookie quarterback trying to succeed. Travis has been named the starter already over James Robinson who has already had a breakout rookie campaign meaning Travis is ready to come in and make an impact. Also throughout training camp Coach Urban Meyer has been lining up Travis in wideout formations which means for PPR leagues Travis will be an incredible player to have on your team.

Saquon Barkley

Saquon Barkley is going to be the best running back in the league this year. In his rookie season he rushed for 1300 yards with 11 touchdowns and also caught over 700 yards with 4 touchdowns. Daniel Jones performance can definitely help attribute to his greatness but with or without Jones success Barkley will be incredible. The addition of Kenny Golladay is also underrated for two reasons. One he is an awesome wide receiver but he is also a phenomenal rush blocker which will help Barkley. Not only are the Giants well coached and have a great defense but they also have a great playbook designed for the running game.

Running a 4.41 forty time is obviously amazing but having the work ethic that he has makes Barkley stand out even more. Most top running backs like Barkley peak in their earlier years and the inability of not playing last year is just going to fuel him to be great this year. On top of that he is in one of the worst divisions in football. Also its not like the Giants have a really good second back to split the load like a lot of other teams in the league have been looking to do. Be ready for Barkley to be a top 5 back and have one of the best years of his career.

Baker & the Browns

The scariest part about this team is their defense line. Myles garret is arguably one of the best defensive ends in the league and the Browns just added Jadeveon Clowney which is even scarier. Last year the Browns were the 16th ranked defensive without Garrett most of the year due to injury. This year on top of adding Clowney, the Browns also added a top rated safety in John Johnson and one of the best slot corners in the league Troy Hill. My prediction for the Browns defense this year is to be rated in the top ten which will give the Browns the ability to win their division.

Baker Mayfield in a lot of eyes has not panned out as a number 1 overall pick. To be fair Baker has gone through some rough times in Cleveland in regards to the coaching changes and a little drama with Odell Beckham jr. Today the browns look to be in a good place. Odell seems to be happier along with the fact they have seem to find a great coach in Kevin Stefanski. Also the Browns running back duo is probably the best in the league along with their offensive line being as dominant as they are give the Browns what they need to get over the hump to be a Super Bowl contender. Not only that but Baker seems to be trending in the right direction and coming off a solid year. If Baker keeps focusing and keeps advancing in a positive manner the Chiefs better watch out.

Justin Fields

Justin Fields has the most diverse skill set besides Trevor Lawerence coming out of the draft. Why the jets chose Zack Wilson over this man only god will know. Trey lance you can justify but come on Zack Wilson?! Justin Fields ran a 4.46 40 yard dash, the man runs 18 miles per hour! Not only does Fields appear to be superhuman, in college he beat Trevor Lawerence the best quarterback of the draft in an very intense matchup. Might I mind you he did not just beat him he clobbered him by a score of 49 to 28. Fields stats for the game was six touchdowns paired with 385 yards and only one interception. This was not just some game either, that game was the college football playoff Semifinal, and on top of that he played with bruised ribs!

The fact that the bears plan to start Andy Dalton over Justin Fields is not only a disgrace to Fields but their organization. Chicago has almost never had a good quarterback in their franchise history but choosing Justin Fields has definitely flipped the script. Judging by last year alone the rookie quarterbacks that started got great experience and tremendously boosted their outlook by playing their first year rather than watching from the sidelines. For example, Joe Burrow came in and started right away. The Bengals made a great decision doing that and even though he got hurt, starting him paid dividends on his career. No offence to Andy Dalton but what is Fields really going to learn from him? How to get sacked every time! The Chicago Bears need to open their eyes and realize that the old way of developing players is not the same anymore and the Bears need to start Justin Fields immediately so he can get his feet wet because they are sitting on a gold mine.

Jalen Hurts

Coming into the season a lot of critics do not believe Jalen Hurts is going to have a good season but I do. Most critics claim his accuracy is low but you can’t really comment on last year because the organization was completely dysfunctional, and on top of that they had an immature leader plaguing the locker room in Carson Wentz. I understand why people get mad at Aaron Rodgers on his current situation with the packers but why does Carson Wentz not get the same heat when he acted like a child when he clearly did not deserve to play. Once the Eagles benched Wentz they instantly improved and almost made the playoffs.

This upcoming year Hurts has the ability not only to ignite his career and those around him but prove to the Eagles that they made a great choice in believing in him. First, in todays NFL having a quarterback that is good on their feet is imperative. Having the ability to scramble throws off defenses making them adjust which opens up a variety of plays for an offensive playbook. On top of that, Hurts is a great leader who has learned from one of the best college football coaches in Nick Saban. As a rookie being placed into a situation like he was last year with all the drama and being able to put up a decent stat line while beating a Super Bowl contending New Orleans Saints team is incredible. This year Hurts has a new coach, the ability to get all first team reps and get a full training camp, on top of the eagles drafting Devonta Smith a receiver from Alabama who Hurts is very familiar with. Look for Hurts to have a phenomenal year and do not sleep on this man!