Pittsburgh Steelers: Najee Harris looks as if the perfect match for the Steelers. Nevertheless, QB play and a suspect line may restrict his Yr 1 potential. Are you shopping for the rookie as a top-10 RB, or do you suppose he’ll disappoint managers who draft him aggressively?

Scott: I would be over the moon for Harris if the Steelers additionally upgraded the offensive line, the weak spot of the staff. However with the OL nonetheless an issue, optimism for Harris must be considerably muted. You possibly can think about him within the High 15-18 general picks, however I would reasonably search for him across the flip or within the third spherical, and if I miss him, I miss him.

Dalton: I am shopping for Harris as a top-10 RB straight away. He enters the league with a powerful school resume and a right away workhorse function in a Pittsburgh backfield with zero competitors. There’s concern concerning the staff’s offensive line, and there’s an opportunity Ben Roethlisberger is completed (defenses cheated and jammed the road of scrimmage towards the top of final season), however three-down backs are so uncommon nowadays. Only one 12 months youthful than Joe Mixon, Harris ought to instantly be among the many league leaders in touches as a rookie.

Matt: There’s little question the Steelers include some questions this season. The offensive line has holes and it’s extraordinarily troublesome to have any sort of confidence in Ben Roethlisberger at this stage. So Harris could possibly be the middle of the offensive universe for a staff barely misplaced at sea. With that stated, this can be a scenario the place we have to simply shut our eyes and belief the quantity. Harris may legitimately push to the touch the ball 330 instances this 12 months. You simply can’t typically discover that sort of quantity intersecting with a proficient again outdoors of Spherical 1 in fantasy. He’s a fringe RB1 for me.

Cincinnati Bengals: Anticipated to prepared in Week 1 coming off a ugly knee damage, Joe Burrow is our thirteenth ranked fantasy QB. What must occur for him to interrupt into the highest 10, possibly even the highest 5 finishers on the place?

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Liz: Relative to the sport’s elite dual-threats, Burrow’s lack of mobility (3.7 carries/gm, QB16) barely caps his ceiling. However with pinpoint accuracy, Burrow’s arm can produce for fantasy managers. He could not have a cannon, however as final 12 months’s 7.6 accuracy ranking (QB9) and 65.3% completion share demonstrated, he can transfer the ball. In actual fact, he moved it sufficient to make historical past, breaking the NFL rookie file for variety of accomplished passes (221) by midseason.

Averaging over 40 makes an attempt per recreation, Burrow additionally managed practically 270 passing yards per contest. But, his YPA was solely 6.7. That’s as a result of he struggled downfield, posting a deep-ball completion share of 20 (QB36). With an improved offensive line that gives extra time for him to plant his toes, and the addition of former school teammate (and ace ball tracker) Ja’Marr Chase, Burrow’s passing numbers ought to get a lift. Cracking the top-five would require an alignment of all of the planets, but when he shakes off rust early he may easily roll into the top-10.

Andy: Burrow merely must play a full season and the Bengals’ offense must function largely because it did with him on the controls in 2020. He averaged 40.4 move makes an attempt per recreation as a rookie, which might get him awfully near 700 complete makes an attempt in a 17-game season. Additionally, Cincinnati’s offense averaged 70.7 performs per recreation in his ten begins, the third-highest within the league. So we’re speaking about an especially high-volume passing assault in a fast-paced offense with a deep, younger, and hyper-talented receiving corps. Burrow is a succesful rusher as effectively (or no less than, he was pre-injury), so it is not outrageous to forecast 300 yards on the bottom with 4-6 TDs. If the staff’s O-line takes a step ahead and Burrow himself stays wholesome, a top-five positional end is not out of the query.

Scott: Burrow clearly must play a full season, most likely preserve a few of his willingness to run, and have his younger, proficient wideouts play as much as the press clippings. It is definitely all believable. The Bengals have not regarded this frisky shortly.

Baltimore Ravens: Andy, you could have Lamar Jackson as the general QB1 (one thing you accurately referred to as in 2019). Liz and Scott, you could have Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen forward of him. Make the case for why you’re proper and the opposite is mistaken.

Andy: We’re speaking a couple of participant in Lamar Jackson who, at age 22, produced the very best per-game fantasy scoring season within the historical past of his place. A number of analysts have a tendency to debate Jackson as if he is by some means already peaked, however the man will not even flip 25 till January. He is an ascending expertise, a back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher who averages 6.0 YPC, and his receiving corps improved in an enormous manner within the offseason (hey, Rashod Bateman.) Contemplating his otherworldly working potential, it is not loopy to count on a double-digit speeding TD season sooner or later.

I do not think about Jackson to be a tier-of-his-own quarterback, simply to be clear. I believe Mahomes and Allen must be drafted in the identical neighborhood. However nobody else at this spot has the kind of speeding upside that Jackson brings to the social gathering, and he is arrange for a high-yield passing season as effectively.

Liz: It’s not that Andy is mistaken. The factors he makes above are considerate, cogent, and good — signature Behrens. It’s on no account inconceivable that Lamar may return to QB1 standing … however the lack of offensive stability constricts Lamar’s avenue to manufacturing. Mahomes, Allen, and Kyler Murray are all dual-threat QBs who exist on pass-friendly squads that additionally repeatedly make the most of them as rushers.

Final 12 months Jackson was the QB1 in complete carries (159) however he was additionally the QB32 in move performs per recreation (27.4). In the meantime, the three QBs I’ve ranked forward of Jackson have been all no less than top-17 in tempo and moreover top-14 in carries per recreation. Moreover, they every averaged round 4.5 deep ball makes an attempt per contest (which was considerably larger than Jackson’s 3.1/gm). The Ravens have been attempting for seasons to supply Jackson with extra receiving expertise (the place you at, Miles Boykin?) however, as of but it hasn’t clicked … and forgive me for not believing Sammy Watkins is the reply.

Scott: Allen and Murray can match Jackson’s speeding chops, however they’ve extra assist in the passing recreation (and Allen is a greater passer, anyway). As for Mahomes, he has the best flooring of everybody right here, to not point out the insulation of Andy Reid, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill. I am not dug in on the concept Jackson belongs on the backside of this tier; it is a clustered group, and any theoretical ordering could be defendable. And I am unlikely to make a Residence Run decide at quarterback anyway; I would prefer to see if I can discover a High 5 quarterback with out having to shell out important ADP capital.

Cleveland Browns: If you happen to’ve watched any Nick Chubb highlights, you already know he’s among the best pure runners within the recreation. That stated, Kareem Hunt stays on this potent backfield, and Chubb is our Sixth-ranked RB for 2021. Is it extra possible Chubb delivers a top-five end this season, or falls outdoors the top-10 rushers?

Matt: Extra prone to be a top-five participant on the place. Nick Chubb checks the three main packing containers you need out of a attainable elite RB1. He’s verifiably nice on the recreation. The Browns are set to be among the best offenses within the NFL with Kevin Stefanski on the controls. And lastly, Chubb will get a beefy workload — averaging 17 touches per recreation in 2020. To not point out, everybody talks concerning the damage upside for Kareem Hunt if Chubb have been to go down. The identical ceiling exists for Chubb if Hunt misses time. In that situation, he may simply be probably the most helpful again in fantasy.

Andy: Contemplating the setup in Cleveland — significantly the offensive strategy and O-line — all we actually want from Chubb is a wholesome season and he is clearly going to problem for a top-5 end. He is averaged 106.8 yards from scrimmage over the previous two years and he is coming off a season during which he gained 5.9 yards per contact. Chubb is just a monster. It is not unrealistic to count on 1,800 complete yards and one other dozen (or extra) TDs, assuming he performs no less than 15 video games.

Dalton: Chubb has an argument because the league’s finest runner coming off a season during which he led the NFL in Juke Fee, EPA, and yards created per contact regardless of spraining his MCL. The Browns have PFF’s finest offensive line getting into 2021 and one in all the simplest projected fantasy schedules for working backs. Chubb would profit from extra targets, however there’s a greater likelihood he’s a top-five again than outdoors the top-10. There’s a transparent path to ending because the No. 1 fantasy again ought to Hunt go down.