Fantasy Football Guide 2021: AFC sleepers, targets, busts, strategies
By Zach Cohen
Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Football Guide
Joe Burrow is stuck in No Man’s Land. As QB13 in most drafts, he’s either a starter you drafted too low or a backup you drafted too high. It’s easy to fall in love with his averages over his first nine games: 19.1 points and 44 pass attempts. However, this offensive line really concerns me, and I don’t need to remind you why. The weapons and talent are there for him to be a top-12 quarterback, though don’t expect him to surpass guys like Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers.
Why does everyone hate Joe Mixon? Because you set the bar too high. I don’t think Mixon will be a top-five fantasy back. But he’s a near-lock to be a top-12 back. After all, he reached that threshold in 2018 and 2019. He was also RB11 in PPR formats prior to his injury. He’s a stellar pick in round two, especially if your league-mates feel burned by him from previous seasons.
Ja’Marr Chase’s first action of competitive football since 2019 hasn’t gone according to plan. He has the bad case of the drops in an offense loaded with weapons. If anything, it should boost Tee Higgins’ stock a bit, who averaged 15.6 points before Burrow’s injury. His role won’t be too untouched because Chase will slide into A.J. Green’s role. He’ll still lose a couple of targets per game to Chase, though.
The same can’t be said for Tyler Boyd, who remains the poster boy of consistency. He was WR11 before Burrow’s injury and saw fewer than six targets just once in those nine games. And no wonder: He’s a slot receiver. Boyd is my favorite receiver value in fantasy drafts.
Who’s Cincy’s tight end? Ah, C.J. Uzomah or Drew Sample. I’m good, thanks.