2021 Fantasy Football Bounce-Back Candidates

In this article, Shane Barrett (@ffShaneB) and Evan Ritter (@ev_ritt3) picked 6 players that they both agreed could bounce back. Then they split them up and discussed WHY they think these guys will bounce back. Check it out!

Tua Tagovailoa 

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Tua had an interesting rookie year. He played in 10 games, completed 64% of his passes for 1814 yards and 11 TDs with 5 interceptions. He was pulled in multiple situations that were just odd. Brian Flores is a good coach and has gotten the best out of all the players on this team causing them to perform above expectations. I believe this will apply to Tua as well. He is another year removed from a potentially career-ending injury to his hip. He has the best weapons since he was in college if they stay healthy. These factors cause me to believe that he will have a much better year than last year. 

Ezekiel Elliott

Ezekiel Elliott finished as RB9 in PPR last year, so why is he a bounce-back candidate?? In the games that Dak Prescott played (weeks 1-5) he scored 100.45 points averaging 20.09 Points Per Game. In the games after Dak got hurt, he scored 96 points averaging 10.67 points per game. So with a healthy Dak, his upside is back within the top 5 of running backs. 

Odell Beckham Jr. 

Odell is a polarizing player. He has the talent to be the WR1 overall. But we haven’t seen that since he was in New York. He only played in 7 games last year before getting injured. And there is the narrative that Baker was better without him last year. I believe Baker was just better. It just happened to coincide with the time that Odell was out hurt. I think with Baker’s rise and both of these players being more comfortable in the offense, Odell can rise again and crush his ADP. He has also had low TD numbers since being in Cleveland, but last year in 7 games he had 3. The entire year before he had 4(thanks Fat Freddie Kitchens). He should regress closer to his mean which over his career has been 10.25 TDs/year when he’s played more than 7 games.

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Chris Godwin

Godwin only finished with 65 receptions, 840 yards, and 7 touchdowns in 2020. That isn’t the type of production anyone that drafted him early was looking for but I’m buying in on Godwin having a bounce-back year in 2021. I have him projected for 90 receptions, over a thousand yards, and 10 touchdowns. A full offseason with Tom Brady aka the GOAT, should establish a much better connection between the QB/WR duo and make Godwin one of the safest picks in drafts this year. Not to mention he will be playing on the franchise tag this season so a career year could send Godwin’s value through the roof. Chris Godwin is one of my favorite bounce-back candidates this fantasy season. I’m putting my money on him to be Brady’s favorite target and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ most productive pass catcher in a talented wide receiver room.

Courtland Sutton

With the season-ending injury in 2020 and the emergence of potential superstar, sophomore wideout, Jerry Jeudy, it seems much of the fantasy community has forgotten about Courtland Sutton. In 2019, Sutton may have ended as just a WR3 but he certainly displayed the playmaking ability to be an elite talent in the NFL. Barring another injury setback, I fully expect Sutton to showcase that elite talent in 2021 and outperform his ADP which ECR (expert consensus ranking) is currently at #78 overall and the #34 wide receiver off the board in PPR leagues. A lot of the industry is concerned with the quarterback play in Denver and feels Bridgewaters style of play is better suited for Jeudy which has allowed Sutton to be taken at a significant discount. Sutton is the #1 receiver in Denver, you can get him after the fourth round and he has the talent to be a top 15 receiver. Remember before the torn ACL last season he finished as the WR #17 in 2019. Take the discount and get Courtland Sutton on your roster whenever you can, you could potentially be drafting the steal of this fantasy season.

Joe Mixon

The only thing Mixon really has to “bounce back” from is his health concerns. Anyone who has drafted Mixon in the past has most likely been disappointed in his lack of availability. No one can ever know when the injury bug is going to hit and some players may be more “injury-prone” than others but that shouldn’t keep you from drafting them. No one can deny Mixon’s talent and when he’s healthy he’s going to give you sure-fire RB1 production. Workhorse running backs are a hot commodity in today’s NFL and if I can get one with top 5 potential off workload alone, as my RB2, well then sign me up. When Joe Mixon sees 70 percent of the snap share (15 games) he has put up RB1 numbers 60% of the time, RB2 or better 80% of the time, and has never had a game outside of RB3 range. Giovani Bernard is no longer there to steal passing down work from him or keep him off the field during two-minute drills. The offense has taken a step forward with the additional talent added in the last few drafts which should set Mixon up for more scoring opportunities. My love for Joe Mixon could go on forever so ill end with this…if he is healthy for a full season he’s not only going to have a bounce-back season but you can lock him in as an RB1 and he’s going to win people a lot of fantasy championships.

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