Across the 2021 fantasy football season, there have been plenty of players that exceeded their expectations, as well as players that have fallen short of their expectations this year as well. Hopefully, for your team(s), you were able to roll with the punches and not have too many of the underachievers on your roster(s).
The NFL is a game of chances, and playing fantasy football is no different – here are recaps of some of the studs and duds from the first half of this year’s NFL season, for fantasy football purposes.
Studs
D’Andre Swift – RB9
137 total touches / 704 yards / 5 TDs
As bad as the Detroit Lions have been, it is fair to say that D’Andre Swift has been one of their few bright spots, ascending into their starting running back role that he was drafted for back in 2020. After his rookie campaign, which saw him split time with Adrian Peterson, Swift was tasked with finding a healthy balance alongside Jamaal Williams for the Lions, something he has quickly run with.
To begin the year, it looked like he and Williams, the former backup back for the Green Bay Packers, were going to be splitting time evenly, putting an unfortunate cap on any sort of fantasy value for Swift. Instead, it was Swift who ultimately took off with the role, as he is first on the team in carries (90), second on the team in rushing yards (289), and tops on the team in rushing TDs (3).
Swift also is second on the team in receiving yards (415), targets (57), and receptions (47), and his 137 total touches (90 carries, 47 receptions) paces this team by a considerable margin. As Detroit fights to earn their first win of the year, look for Swift to continue to command the majority of touches in this hapless offense that is always playing from behind.
Jonathan Taylor – RB2
163 total touches / 1,114 yards / 9 TDs
In one of the worst divisions in the league this year, the Indianapolis Colts have failed to take advantage, even with the kind of production Jonathan Taylor has put up in his second season.
As the former Wisconsin Badger leads this team in all major rushing categories, Taylor has also turned into a proven receiving threat as well, having hauled in just under 300 receiving yards this season. With Carson Wentz putting up a solid season in his first year with the Colts, Taylor has helped add stability alongside him, to the tune of being the RB2 on the season so far.
With Jacksonville and Houston making up three of Indianapolis’ remaining schedule, look for Taylor to continue to be a fantasy football stud.
Cooper Kupp – WR1
74 receptions / 1,019 yards / 10 TDs
The fact that Cooper Kupp is already over 1,000 receiving yards and has 10 receiving TDs says a lot about the kinds of records he could potentially break this season – and having Matthew Stafford throwing him the ball certainly is a big reason for it.
As the Los Angeles Rams support two fantasy-relevant WRs in Kupp and Robert Woods, it is the former Eastern Washington wideout who has excelled in his fifth NFL season. The unquestioned WR1 in fantasy football, Kupp has been so dominant this season that he has 50 more points than the WR2 on the season, Tyreek Hill.
The Rams seem to be one of the league’s best Super Bowl contenders, and as long as Kupp remains healthy, he will be the biggest reason why they get there.
Duds
Trevor Lawrence – QB26
1,821 passing yards / 8 passing TDs / 9 interceptions / 35.8 QBR
The top fantasy football rookie QB heading into the season, the Jacksonville Jaguars have experienced a rough learning curve with Trevor Lawrence at the helm. As the number one overall selection, Lawrence entered into a sham of an offense, and with head coach Urban Meyer producing more off-field headlines than on, Lawrence’s struggles have been well documented.
Sitting below the likes of Jared Goff and Jimmy Garoppolo in terms of fantasy football production this season does not bode well for Lawrence, but it is not fully his fault. His supporting cast has been struck with injuries, as DJ Chark and James Robinson have all missed time (Chark is out for the season).
Playing from behind certainly boosts his opportunities to put up fantasy points, but Lawrence has struggled to not force things down the field. As long as the Jaguars continue to put one of the league’s worst on-field products out there on a weekly basis, Lawrence will continue to struggle.
Even though his rookie year has been a struggle, Lawrence is far too polished of a prospect to be written off this early in his career – his second season should be a lot more fruitful for fantasy football rosters.
Mike Davis – RB36
108 total touches / 386 yards / 2 TDs
All of the Mike Davis truthers from the preseason, please stand up – it's fair to say not many people are going to be willing to admit that with how much he has struggled in 2021.
Even with the kind of calves Davis showed to the world during preseason and training camp, it was far from a given that he would be able to take advantage of his first starting opportunity. He most recently came off of backing up Christian McCaffrey in 2020, and he put up solid numbers in relief of the injured superstar, boosting his future value.
But instead of carrying that into a full-time role, Davis squandered the chance and eventually let spark plug Cordarelle Patterson jump him in both role and fantasy football relevancy for Atlanta. Being worse than one RB from every team, plus more, certainly speaks to the kind of poor season Davis has put up.
Allen Robinson – WR53
30 receptions / 339 receiving yards / 1 TD
How the mighty have fallen – or at least how poorly utilized Allen Robinson has been by the Chicago Bears.
In yet another notch in the incompetency ladder that Matt Nagy so eloquently stands on, Robinson has experienced one of the league’s worst falls from grace in a long time. Rookie QB Justin Fields, with Robinson and Darnell Mooney at his disposal, has tried to incorporate Robinson into the offense as best as possible, but the veteran just cannot become reintegrated into an offense that made him a fantasy football darling.
Five games this year (out of nine) Robinson has experienced five-plus targets, showcasing the wildly-inconsistent target share that the Bears have shown him this season. While growing pains for Fields certainly can be chalked up as partly why, it is the offensive coaching staff that should be bearing the brunt of this, as they clearly could have tried to work Robinson back into this offense early in the season.
Many fantasy football rosters relied on Robinson’s role growing this season, especially after he ended up returning to Chicago this offseason. Unfortunately, he has produced one of the biggest drop-offs in fantasy football production, an issue that does not look like it will likely be addressed anytime soon.
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