It has been a long time since the Super Bowl, and remembering exactly how things left off last year can be a challenge. So, I’ll be writing up a fantasy preview for each NFL team to give us a quick refresher on what happened last year, and what changes took place in the offseason. All fantasy stats will be in ESPN scoring format unless otherwise noted.
If I missed any change or left out any big notes, throw them down in the comments for me!
What Did They Do Last Year
The Tennessee Titans went 11-5, won the AFC South, and lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the opening round of the playoffs, adding another chapter in one of the best new rivalries in the NFL. The Titans defense was one of the worst in the league (29th per DNEFF), giving up the 5th most points despite having a league leading +11 turnover differential. Their offense was one of the best (4th per ONEFF), scoring the 3rd most points.
Tennessee lost the man pulling the strings for that outstanding offense with Arthur Smith moving on to Atlanta to try his hand as head coach. Smith will be replaced by the internally promoted Todd Downing, last year’s tight ends coach.
Shane Bowen was promoted from outside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator for 2021. Last year Tennessee did not have anyone designated as the defensive coordinator. Cory Bonini, of thehuddle.com, has a nice writeup on the coaching changes in Tennessee here.
Quarterback
| OVR Rank | Player | G | COMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | ATT | YDS | TD | FFP | FFP/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Ryan Tannehill | 16 | 315 | 481 | 3,817 | 33 | 7 | 43 | 266 | 7 | 337.3 | 21.1 |
| 75 | Logan Woodside | 5 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 1.3 | 0.3 |
Ryan Tannehill had another solid year under center accounting for 40 touchdowns with only 7 interceptions (and 3 fumbles lost). Even with an obvious run-first bent, Tannehill was a serviceable week-to-week starter despite stud receiver A.J. Brown missing time.
Tannehill is currently being drafted as the QB14—which is exactly where he’s ranked in our 2021 rankings—with an early 9th round ADP according to fantasyfootballcalculator.com. That rank and ADP feel about right for a position where the risk of shooting for upside is tempered mightily by the abundance of streaming options on most waiver wires week to week.
Wide Receivers
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 10 | A.J. Brown | 14 | 106 | 70 | 1,073 | 11 | 171.3 | 12.2 | 241.3 | 17.24 |
| 30 | 29 | Corey Davis | 14 | 92 | 65 | 984 | 5 | 126.4 | 9 | 191.4 | 13.67 |
| 109 | 110 | Adam Humphries | 7 | 35 | 23 | 228 | 2 | 34.8 | 5 | 57.8 | 8.26 |
| 141 | 139 | Cameron Batson | 9 | 13 | 12 | 100 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 30 | 3.33 |
| 145 | 137 | Kalif Raymond | 8 | 15 | 9 | 187 | 0 | 18.4 | 2.3 | 27.4 | 3.43 |
| 198 | 195 | Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | 6 | 7 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 0.77 |
| 211 | 208 | Cody Hollister | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
Corey Davis and Adam Humphries have moved on. The A.J. Brown WR1 season is upon us. We’re firmly in on the hype as Brown is ranked our WR5 in .5PPR.
Running Backs
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | ATT | YDS | TD | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | Derrick Henry | 16 | 378 | 2,027 | 17 | 31 | 19 | 114 | 0 | 312.1 | 19.5 | 331.1 | 20.69 |
| 81 | 82 | Jeremy McNichols | 15 | 47 | 204 | 1 | 17 | 12 | 55 | 0 | 31.9 | 2.1 | 43.9 | 2.93 |
| 114 | 104 | D'Onta Foreman | 5 | 22 | 95 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 3.2 | 17 | 3.4 |
| 119 | 109 | Darrynton Evans | 4 | 14 | 54 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 1 | 14.1 | 3.5 | 16.1 | 4.03 |
| 135 | 137 | Khari Blasingame | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 39 | 0 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 7.9 | 1.58 |
| 158 | 153 | Senorise Perry | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
Derrick Henry rushed for two-thousand m-f-n’ yards last year. He may be a bargain at his current ADP of 1.04, RB3.
Tight End
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 9 | Jonnu Smith | 14 | 65 | 41 | 448 | 8 | 99.2 | 7.1 | 140.2 | 10.01 |
| 26 | 32 | Anthony Firkser | 15 | 53 | 39 | 387 | 1 | 44.7 | 3 | 83.7 | 5.58 |
| 74 | 65 | MyCole Pruitt | 5 | 8 | 5 | 49 | 2 | 16.9 | 3.4 | 21.9 | 4.38 |
| 69 | 71 | Geoff Swaim | 6 | 12 | 9 | 83 | 1 | 14.3 | 2.4 | 23.3 | 3.88 |
Jonnu Smith has moved on to the New England Patriots. Despite his stellar athleticism, he wasn’t much of a fantasy option while playing for the Titans.
Anthony Firkser is talented enough to be a week to week streamer, but picking him in fantasy as anything other than your Week 1 streaming option would be a waste of draft capital. He’s currently our TE23.
2021 Draft
The Titans draft didn’t provide many fantasy fireworks in 2021, the most noteworthy pick being their round six selection Racey McMath of LSU who will compete for best name in the NFL right out of the gate.
The Schedule
The Titans get to play the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars twice a piece as divisional opponents, unfortunately one of those games against the Texans is in Week 18. Warren Sharp’s strength of schedule work pegs the Titans schedule as fairly middle of the road in both projected win totals and opponents projected defensive efficiency.
What Does It All Mean?!?! (AKA – Bold predictions)
Derrick Henry is likely the safest RB on the board, well deserving an RB2 rank.
A.J. Brown might just mess around and end up as THE WR1 this season. I’ll take him anytime after about eight or ninth pick depending on how the draft goes in front of me.
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Thanks to FFToday.com for hosting such great stats info!
Thanks to TheHuddle.com for their great Coaching Change Tracker