RealTime Fantasy Sports Experts Poll

Thu Jul 29 10:58am ET
By JEFF PAUR
Sr Fantasy Writer

Julio Jones has some concerns

So we thought it would be a good idea to poll the staff here at RealTime Fantasy Sports to get their thoughts on some key fantasy questions for the coming season. We hit all the top categories, helping you figure out some of their top targets and players to avoid for the coming season. Below are the results as well as some thoughts on a few of those selections.

	J. Paur	Thompson	H. Paur	Galloway	Barner	Glaser	Wiegert
Fantasy MVP	Prescott	Mahomes	Barkley	McCaffrey	J. Allen	McLaurin	Mahomes
Top Target	J. Taylor	Adams	Herbert	Lamb	McLaurin	J. Taylor	Chubb
Early-round Bust	Henry	J. Taylor	Elliott	Harris	Barkley	Kamara	Barkley
Favorite Rookie	D. Smith	Pitts	Pitts	Moore	Harris	Chase	Harris
Last-round Flyer	J. Palmer	Funk	A. Miller	Bateman	St. Brown	Meyers	Dillon
Comeback Player	Beckham	Prescott	Barkley	Prescott	Golladay	Sutton	McCaffrey
Fading Star	J. Jones	J. Jones	J. Jones	Evans	J. Jones	Evans	M. Jones
Breakout QB	Burrow	Burrow	Burrow	Lance	Hurts	Burrow	Herbert
Breakout RB	Dobbins	Jv. Williams	Gibson	Gibson	Dobbins	Dobbins	M. Davis
Breakout WR	Samuel	Aiyuk	Jeudy	Pittman Jr.	Pittman Jr.	Shenault	Jefferson
Breakout TE	Fant	Hockenson	Fant	Pitts	Kmet	I. Smith	Trautman
Draft Position	10	9	12	1	5	1	1

Jeff Paur
Senior Writer
Favorite rookie: DeVonta Smith
When I look at Smith, I think of Justin Jefferson from last season. He is setup for similar success in my view. Of all the rookie receivers, Smith has the easiest path for targets. He should be the No. 1 receiver in this offense from day one and can rack up the catches and yards on a weekly basis.

Last-round flyer: Josh Palmer
I'm not sold on Mike Williams at all. He has not lived up to his high draft status and produced inconsistent numbers since entering the league. I expect more of the same from Williams, which could open the door for Palmer. He is a talented rookie that could be a top red-zone threat in the offense. I think he is worth a late-round shot in the Chargers high-powered passing game.

Chris Thompson
Staff Writer
Top target: Davante Adams
The player I'm targeting in all my leagues is Davante Adams. He was the top scoring receiver last year by 30 points and that's with missing 2-plus weeks. If Aaron Rodgers is his quarterback like I expect, his ceiling this year is significantly higher than any other receiver. If Rodgers is not his quarterback, his floor still puts him in the top-three receivers off the board. He was going in the mid-first round last year and I've been scooping him up in the second round in drafts this year. If the Rodgers news firms up the way I expect it to this week he should move back to the first round and not be quite the value he has been, but he's not a player I'll be overlooking.

Early-round bust: Jonathan Taylor
The problem I have with Jonathan Taylor is not Jonathan Taylor. I love his talent and future in this league. My problem is the system he's in with three other very qualified running backs and one unqualified quarterback. I'm not sold on Carson Wentz and I'm worried about Taylor having to share the backfield with Marlon Mack and Nyheim Hines while the offense struggles to not look like the dumpster-fire Eagles offense last year. Those concerns are not ones I'm willing to risk a top six pick on.

Henry Paur
Contributor
Fantasy MVP: Saquon Barkley
Barkley has proven he is as talented as any running back in the game. I think he will come back stronger than ever this year, proving everyone wrong.

Breakout running back: Antonio Gibson
He is going to be the running back from day one this year. You saw what he did down the stretch. Gibson can build on that. I think his receptions will be way up.

Dane Galloway
Staff writer
Last-round flyer: Rashod Bateman
Ravens first round draft pick, current ADP of 193.85. Elite athlete, better size than Marquise Brown. The Ravens will always be a run-first offense, but Bateman should start as their WR2 over Watkins and has the talent to be the No. 1 receiver in Baltimore come Week 17.

Breakout receiver: Michael Pittman Jr.
Pittman was the Colts' second round pick in 2020 and showed flashes of his sky-high ceiling when he was healthy in his rookie season. The aging T.Y. Hilton will not be able to keep Pittman from putting up big games. He has every opportunity to break out as one of the elite receivers in the NFL when he is not hampered by injuries and Phillip Rivers.

Mike Barner
Contributing Writer
Favorite rookie: Najee Harris
Harris has a clear path to be not only the Steelers starting running back, but also receive a ton of carries. Yes, the Steelers offensive line is suspect, to say the least. However, they still have a lot of weapons on offense, so they should be able to move the ball, setting up Harris with plenty of scoring opportunities.

Fading star: Julio Jones
This pick feels like low-hanging fruit, but Jones is still my selection. He always seems to be battling some sort of injury and now he’s playing on a team that has been more run-heavy than his former squad in the Falcons. Playing alongside the emerging A.J. Brown could further limit his upside.

Logan Glaser
Staff Writer
Fading star: Mike Evans
Evans has been seeing a decrease in targets every year, including a career low of 108 in 2020. Last year, Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin both missed time, but with both players healthy to begin the season, I'm expecting Evans to receive under 100 targets for the first time in his career.

Draft position: 1
It's really hard to not want the 1.01 selection to begin the draft. There's a lot of top tier players with question marks for this season, but McCaffrey is not one. I'll gladly take 1.01 and McCaffrey to begin the draft.

Charlie Wiegert
Contributing Writer
Fantasy MVP: Patrick Mahomes
I’m not going to overthink this one! He’s spent the offseason strengthening himself and would like nothing more than helping the Chiefs win another Super Bowl. Not only will he lead the league in passing yards, he’ll continue to use his legs to score touchdowns and keep plays alive. Andy Reid knows how to use him best, and he will design plays to make this superstar even better. Mahomes also has a supporting cast to make him successful.

Breakout running back: Mike Davis
And you can probably get Davis the third round. He’s being overlooked. If you look at the job he did last year taking over for Christian McCaffery, he can be a bell cow running back. He’s a three-down back, and the Falcons are looking for playmakers with Julio Jones gone. I expect they’ll be playing from behind a lot this year with their porous defense, so Davis will be a PPR star. Plus, opportunity knocks. The Falcons don’t have any other running backs to really challenge him for playing time.

Jeff Paur is a two-time finalist for FSWA Fantasy Football Writer of the Year and won the FSWA award for Best Fantasy Football Article on the Web in 2011. He also was the most accurate expert in 2012, winning the FSTA Fantasy Football Accuracy Award. If you have any questions for Jeff, email him at jeff@rtsports.com. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffpaur.

RealTime Fantasy Sports Experts Poll

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