Sleeper Fantasy Football Picks for the 2021 Season (Receivers)

Every year, a select few players electrify the fantasy football world, bringing smiles to the faces of people who may be making money from the game, or just competing against friends. 

The wide receiver position is always one that boasts a few top scorers in fantasy (the top 5-10%), with a large amount of them being in the 7-12 point per game range (35%). Last year, Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, and Stefon Diggs were among the few who proved to be consistent scorers week in and week out. 

However, not every fantasy football player has the luxury of a high enough pick in their respective draft to pick someone like Tyreek Hill or Davante Adams. Those players are usually gone after the first few picks. Here are a few sleeper picks that you will be able to rely on this year for heavy production. 

Curtis Samuel (WR) - Washington Football Team

Samuel will be a great dual-threat option for all fantasy football players this year. It would be best to have him at your FLEX position. Not only did he rack up 851 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions in 2020, but he also rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Moving from Carolina to Washington, Samuel will have a more aggressive QB when it comes to slinging the ball down the field. Paired with a rising star in Terry McLaurin, the Washington offense will cause problems for opposing defenses with their plethora of speed. Samuel will have many opportunities to make plays, being that the attention from defenses was often given solely to McLaurin in the 2020 season. Look for increased production from Curtis Samuel this year.

DJ Moore (WR) - Carolina Panthers

Going back to Carolina is a receiver who is moving into his prime at a young age of 24 years old. DJ Moore has gone back-to-back years with 1,000+ receiving yards, with average quarterback play in doing so. Moore will now have a new quarterback in Sam Darnold, and a loss of Curtis Samuel might benefit him in the amount of targets he receives. I am predicting that DJ Moore will go for 1,350 reception yards this year, a new career high if he does so. 

Jerry Jeudy (WR) - Denver Broncos

Last season, a rookie receiver in Jerry Jeudy posted a productive 856 receiving yards on just 52 receptions. Jeudy was able to accomplish this with a second year quarterback who threw just about as many interceptions as touchdowns. With the acquisition of Teddy Bridgewater, the Broncos now have some quarterback competition. Whether Bridgewater takes the QB1 job, or Drew Lock proves he is competent enough, Jeudy will be in a much better position than he was a year ago. With his talent and route-running, look for Jeudy to have a breakout year and become a top 10 receiver in the coming years. 

Who is the WFT player to look out for this season?

As an influx of young talent flows into Washington, strengthening both the offensive and defensive end, Washington is now well equipped to make improvements from their past deficiencies in the 2021 NFL season.

While all of the incoming players must prove their worth and work for their respective spot in the lineup, I will be focusing on a player who had a solid rookie year at the running back position. That player is Antonio Gibson, second year player out of Memphis, who will heavily impact Washington's success on offense this year, for better or worse. 

As a fan of Washington, there have been years where the offense was loaded, but the production just wasn't there when it mattered most. Take the 2016 season as an example. Desean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, and Jamison Crowder were Washington's go-to guys on offense. In addition, Washington had one of the best tight ends in the league at the time (Jordan Reed). With Kirk Cousins at the helm, this team was only able to muster an 8-7-1 record, not making it to the playoffs. Now don't get the wrong idea, they put up big numbers through the air. Cousins threw for almost 5,000 passing yards, completing 25 touchdown passes in the process. However, in a win-or-go-home game against their division rivals (New York Giants), Washington only scored 10 points. A large part of this has to do with the lackluster run game during that season. Washington's leading rusher (Rob Kelley), only had 704 rushing yards that entire season. Whether that was the issue, or poor quarterback play, the lack of a potent run game clearly plagued Washington's ability to win games in the 2016 season. 

Washington heads into the 2021 season in a similar scenario. A gunslinger leading the way in Ryan Fitzpatrick, with elite receivers in Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel. However, whether or not Antonio Gibson can produce at a high level will impact the success of the offense, and the team when it comes to winning games. 

I am predicting that Gibson will step up in a big way this season, rushing for just under 1,000 yards, but also contributing in the pass game, with around 400 yards receiving. 

Is the WFT equipped to have a Top 10 Offense?

As we move into training camp for the 2021 season, each team in the NFC East is returning with an upgraded roster from the previous season. Each team has added more offensive playmaking ability, which was a problem for every team in the NFC East during the 2020 season (with the exception of the Cowboys). One thing is for sure: we won't have a division winner with a losing record. 

Washington enters training camp with several notable offensive additions. Starting with their new starting quarterback: Ryan Fitzpatrick. Say what you want about Fitzpatrick, but he is certainly an upgrade from any QB Washington had under center in 2020. Often times, Fitzpatrick gets a bad rap for being careless with the ball and inconsistent over long periods of times. Ryan Clark of ESPN (made the point skip to 4:25) that never in Fitzpatrick's playing career has any team ever said they were a "Fitzmagic away from being the best team in the division." While this is true, not many teams in past years have been as properly equipped as Washington on the defensive end. As plenty of analysts have already declared, all Washington needed was competent quarterback play to have won at least three more games last season. Putting points on the board was often the issue that plagued Washington's ability to win games. What people fail to realize is that Fitzpatrick has actually played very well over his past few seasons. In the 2020 NFL season, Fitzpatrick was the #1 quarterback under pressure. His 98.6 passer rating and 62.1% completion percentage under pressure were the highest in the league. After ranking 25th in points per game and still making it to the playoffs, albeit with a losing record, I think it's safe to say that Washington is a Fitzmagic away from being the best team in their division. 

The receiving core of the Washington Football Team took huge strides this offseason, signing Curtis Samuel, Adam Humphries, and drafting Dyami Brown from UNC. Samuel and Brown add much needed speed for explosive plays down the field, and Humphries will likely take Steven Simms' role as the primary slot receiver. The closest receiving core Washington has had to this was in the 2016 season, when Desean Jackson and Pierre Garcon lined up on the outside, and Jamison Crowder was in the slot. This was when Kirk Cousins was at the helm, throwing for 4,000+ yards every year as a starter. With the 2016 season culminating in a 8-7-1 record, Washington looked to their defense as a liability. Fast forward to this past season, the roles have been reversed. But not for long. Washington now has a similar dynamic as the 2016 offense, with much more speed in Samuel, McLaurin and Humphries. In addition, Washington now have a solid young running back in Antonio Gibson, who I think is more of an offensive threat than Robert Kelley was. 

With a plethora of offensive talent and speed, Washington should have no problem putting points on the scoreboard. A defense that will continue to improve can't hurt their chances at another playoff run. After an offseason in which the WFT refined their strengths, and took their lackluster offense and rebuilt it, their 2021 season will come with high expectations. I expect them to finish with an 11-6 record (there are now 17 games in the regular season), and make the playoffs. Their offense displays the potential to be a top-10 offense, but whether that plays out as planned depends on the ball security and overall play of Ryan Fitzpatrick. 

Deshaun Watson would make the WFT immediate Super Bowl contenders

 This season was very surprising for many fans of the WFT, seeing their team embark on their first playoff run since 2015. Although they did have a 7-9 record doing so, there were many positives that came out of this season. 

They now have a solid foundation on the defensive side, with their d-line packed with first round picks. This year, they were lead by edge rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat. Young amassed 7.5 sacks over the course of the season, while Sweat had 9 sacks. 

The defensive line was where most of the action happened, but Washington did fairly well against the pass as well. They gave up the third least amount of passing yards per game over their 18 games (including the wild card game). Only giving up 201 yards per game through the air, that secondary more than held their own. While I do think a lot of that had to do with the circumstances they were under, such as a poor rushing defense at times, and abysmal quarterback play on the opposing side, it was a substantial improvement from last year. 

With a defense that is just beginning its ascent, it would be confusing as to why the WFT only went 7-9, looking from the outside in. Well, this is because of their subpar offense, accumulating only 216 yards through the air per game, 8th worst in the league. A rushing attack that was 7th worst in the league did not help their cause. To top everything off, Washington started three different quarterbacks this year (during the regular season). And mind you, their best offensive performance came in a game starting Taylor Heinicke, against a top defense in the Bucaneers, who are now in the Super Bowl. 

Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen, and Alex Smith were the three starters in the regular season. QBR is a total quarterback rating measuring they're performance, that incorporates all of their stats and numbers. The WFT quarterback trio combined for an average QBR or 46.8. To put this into perspective, Deshaun Watson, who was 12th in the league in this category, had a QBR of 70.5. 

This is a clear indicator that QB play throughout the year was the leading cause of the WFT record being below .500. 

Deshaun Watson would bring consistent quarterback play, less turnovers, and some mobility, which was heavily lacking this past season. Watson posted 4,823 passing yards (1st in the league), 33 TD's (7th in the league), and just 7 INT's (7th in the league). 

Going back to my point on mobility, Washington gave up even more sacks than they forced themselves (50), and I can guarantee a large amount of those were caused by the lack of mobility at the QB position. 

At this point, however, all Washington needs is competent QB play in order to take a drastic leap forward. If that new QB happens to be Watson, then I believe that puts Washington into the conversation for Super Bowl LVI. 

Written by: Ben Kim