2021 Dart Throws

Quez Watkins, WR

I recently spoke about Quez Watkins on a podcast, and what it boils down to is this… The Eagles have very few proven pass catchers on their team right now, and Jalen Hurts has to throw to somebody at some point. Quez is an intriguing player, who certainly underperformed in his rookie campaign, but wasn’t given much of an opportunity to succeed. He finished WR153, which more or less means he didn’t touch the ball more than a handful of times. This season, I think he figures to be more involved in the Eagles offense in a variety of ways. He has already begun to show what he’s got in preseason, taking a simple WR screen for a 79 yard TD while burning past the entire Steeler secondary. He has absolute jets and when he gets going it’s tough to slow down the 6’2” 190lb receiver. You should be looking for him, Reagor, and Smith to be the most utilized receivers this year, while either Goedert or Ertz (or both) handle the work at TE. I think Smith is your likely slot candidate, but all 3 of these WRs can line up there and have success. Watkins is more than likely your downfield threat opposite Reagor, but as I just mentioned, if Hurts can get him the ball on close WR screens or even some jet sweep plays, he can house it from anywhere on the field. That sort of upside is something I love to grab in a dart throw. He is someone that would be hard to draft in any redraft league, but is an absolute must stash in dynasty formats. He’s also a guy that I would look at dropping a decent chunk of FAAB on if he shows up big in Week 1. Certainly a player worth monitoring.

Collin Johnson, WR

As a dart throw of mine you have to be over 6’3”, it’s just a prerequisite, see Equanimeous St. Brown in 2020 and D.J. Chark in 2019. Collin Johnson hits the mark with 3 inches to spare, he boasts a 6-6, 222lb frame and has shown some promise in the league already. He connected well last year with Mike Glennon at the helm going for 19.6 and 10.6 fantasy points in Weeks 12 and 13 respectively. This year you are hearing his name a lot in camp, showing that he and Trevor Lawrence have a good rapport, but he does have a little hill to climb. The receivers he is trying to beat out are D.J Chark, Laviska Shenault, and Marvin Jones, two of which will play on the inside leaving some opportunity for outside play. Now there is a chance they have Collin play inside because of size mismatches, but most of his work will be near the outside and in the red zone. There isn’t much known about what Urban Meyer plans to implement and where he sets up his personnel i.e. Travis Etienne, but Collin has as good a chance as any to find his way onto the field and he is a D.J. Chark injury away from being a fantasy streamer.

Larry Rountree III, RB

We are not sure who the number 2 RB will be behind Austin Ekeler, but I am throwing a dart at Larry Rountree. With a new coaching staff, they have no ties to Justin Jackson nor Joshua Kelly. Both RBs have not shown us enough in the past to make me think one of them is locked in as the pure backup to Ekeler. One thing the new regime did do is draft Rountree, which makes me believe that they want to use him. Sure, he was a late draft pick (sixth round), but just the fact that they drafted him makes me believe they do not believe in the other guys already there. This is a guy I am not drafting in redraft leagues unless you want to take him with your last pick, but he is a guy you should be following when it comes time to use that FAAB at the beginning of the season. Whoever is the backup to Ekeler will have work and I believe that guy is Rountree. The Chargers did not end up cutting any of their RBs, so we may not know right away who the true handcuff is in LA, but keep an eye on Rountree as I believe he will be able to carve out a decent role and have a higher snap percentage as the season goes on. We also know the Austin Ekeler does not have the best track record of staying healthy, so if the team wants Ek to play a full season, they will need to work in Rountree to do so.

Matt Breida, RB

Tom, how can a well known name be a dart throw? Wasn’t he a sleeper last year? If he didn’t hit as a sleeper why is he a dart throw in his 4th NFL season? Simple, he is forgotten about. When I say Breida is a dart throw I say this because the dude is quite literally going undrafted in every draft. We expected him to be a part of the Miami backfield and that just didn’t happen. Breida has done literally nothing to suggest he should be a starting running back. He also hasn’t done anything to prove to us that he isn’t capable of it. Sound familiar? Devin Singletary? Zack Moss? No one in the Buffalo backfield is safe, and in my opinion Breida provides an element those two don’t. If he can find the field early in the season, you will nail this dart as your last round selection. If he doesn’t, toss him by the wayside, after all it was the last pick of your draft.