Guide to the 2021-22 Fantasy Football Season

by The Cowl Editor on September 3, 2021


Professional Sports


The 2021-2022 NFL season is just around the corner, and that means it is also fantasy football season. This season has the potential to be especially unpredictable and crazy, especially in fantasy football.

Fantasy football is all about risk versus reward. Players often find themselves weighing the risks of players; for example, they must consider the players’ injury history, team, and recent production while also considering what the player could produce. The name of the game is considering value.

When it comes to Saquon Barkley and Michael Thomas, that value critically dictates where they should be drafted. Saqoun Barkley is coming off an ACL injury and is expected to work himself back into a primary back role.

He will likely play week one, but may not have all his touches just yet. It is also worth noting that he is coming off a significant injury in the ACL. Yet, Barkley is an elite athlete, one who is highly likely to bounce back from such an injury and produce given health and opportunity.

And provided he is a key piece in a team banking on offensive improvement and his rare combination of receiving/rushing skills, Barkley should still be a high first round pick.

Normally, he should be a second rounder, yet the value on running backs this year may be at an all-time high with so few key backs capable of being top end backs. This is causing large and early draft patterns where running backs are being drafted early and often.

The opposite is true of wideouts. And Thomas, coming off an unproductive season, a serious injury causing him to miss time, a new quarterback and drama with his coach, Thomas doesn’t seem poised to be a big producer this season. With such a large quantity of good receivers available, many other producers could be available as well.

Make sure you draft your wideouts one and two before taking Thomas on to sit the bench and hopefully push late in the season.

One of those other receivers that could really produce this season is Thomas’ teammate Marquez Callaway. Callaway, along with Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Bryan Edwards, are two receivers that have not only impressed at camp this summer but seem to be in line for their respective teams’ number one receiver spot.

There has been a lot of talk about receivers so far, and for good reason because there are more receivers to be drafted than running backs. And while there are many good ones, there are certainly bad ones.

The trio of receivers in Pittsburgh, Juju Smith- Schuster, Chase Claypool, and Dionte Johnson are ones to stay away from. All three are playing in a run first system with an aging QB.

That is not to mention Smith-Schuster’s inconsistently producing as a starting wideout, concerns with Claypool’s numbers being touchdown dependent and Johnson’s drop issues. And the poor offensive line is a key reason to stay away from rookie running back Najee Harris.

This football season should be one to look forward to, and fantasy football is always a way to keep things interesting.