2021 Peyton Manning Division Preview
Aug 30, 2021 21:59:54 GMT -5
Arizona Cardinals (Chris) likes this
Post by Pittsburgh Steelers (Malachi) on Aug 30, 2021 21:59:54 GMT -5
Peyton Manning Division Preview: The Peyton Manning division certainly was a crazy one in 2020. The only team I think I hit on last season was the Chargers as they put up an enormous point total, but that still only saw them finish 2nd in the division, 4th in the conference, and fall short in the AFC championship game. The Raiders shocked more than just myself last season with their impressive run to winning the division and both Denver and Indy under-performed to matching 3-9 records. All 4 teams look improved headed into 2021, but will Denver, Indy, or Las Vegas be able to match the Chargers torrent scoring pace?
Denver Broncos (Noah): 2020 Record: 3-9
Given some of the names on the roster headed into last season, I definitely did not see a 3-9 finish coming for Noah and the Broncos. The result was a product of quite a few guys on offense underperforming and having less opportunities to put up points than people likely would have thought headed into the season, myself included. A lot of games missed for Marlon Mack, Drue Tranquill, Julian Edelman, DJax, Eric Kendricks, and a couple here and there for a few others made things difficult for Noah. Over the course of the 2021 off-season, Noah didn’t completely overhaul his roster, but did make some tweaks to it to try and improve the team. Noah is starting to put together a very talented WR room with Jerry Jeudy, rookie Devonta Smith, Michael Gallup, and Tyler Johnson. All 4 guys are 25 years or younger and in offenses that should provide them chances for a lot of points, with the exception of Tyler Johson who could be a year away from a real shot at meaningful playtime. The safest bet on offense for Noah this season will yet again be at the QB position with Kyler Murray still in the fold. Like 2020, RB will be a position of contention for Denver once again. Leonard Fournette will be the big dog there with Marlon Mack, Gus Edwards, J.D McKissic, and Brian Hill all in backfields that will limit them to rotational at best players on the season. The one position that is completely different from 2020 to 2021 is TE, thanks to Akins and Olsen leaving and Jimmy Graham coming in. Defense in Denver was good, but would have been quite a bit better had some key guys not gotten hurt. He returned all of his key contributors and will have those guys back that missed time, so time will tell how good this Broncos defense will be. The LB and DL units will be strong in 2021, but LB should be the top unit with Josey Jewell, Eric Kendricks, Isaiah Simmons, Drue Tranquill, and Mack Wilson all playing a part. Up front the duo of Aaron Donald and Cam Jordan will be a hard one to top. Behind those 2 studs will be sophomore K’Lavon Chaisson and rookie Gregory Rousseau. If there is a weak link on defense it will be DB with the leaders seemingly being Chidobe Awuzie and Greedy Williams with Mike Hughes and rookie Patrick Surtain providing depth at the position. Noah has some really good pieces to build around on this team, but he also has some positions on the team that need some work if he wants to really be in the AFC playoff discussion this season. Thanks to a tie breaker with Indy, Noah will also see his team square off with all the 3rd place teams in the other divisions so that scheduling break might prove to be costly.
Projected Division Finish: 4th
Indianapolis Colts (Jordan) 2020 Record: 3-9
One of the new owners in LHL in 2021 will be Jordan as he takes over the Indianapolis Colts. Jordan is now one of many guys that have come over from Canton to be a part of this league and those in Canton know that Jordan can put together a roster very well. He has already started to put his imprint on this roster in just 1 off-season, but we will look at that a little more down the write up. Being successful in a season will always be extremely difficult when the top guy on your roster misses virtually the entire fantasy football season. Especially when the games he did play he averaged 30 points and that is what happened here with the Colts and CMC. Thanks to CMC being out it did help the Colts land the 5th overall pick in the rookie draft, but the player Jordan selected there was Travis Etienne who will likely be out for the entire 2021 NFL season. The other RB on the roster for Jordan currently is Damien Williams, so the fate of this offense and likely team will be on the back of CMC and him staying healthy. At QB, it is a pair of NFC South QBs with both Tom Brady and Matt Ryan on the roster. The question currently will be is Jordan planning to run with them both on the roster and carry the $10 cap penalty or will be let one go? While the best player on this offense is a RB, the best position group is easily WR with a quartet of playmakers. Those guys being Chris Godwin, Leviska Shenault, Tyler Boyd, and Jarvis Landry. The one position of concern on offense will be TE, but if Hunter Henry can figure out the Pats offense the position might not be in that bad of shape. CJ Uzomah and Juwan Johnson are the other options for Jordan, so Uzomah could potentially work his way to being the top TE. On paper this defense looks like it will be a stout one in 2021 and it starts with a very high end LB core. Bobby Wagner will always rack up points as long as he is on the field and will have Jamie Collins and Jon Bostic there to back him up very nicely. The rookie Baron Browning and Travin Howard round out the group, but don’t appear to be in line to help the team this season. The group of DBs on the roster is a solid one and is led be Vonn Bell and will have Rayshawn Jenkins, Will Harris, Nassir Adderley, Justin Burris, Amani Hooker, and rookie Andre Cisco all behind him to help piece together that unit and possibly the DP spots this season. Currently JPP is the only DL that looks set to be productive this season thanks to Justin Houston being a rotational piece and Carl Lawson being out for the season, so that is certainly one spot Jordan will look to improve on this season. The roster overhaul saw Jordan add Tom Brady, Travis Etienne, Chris Godwin, Jarvis Landry, Tyler Boyd, and CJ Uzomah. It also saw him part with Terry McLaurin and a number of DBs, most notably Byron Murphy. This team has plenty of talent and likely would be in contention for the division regardless, but having finished 4th in the division last year will get a huge scheduling break that could help this team lock up a high seed in the AFC this season.
Predicted Division Finish: 3rd
Las Vegas Raiders (Jacob) 2020 Record: 9-3
Jacob and his Raiders were certainly one of the teams that flipped my pre-season rankings on its head last year. I knew he had some very talented guys on the roster, but he also had some holes that I thought would hinder his team way more than it did. The team played out to a 9-3 record in the inaugural season and just missed out on the top seed in the AFC. That was where their season success ended though as they lost their round 1 matchup with New England and made a quick playoff exit. Jacob made a few minor tweaks to the roster over the off-season, letting most of his RFAs go including Rodrigo Blackenship, but keeping Malcolm Brown. During the rookie draft picked up a 2021 2nd and a 2022 3rd for LB Jordyn Brooks, which helped shake up the roster a little. For the Raiders any discussion on how good the offense will be will always begin with the QB on the roster since it is one Russell Wilson. Wilson is the biggest name on the roster and will be the leader of the offense yet again in 2021. In a division with very talented WR groups, the Raiders absolutely have WRs to hang with the other 3 teams in the division as they will lean on Keenan Allen, Robert Woods, and Brandon Aiyuk. The guys behind them are Anthony Miller, Zach Pascal, Jakeem Grant, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Steven Sims, so there are a couple useful guys if they only need to fill in for 1 week, but Jacob will be banking on the top 3 playing all season. Tyler Higbee and Jacob Hollister will make for a useful TE group, certainly not flashy, but shouldn’t hurt the team by any means. The spot of concern, as was in 2020, is going to be RB. Yes, he went 9-3 last season with Malcolm Brown being his top back but only really adding rookies Kenneth Gainwell and Elijah Mitchell to the fold there will not help make the RB group a strong one. Especially with Jaylen Samuels and Bo Scarborough being the other 2 guys and possibly not being on their current teams to open the season. There hasn’t been a ton of overturn on the defensive side of the ball for the Raiders, but some of their guys are in much different situations heading into 2021 and that may adversely affect their fantasy production. Jordan Hicks has been widely rumored to be up for trade or his agent has been allowed to look for one, either way, his production seems certain to dip if he stays in Arizona. KJ Wright and Tahir Whitehead were productive for Jacob last season, but both find themselves unemployed and not in a position to help the team. Rookie Jamin Davis and Matt Milano look set to be the best options on the team, but will need help from someone to make the LB room be even average in the league. DeForest Buckner will once again be the guy up front for the Raiders, but Jarren Reed moved from Seattle to KC, so his fantasy production remains to be seen and with no one behind the two currently, Jacob will be with only 1 DL on each of their bye weeks this season as it stands. Might DB be the most stable position on this defense? With Minkah, Jimmie Ward, and Karl Joseph being the contributors there with rookie Elijah Molden sitting behind them. Things will be very difficult for Jacob from week 4 to week 8 thanks to winning his division last season, so will the Raiders be able to reclaim the top spot in the division or will it be a new team on top at season’s end?
Predicted Division Finish: 2nd
Los Angeles Chargers (Garrett) 2020 Record: 9-3
Coming into 2020, I probably put a target on Garrett’s back early by making him the #1 team in the Power Rankings, but he had/has a very talented roster. It was a little bit of a slow start for the Chargers, but they eventually played to a 9-3 record and advanced all the way to the AFC conference championship. It was a really solid opening season and one that Garrett will hope he can replicate here in 2021. Thanks to a very successful season, Garrett really didn’t have too much work to do on his roster headed into 2021, but did let some guys walk in RFA, most notably Troy Reeder, who is set to be a starting LB for the Rams. Garrett has a lot to like on offense again here in 2021 and with RBs Myles Gaskin, James Conner, and Darrell Henderson that position is set up nicely. Henderson was lined up to be a rotational guy, but with Akers going down, Garrett finds himself with potentially 3 starting RBs and all 3 will see their share of touches each week. With Davante Adams, CeeDee Lamb, and Amari Cooper all back this season, Garrett will certainly be in the discussion for best WR core in the league. Parris Campbell and recently released Breshad Perriman fill out the depth at the position. A duo of Mike Gesicki and Adam Trautman should set Garrett up for success, both this season and down the road. Gesicki will be a solid option this season and Trautman could turn into one as well if he breaks out this season. I saved QB for last on offense because it is the biggest cause for concern on the entire roster for this Charger team. Carson Wentz can be a really good QB, especially now in a very strong Colts offense, but the amount of time he spends hurt does not bode well or lead me to believe that Garrett won’t be looking for a QB at some point this season. Not only did Garrett put together a very talented offense, he was able to also put together one of the best defenses in the league last season. Leading this defense from the LB spot will be Deion Jones, Jayon Brown, Sione Takitaki, and rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah (once he establishes himself in the Browns defense). Behind them providing some useful depth will be Micah Kiser, TJ Edwards, Malik Harrison, and rookie Chazz Surratt. Last season in the rookie draft Garrett doubled up at DB with likely the best two at the position with Jeremy Chinn and Antonio Winfield and both return to lead the unit. Jarrod Wilson and Juan Thornhill make up the rest of the DBs on the roster and will fill in nicely when needed. Both Brandon Graham and Demarcus Lawrence did well for this defense last year, but with them being 33 and 29 respectively, they are likely due for some regression so DL might not be as steady for Garrett as it was last season. He did add Payton Turner to the group, but he is not in line to do much this season for New Orleans. Thanks to finishing the season in 2nd in the division, the team that lead the league in scoring by nearly 200 points in 2020 will get to play the other 2nd place teams this season. The Chargers also scored 200 points 7 times last season, so it will be interesting to see how many times they can top that mark here in 2021.
Predicted Division Finish: 1st
Denver Broncos (Noah): 2020 Record: 3-9
Given some of the names on the roster headed into last season, I definitely did not see a 3-9 finish coming for Noah and the Broncos. The result was a product of quite a few guys on offense underperforming and having less opportunities to put up points than people likely would have thought headed into the season, myself included. A lot of games missed for Marlon Mack, Drue Tranquill, Julian Edelman, DJax, Eric Kendricks, and a couple here and there for a few others made things difficult for Noah. Over the course of the 2021 off-season, Noah didn’t completely overhaul his roster, but did make some tweaks to it to try and improve the team. Noah is starting to put together a very talented WR room with Jerry Jeudy, rookie Devonta Smith, Michael Gallup, and Tyler Johnson. All 4 guys are 25 years or younger and in offenses that should provide them chances for a lot of points, with the exception of Tyler Johson who could be a year away from a real shot at meaningful playtime. The safest bet on offense for Noah this season will yet again be at the QB position with Kyler Murray still in the fold. Like 2020, RB will be a position of contention for Denver once again. Leonard Fournette will be the big dog there with Marlon Mack, Gus Edwards, J.D McKissic, and Brian Hill all in backfields that will limit them to rotational at best players on the season. The one position that is completely different from 2020 to 2021 is TE, thanks to Akins and Olsen leaving and Jimmy Graham coming in. Defense in Denver was good, but would have been quite a bit better had some key guys not gotten hurt. He returned all of his key contributors and will have those guys back that missed time, so time will tell how good this Broncos defense will be. The LB and DL units will be strong in 2021, but LB should be the top unit with Josey Jewell, Eric Kendricks, Isaiah Simmons, Drue Tranquill, and Mack Wilson all playing a part. Up front the duo of Aaron Donald and Cam Jordan will be a hard one to top. Behind those 2 studs will be sophomore K’Lavon Chaisson and rookie Gregory Rousseau. If there is a weak link on defense it will be DB with the leaders seemingly being Chidobe Awuzie and Greedy Williams with Mike Hughes and rookie Patrick Surtain providing depth at the position. Noah has some really good pieces to build around on this team, but he also has some positions on the team that need some work if he wants to really be in the AFC playoff discussion this season. Thanks to a tie breaker with Indy, Noah will also see his team square off with all the 3rd place teams in the other divisions so that scheduling break might prove to be costly.
Projected Division Finish: 4th
Indianapolis Colts (Jordan) 2020 Record: 3-9
One of the new owners in LHL in 2021 will be Jordan as he takes over the Indianapolis Colts. Jordan is now one of many guys that have come over from Canton to be a part of this league and those in Canton know that Jordan can put together a roster very well. He has already started to put his imprint on this roster in just 1 off-season, but we will look at that a little more down the write up. Being successful in a season will always be extremely difficult when the top guy on your roster misses virtually the entire fantasy football season. Especially when the games he did play he averaged 30 points and that is what happened here with the Colts and CMC. Thanks to CMC being out it did help the Colts land the 5th overall pick in the rookie draft, but the player Jordan selected there was Travis Etienne who will likely be out for the entire 2021 NFL season. The other RB on the roster for Jordan currently is Damien Williams, so the fate of this offense and likely team will be on the back of CMC and him staying healthy. At QB, it is a pair of NFC South QBs with both Tom Brady and Matt Ryan on the roster. The question currently will be is Jordan planning to run with them both on the roster and carry the $10 cap penalty or will be let one go? While the best player on this offense is a RB, the best position group is easily WR with a quartet of playmakers. Those guys being Chris Godwin, Leviska Shenault, Tyler Boyd, and Jarvis Landry. The one position of concern on offense will be TE, but if Hunter Henry can figure out the Pats offense the position might not be in that bad of shape. CJ Uzomah and Juwan Johnson are the other options for Jordan, so Uzomah could potentially work his way to being the top TE. On paper this defense looks like it will be a stout one in 2021 and it starts with a very high end LB core. Bobby Wagner will always rack up points as long as he is on the field and will have Jamie Collins and Jon Bostic there to back him up very nicely. The rookie Baron Browning and Travin Howard round out the group, but don’t appear to be in line to help the team this season. The group of DBs on the roster is a solid one and is led be Vonn Bell and will have Rayshawn Jenkins, Will Harris, Nassir Adderley, Justin Burris, Amani Hooker, and rookie Andre Cisco all behind him to help piece together that unit and possibly the DP spots this season. Currently JPP is the only DL that looks set to be productive this season thanks to Justin Houston being a rotational piece and Carl Lawson being out for the season, so that is certainly one spot Jordan will look to improve on this season. The roster overhaul saw Jordan add Tom Brady, Travis Etienne, Chris Godwin, Jarvis Landry, Tyler Boyd, and CJ Uzomah. It also saw him part with Terry McLaurin and a number of DBs, most notably Byron Murphy. This team has plenty of talent and likely would be in contention for the division regardless, but having finished 4th in the division last year will get a huge scheduling break that could help this team lock up a high seed in the AFC this season.
Predicted Division Finish: 3rd
Las Vegas Raiders (Jacob) 2020 Record: 9-3
Jacob and his Raiders were certainly one of the teams that flipped my pre-season rankings on its head last year. I knew he had some very talented guys on the roster, but he also had some holes that I thought would hinder his team way more than it did. The team played out to a 9-3 record in the inaugural season and just missed out on the top seed in the AFC. That was where their season success ended though as they lost their round 1 matchup with New England and made a quick playoff exit. Jacob made a few minor tweaks to the roster over the off-season, letting most of his RFAs go including Rodrigo Blackenship, but keeping Malcolm Brown. During the rookie draft picked up a 2021 2nd and a 2022 3rd for LB Jordyn Brooks, which helped shake up the roster a little. For the Raiders any discussion on how good the offense will be will always begin with the QB on the roster since it is one Russell Wilson. Wilson is the biggest name on the roster and will be the leader of the offense yet again in 2021. In a division with very talented WR groups, the Raiders absolutely have WRs to hang with the other 3 teams in the division as they will lean on Keenan Allen, Robert Woods, and Brandon Aiyuk. The guys behind them are Anthony Miller, Zach Pascal, Jakeem Grant, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Steven Sims, so there are a couple useful guys if they only need to fill in for 1 week, but Jacob will be banking on the top 3 playing all season. Tyler Higbee and Jacob Hollister will make for a useful TE group, certainly not flashy, but shouldn’t hurt the team by any means. The spot of concern, as was in 2020, is going to be RB. Yes, he went 9-3 last season with Malcolm Brown being his top back but only really adding rookies Kenneth Gainwell and Elijah Mitchell to the fold there will not help make the RB group a strong one. Especially with Jaylen Samuels and Bo Scarborough being the other 2 guys and possibly not being on their current teams to open the season. There hasn’t been a ton of overturn on the defensive side of the ball for the Raiders, but some of their guys are in much different situations heading into 2021 and that may adversely affect their fantasy production. Jordan Hicks has been widely rumored to be up for trade or his agent has been allowed to look for one, either way, his production seems certain to dip if he stays in Arizona. KJ Wright and Tahir Whitehead were productive for Jacob last season, but both find themselves unemployed and not in a position to help the team. Rookie Jamin Davis and Matt Milano look set to be the best options on the team, but will need help from someone to make the LB room be even average in the league. DeForest Buckner will once again be the guy up front for the Raiders, but Jarren Reed moved from Seattle to KC, so his fantasy production remains to be seen and with no one behind the two currently, Jacob will be with only 1 DL on each of their bye weeks this season as it stands. Might DB be the most stable position on this defense? With Minkah, Jimmie Ward, and Karl Joseph being the contributors there with rookie Elijah Molden sitting behind them. Things will be very difficult for Jacob from week 4 to week 8 thanks to winning his division last season, so will the Raiders be able to reclaim the top spot in the division or will it be a new team on top at season’s end?
Predicted Division Finish: 2nd
Los Angeles Chargers (Garrett) 2020 Record: 9-3
Coming into 2020, I probably put a target on Garrett’s back early by making him the #1 team in the Power Rankings, but he had/has a very talented roster. It was a little bit of a slow start for the Chargers, but they eventually played to a 9-3 record and advanced all the way to the AFC conference championship. It was a really solid opening season and one that Garrett will hope he can replicate here in 2021. Thanks to a very successful season, Garrett really didn’t have too much work to do on his roster headed into 2021, but did let some guys walk in RFA, most notably Troy Reeder, who is set to be a starting LB for the Rams. Garrett has a lot to like on offense again here in 2021 and with RBs Myles Gaskin, James Conner, and Darrell Henderson that position is set up nicely. Henderson was lined up to be a rotational guy, but with Akers going down, Garrett finds himself with potentially 3 starting RBs and all 3 will see their share of touches each week. With Davante Adams, CeeDee Lamb, and Amari Cooper all back this season, Garrett will certainly be in the discussion for best WR core in the league. Parris Campbell and recently released Breshad Perriman fill out the depth at the position. A duo of Mike Gesicki and Adam Trautman should set Garrett up for success, both this season and down the road. Gesicki will be a solid option this season and Trautman could turn into one as well if he breaks out this season. I saved QB for last on offense because it is the biggest cause for concern on the entire roster for this Charger team. Carson Wentz can be a really good QB, especially now in a very strong Colts offense, but the amount of time he spends hurt does not bode well or lead me to believe that Garrett won’t be looking for a QB at some point this season. Not only did Garrett put together a very talented offense, he was able to also put together one of the best defenses in the league last season. Leading this defense from the LB spot will be Deion Jones, Jayon Brown, Sione Takitaki, and rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah (once he establishes himself in the Browns defense). Behind them providing some useful depth will be Micah Kiser, TJ Edwards, Malik Harrison, and rookie Chazz Surratt. Last season in the rookie draft Garrett doubled up at DB with likely the best two at the position with Jeremy Chinn and Antonio Winfield and both return to lead the unit. Jarrod Wilson and Juan Thornhill make up the rest of the DBs on the roster and will fill in nicely when needed. Both Brandon Graham and Demarcus Lawrence did well for this defense last year, but with them being 33 and 29 respectively, they are likely due for some regression so DL might not be as steady for Garrett as it was last season. He did add Payton Turner to the group, but he is not in line to do much this season for New Orleans. Thanks to finishing the season in 2nd in the division, the team that lead the league in scoring by nearly 200 points in 2020 will get to play the other 2nd place teams this season. The Chargers also scored 200 points 7 times last season, so it will be interesting to see how many times they can top that mark here in 2021.
Predicted Division Finish: 1st
