Intro
The Arizona Cardinals have a ton of targets up for grabs heading into the 2021 season, and that brings a lot of intrigue for fantasy football managers. In 2020 the Cardinals were sixth offensively in the NFL, averaging 384.6 yards per game. They now have 156 targets vacated from the 2020 season. 70 of those targets come from Larry Fitzgerald, who has yet to sign with the team. Other big names that moved on from the team include Dan Arnold and Kenyan Drake. Kyler Murray threw 558 passes last season; 156 targets is 28 percent of his passes thrown in 2020. Who will thrive off the huge chunk of targets left behind from 2020?
D-Hop
Deandre Hopkins is still the number one option in the Cardinals offense. He’s coming off a fantastic year, with 115 receptions for 1,407 receiving yards in 2020. The outlook for 2021 looks great. Hopkins is the fourth receiver being taken in fantasy football drafts according to ESPN’s ADP.
Hopkins averaged 10 targets a game last year (no wonder why he’s so consistent). He averages 150 targets per year, which is plenty to produce great numbers. Last year Hopkins was targeted 160 times, and could beat those numbers this season. With new weapons in the offense like A.J. Green and James Connor, the Cardinals may spread the ball around a bit more. Even if Hopkins stays closer to his floor of 150 targets, it’s still one of the best floors in the league. As usual, expect D-Hop to thrive this year and once again finish in the top five at his position in fantasy football.
A.J. Green
Many people are writing off A.J. Green. Entering his age 33 season, most think he no longer has value in fantasy football leagues. I don’t blame them, but they’re wrong. You can still count on A.J. Green to get his fair share of targets. Not including the 2019 season where he didn’t play, he’s only totaled less than 100 targets once. Green is in a very good position (as long as he stays healthy) to grab a good chunk of targets vacated from 2020.
This is the first time in his career where he will play alongside a true number one receiver in Deandre Hopkins, so don’t expect him too mesh with the offense right from the start. With most people fading A.J. Green in drafts, you could basically get him for free. Green is a great value pick in 2021. Kyler and Green should be able to connect while Hopkins is double covered.
Chase Edmonds
Chase Edmonds is currently the RB1 on the Cardinals’ depth chart. It’s unclear as of right now how the Cardinals plan to divide touches in the backfield; but Edmonds has proved he is an effective running back in the league and offers great value in fantasy football PPR leagues.
Last season, Chase Edmonds averaged over four targets a game. In 2020, he finished with 402 receiving yards on 53 catches. Edmonds also averaged over 4.8 yards per carry between his last two seasons. Last season was the first time Edmonds had a significant bump in playing time, and now with Kenyan Drake gone, I expect another uptick in Edmonds’ production.
Kliff Kingsbury has shown he believes in Edmonds, and values him highly as a pass-catcher. The Cardinals have a history with pass-catching running backs like Edmonds. In 2016, David Johnson had 80 receptions for 879 yards. Johnson finished as the RB1 in fantasy football that year.
I’m not saying Edmonds will put up numbers like David Johnson did in 2016, but his potential ceiling is high. You should consider grabbing Chase Edmonds in your drafts, as he is currently the 25th running back being taken off the board. That is great value for someone I think could surprise a lot of people, and finish as a top-15 fantasy football running back.
James Conner
The Arizona Cardinals signed James Conner this offseason on a one year deal worth $1.75 million dollars. Conner was brought in to replace Kenyan Drake, who left for the Oakland Raiders. Conner is also a pass-catching running back. In 2020, he had 35 receptions in 13 games for 215 yards.
While it remains unclear how the Cardinals will divide rushing touches between Edmonds and Conner, it looks like a 1A/1B approach. However, Conner should still see his fair share of the workload. With Conner being the bigger of the two running backs, I could see him getting the bulk of short yardage carries, especially goal line carries. Currently being selected as the 37th running back off the board in fantasy football drafts, James Conner is certainly worth the flyer. At the very least, he’s a solid bench piece on your team, and could easily outperform his current ADP.
Conclusion
We all know Kyler Murray is going to ball out in 2021, and is well worth being picked in your upcoming fantasy football drafts. However, with 156 targets vacated and some new faces on the team, there’s plenty of other Cardinals’ players worth taking this fantasy season.
DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green, Chase Edmonds, and James Conner should all benefit from a pass-heavy offense with a ton of targets to go around. In 2020, the Cardinals had the sixth best offense in the NFL. Expect the Cardinals to continue to be one of the best offenses in the NFL. It’ll be an exciting offense to watch in 2021.
