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Justin Carter provides instant reaction to Day 3 of the 2021 NFL Draft from a fantasy football viewpoint. Which players were among the biggest winners and losers after the final rounds?
The 2021 NFL Draft finished up on Saturday, with the final four rounds taking place. And while those rounds didn't feature the big names like No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, they did feature a bunch of other names! And many of those names will have an impact on the fantasy football landscape moving forward.
The draft is complete now, which means it's time to reflect on the later rounds and on the players -- rookie or veterans -- who left as winners and losers.
Here are the fantasy winners and losers for rounds 4-7 of the 2021 NFL Draft. Be sure to also check out the rest of our NFL Draft coverage and analysis, including the fantasy winners/losers for all other rounds of the draft.
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NFL Draft Rounds 4-7: Winners
Mike Davis (RB, Atlanta Falcons)
All the logic entering this draft pointed one direction: at some point, the Falcons were going to take a running back. They had to, because the only backs on the current roster are Mike Davis, Qadree Ollison, and Tony Brooks-James.
Well, the Falcons didn't.
Davis filled in admirably for the injured Christian McCaffrey last year, finishing with 1,015 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns. He's looked like someone who could provide solid production at various times over his career, and now it appears he'll get a shot to be a real live lead back. He's a fantasy RB2 if nothing else changes.
Myles Gaskin (RB, Miami Dolphins)
The Dolphins did take a running back, but it was Cincinnati's Gerrid Doaks in the seventh round. We don't usually expect someone taken that late to have an impact in his first season, so it looks like Miami will roll with Gaskin as the lead back in 2021.
Like Davis, he currently projects to be a fantasy RB2. There's still a lot of time between now and the draft, but I'm pretty excited about Gaskin. Per PlayerProfiler, he led all backs in yards per reception and was third in yards per route run last year, and while his efficiency in the run game wasn't quite as high, he was still 20th in yards per touch. He also ran behind a line that struggled and was 24th in adjusted line yards, per Football Outsiders. If that line can improve, Gaskin will have some more space to run.
Dez Fitzpatrick (WR, Tennessee Titans)
Tennessee's fourth-round pick, Fitzpatrick is pretty far from being one of the top receivers in this class, but he may have found one of the best landing spots. The Titans have A.J. Brown as their No. 1 receiver, but these pass-catchers are a mess behind him. Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith left in the offseason. Davis was replaced by Josh Reynolds. Smith wasn't replaced, with Anthony Firkser now becoming the top tight end. Fitzpatrick doesn't stand out in any notable way, but he's been a solid piece at Louisville who could see the field early because of the depth concerns here.
Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR, Detroit Lions)
Another team with a lot of changes at wide receiver. Gone are Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. In are Breshad Perriman and Tyrell Williams, which is a pretty clear downgrade.
Two names to watch in Detroit: St. Brown and Quintez Cephus. The starting receivers here just don't have their roles locked in, and this team looks like they're heading for a rebuild after trading Matthew Stafford. St. Brown looks like someone who can offer Jared Goff a reliable short-yardage target and some consistency in an offense that's going to struggle to find that consistency.
Michael Carter (RB, New York Jets)
We'll address in a minute why I hated Day 3 for rookie running backs, but one guy whose landing spot I liked was Carter, who winds up on the Jets. With a new coaching staff in the Meadowlands, returning players Lamical Perine and Ty Johnson don't seem like guarantees to lead this backfield, and they brought in Tevin Coleman, but his two years in San Fran have his stock down. Carter has a real chance to grab this starting role.
NFL Draft Rounds 4-7: Losers
Raheem Mostert (RB, San Francisco 49ers)
Mostert is the expected starter for the Niners, but then they went out and drafted Trey Sermon in the third and Elijah Mitchell in the sixth, further complicating an already complicated backfield. Who wins the lead role? Is there a lead role? Can six guys all play running back for the same team? I think for now, I'm out on Mostert in fantasy. Too much risk.
Rookie Running Backs
This was not a great draft for running backs.
Just four running backs went on the first two days of the draft. On Day 3, we mostly saw teams that didn't need a starting back take guys. Kene Nwangwu to Minnesota, who have Dalvin Cook. Chuba Hubbard to Carolina, who have Christian McCaffrey. Kenneth Gainwell to the Eagles and Miles Sanders. Gary Brightwell to Saquon's Giants. Larry Rountree III to the Chargers. Just on and on, and two of my favorite players in this draft went almost at the very end, with Kylin Hill to the Packers at 256 and Jermar Jefferson to the Lions at 257.
If you're someone who likes to draft rookie running backs in redraft, I'm so so sorry for your loss here.
Tylan Wallace (WR, Baltimore Ravens)
Tylan Wallace had a lot of fans heading into this draft. And why wouldn't he: he's a precise route runner who doesn't drop the ball and just knows how to produce.
But one problem: he landed in Baltimore, and he wasn't the first receiver they took. So, not only does he have to contend with the fact that the Ravens with Lamar Jackson at the helm just aren't a place where wideouts have succeeded over the past couple of seasons, but he'll also have to fight for snaps with Rashod Bateman plus the veterans already on the team in Marquise Brown and Sammy Watkins. And considering that Baltimore ran 11 personnel (three receivers, one back, one tight end) just 47 percent of the time last season -- league average was 60 percent -- and ran 22 personnel with just one receiver 16 percent of the time -- league average was four percent there -- it seems like a bad situation for Wallace.
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