How Much Do Landing Spots Matter?

[Gatorguy7275]

On this site & others, I've read that LS don't matter that much, & that talent should trump (pardon the expression) all other factors. With the 2021 1st round done, I read that it now seems to matter a lot, esp with respect to Harris & Etienne, & to a lesser degree, with D Smith & Bateman, & the downgrades have nothing to do with talent, since those players are just as talented as they were yesterday before the Draft.
Obviously, LS is important, since success, fantasy or otherwise, depends on teammates, game situations, injuries, coaching philosophies, etc.

So, my first Q is how important are LS to you when evaluating players generally, & the above 4(and Waddle) specifically, & why? Do you think your opinion could change by the end of the draft?

My own thinking is that with RBs, w/ an average career of 4-6 yrs., that if for 1-2 yrs of that, the OL is in flux or rebuilding, that's a big problem. Therefore, I think that Harris has suffered a bigger hit than Etienne, but that could change if Pitt drafts some good OL with it's remaining picks. Right now, I'd prob choose Etienne or J Williams over Harris if LS are really that important.

Re D Smith & Bateman, I think DS COULD be in a good spot depending on J Hurts improving his accuracy & running less. I'd make almost the same comment re Bateman & L Jackson. But Bateman could be hurt by low volume, although I think he should eventually be the WR#1 there. I like Waddle's LS in Miami, esp after year #1.

How do you see it? Thanks & stay safe out there!

[Gator Sens]

I think landing spot matters much more for RB's than the other positions. A really bad offensive line can hurt an RB for years. Even if a WR goes to a spot with a sub par QB, there are still yards to be had through the air. Not to say a WR could not land in a better spot also though.

I think Harris took a bigger hit in the immediate if the Steelers do not figure out there line than Etienne did even with Robinson on the roster. Harris will be the out and out starter but the Steelers line ranked dead last as a rush protecting line last year.

Smith landed in a good spot from a depth chart perspective but Hurts is pretty unknown at this point. Again, there will be passing yards every game, so Smith's rank and value did not move for me. I would still take him very early in a 1 QB league and be thrilled about it. Waddle landed in a nice depth chart as well and brings a unique skill set versus the other WR's that are in Miami.

For me, Chase and Smith have been my top two in the class (again for a 1 QB format) and nothing that happened yesterday changed that. I think Chase and Higgins can compliment/help each other and Burrow could easily make a big jump in the next couple years and support two good assets. Harris took the biggest hit for me last night. He is still a top 4-5 in this class, but I could see the argument for Etienne over him based on the Steelers line.

[Pac_Eddy]

I group my rookies into tiers. Landing spots move them around within a tier, only rarely up or down a tier.

[SoftwoodGrampian]

Lot of movers after tonight

[SteveMaddensShoes]

I group my rookies into tiers. Landing spots move them around within a tier, only rarely up or down a tier.

I'm like this as well, but I'll move them tiers if the NFL highly disagrees with consensus on their talent. Waddle over Smith doesn't mean much to me, even a guy within a round doesn't mean much like AJB at the beginning of the 2nd or DK at the end, but if someone that is considered a good prospect like Amon Ra St Brown, but he doesn't get drafted until the 5th round, i'll just pass on him. Hakeem Butler was a good example of what I'm talking about as was Equanmius St Brown

A few teams also matter. If Pitt reaches for a WR I perk up. If the Raiders reach I could care less. Most teams I don't care if they reach or not. NYG seem like they reached a bit on Toney but they spiked OBJ back in the day as well so like I said, I don't normally care WHO drafts a player. Situations that seem stable change so fast I wouldn't worry about landing spot normally. Look at Houston and GB right now as well as Indy a few years ago.

[halfbaked88]

Landing spots matter but really only become worrysome at the extremes for me. What I mean by that is if a player is going to a bottom 5 situation.

For example I like Rashod Batemen, but going to a bottom 5 passing volume offense - definitely matters.

But things change in the NFL so even bad teams have to be looked at case by case.

I agree that LS matters for RBs more - because that position is much more dependent on game script and a bad team will run the ball less and pass more.

If your going to try and predict fantasy success you want to be chasing *volume*

For rookies - draft capital is much more indicative of a team's expectations and willingness to give them that volume.

[footballwookie]

landing spots are everything for me as long as the player is talented. for example id take a 8 of 10 player over a 10 of 10 player in a worse spot particularly at RB. I dont hate PIT as a landing spot for harris for me he's is clearly the #1 RB. Sure their line sucks but the sheer volume coming to Harris will make him a RB1 in 2021. ETN will be part of a RBBC granted he will get some work out wide (prob a mid rb2 in 2021). They are close but Harris is the 1 and ETN the 2. Williams will be a RB4 in 2021 with high RB2 upside after 2021, if you truly believe RB's have a 4-6 year shelf life then Williams has a 3-5 year window. As far a WR's go, Smith is in a decent spot i like smith a lot. Bateman has fallen A LOT for me. This is one of those landing spot things. There just aren't many targets going around its a terrible place for a WR. I have no interest in bateman in the 1st anymore. Also not a big fan of the MIA landing spot for Waddle. I still like Waddle in the 1st he's great but his career will be determined by the ability or lack thereof of Tua. This is another good example of landing spot if the QB sucks the WR's are going to suck but hey Tua is still an unknown he could be great

[Intoodeep]

Brady went to the Patriots and became widely considered the greatest QB of all time. Had he gone to the Bengals or Lions, we likely would have never heard from him after his 1st contract. It matters a lot!!!