Cole Beasley Fantasy Outlook Offers High-Risk, Low-Reward Returns in 2021

In the past two seasons with Josh Allen under center full time, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley has recorded back-to-back seasons with career-high targets. In 2020, Beasley converted those 107 targets into career-high fantasy marks with 82 receptions 967 receiving yards, while adding 4 touchdowns.

Beasley, who operates out of the slot, was a solid option for PPR fantasy managers last year. Unfortunately, despite the career-high marks, Beasley still managed just WR27 numbers across the league.

Cole Beasley Fantasy Value

One issue facing Beasley in 2021 is the Bills' offseason addition of Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders has often works out of the slot and will surely take targets away from Beasley.

Still, it can't be understated how much Allen relied on Beasley last year. Aside from Stefon Diggs (166), Beasley ranked second on the Bills with his 107 targets. In 2019, Allen's first full season as a starter, Beasley saw 106 targets - trailing only behind John Brown's 115.

Volume is king in fantasy football. And for the first time in two seasons, that could be a concern for Beasley. Diggs will remain the favorite target for Allen in this prolific passing attack. And it's fair to assume Sanders will see more targets than John Brown did last year (52 in nine games played).

Sanders is a better overall pass-catcher than Beasley, even at age 34. Throughout his 11-year career, Sanders averages 96.7 targets, 60.2 receptions, 783.5 yards and 4.3 touchdowns. Beasley's career averages sit below all of those marks with 73.7 targets, 52 receptions, 557.3 yards and 3.7 touchdowns.

Cole Beasley ADP

According to FantasyPros average draft position (ADP) data for PPR leagues, Beasley ranks as WR55. The Duel's preseason rankings do not include Beasley as a top-50 receiver. Beasley is far from guaranteed to have another career year. And even if he does, being the WR27 in PPR formats isn't exactly much of a reward.

Beasley is a fine option to have on the bench, but he's a fourth-string fantasy WR at best this year.

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Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.