Top PPR Players 2021: 3 Sleepers That Get Huge Upgrades in PPR Scoring

Point-per-reception (PPR) scoring has become the norm in fantasy football over the last few years. But just because it's now the default scoring doesn't mean that all fantasy players have caught up. We often still see running backs who don't catch any passes getting over-drafted in PPR leagues while players who catch a ton of passes can still go overlooked.

Fantasy Football PPR Targets

With that in mind, here are three sleepers who get huge upgrades in PPR scoring that could be sleepers in the later rounds of your PPR fantasy football drafts.

Top PPR Players 2021 Fantasy Football

1. Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Deebo Samuel is being written off with Brandon Aiyuk emerging as the San Francisco 49ers' presumed WR1, but Samuel can still offer some real value — especially in PPR leagues. He's a wide receiver, sure, but his receiving role in Kyle Shanahan's creative offense is actually closer to that of a running back. Playing seven games in 2020, Samuel's average depth of target (aDOT) was just 2.2 yards. That looked a lot more like what Tevin Coleman (2.6) and Raheem Mostert (1.1) saw than it looks like Brandon Aiyuk (9.4) or Kendrick Bourne (9.3). Getting "receptions" on screens and jet sweeps means that Samuel is handling what are essentially rush attempts, but he's receiving a full fantasy point before he gains a single yard. That makes his touches incredibly valuable in PPR.

2. Giovani Bernard, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Leonard Fournette and/or Ronald Jones are likely to dominate the rushing work available in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' backfield. The Bucs have finally brought in a receiving back for Tom Brady though, and it's no secret that Tom loves throwing to his backs. In 2018, Brady fed James white 87 receptions — the 16th most ever in a single season for a running back. Now he gets to throw to Giovani Bernard, whose 342 receptions since entering the league in 2013 are the third most for any running back in that stretch. Despite playing with a lead often, the Bucs were the 10th-most pass-heavy team in the NFL last season, and even with a loaded WR corps there should be enough volume to make Bernard an interesting PPR option.

3. Logan Thomas, TE, Washington Football Team

Travis Kelce and Darren Waller are the two top tight ends in fantasy football this season, and they led the position in both targets and receptions in 2020. Third place in both stats was Logan Thomas. In fact, his 110 targets would have ranked top-four at the position in any of the last four seasons. Scoring a modest 6 touchdowns and recording only 670 yards hurt his value in standard scoring leagues, but that kind of volume is not easy to come by at the tight end position, making Thomas a terrific sleeper option in PPR leagues.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. 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 his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.