CHI RB Tarik Cohen - 2021 Fantasy Football Outlook

Fantasy Upside
Tarik Cohen had a strong showing in his first two seasons with Matt Nagy, finishing with 71 and 79 receptions, respectively. He wasn’t able to showcase much in 2020 as he only played three games before going down with an injury (ACL). But he had 15 touches in the two full games he played, which comes out to just over seven in each game, which isn’t drastically off from the pace he had in 2019. All of that to say is he likely would’ve had a similar output in 2020 had he played.

Fantasy Downside
After Cohen’s injury, David Montgomery proved he’s more than capable of being a receiving threat, finishing with 54 receptions. It seems highly probable that Cohen’s workload as a receiver diminishes from the 70+ receptions he had in the two seasons prior. Also, Cohen is coming back from an ACL tear, which is no small feat. He even started training camp on the PUP list due to the injury. There’s a lot of unknown with Cohen returning in 2021.

2021 Bottom Line
Cohen has been a fun option for PPR leagues due to his high volume of receptions, but he carries a lot of risk heading into this season. He’s returning from a major injury, Montgomery will likely eat more into his touches and he didn’t look that great in the three games he played last season. Cohen had just six receptions before his ACL tear, averaging a meager two receptions per game. We’re not expecting much from Cohen in 2021, placing him near RB60 in our rankings (half-PPR).

Sunday, July 18, 2021 - 10:46am
CHI RB Tarik Cohen - Week 3 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 3 at Atlanta Falcons

Tarik Cohen has been a disappointment through two weeks for Chicago. The PPR favorite has just three receptions off of three targets, and hasn't done much as a runner, either. Chicago has been mixing in Cordarrelle Patterson at running back, limiting Cohen's touches. Patterson has 11 carries on the season compared to Cohen's 12. Cohen still has some low-end flex play appeal this week against a Falcons defense that struggles against receiving backs.

Friday, September 25, 2020 - 11:30am
CHI RB Tarik Cohen - Week 2 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 2 vs. New York Giants

Tarik Cohen was a letdown in Week 1 as he finished with seven carries for 41 yards and just two receptions for six yards. Cohen was actually out-targeted (3-2) by David Montgomery, which would be a worrying trend for fantasy owners if that continues. Expect Cohen to be a little more involved in the passing game moving forward, making him a flex play in PPR formats. He gets a decent matchup against the Giants in Week 2.

Friday, September 18, 2020 - 12:53pm
CHI RB Tarik Cohen - Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 1 at Detroit Lions

Tarik Cohen could receive a big boost in Week 1 as David Montgomery is battling a groin injury. He was limited in practice on Wednesday, putting his game status in doubt. The Lions gave up the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing backs in 2019, including the third-most receiving yards to backs. Given Cohen's catching abilities, he should be in a great position for a decent game. Cohen is more of an RB3 play in standard leagues, but a solid RB2 play in PPR formats, assuming Montgomery is out. Cohen moves more to RB3 territory in PPR if Montgomery is active.

Update: Montgomery is expected to play today.

Friday, September 11, 2020 - 1:12pm
CHI RB Tarik Cohen - 2020 Fantasy Football Outlook

Fantasy Upside
Since 2000, only five running backs have finished with 200+ receptions in their first three seasons, and Tarik Cohen is one of them. He had a solid 79-catch season in 2019, which resulted in 4.9 receptions per game. He had 18.1% of his team’s targets last season, finishing with a total of 104. In three seasons, Cohen has not missed a game and has never finished lower than RB30 (PPR). His role essentially stays the same as he’ll be used out of the backfield as a pass-catching back.

Fantasy Downside
While Cohen had plenty of targets and receptions, his 5.8 ypc hit a career low. And he was barely a factor as a runner hitting career lows in carries (64) and yards (213). He also wasn’t much of a touchdown threat, scoring just three times. His 669 scrimmage yards placed him outside the top 100 out of all players. His lack of scoring and yards makes him unappealing in standard formats.

2020 Bottom Line
Tarik Cohen finished as the No. 44 back in standard leagues and No. 27 back in full PPR. That’s a statistical way of saying that you should really only be considering Cohen in half or full PPR leagues. We can expect similar production from Cohen in 2020, although his 104 targets might be tough to duplicate with new arrivals Jimmy Graham, Tedd Ginn and Cole Kmet in the mix. He’s a very hot-and-cold back, so you should draft him with the expectation of using him as a bye week filler as opposed to an every week starter.

Friday, July 17, 2020 - 9:33am
CHI RB Tarik Cohen - Week 17 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 17 at Minnesota Vikings

Tarik Cohen continues to offer very little when it comes to fantasy with just 33 scrimmage yards last week. He's averaging just 40 yards per game this season, but even that doesn't paint the full picture as he's finished below 40 yards in nine games. He's really only valuable in full PPR leagues as he has six games with 5+ receptions. He's not a strong play in Week 17, but he's not the worst flex option available. However, he does face a Vikings defense that's allowed the seventh-fewest receptions to running backs. He struggled against Minnesota earlier in the year with just 18 scrimmage yards.

Friday, December 27, 2019 - 5:25pm
CHI RB Tarik Cohen - Week 16 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 16 vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Tarik Cohen finished with 85 scrimmage last weeks as he did most of his damage as a receiver, going 7-57. Cohen isn't a big scoring threat, or much of a yardage threat, but he's had value in PPR leagues as a receiving back. He's averaged 5.8 receptions per game over his last five performances. He gets a favorable matchup this week against the Chiefs, who have allowed the second-most receiving yards to running backs this season. Cohen is a desperation flex play in standard leagues, but a valuable flex play in PPR formats in Week 16.

Friday, December 20, 2019 - 9:06pm
CHI RB Tarik Cohen - Week 15 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 15 at Green Bay Packers

Tarik Cohen had another Tarik Cohenesque game last week, finishing with very little yards, but a lot of receptions. He finished with seven yards on the ground, giving him eight games with 10 or fewer rushing yards. He went 6-24 as a receiver, which only really helps if you play in full PPR leagues. He's sixth among running backs in receptions this year, but 14th in receiving yards. He faces a Packers defense this week that he faced earlier in the season. In that game, he had no carries, but caught a season-high eight passes for 49 yards. Don't expect much from Cohen this week as he's a desperation flex play in PPR leagues and pretty much a non-factor in standard formats.

Friday, December 13, 2019 - 7:12pm
CHI RB Tarik Cohen - Week 14 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 14 vs. Dallas Cowboys

Tarik Cohen is seventh among running backs in receptions (54) but 18th in receiving yards per game (25.5). He's also been a pretty much non-factor as a runner, averaging just 12.5 yards. He's not a great touchdown threat either, scoring three times (all receptions) in 2019. He's basically a desperation flex play in PPR formats at this point. He does face a Dallas defense this week that's allowed the sixth-most receptions to running backs, so perhaps he has some value, but not much.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 - 1:03pm
CHI RB Tarik Cohen - Week 13 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 13 at Detroit Lions

Tarik Cohen has surprisingly led the Bears in rushing yards in back-to-back games, although that's not saying much as his rushing totals have been 39 and 25 yards, respectively. He did have a big game as a receiver last week, hauling in seven receptions for 29 yards. We've seen this a lot from Cohen in 2019 where he'll get a lot of catches, but finish with few yards. He gets a favorable matchup against the Lions this week. In his first game against Detroit this year, he finished 3-14 on the ground and 4-23-1 as a receiver. He should be viewed as an RB3 or flex play in Week 13.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019 - 1:07pm

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