Vita Vea – 2021 Dynasty IDP #5 Defensive Tackle
#50 Vita Vea, TB
bio:
Dynasty IDP Vita Vea is IDPE’s #5 dynasty Defensive Tackle in 2021. Tampa Bay Nose Tackle (NT) drafted in the 1st round (#12 overall) out of Washington in the 2018 draft. Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
attributes:
A massive, space eating 5th year nose tackle. He has elite size and great athleticism for his frame. Vea has an elite College Prospect Score (CPS).
| Age* | Height | Weight | 40 | Bench | CPS |
| 26.6 | 6’4″ | 347 | 5.10 | 41 | 9.0 |
player grades:
Vea graded out as the #4 interior defender out of 125 qualified player in his 3rd year, per PFF.com. He graded out as the #4 pass rusher and #13 run defender in 2020. He has improved each year in the league.
| Year | Overall | Run Defense | Pass Rush |
| 2018 | 73.2 | 69.2 | 75.4 |
| 2019 | 78.7 | 73.8 | 77.7 |
| 2020 | 90.1 | 77.3 | 90.3 |
injury:
Missed 11 games in 2020 due to an ankle fracture.
tackles:
Vea has broken 40 combined tackles only once in his career (adjusted for injury). Therefore, he has a relatively low floor in fantasy.
| Year | SOLO | AST | COMBINED | A4I* |
| 2018 | 21 | 7 | 28 | 43 |
| 2019 | 19 | 16 | 35 | 35 |
| 2020 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 32 |
big plays:
He is one of the best real life pass rushers at a nose tackle position, but it hasn’t translated to the stat sheet. Vea has elite upside in real life, but up to this point he has shown limited upside in fantasy.
| Year | SACK | STF | INT | PD | FF | FR |
| 2018 | 3.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2.5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
contract:
Vea is still playing on his rookie contract. Tampa Bay has a 5th year option available, making him an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
summary:
Dynasty IDP Vita Vea is nearing elite status in real life, but his success on the field has not translated to fantasy (low floor, low ceiling). He showed some signs of life (6 sacks, 9 stuffs, adjusted for injury) in 2020 before breaking his ankle, so there is some potential for a jump in his 4th year.
As long as Tampa Bay is getting strong edge play from Shaq Barrett and JPP, expect them to continue to use Vea as a space eater, which will limit his fantasy production. It’s hard to imagine him breaking the top 10 fantasy DTs in 2021. If his production doesn’t take a step forward in 2021, his dynasty stock should start to tumble.
