New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman will be 34-years-old by the start of the 2020 NFL season. He’ll also be without his best friend and longtime teammate, Tom Brady.
With these factors in consideration, it’s difficult to believe he’ll put together a fantasy football season like last year. Edelman finished off the year with 100 receptions, 1,117 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He ended the campaign as a top-five receiver in routes, targets, receptions and OTD (opportunity-adjusted touchdowns).
Edelman ranked the highest in his career as the seventh-best fantasy receiver last season. But, those numbers will be extremely difficult to replicate with Jarrett Stidham at the helm. Brady had very little help last season and relied on Edelman to move the chains and essentially run the offense in a two-man game.
The 2020 season will look much different.
ADP on Fantasy Pros: #81
Where we think you should take him: Seventh round
ESPN’s projected stats: 79 receptions, 918 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns
Our projected stats: 75 receptions, 800 receiving yards, seven receiving touchdowns
If Brady were under center next season, it’d be much easier to project Edelman as a WR2. That’s not the case and he’ll likely be a WR3 with limited upside. There’s very minimal fantasy appeal with any of the Patriots’ other receivers and defenses will swarm Edelman — knowing he’s been the team’s security blanket for the past decade.
New England’s offensive approach will likely shift to a run-heavy scheme that relies on strong defense. The Patriots drafted three interior lineman and two tight ends, giving them enough blocking to pound the rock with the four capable running backs who are rostered. Edelman will still get his touches, but they’ll come in limited fashion.
If anyone does see 100 or more targets this season, it’ll be Edelman. He has the best fantasy outlook for a receiver on the team and shouldn’t get pushed past the tenth round — he just won’t produce numbers like 2019.
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