Tag: Fantasy Football

Colts’ Jonathan Taylor listed among fantasy football sleepers by ESPN

Some ESPN analysts see Jonathan Taylor as a sleeper.

It isn’t often that a running back selected in the second round of the draft is considered a sleeper but for Indianapolis Colts’ draft pick Jonathan Taylor, there are some at ESPN who feel the label is appropriate.

Though a sleeper typically revolves around a player that most either don’t know about or simply aren’t giving enough attention to, Taylor was listed as a sleeper by ESPN’s Eric Karabell and Tom Carpenter.

Taylor’s average draft position doesn’t really make him a true sleeper in the eyes of fantasy football managers. He’s one of the most hyped rookies and if he can take over the backfield, he will far exceed his draft cost.

However, it all depends on how the split works between him and Marlon Mack. The Colts see the duo working together and complementing each other nicely in a backfield that will be working behind one of the best run-blocking offensive lines in the entire league.

But how much work Taylor will get remains to be seen. Since 2011, running backs drafted in the second round have seen an average of 125 carries in their rookie season.

Given the likely favorable game scripts and the Colts’ desire to run the football, Taylor should exceed that number by a strong amount.

But splitting the backfield and giving up passing game work will limit his upside unless Mack gets hurt or Taylor proves to be too good to take off the field.

Pair of Chargers tabbed as fantasy football busts

Will Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen and tight end Hunter Henry see a dip in production in 2020?

‘Tis the season to start preparing for fantasy football leagues as the 2020 regular season is right around the corner.

The Chargers have a few skill players that have helped fantasy owners in recent years. But is this the year where you should stay away from some of them? A few ESPN analysts believe so.

Four analysts, two for each, believe that wide receiver Keenan Allen and tight end Hunter Henry will fail to live up to their expectations in the upcoming season.

ESPN’s Mike Clay projected Allen to finish 2020 with 83 receptions for 978 yards and five touchdowns, which would be a regression in production from 2019.

Meanwhile, Henry is projected to finish with 54 receptions, 650 yards and four touchdowns. Those stats would slightly come up short from him surpassing last season’s numbers.

Studs in years prior, it’s easy to believe that Allen and Henry will see a dip in production. If Los Angeles adopts a run-heavy scheme, its unlikely that any of their pass-catchers will achieve numbers like they did when the pass was more emphasized.

There is a lot of uncertainty with the quarterback position, as Tyrod Taylor and Justin Herbert take over. Both Taylor and Herbert have questions as passers, which will have owners pause.

The bottom line is that both Allen and Henry will be fine options, but they might not offer the league-winning upside like they did in recent seasons.

PFF: Josh Allen has ‘legit QB1 upside’ for fantasy football

Josh Allen has ‘legit QB1 upside’ in fantasy football, according to Pro Football Focus’ Ian Hartitz.

It’s always the right time to gain some intel for the upcoming season of fantasy football. Pro Football Focus explored different questions for each team’s quarterback situation across the NFL and there’s plenty to consider for the Bills.

For Buffalo, PFF examined whether the inclusion of wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the team’s receiving corps can help quarterback Josh Allen reach “new heights” in his games.

Even with all of the knocks on Allen (accuracy, deep-ball accuracy, decision-making), it’s looking good for the Bills quarterback from a fantasy football perspective. But Allen’s advanced numbers were not stellar last year. He was 32nd (out of 35 qualified passers) in deep yards per attempt, 32nd in deep catchable rate, and 28th in deep QB rating.

PFF highlights that on their breakdown:

Allen was one of the league’s single-worst QBs when asked to throw deep in 2019. Obviously, Buffalo’s young signal-caller has the arm strength to make pretty much any throw, but consistently carving up defenses on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield was a major struggle throughout his second season.

The deep ball is to Allen what the three-point shot is to Russell Westbrook: a useful skill that they don’t possess yet insist on attempting at a high volume anyway.

PFF is not too flattering when addressing Allen, but did recognize the value that better receivers, John Brown and Cole Beasley, had on the quarterback last season. The analytics adds “it’s going to take a lot for Diggs to take Allen from a brutal to even average deep-ball passer.” Ouch.

But there’s still reason optimism, and that’s as expectedly come from Allen’s ability to run the ball:

With that said, Allen is still plenty worthy of his QB1 fantasy hype. He joined Jackson as the only QBs with at least 100 rush attempts in 2019. Allen is tied for eighth among all players with 17 rushing touchdowns since entering the league. You don’t have to think Allen is a good real-life QB, but 2019’s fantasy QB6 is again more than capable of putting up 18 fantasy points per week.

At 18 points per week? That’s something to accept as a fantasy football manager.

Even with the criticisms, Allen is listed as QB6 by PFF, only behind Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Dashaun Watson, and Kyler Murray.

There’s something to think about when planning your draft boards over the next few weeks.

 

[lawrence-related id=65461,65377,65319,65275]

ESPN fantasy football projection not kind to Bills WR Stefon Diggs

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs in ESPN fantasy football projections.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs was a solid option in fantasy football over his career with the Vikings. Now turning the page to the Buffalo Bills, things might not be so pretty, according to ESPN.

The world-wide leader has their projections out for the upcoming 2020 fantasy football season and Diggs doesn’t even rank as a No.1 wide receiver in those. The 26-year-old is outside the top-32 wide receiver rankings.

Overall, Diggs in listed at No. 35:

Diggs was traded to Buffalo during the offseason and will now operate as the Bills’ top target. The 26-year-old posted a trio of top-25 fantasy campaigns during his final three seasons in Minnesota, but now moves to a low-volume, run-first Buffalo offense led by the inefficient and scramble-heavy Josh Allen. That figures to lead to a decrease in production for Diggs, which is a concern considering he was only the WR24 last season — despite Kirk Cousins’ extremely efficient campaign and with Adam Thielen sidelined. Diggs, who has never appeared in all 16 games of a regular season, is likely to be over-drafted and is best viewed as only a WR3.

Unfortunately, you’d have to be extremely optimistic to consider Diggs a No.1 wide receiver in fantasy football offense until he proves it. In reality, he’s the clear-cut No.1 for Buffalo, but we all known fantasy football differs.

Allen hasn’t been a good deep-ball passer yet in his career, and Diggs will live off of such plays in terms of fantasy football value. It remains to be seen if he fixes that part of his play, but because of that, both Allen and Diggs could really become steals in fantasy football drafts in 2020. If not over-drafted as ESPN anticipates, keep Diggs and your radar. Saying he’s a No.3 wide receiver might be a little far-fetched, but he should be a solid No.2, just don’t take him with your first pick.

With Diggs’ 35-overall ranking in mind, who are among those ahead of him that could be considered… questionable? Ravens receiver Marquise Brown lands at No. 33 despite his mixed results in 2019, while both Bengals targets AJ Green and Tyler Boyd land at No. 30 and 31, respectively, despite a rookie in Joe Burrow tossing them passes. The Redskins’ Terry McLaurin is very talented in his own right, but his suspect QB play might may him an ambitious choice for the No. 21 overall slot.

 

[lawrence-related id=65455,65448,65377,65275]

Bills’ Josh Allen a ‘high-floor’ fantasy football option

Buffalo Bills Josh Allen is named to Pro Football Focus list for high-floor fantasy football options.

With 2020 NFL training camps approaching, we’re ready for some true football to enter our lives once again. It might look a little different in 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but there’s one aspect of football that even that unfortunate situation cannot harm. Fantasy football.

Heading into 2020, the Buffalo Bills look a little different in terms of fantasy football. Their offense finally has a guy that has many drooling on their keyboards putting their fantasy rosters together.

The one guy that continues to get praise for his fantasy football prowess is quarterback Josh Allen. The dual-threat playmaker continued to get more of it this week, even from Pro Football Focus.

Naming 10 players with a “high-floor” in terms of their value, Allen listed at No.5 overall in this list. Here’s the PFF breakdown on Allen:

In fantasy football, Allen is a fairly consistent performer thanks to his legs. Not counting his Week 17 exit for rest reasons, Allen scored more than 14 points in 13 of his 15 games — eight of which went for over 20 points.

Allen’s rushing forte and the addition of Stefon Diggs to the offense should maintain his fantasy floor for the 2020 season. Some cite his scrambling as an issue that may need to be fixed to be a successful NFL quarterback. This is a fair concern, but with Diggs stretching the field with his 15.6 aDOT, Allen will likely see more opportunities to run the ball.

With another playmaker at his disposal, there’s no reason to believe Allen won’t have a successful 2020 in terms of fantasy football. His ability to get into the end zone with his feet really helps his value. The Bills appreciate that on the field too, but the Diggs addition is going to be most intriguing and the jury is still out. Does Diggs’ deep-threat abilities help Allen’s deep ball?

The quarterback has to prove this scenario to be true on the field during the upcoming season. Recent wide receiver rankings prove that as well. Diggs, undoubtedly a No.1 wide receiver talent, only ranked as the 35th best wide receiver for fantasy football recently by ESPN, despite his actual talents.

 

[lawrence-related id=65377,65429,65406,65275

What is the big question regarding Kirk Cousins’ 2020 fantasy season?

Chances are Cousins won’t have a top-10 fantasy season, but in a multiple quarterback league, he’s certainly worth a roster spot.

If Kirk Cousins is your starting fantasy football quarterback, I’ve got some questions about your team.

Even so, Cousins isn’t a bad option for a backup or a spot starter. Last season, Cousins ranked as the league’s 14th-best quarterback in standard fantasy leagues.

Ian Hartitz over at Pro Football Focus asked a question for every NFL starting quarterback in the league regarding the 2020 fantasy football season.

For Cousins, Hartitz asks if he can provide a fantasy ceiling.

Here’s a bit of what Hartitz wrote about Cousins:

Last season produced the best version of Cousins yet in terms of efficiency; it’s just tough to expect him to have the sort of volume to turn that goodness into consistent fantasy production.

Hartitz has Cousins ranked as his 22nd quarterback with ‘a feeble floor/ceiling combination.’

I’m interested to see how Cousins performs without Stefon Diggs in the lineup. Chances are Cousins won’t have a top-10 fantasy season, but in a multiple quarterback league, he’s certainly worth a roster spot. In a traditional league, Cousins probably isn’t worth a roster spot, but you could do a lot worse for a spot starter.

PFF names Justin Jefferson as late-round WR to target in fantasy

The Vikings rookie wide receiver should get plenty of targets with Stefon Diggs out of town.

When you get late into a fantasy football draft, drafters throw a lot of Hail Marys.

One player Jesse Reeves over at Pro Football Focus says you should keep an eye on in the late rounds of your fantasy football draft is Vikings rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson, one of the team’s two first-round picks this season, will get plenty of opportunities with Stefon Diggs now in Buffalo.

Here’s a bit of what Reeves wrote about Jefferson:

This may seem bold on the surface, but Jefferson is absolutely a guy you want to target late in your draft, even in redraft format. Don’t sleep on the impact of a rookie wide receiver — Jefferson is walking into Minnesota coming off a prolific season that saw him rank No. 3 in receiving yards, No. 9 in targets and No. 2 in touchdowns among all NCAA wide receivers.

Jefferson is especially attractive in a redraft league, but he’s very much a player who could see a big amount of targets in Minnesota as the team’s No. 2 wide receiver behind Adam Thielen. The fact that there are so many highly-touted rookie receivers might have Jefferson falling to a point in the draft where you have no choice but to take a flier on him.

You can check out Reeves’ full list of late-round receivers to watch here.

2 Vikings in top-20 of PPR fantasy rankings for 2020

There are four total players for the Vikings on this list.

In the next two months, there’s a good chance you’ll be having your fantasy football draft for the 2020 season.

Ian Hartitz over at Pro Football Focus released his top-150 list earlier this week and two Vikings appear in the top-20.

At No. 5 is running back Dalvin Cook, who is also a holdout candidate, so keep an eye on that.

Coming in at No. 18 is wide receiver Adam Thielen, who had an injury-plagued 2019 season, but combined for 204 catches, 2,649 yards and 13 touchdowns in the two seasons prior.

We go down the list a bit before we find our next Viking. Backup running back Alexander Mattison, who is a great handcuff to Cook, ranks 108th. Rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who should get the opportunities Stefon Diggs left behind, ranks 131st.

It is worth noting that former Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater appears on the list (141), but Kirk Cousins does not.

You can check out the full list here.

Updated fantasy football tiered QB rankings

Cam Newton updated into the rankings.

The month of July is here, which means fantasy football managers are preparing for their drafts. Assuming we have football, the next few months will be vital in preparation as the league faces an unprecedented season.

There have already been a few moves to shake up the outlook for certain players in fantasy football. The latest came in the form of the New England Patriots signing Cam Newton to a one-year deal. Though he will have to compete for the starting job, he should take over pretty easily as long as his injuries haven’t hindered his game.

With that new information—and assuming Cam takes the starting role from Jarrett Stidham—here’s a look at my updated quarterback rankings in fantasy football:

[protected-iframe id=”39452c6ce7699b0b90ef37a240a70e72-105974722-107367882″ info=”//cdn.fantasypros.com/js/fp-widget-2.0.js” ]

A few changes from the last time I published my rankings:

  • Patrick Mahomes takes over the top spot from Lamar Jackson, though they are separated by .3 points in four-point scoring projections.
  • Newton comes in at QB14 for now. His upside is tremendous if he can take the starting role right away. However, there will be a concern with the coronavirus keeping him from the field with his teammates. It’s better to temper expectations given the restrictions around the league right now, especially when it comes to a quarterback joining a new team.
  • Baker Mayfield moved up a few spots after tweaking the Browns projections this week.

News: Jadeveon Clowney targeting Cowboys, Blake Jarwin a sleeper?

Jadeveon Clowney has his eye on Dallas. Ezekiel Elliott being sued. Blake Jarwin’s value is rising. Dak Prescott’s contract value high.

The topic of conversation over the last few days for the Dallas Cowboys has been All-Pro safety Jamal Adams and who media members and fans would give up in a trade to acquire him. That all shifted today when reports of top free agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was said to have had his eye on just a few teams to finally sign with, one of them being the Cowboys.

Adding a top-tier edge rusher would definitely benefit this year’s team, but once again, money seems to always be the overriding issue. Could Dallas afford him? The Cowboys will be making more moves as the summer grows long. One thing to keep an eye on, however, is the long-term extension of the recently franchise tagged Dak Prescott, who has been mentioned as one of the more valuable contracts waiting to get done. The team’s star running back is also back in the news for all the wrong reasons, but it likely won’t be labeled as detrimental as issues of the past. And Blake Jarwin finds himself in fantasy football talks? All this and much more in today’s Cowboys news.

Report: Dallas Cowboys are one of two teams on top of free agent DE Jadeveon Clowney’s preferred list :: Blogging the Boys

PFN’s Tony Pauline reports that the former Texans and Seahawks pass rusher has mentioned Dallas and New Orleans at the top of his wish list when forecasting his 2020 roster spot. RJ Ochoa digs into whether the Cowboys can afford him… and perhaps more important, whether they even need him.

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott faces lawsuit over dog attack :: Cowboys Wire

The star Cowboys running back is in the news today, and it has nothing to do with COVID-19. Ezekiel Elliott is being sued after his dogs allegedly attacked a worker at Elliott’s home.

Mahomes, Prescott among those who most deserve new contracts :: NFL.com

Echoing what most Cowboys fans have been screaming for, the network’s analytics expert Cynthia Frelund uses “win-share model results and forward-looking projections to estimate future win impact” and says Dak Prescott, who she calls “crucial to the Cowboys’ success,” is the third-most urgent deal waiting to get done leaguewide.

Film room: 3 free agents who could still improve the Cowboys’ roster, including this immovable object at nose tackle :: Dallas Morning News

John Owning goes shopping to stock the shelves in Dallas. He comes away with wide receiver Taylor Gabriel, who he calls “basically a more productive version of Tavon Austin,” edge rusher Cam Wake to perhaps platoon with Aldon Smith and Bradlee Anae opposite DeMarcus Lawrence, and Damon ‘Snacks’ Harrison, the aforementioned immovable object “who can absorb double-teams to keep his linebackers clean, defeat single blocks and make plays around or behind the line of scrimmage.”

Building the best NFL team money can buy under the 2020 salary cap :: NFL.com

In this interesting hypothetical bang-for-the-buck exercise, media researcher Anthony Holzman-Escareno crunches both stats and salaries. La’el Collins makes his squad’s starting lineup at right tackle, while Joe Looney, Gerald McCoy, Anthony Brown, and Xavier Woods are all on the 53-man roster as backups.

Is Blake Jarwin a deep sleeper to target on the loaded Dallas Cowboys offense? :: Yahoo Sports

With the NFL season set to start in just a few months, it’s also time to dive deep into fantasy football. Blake Jarwin could be a late-round player to benefit greatly from a stacked 2020 Dallas Cowboys offense.

High expectations, unyielding family demands couldn’t stop Cowboys Tyron Smith from greatness :: Cowboys Wire

One of the best offensive tackles in football is showcased this ongoing countdown to the start of the season. Take a look back at Smith’s early years, his rise to the top rankings at his position, his setbacks, and his outlook as the man responsible for protecting Dak Prescott’s blind side.

Rank ‘Em: The Cowboys’ 8 all-time franchise tags :: The Mothership

The franchise tag has been a pivotal tool for the Cowboys over the years. The team website ranks the top 8 franchise tags of all time. You’ll find the obvious and most recent ones towards the front of the list: Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Dez Bryant. But a few forgotten names mentioned go to show how this tag has evolved over time (and how much better the Cowboys are now as a team).

New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins on coronavirus risk: Football ‘nonessential’ :: ESPN

The 12-year veteran and NFLPA executive committee member told CNN this week that the risk surrounding COVID-19 “has to really be eliminated” before he would be comfortable returning to play. There are no doubt plenty of other players who feel the same, even as the league tells teams to open their 2020 training camps on time.

[vertical-gallery id=649076]

[vertical-gallery id=646270]

[vertical-gallery id=645744]

[lawrence-newsletter]