As we gear
up for the offseason, taking an early review of how the top performers stacked
up this season will be a valuable tool in dissecting placement in 2020.
The interesting
fact is that the NFL is a passing league, but only one receiver was able to overtake
the coveted 300-point mark for the position. This again goes to the point in
finding the best worth from your players and wide receivers to value return
could be the most important in all of fantasy football. Let’s dive into this year’s
class of top point getters and those who missed the bell.
2019 Top 10 Fantasy Football Wide Receivers
Michael Thomas (NO)
2019 Points: 366.9 | 2018 Points: 307.6 |
Net Gain/Loss: +59.3 (Rank 1)
Seeing what
transpired with the Saints Michael Thomas in 2019 was absolutely astonishing.
With his ADP entering the fantasy season was still projected in the first round
to early second, Thomas obliterated the record books giving more than enough
for return on investment. When all was said and done, Thomas broke Marvin
Harrison’s single season reception record – a record I thought would stand for
100 years. Thomas was by far the best receiver in fantasy football clearing the
next man up by nearly 100 points – insanely impressive.
When we look
to the future and wonder what 2020 has in store, Thomas should see regression
to these statistics simply due in part that the celling may have been hit.
Adding to that, the future of Drew Brees is once again in question which would
alter the offensive pedigree of this team. Nevertheless, Thomas is an elite
player in this league and should continue to pile up points no matter who
throws him the ball.
Chris Godwin (TB)
2019 Points: 276.1 | 2018 Points: 155.8 |
Net Gain/Loss: +120.3 (Rank 2)
Going back
to the 2019 offseason, many in the industry had high hopes that the Buccaneers
Chris Godwin would explode – and that he did. While expectations rose and
stopped on a very high level, no one could’ve predicted the number two overall
placement. When Bruce Arians took over as the head coach, it was clear there
would be more dedication to throwing the ball. In turn, the Bucs were a league
leader in that category feeding the plethora of receivers on this roster.
Looking
ahead to what could happen in 2020, the largest asterisk at this point is what
to do with Jameis Winston? While the success was seen on that stat sheet,
Winston’s turnovers failed the club and left the only winners to be in the
fantasy world with Godwin. This offseason will be very important for this young
receiving talent, as it will be contingent oh who is throwing the ball in Tampa
Bay.
DeAndre Hopkins (HOU)
2019 Points: 269.5 | 2018 Points: 306.8 |
Net Gain/Loss: -37.3 (Rank 3)
The Houston
Texans have somewhat turned a corner in their progression, but haven’t put it
all together. Looking to have become more balanced for the entire season, spreading
the ball around was part of that mantra. With that subtle change, Hopkins
witnessed a downgrade in his numbers which fell short of his career bests from
a season ago. Typically seeing the loss of nearly 40 total points isn’t the end
of the world, but in Hopkins case it’s not ideal. For what it took to secure
his services, the line wasn’t met as weekly matches left you wanting and
needing more.
When it
comes to the prospects of what to expect for next season, the Texans chose to
remain the course of continuity keeping head coach Bill O’Brien for yet another
campaign. While this isn’t the worst scenario for the team, an upgrade could’ve
been what the doctor ordered in Houston. The offense will surly add high end
players which could help this offense be more explosive. D-Hop will still be a
top commodity in 2020.
Julio Jones (ATL)
2019 Points: 259.3 | 2018 Points: 297.0 |
Net Gain/Loss: -37.7 (Rank 4)
While our
support for the great Julio Jones has never wavered, we still have issue with
his usage on this Falcons club. Seeing a sharp decline in target share, it
resulted in Jones not reaching the 100 reception mark. Adding to that, the lack
of touchdown production (which has plagued his entire career) was frustrating once
again. Securing only six endzone trips is and has been the difference in being
ranked as the top pass catcher in the league year-after-year.
At this
point entering his 10th NFL season, how much longer can we expect
Jones to keep up this savvy pace? His yardage totals have always been near the
top in every season played, but at some point the drop off will occur. Atlanta
continues to believe they are built to compete with the best in the business,
but the roster as a whole requires refinement. Jones in our eyes will again be
a sound top flight receiver in 2020, but beware the dreaded cliff fall in the
near future.
Julian Edelman (NE)
2019 Points: 250.7 | 2018 Points: 187.1 |
Net Gain/Loss: +63.6 (Rank 5)
It wasn’t a
massive shock to believe the Patriots Julian Edelman would grace top end
statistics this season due in part to the lack of receiving talent on the team.
New England lost the services of Rob Gronkowski to retirement and didn’t have
enough time to reload the offense. With an aging Tom Brady looking like shades
of his former self, the constant once again became Edelman over the middle.
More impressive than the 250 points scored, was the return your fantasy team
would’ve seen based on his ADP.
Moving
forward, the Patriots look to be in transition and could be without the great
Tom Brady (free agent). Everything could change in how this offense is run this
upcoming season, and will be worth watching to appropriately assign value on
Edelman.
Cooper Kupp (LAR)
2019 Points: 247.6 | 2018 Points: 135.1 |
Net Gain/Loss: +112.5 (Rank 6)
Heading into
the 2019 season and coming off an ACL injury late the year prior, many believed
a slow rebound would be the outcome for the Rams Cooper Kupp. Proving all his
doubters wrong, Kupp recovered extremely quick and picked up where he left off
as the top target in this offense. With the Rams taking a sidestep overall on
offense this past season, Kupp remained the steady piece and trusted source.
The Rams could never find their ground game which made them so prolific in the
past, and it was felt all year long. Kupp still managed to suit up for all
16-games and secured career highs in all major categories.
With that
said, when we view the potential this Rams club could have in the new season
and where Kupp will slot in, the perspective is again very high. L.A. will have
a great deal of work to do in terms of their salary cap which could see them
release Robert Woods from the roster. Having their tight ends take a leap
forward, we could see a transition to Kupp and Higbee being the top pieces in
this pass game. Either way, the value is still very high for Cooper Kupp.
Allen Robinson (CHI)
2019 Points: 238.6 | 2018 Points: 153.3 |
Net Gain/Loss: +85.3 (Rank 7)
There
weren’t many positives to sing when we look back at what the Chicago Bears were
able to accomplish on offense in 2019. The one glory which we preached going
back to training camp was the ability of Allen Robinson to take the next step
in the pass game. While Coach Matt Nagy looks to be a complete mess calling
plays with Mitchell Trubisky throwing the ball, Robinson made the most of work
to come his way. Seeing a career high in targets, Robinson was able to get back
over the 1000-yard mark for the first time since 2015.
While we
still love the potential for Robinson to elevate his game further, we have
little confidence in the Bears offense as a whole. If Chicago could fix the
inadequacy, Robinson will be a massive steal in again in 2020.
Keenan Allen (LAC)
2019 Points: 238.3 | 2018 Points: 249.7 |
Net Gain/Loss: -11.4 (Rank 8)
Over the
years, no one can argue what the Chargers Keenan Allen has been able to
produce. Over the past three seasons, Allen has basically mirrored his
production to make claim for having a very high level of consistency since his
knee injury. Over the course of those three seasons, Allen has managed to haul
in a healthy 303 receptions and climbing well over 1100-yards to boot. While
hovering around 240-260 fantasy points has become the expectation, this could
spell the end of a great thing.
Like others
in the league looking to improve, the Chargers have already voiced that they
intend to move on from Philip Rivers on this offense. With any change of the
guard, chemistry will be a problem depending on talent from the quarterback to
his receivers. Depending on which way the Chargers move, Allen could see a down
season in 2020.
Kenny Golladay (DET)
2019 Points: 237.8 | 2018 Points: 207.1 |
Net Gain/Loss: +30.7 (Rank 9)
As the
Detroit Lions took a complete nose dive in 2018 under Coach Matt Patricia, the
rebound was seen with skepticism from the masses. For our appetite, we have
always viewed Kenny Golladay as a potential premier pass catcher in this
league, and the surface was merely scratched. Placing high grades on what could
come to pass with Golladay in 2019, he surly didn’t disappoint. With Matthew
Stafford playing some of his best ball, his season was lost to injury which
dropped the overall point prospective for Golladay.
With that
said, reaching the top 10 for production is a massive win here, as the rotating
options at quarterback did Golladay no favors. If Stafford can come back to
health and lead this offense once again, we are enthralled with the
possibilities earning great value once more.
Amari Cooper (DAL)
2019 Points: 232.7 | 2018 Points: 209.3 |
Net Gain/Loss: +23.4 (Rank 10)
Having a
full offseason with the Cowboys after the trade which sent Amari Cooper to
Dallas, the expectations rose for mammoth production in 2019. While Dallas did
see many aspects of improvement on the offensive side, Cooper overall wasn’t
worth the price of admission with high levels of consistency. While yes, his
numbers got back to respectable levels over 1100-yards and eight touchdowns,
injuries forced Dallas to use Cooper as a decoy on more than one occasion. The
emergence of Michael Gallup showed the full blown reliance on Cooper wasn’t
fully needed, hence the 10th rank for the year.
Clearly his
season was a success by all accounts, but the future of Dallas and Cooper have
us intrigued. With a coaching change to bring in Mike McCarthy to run the ship,
we could see this offense continue down the path of being pass happy. Even with
that, Dallas needs to find dollars under the cap to resign Cooper as he’s ready
to hit the open market. Entertainment will come from Big-D this offseason.
2019 Top 5 Failed Value Wide Receivers
Davante Adams (GB)
2019 Points: 190.4 | 2018 Points: 329.6 |
Net Gain/Loss: -139.2 (Rank 1)
While many
times a pass could be given to those players who endured injures to derail their
seasons, we must remain on path and unbiased. For what it would’ve taken to
draft the Packers Davante Adams in your fantasy draft, the return was a massive
failure which probably crippled your club. Nevertheless, upon his return to
action, Adams was able to at least save face and assist in the most important
times, if you made the fantasy playoffs that is.
Simply put
in looking ahead, Green Bay needs to focus on bringing more talent to the club
at the receiver position. Adams has been doing this alone for far too long, and
requires a teammate to pull coverage from his side. Either way, his prospects
will again be high in 2020.
Juju Smith-Schuster (PIT)
2019 Points: 110.6 | 2018 Points: 282.2 |
Net Gain/Loss: -171.6 (Rank 2)
Going back
to the start of the 2019 offseason, we couldn’t fathom how so many believed
Juju Smith-Schuster would not only repeat his numbers, but over take them this
season. It’s not that we don’t believe that Juju has talent, but the simple
fact that Antonio Brown was no longer with the club was our greatest concern.
Brown did a number of things to help free Juju all over the field, and beside
the fact he was injured and his starting quarterback barley saw the field, we
couldn’t envision a great success here.
All-in-all, Smith-Schuster
truly needs assistance to help become a difference maker for this club. If Ben
Roethlisberger does return to the field in 2020, the obvious uptick for
Smith-Schuster will be there, but we still question if the elite numbers will
follow.
Adam Thielen (MIN)
2019 Points: 114.4 | 2018 Points: 300.6 |
Net Gain/Loss: -186.2 (Rank 3)
Here we find
yet another receiving talent that lost points to missing time on the field.
Adam Thielen did start the year on a high note looking to pick up where he left
off. Unfortunately, an injured hamstring removed all promise to what should’ve
been a fabulous season. Even upon his return to the field, it was seen that he
wasn’t near 100% healthy and couldn’t provide that magic from the season prior.
Losing nearly 200-points was felt like a stab to the chest for all his owners
leaving nothing positive to review.
Moving ahead
to what the prospects could be in 2020, we could see something of a rebound
baring injuries of course. Will we again witness the triumph of a 300-point
campaign, maybe not, but the drop in ADP will provide great value.
Odell Beckham Jr (CLE)
2019 Points: 184.2 | 2018 Points: 230.4 |
Net Gain/Loss: -46.2 (Rank 4)
When the
Giants shipped Odell Beckham to the Cleveland Browns, we couldn’t find one
analyst who didn’t believe this would be a match made in heaven. And while we
did agree the potential would be grand, we mentioned on more than one occasion
to stay away from Beckham and take teammate Jarvis Landry instead. And while
our prediction was on point to see Landry secure almost 40 points more than
Beckham, the overall for both receivers could be seen as a miss. Our issue
stemmed from Baker Mayfield not being able to support all the talent this
offense held, and again that came to pass.
With pain,
could come pleasure in 2020 for the Browns, as they have again cleaned house
with a new coaching staff and front office. With a more experienced play caller
now running the show, could we see improvement – we’d have to think so.
Brandin Cooks (LAR)
2019 Points: 110.5 | 2018 Points: 220.0 |
Net Gain/Loss: -109.5 (Rank 5)
Perhaps one
of the largest regressions and disappointments this season from the position
came from the Rams Brandin Cooks. Even though the year began with many
positives, Cooks again found himself in the medical room dealing with more
concussion issues which may have been the contributing factor in his terrible
output. Finding himself to be a complete after thought in the offensive game
plans, Cooks became droppable by all accounts which was astonishing.
At this
point it’s very difficult to predict what could be for Cooks and the Rams, but
his contract makes it very difficult for L.A. to cut and move on. Still being a
deep threat with fabulous speed, Cooks will be hard to trust in the new
year.
2020 High Potential Wide Receivers
AJ Brown (TEN)
2019 Points: 194.7 | 2018 Points: N/A | Net
Gain/Loss: +194.7
When we
begin to review the potential of players for the upcoming season, it’s tough
not to preach the play of rookies coming into their own. When AJ Brown was selected
by the Titans on draft day a collective gasp filled the room knowing Marcus
Mariota couldn’t support the talent. When Ryan Tannehill was promoted to the
position, we all became witness to what he could become.
Everything
for the future of Brown will be contingent on Tannehill and Derrick Henry being
resigned to the club. If they move forward with the talent they have, a star
rising could come to pass. Based on ability alone, Brown is a high flyer.
2020
Projected Points: 220-240
DeVante Parker (MIA)
2019 Points: 224.5 | 2018 Points: 60.9 |
Net Gain/Loss: -163.6
Can it be
true that we have the Dolphins DeVante Parker listed as a high potential performer
for 2020? We too needed to double take this opinion but are forced to take the
bait. Parker who was coined as the training camp super star, could never put it
all on the field to produce for his owners. With Ryan Fitzpatrick and his unconscious
ability to just sling the ball, Parker found new ways in finding success.
Heading into
2020, the Dolphins wasted no time in locking up Parker to a contract extension
for what he was able to achieve last season. While we still remain on the cautious
side of things for Parker, his value to ADP could be intriguing.
2020
Projected Points: 190-230
Terry McLaurin (WAS)
2019 Points: 191.9 | 2018 Points: N/A | Net
Gain/Loss: +191.9
One of our favorite
players to come out of last year’s NFL Draft, Terry McLaurin flashed his ability
early and often while most scouts and fantasy players overlooked him. The
pre-draft knock on McLaurin was his lack of statistics in college, but that shouldn’t
have told the tale. Filled with speed, agility, and route running precision,
McLaurin became a valuable piece to the Redskins.
When we
dissect what could happen in 2020, our mouth continues to water as Washington
is in a full blown youth movement that could take the NFL by storm sooner
rather than later. McLaurin will rise up boards this summer, but value to draft
placement is still important to watch.
2020
Projected Points: 230-250
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