March 2020 Fantasy Football Thoughts
I just finished reading an excellent and very informative article by Matthew Berry called 20(ish) Things I learned at the NFL Combine. I would highly recommend you check it out.
Matthew went down to Indianapolis and talked to NFL GMs, coaches, and scouts. Here’s my take on some of the players he mentioned for next year.
Aaron Jones is the most explosive RB Green Bay has, but the Packers don’t think he’ll hold up under a full workload. Expect Jamaal Williams to continue to split the carries. Also, expecting Jones to repeat his lofty TDs totals seems unrealistic. He’s a sell for me at his most likely higher 2020 ADP.
Speaking of the Packers- they may state they like Allen Lazard, but keep on eye on Henry Ruggs III on draft day. One of the biggest things missing from their offense is speed. Ruggs provides it in bunches. He makes the most sense given his ability to stretch the field and the fact that Packers WRs and TEs have a hard time creating separation. Adding Ruggs would force safeties to stay back and open things up for the entire offense.
The Redskins might publicly state they like Bryce Love, but at 5’8” 200 lbs it’s hard to imagine him holding up with a full workload. The guy with the most potential in my opinion is still Derrius Guice. He showed flashes of stardom before getting hurt. However, if Washington trades for Cam Newton all bets are off. Cam would vulture a lot of Guice’s TDs at the goal line.
Coming out of college, scouts compared NY Giants TE Evan Engram to Jordan Reed. Unfortunately, that’s become a great comparison in more ways than one. While talent wise Engram has star potential, his inability to stay on the field is eerily similar to Reed who recently was forced to retire. If Engram could ever stay healthy he could have a monster season, but that’s a big question mark even if he gets traded to a better team.
Josh Jacobs should be in for a better year in 2020. It usually takes rookies a year to learn the playbook. While most RBs know how to run- it’s the pass blocking that keeps them off the field. Jacobs should be a bigger factor on 3rd downs making him, potentially, a rare 3 down workhorse back in 2020. There aren’t many of those people. He could be very undervalued on draft day.
More RBs news- anyone who listened to me knew I was all out on Todd Gurley as a 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd rd pick last June. The warning sirens about his knees were blaring loud and clear. The Rams’ offensive line was a disaster like I feared. What I didn’t get right was the Rams lack of interest in using rookie Darrell Henderson, who they traded up to select in the draft. I still believe in Henderson’s talent. I mean they’ve got to use him eventually…right??? Well I’m going down with the ship again…iceberg…what iceberg? Haha! He’s really explosive and worth a late round dart throw in my opinion - especially if Gurley goes down. #FreeDarrellHenderson.
Trayveon Williams was a RB Matthew mentioned to keep an eye on in Cincinnati. Obviously we all know it’s Joe Mixon’s show, but injuries happen. Matthew might be right, but the guy I like better is backup RB Rodney Anderson. Anderson was a star RB at Oklahoma. He had a 1st round grade by scouts until injuring his knee in 2018. After a good training camp in his rookie season Anderson once again injured that same knee. Fortunately, it was early in the season giving him more time to recover for 2020. He’s 224 lbs and can catch the ball out of the backfield. He showed flashes of stardom last year prior to getting hurt. Keep an eye on Rodney Anderson in training camp.
Two more players Matthew mentioned are guys I was really high on in 2019. In fact, I liked them so much I took them last year in the Scott Fish Bowl #SFB9. The first is WR Parris Campbell. Unfortunately, Campbell’s season never materialized like I hoped. First, Andrew Luck announced his shocking retirement. Thanks Andrew! It’s always great to lose your top QB in a superflex league- ugh! But I digress where was I? Oh yeah Parris Campbell. Then injuries sidelined Campbell for the bulk of the season. The loss of Luck tempers my enthusiasm for Campbell somewhat in 2020. No disrespect to Jacoby Brissett, but Luck was one of the NFL’s elite QBs. I still love Campbell’s talent. His size and speed could turn him into a star if the Colts get better production out of their QB. That’s the million dollar question.
The second guy I liked as a longshot sleeper was Houston TE Jordan Akins. Akins is a matchup problem for defenders. He’s too big for DBs and too fast for LBs. I expected more out of him in 2019, but Darren Fells stole a lot of TDs from Akins ruining my plan. If Fells leaves Houston, it could open the door for Akins to shine. Remember, the Texans secondary was torched by Kansas City and is a major weakness. That will force DeShaun Watson to pass more often and Akins could be one of the beneficiaries from those Texans shootouts.