Fantasy Football Team Previews 2020: Washington Football Team
Must Own = Top 120
Value = 121-170
Deep Sleeper = 171 or later
All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros
Must Own:
Terry McLaurin, WR (ADP: 64): McLaurin was one of the most impressive receivers in football last year, and I’m not just talking about rookies. He finished 2019 with 58 receptions and 919 yards along with seven touchdowns, and he did so with one of the worst QB crews in the NFL (Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, Colt McCoy). This season, McLaurin is entering as the undisputed top pass-catching option for the Football Team. The problem is, there is a serious dearth of talent around him, so he’s likely to draw a ton of attention and every opponent’s top CB. On top of that, he’ll still be catching passes from Haskins, who could improve, but was one of the worst passers in football as a rookie. Volume alone will make McLaurin a strong WR2, and he has talent for days, but his situation is such that his ceiling is lowered until they can get him some help in Washington.
Derrius Guice, RB (ADP: 78): Guice is one of my favorite values this year because I believe so much in the talent. A second round pick in 2018, Guice has only played in five NFL games. Durability is more than a concern for him; we have absolutely no reason to trust Guice as a bedrock of our fantasy teams. With that said, he has a three-down skillset, and Washington didn’t do anything to threaten his workload. Pass-catching back Chris Thompson is gone, and Guice just has to stay in front of Adrian Peterson and Bryce Love. In Guice’s five games last year, he averaged a ridiculous 5.8 yards per carry and scored three total touchdowns. He also caught seven of nine targets for 79 yards, and will be very involved on passing downs even if he cedes some early work to Peterson. Due to his lack of workload in the past, Guice isn’t likely to start seeing 20+ touches a week like other bell cow backs. But he’s got plenty of talent to make a lesser workload work for fantasy owners. I love him at this ADP.
Value:
Adrian Peterson, RB (ADP: 159): Peterson has very little standalone value as a non-receiving, old RB in a bad offense on a bad team. He does, however, remain one of the premier handcuffs in football because he is ageless and can produce with enough volume. He’s notched 200+ carries in back-to-back seasons with the Football Team thanks to Guice’s various injuries, and he was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2018. Last season he came close to 900 yards, and found the end zone five times. If you draft Guice, and you are the type to handcuff starters, Peterson makes sense. If Guice goes down, he’s definitely going to see a lot of work as Ron Rivera probably won’t be handing Haskins the keys.
Deep Sleepers:
Antonio Gibson, RB (ADP: 201): Gibson, a rookie out of Memphis, has got some hype going. Ron Rivera compared his style to Christian McCaffery’s – bold! – and Gibson has a clear path to touches in this offense. He’s a RB/WR hybrid, and with WR Kelvin Harmon out for the season already, there are plenty of ways for Washington to get the ball in his hands. He caught 38 passes for 735 yards and eight touchdowns last year for Memphis while adding 369 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 33 attempts. He’s an explosive, efficient player and figures to see the field a ton with Washington’s lack of quality skill options. This is unlikely to be a high-scoring offense, but in deeper leagues Gibson should be a good value at this low ADP.
Dwayne Haskins, QB (ADP: 259): Haskins was pretty brutal last season, matching his seven touchdown passes with seven interceptions, completing fewer than 60% of his pass attempts, and barely averaging more than 150 passing yards per game. He was described in the pre-draft process as raw, but that was an understatement. He didn’t look anything like the player who threw for 4,831 yards and 50 freaking touchdowns at Ohio State. Hopefully, Haskins has adjusted to the speed of the NFL and realizes the complexity of the defenses he’ll be facing because athletically, he’s promising. But I cannot say I’d be excited to own him, nor am I optimistic about his output in 2020 with one reliable pass-catcher (McLaurin), and major question marks everywhere else. Haskins isn’t someone I’m looking at as a late option. He’s at best a low-end QB2 in two-QB leagues, and I’d preferably have him as a third QB even in that format.
Steven Sims, WR (ADP: 305): Sims, like Gibson, is more playmaker than anything. We saw him make some highlight reel plays in 2019, but his overall numbers – 34 receptions, 310 yards, four receiving touchdowns – leave you underwhelmed. For a guy who saw 65 targets/carries combined, however, his output isn’t bad, especially the five total touchdowns. He was mostly used as a gadget player, or someone who saw short targets and was entrusted to make plays in space. With no clear WR2 on the team, Sims may get more chances than he ever has to make big plays. Again, there’s a limit to my excitement because I don’t trust Haskins, but Sims is a game-breaker and he could see a meaningful target share. I don’t know if I’d draft him, but keep an eye on him in the early going.