NFC East Fantasy Outlook – 2019- 2020

NFC East Fantasy Outlook – 2019- 2020

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by | Aug 1, 2019 | Featured, NFL

The NFC East used to be one of the most volatile divisions in the whole NFL. Year to year, there was a new division champion. Heading into the 2019-2020 season, only two of the four teams seem relevant in the playoff discussion. Nevertheless, this division is still loaded with fantasy talent. Once again this is why fantasy football is the best. It makes meaningless games matter for fans outside the division. 

 

 

Dallas Cowboys:

QB: Dak Prescott

RB: Ezekial Elliott, Tony Pollard, Alfred Morris

WR: Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Randall Cobb

TE: Jason Witten, Blake Jarwin

D/ST: Position Rank = 18

The Dallas Cowboys are in a very interesting position as of August 1st. Their superstar RB Ezekiel Elliott is holding out of training camp due to an ongoing contract dispute. Elliott still has two years left on his current deal, but given his volume and productivity he is worth so much more than the mere $4M he will be making this upcoming season. If the Zeke situation is figured out by week 1, which no one knows after the Le’Veon Bell fiasco of last year, Elliott is a top 3 pick in every draft, regardless of the league scoring. Zeke is an absolute force on the field and in fantasy, and his improvement in the passing game in 2018 is a sign of a bright future ahead. Pay the man, Jerry! Besides Zeke, Amari Cooper is the next best fantasy option. After being traded mid-season to Dallas last year, Cooper put up 725 yards and 6 TDs in the 9 games he played. Michael Gallup and Randall Cobb are serviceable, but shouldn’t be considered starting options at the WR position in fantasy as of right now. Jason Witten is returning to the team after retiring for a season. Witten won’t have too much fantasy value, as they won’t want to overwork the older veteran. Overall, after Elliott is selected in the first round, look for Cooper in the middle of the 3rd round, as that is great value for a #1 WR on a good offense. Gallup and Cobb should only be drafted in 12 man leagues, somewhere in the very late rounds of the draft. 

Philadelphia Eagles:

QB: Carson Wentz

RB: Jordan Howard, Miles Sanders, Corey Clement, Josh Adams, Wendall Smallwood

WR: Alshon Jeffery, Desean Jackson, Nelson Agholor

TE: Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert

D/ST: Position Rank = 26

The Eagles finally have a healthy Carson Wentz back and reports from training camp say he has lost a few pounds and looks much “leaner”. If this translates to a full, healthy season for Wentz, The Eagles are going to be a force in the NFC. The Eagles traded for Jordan Howard and drafted rookie Miles Sanders at RB. They have so many quality RB on the roster that it is difficult to project who will be the lead back. Sanders has been the first RB drafted from Philly in most drafts, as he has the most upside throughout the long season. Corey Clement and Wendall Smallwood will definitely still see action on passing downs. Eagles coaches believe that Sanders has the possibility to become an every down back, but for now all we have is hope. Alshon Jeffery is a great red zone target, but Wentz has shown the tendency to force feed the ball to TE Zach Ertz. Ertz should be the first pass catcher off the board from the Eagles. If you can snag Ertz in the 4th or 5th rounds, that is amazing value and the volume will be there. Ertz broke the single season record for receptions by a TE last year with 116. Desean Jackson and Nelson Agholor are both super volatile players that can win or lose you a week. They have the capability to go for 160 yards and 2 TDs, or they can get practically a 0 for the week. Very risky plays, especially at the beginning of the year, which is why they shouldn’t be touched until at least the 10th round. 

Washington Redskins:

QB: Dwayne Haskins, Case Keenum

RB: Darrius Guice, Adrian Peterson, Chris Thompson, Bryce Love

WR: Josh Doctson, Paul Richardson, Trey Quinn

TE: Jordan Reed, Vernon Davis

D/ST: Position Rank = 16

Perhaps the most unknown offense heading into 2019, the Washington Redskins. It looks as though Dwayne Haskins will be the day 1 starter, which throws even more uncertainty in the mix. Darrius Guice is rehabbing a torn ACL that held him on the sideline for the entire 2018 season. Adrian Peterson showed flashes last year but you can’t trust that heading into his age 34 season. Chris Thompson is a high floor play, as game flow will force him onto the field on passing plays. They have some talent at WR, but there is no one that is a lock to produce. Doctson was inconsistent all of last year, they acquired Paul Richardson from Seattle who could end up being a good deep ball threat, and Trey Quinn is a solid slot guy. Since many believe the Redskins will have trouble scoring and moving the ball, a suggestion would be to stay away from this offense altogether. Taking a late shot at Darrius Guice or Paul Richardson isn’t the worst idea, but don’t expect anything too major from this offense. Jordan Reed’s health concerns and Vernon Davis’ age don’t make me very interested in their TE’s either. 

New York Giants:

QB: Eli Manning, Daniel Jones

RB: Saquon Barkley, Wayne Gallman

WR: Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, Cody Latimer

TE: Evan Engram

D/ST: Position Rank = 27

The New York Football Giants had a very questionable offseason. They drafted QB Daniel Jones with the 6th overall pick, and they traded one of their best offensive talents in OBJ. The offensive line still doesn’t look great, and they lost potentially their best defender in safety Landon Collins. What does all of this mean for fantasy football though? Well first of all, Saquon Barkley is still a top 4 pick no matter how you slice it. Barkley will put up numbers, and even if the offense has trouble moving the ball, he will still be involved through the short yard passing game. After Barkely, the next best option is Evan Engram. Engram has WR skills at the TE position. With news of Sterling Shepard breaking his hand and Golden Tate being suspended, Engram will have an enormous amount of the target share early on. I have Engram as the 5th best TE, and someone you should look for in rounds 5-7. When Shepard and Tate return from injury/suspension, they do hold some value. Shepard will be the #1 option at WR and even in a low-tier offense, that is valuable. Look to draft him in rounds 10-13 as some league members will see he is injured and lose interest. Tate will be a nice addition to the slot, but there is no way he will replicate some of the years he had with Matthew Stafford in Detroit. 

 

Aug 1, 2019 No Comments
2019 NFL Training Camp Holdout Updates

2019 NFL Training Camp Holdout Updates

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by | Aug 1, 2019 | Featured, NFL

With the Hall of Fame game kicking off the on-field action of the 2019 NFL Season, things are starting to ramp up at training camp across the country. We’re about a week into training camp for most teams. For some of them that week has come and gone without their most talented players participating.

Michael Thomas (Saints)

Michael Thomas was drafted 47th overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. He was the sixth receiver selected and through three seasons he has not only outperformed all of those taken ahead of him but he’s been on a record-setting pace. Thomas’ 321 receptions are the most of any NFL wide receiver in their first three seasons.

Entering training camp, Thomas had one year left on his contract that was worth around one million dollars. Obviously, Thomas felt that he had proven himself worth more than that lowly sum and so the Pro Bowler refused to attend practice until the Saints negotiated an extension with him.

The gamble paid off as it was announced today that he would be rewarded with a five-year $100 million contract extension with $61 million guaranteed. Thomas now becomes the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. He will report to camp tomorrow.

Trent Williams (Redskins)

The Washington Redskins used their first-round pick on Ohio State quarterback, Dwayne Haskins. The team views Haskins as a franchise quarterback and hope that he will be leading the team for years to come. With a lot invested into a young quarterback, a good way to make sure that he is given ample opportunity to succeed is to keep him upright. That got harder for Washington when stud left tackle Trent Williams opted to holdout.

Williams has been one of the top left tackles in the league for the past few seasons. Not only is the big man looking for a new contract from Daniel Snyder but he is also unhappy with the Redskins’ medical staff. Williams underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his scalp that went undiagnosed during last season. He is expected to make a full recovery but there are multiple bridges to be mended before these two sides reunite.

It seems like the two remain at an impasse. The latest reports are that Washington has started to listen to trade offers for their disgruntled left tackle. Would Williams seek a new deal if sent to another franchise or would he play the year out and then try to get paid on the open market? Either way, it’s likely that when Williams returns to action it won’t be with the Redskins.

Melvin Gordon (Chargers)

Melvin Gordon was the first major holdout of the 2019 season. The Los Angeles Chargers running back would’ve been playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract. Yet, with his position becoming a less pivotal piece of how the game of football is being played in the NFL, Gordon knows that his chance to capitalize financially is slim.

Not only did Gordon choose to holdout but he also gave the Chargers an ultimatum: pay me or trade me. It’s not necessarily the Le’Veon Bell path but it’s just as bold. Even though the value of running backs have diminished overall, there are still teams that would be willing to meet Gordon’s demands of a contract in the $52.5-$57.5 million range that Bell and Todd Gurley were recently given.

Word came out on Monday that this holdout might not last much longer. Rumor has it that there’s a discrepancy of about two million dollars keeping a contract from being agreed upon. Los Angeles had the depth to get by without Gordon unlike the two previous holdouts, however, it seems like they are going to pony up the money to keep him on board.

Yannick Ngakoue (Jaguars)

Two years ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars defense almost singlehandedly carried the team to a Super Bowl appearance. A defensive line that was as good rushing the passer as it was stopping the line. Versatile linebackers who could drop into coverage as easily as they could blitz undetected. Rounded out by a defensive back group that not only played like one of the best units of all-time but had the swagger to tell you so.

Last year, the defense remained one of the best in the league but the team’s record spiraled as they fell from the top of the AFC to the bottom. In the midst of that fall, Yannick Ngakoue had his third solid year for the Jaguars. He totaled 9.5 sacks and started all 16 games for the second consecutive year. Taken in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Ngakoue is in the final year of his rookie deal.

Knowing how well he’s done so far Ngakoue is holding out in hopes of getting paid like a premium edge rusher in the league. Regardless of whether or not Jacksonville decides to give him an extension, Ngakoue is likely to see his demands met on the open market. Not much has been said on the status of negotiations but as long as Ngakoue remains away from the team the Jaguars defense won’t be as strong.

Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys)

Ezekiel Elliott is the player who is most crucial to his team’s success on this list. In Melvin Gordon’s section we referenced that the running back position is being devalued but in Texas the Dallas Cowboys have reinvented themselves around Elliott. He was drafted fourth overall in the 2016 NFL Draft and immediately turned things around in Jerry World.

Dallas has their other two offensive studs (Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper) entering the final years of their deals. Meanwhile they would be able to exercise the fifth-year option on Elliott’s contract paying him just a shade over nine million dollars for the 2020 season. That trio is as promising of a group of players to wear the star on their helmet since Tory Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin we’re winning Super Bowls.

Though Elliott is under team-control for another two seasons (three-to-four if you include potential franchise tag scenarios) he has been the definition of a workhorse tailback since entering the league. In two of the three years he’s played, he’s had over 300 carries. We’ve seen the Cowboys run their premiere runner into the ground (see: Murray, DeMarco). By holding out Elliott is trying to make sure that the franchise is paying him in accordance with how they’re using him. Reports are that the two sides remain far apart in negotiations.

Aug 1, 2019 No Comments
A.J. Green Out Six to Eight Weeks After Tearing Ligaments in Ankle

A.J. Green Out Six to Eight Weeks After Tearing Ligaments in Ankle

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by | Jul 28, 2019 | Featured, NFL

The NFL is back. Fans and teams around the country are chomping at the bit to see players back on the field.

In Cincinnati, that excitement is doubled as the team is in their first season under new head coach Zac Taylor. Taylor is the most recent addition to the Sean McVay coaching tree after spending the last two years as an assistant (assistant wide receivers coach in 2017 and quarterbacks coach in 2018) with the Los Angeles Rams.

After more than a decade of Marvin Lewis calling the shots the change was a jolt of new life into the franchise.

Though the Bengals have been disappointing as of late there is plenty of offensive talent on this roster. The headliner is wide receiver A.J. Green. He ranks among the top 15 in receptions (602) among active players, among the top 10 in receiving yards (8,907), and among the top 10 in receiving touchdowns (63).

At yesterday’s practice, Green went down with an undisclosed injury during the team’s 7-on-7 drills. It was reported that he was carted off the field and a picture of him on crutches with his lower left leg wrapped in a towel made the rounds on the internet.

Turns out that Green tore ligaments in his ankle and will be out between six and eight weeks. He will get a second opinion but at the moment it seems like there won’t be any surgery required.

As part of the NFL’s celebration of their 100th season, Cincinnati practiced at the University of Dayton’s Welcome Stadium—the first NFL game was played in Dayton—but reports are that field conditions were subpar compared to NFL standards. The league will look into whether or not the field conditions had an involvement in Green’s untimely injury.

Entering the final year of his deal, Green (30), was hoping to get a new deal negotiated before the beginning of the season and opted against holding out believing that he and the team could embark in good-faith negotiations as he trained with the team.

Last year we saw the Seattle Seahawks safety start the season without a new contract and suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Thankfully Green won’t be lost for the entire year. In a sport like football where injuries are more likely to happen, players wanting to lock down guaranteed money are often vilified for keeping themselves off the field and not risking their bodies.

This setback for Green will likely keep him and Cincinnati from agreeing to a new deal—prior to the injury Green has missed 13 games over the last three seasons.

Jul 28, 2019 No Comments
Fantasy Football 2019 – Draft Guide – 10 Man/Standard Scoring

Fantasy Football 2019 – Draft Guide – 10 Man/Standard Scoring

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by | Jul 28, 2019 | Featured, NFL

There are plenty of different drafting strategies when the day of your Fantasy Football draft arrives. There are also different levels of Fantasy Football. At the bottom of the levels are the home leagues. These are leagues comprised of long time buddies who share the love of sports like football. Drafting in these leagues is much easier, as many times some of your friends don’t pay close attention to the off season and training camp. In these leagues, the big names always go early, but that doesn’t mean they are the best value at that position. For instance, in many home leagues Patrick Mahomes will be selected in the first two rounds. Aaron Rodgers might be too! Take advantage of this draft guide and become a smarter Fantasy Football player. There are also leagues with more experienced players who follow the headlines closely. Here, it is much harder to steal players late in the draft as not many people reach for overrated big names. Whatever your situation happens to be, I have assembled a strategy here that has helped me consistently finish at the top of my league.

Now, let’s get to the draft! Big Thank you to the team at Fantasy Pros and Draft Wizard for making this mock draft possible. 

Round 1: With the clear top 4 RB off the board, there is a tough decision to make. Go for the best WR or the next best RB, David Johnson. There is some uncertainty with Johnson in the new system, but in my opinion you must secure a high tier RB in the first round. I love Hopkins but I can find WR value in rounds to come. 

Round 2: My plan was to select another RB with my 2nd pick as well. But the sight of Odell Beckham Jr. still on the board was too much, even with my love for Nick Chubb, the next best RB. Odell will single handedly win you some weeks, and now I have a superstar RB and WR after two rounds. 

Round 3: Really wanting to select another RB in this round, I found myself in a similar situation. It seems as though Tyreek Hill will be eligible to play in all 16 games this year, and at the end of the third round? Yes, Please.

Round 4: Now I seriously need another RB, no matter who the available WRs happen to be. AJ Green is enticing, but he isn’t Odell or Tyreek. The best available RBs are Kerryon Johnson, Josh Jacobs and Sony Michel. I don’t like the state of Michel’s knees at this early an age. The Patriots selected RB Damien Harris for a reason. Josh Jacobs seems to be the starter in Oakland, but just how effective will that offense be? Game flow in losing games might lead Jalen Richard to a lot of 2nd half playtime. That leaves me with Kerryon Johnson, who showed flashes of greatness in his rookie campaign last year. He did also sustain an injury but I do believe Kerryon has the ability to be an every down back, and the Lions need all the offense they can get. 

Round 5: Now with 2 WRs and 2 RBs, I wanted to select another RB to solidify a FLEX with a high floor. For this reason I went with Chris Carson, who happens to be the lead RB on the offense who ran the ball the most out of any team last year. He has great value here, as even if he doesn’t score a TD, his high floor makes him a great play alongside more volatile players such as Tyreek Hill and Kerryon Johnson. 

Round 6: This is where it starts to get interesting. Round 6 and on is where you can find great sleepers and players with enormous value that their ADP might not justify. I have 3 solid RBs and 2 unbelievable WRs. Now I want to grab a third WR with a solid floor like Carson. Tyler Lockett and Alshon Jeffery are there, but D.J. Moore is more intriguing. He is the clear cut #1 WR on CAR with the departure of Devin Funchess, and Moore had 7 or more targets in 6 out of his final 7 games of 2018.

Round 7: With 3 RBs and WRs, I took a look at the available TEs. Kelce, Kittle, Etrz, Howard, Henry and Engram are the consensus top 6, and after that there is a significant drop off.  Lucky enough, the 6th best TE Evan Engram was still available. Elite value in the seventh round. Engram will be the #1 option in the Giants passing game. 

Round 8: I wanted to draft my 4th RB here, but really wasn’t interested in the top options. Round 8 is too early to start grabbing rookies that still have an uphill climb on the depth chart. I wanted a player in a good offense, and for that reason I selected Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery.

Round 9: With these mid-late round picks I like to either draft a consistent player or a player with major upside. I decided to go with one of the top RBs available in Rashaad Penny. Penny is the clear handcuff to Chris Carson. If anything happens with Carson, Penny will be in for a ton of work. Penny showed glimpses of his potential in his rookie year last year, but only played a limited role for the Seahawks. 

Round 10: This is about where I like to see what is left at the QB position. Since this is a 10 man, standard scoring league I know that only 9 QBs have been selected so far. No one is crazy enough to draft their backup already. The best available QBs are Cam Newton, Drew Brees and Jared Goff. I like Newton’s floor with his running ability but he is too inconsistent. This very well could be Goff’s best year as a pro but I’m going with Mr. Reliable and selecting Drew Brees.

Round 11: I now have all of my starters besides D/ST & K. I already have two decent bench players. Now I start to reach for potential sleepers or players that are significantly undervalued at their ADP. I don’t love any of the RBs available, and I know I can still wait a few rounds before drafting unknown rookies. But there is still a lot of value remaining at WR. Reports coming from Green Bay say that Marquez Valdes Scantling has been excellent at camp and will be the starting slot WR. With the potential of being the #2 WR in an Aaron Rodgers offense, I’ll take that in the 11th round.

 

Round 12: This is about where the undervalued rookies start to fall. But before I drafted any of them, I saw Jerick Mckinnon still on the board. Yes he is coming off an ACL tear, and yes the 49ers signed Tevin Coleman. But all reports seem like they will split touches in the backfield, which means anything could end up happening. 

Round 13: This is the point in the draft when most players lose interest and just randomly select the best player available. This is an amazing opportunity to draft rookies with the potential to become starters some time throughout year 1. With tremendous upside, I drafted rookie out of Oklahoma St. Justice Hill. Even in a messy backfield, Hill has the chance to breakout in his rookie campaign. Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards are good backs, but there is no reason not to take a chance on Hill at this position. 

Round 14: With 3 picks remaining, I wanted to select another rookie with potential. This time I went with Kalen Ballage, RB for the Miami Dolphins. Miami doesn’t have a great offense, and will be down in most of their games, but they don’t have much in the backfield. Kenyon Drake is nice, but has he proven his ability as a 3-down back? I don’t think so. It might take a while, but Ballage could make his way to the starting tailback by the end of the season.

Round 15: Second to last round is where I will select my D/ST. Of the best available, the Los Angeles Chargers were the no doubt selection.

Round 16: Last but not least the Kicker. Kickers can win and lose you weeks, but it is often pretty random. My advice with kickers is just go with someone on a good offense that you know will have plenty of opportunities per game. I went with Ka’imi Fairbairn of the Houston Texans.

Below are some graphs that represent my team versus the others in my league. It projects the standings and shows the rosters for each team. Let me know what you think of this draft/anything you would like me to cover. Leave a comment or DM me on Instagram @NFL_SR. 

 

 

 

Jul 28, 2019 No Comments
New York Giants Wide Receiver Corps Takes a Hit

New York Giants Wide Receiver Corps Takes a Hit

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by | Jul 27, 2019 | Featured, NFL

When the New York Giants traded All-Pro wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns this offseason many joked that running back, Saquon Barkley was now the team’s best wide receiver. Just three days into training camp that might be true.

On the first day, the Giants lost starting wide receiver Sterling Shepard for a few weeks after he fractured his thumb. The team officially lists him as day-to-day but the expectation is that he could miss Week 1 of the 2019 NFL season.

Next, speedster Corey Coleman—who was supposed to serve as the team’s deep threat with Beckham now in the AFC—went down in the team’s second practice. The former Baylor standout suffered a torn ACL in New York’s second training camp practice.

That left Golden Tate (who the team signed in the offseason to replace OBJ) as the last healthy potential starter available. However, news broke today that Tate is facing a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. The suspension hasn’t been announced by the league yet but Tate has let it be known that he plans to appeal the suspension.

Without Tate, Shepard, and Coleman these are the players left at wide receiver for the Giants: Benny Fowler, Cody Latimer, Russell Shepard, Darius Slayton, Alonzo Russell, Brittan Golden, Reggie White Jr., Alex Wesley, and Da’Mari Scott.

The preseason will now give those 10 players a bigger opportunity to make their mark with this team. Fowler and Latimer both started their NFL careers in 2014 with the Denver Broncos and Shepard is a seven-year veteran.

Even before the injuries and suspensions, there was intrigue surrounding how the franchise would replace a talent like Beckham Jr. and now the question reverberates even larger for the Giants.

Jul 27, 2019 No Comments
Bobby Wagner Becomes Highest-Paid Linebacker in NFL

Bobby Wagner Becomes Highest-Paid Linebacker in NFL

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by | Jul 27, 2019 | Featured, NFL

With training camps officially underway for all 32 NFL teams, the storyline early has been about the players who didn’t show up. Pro Bowl players like Melvin Gordon, Ezekiel Elliott, Michael Thomas, Trent Williams, and Yannick Ngakoue have opted to start the 2019 season as holdouts.

In Seattle, the Seahawks have not had any drama with their elite players. On the contrary, the team just announced that they have agreed to a three-year, $54 million extension with stud linebacker, Bobby Wagner (according to Turner Sports’ Taylor Rooks). The All-Pro inside linebacker had made it known to the team that he was looking for a new deal as he was entering the final year of his previous contract.

Wagner was drafted by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft and ever since then his presence has been a staple of Seattle’s defense.

Last season, another big piece of the team’s defense, Earl Thomas, was upset over his lack of a new deal prior to the start of the season. No new contract was agreed upon and Thomas ended up fracturing his leg—and relationship with Pete Carroll—and ultimately ended up signing with the Baltimore Ravens this offseason.

By locking down Wagner before the season, any talk or supposed distraction about Wagner’s future in Seattle is gone and the team can fully focus on what’s happening on the field.

Becoming the highest paid linebacker in football isn’t the first accolade for Wagner this summer. A few weeks ago it was announced that he would be part of the Madden 20 “99 Club” (one of four players to be awarded with the game’s highest ranking).

Jul 27, 2019 No Comments