Fansided

Fantasy football sleeper picks you shouldn’t snooze on in 2020

By Matthew Catalano

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 27: Allen Robinson #12 of the Chicago Bears rects after catching a pass during the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Soldier Field on October 27, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 27: Allen Robinson #12 of the Chicago Bears rects after catching a pass during the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Soldier Field on October 27, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
fantasy football
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 08: David Johnson #31 of the Arizona Cardinals celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at State Farm Stadium on December 08, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. Pittsburgh won 23-17.(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

David Johnson – HOU

Despite his age (28) and the fact he hasn’t been at the top of the football world since his incredible 2016 season, there is reason to believe David Johnson shouldn’t be completely slept on in drafts this year.

For starters, the Houston Texans have a much better o-line than Arizona even though they are improving in their own right. Secondly, Houston has one of the most mobile quarterbacks in Deshaun Watson.

It has been proved before that mobile quarterbacks have helped in a running back’s rushing efficiency. Take Mark Ingram working together with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore for instance. Ingram was always a pretty effective runner during his days in New Orleans, but it took him six seasons in the Big Easy to finally reach the 1,000-yard mark.

Ingram managed to hit over 1,000 rushing yards in just his first season with the Ravens and Jackson under center. Lamar’s unique running ability created nightmares for opposing defenses to deal with and it made it much easier for Ingram to find ways to be productive in the backfield for Baltimore last year.

The same can be said about Johnson and his new quarterback. Watson is one of the best scramblers in the game and Johnson will not have as much pressure on him as he did in Arizona.

Of course, it hurts that the Texans traded away their biggest receiving threat in DeAndre Hopkins this offseason to get Johnson but there’s still hope. The arrival of the speedy Brandin Cooks and veteran Randall Cobb can help. Will Fuller is also a great deep threat down the field when healthy. It should be enough to help get Johnson’s career back on track.

Bear in mind, that up until Week 6 of 2019, Johnson was RB6 while averaging 17.7 fantasy points per game in half PPR leagues. He was also second to only Austin Ekeler in receiving yards among running backs during this stretch (10.5 yds/rec). He then suffered an injury that derailed his season and by the time he returned, Kenyan Drake had taken over as Arizona’s bell-cow.

The fact that Johnson managed to produce at an impressive rate last year with a raw group such as Arizona, gives me a reason to believe he still has something left in the tank.

Health is his main concern as he has sustained injuries in two of his last three seasons since 2016. Johnson still can play at a high rate and could be a steal in the second round of many draft formats this summer. Keep his name in mind when your draft rolls around.

Next. Why auction drafts should be more popular. dark

And so this concludes my segment on some players you should not hit the snooze button on for the 2020 season. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out and which players will be the difference makers for fantasy manager’s rosters.

It has so far been quite an interesting and unique offseason to say the least. Nevertheless, we as fantasy managers must keep abreast of the latest going on in the NFL in order to be ready when draft day arrives on our calendars. Stay safe and sane all!

Home/Fantasy