Fantasy Football 2020: 5 QB/WR combos to draft
By Bill Pivetz
Sometimes it’s beneficial to draft a quarterback and wide receiver from the same team for your fantasy football team.
Fantasy football players love trying different draft strategies to get the best team. Those who play DFS know about the “stacking” strategy when building a lineup. One definition of stacking is when you pair a team’s quarterback with a pass catcher, like a wide receiver or tight end, to maximize your potential points.
For DFS, it only works for that one week. However, for season-long fantasy football, stacking could lead to huge point potentials with the right pairing. When finding the right QB/WR pair, make sure the wide receiver is the top option and has a clear-cut role. Teams like the Falcons, Eagles, Cowboys and Cardinals are not good stacking options because of the number of mouths to feed on the team.
But, there are a few QB/WR combos that can put up big fantasy points on a weekly basis. Here are five to choose from when drafting your fantasy football team. All ADPs referenced are based on FantasyPros’ consensus rankings.
I don’t care who the Saints signed this offseason, they were not going to take away any targets from Thomas. He is Brees’ No. 1, 2 and 3 option on the offense. Alvin Kamara is behind him on the depth chart. While Emmanuel Sanders is a good WR2, he won’t be nearly as explosive.
Thomas’ yardage has increased every season, from 1,137 in 2016 to 1,725 last year. He’s also scored nine touchdowns in three of his four seasons.
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Yes, Brees is getting older but Thomas doesn’t need the ball thrown deep to be effective. The majority of his targets came in the short field.
Thomas has a 4.7 ADP while Brees is at 81.3, so it is completely possible to have both on your team.
The Seahawks offense doesn’t like to revolve itself around one player. Looking at the receiving numbers over the past couple of seasons, there were usually two players close in numbers, both valuable to fantasy football owners.
Last season, Tyler Lockett led the team in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns, 82/1,057/8. Metcalf, in his rookie season, wasn’t too far behind, 58/900/7. I think this season is the season where Metcalf takes over the No. 1 spot. He is a more versatile receiver and has breakaway speed to get away from the secondary.
Metcalf has a 43.0 ADP and Wilson’s is 50.0, so you would have to have two picks close to each other to make this pairing happen.
Unlike Seattle, the Packers passing game is focused on one play and that’s Adams. He had more than 30 receptions and 500 yards than the next-leading receiver. The difference was even greater in 2018. The point is Rodgers loves throwing to Adams.
Outside of Adams, the other Packers pass-catchers include Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling at receiver and Jace Sternberger at tight end. Who? Exactly. No one is threatening Adams for targets and Rodgers trusts him immensely.
If you want this Green Bay pair, you’ll have to draft Adams in the first round and Rodgers in the seventh round.
This pairing is not as high-profile as the others but they can still put up fantasy points. Haskins will have to compete with Kyle Allen this offseason, but both are sleepers this year. McLaurin was Washington’s best receiver with 58 receptions, 919 yards and seven touchdowns.
Haskins started seven games last season after taking over for Case Keenum. In those games, he threw for 1,225 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. The negative was his 59.12 completion percentage.
With Derrius Guice released, Adrian Peterson is the lead back. I think Washington will rely on the passing game a bit more this year. McLaurin has a 63.3 ADP and Haskins has a 201.5 ADP. McLaurin should be drafted in all leagues. Haskins is a QB2 in most formats.
Bears QB/Allen Robinson
Looking at Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky, I don’t think it matters for Robinson’s sake who starts at quarterback. Robinson caught 98 passes for 1,147 yards last with Trubisky under center for 15 games. Foles, in some cases, is a better quarterback than Trubisky, so there’s not much of a trade-off.
As for the Bears receiving options, Robinson is far and away the top receiving option. Anthony Miller was second on the team in receiving yards and Tarik Cohen was second in receptions, though neither was close to reaching Robinson.
If you are in a 2QB league, this combination is easy to achieve. Robinson as a 40.7 ADP while both Foles and Trubisky are past 240. It’s not the most ideal pairing but it can work in deeper leagues.
Next. D.J. Chark will be a top-10 fantasy wide receiver in 2020. dark
Don’t handcuff yourself to drafting the quarterback of a wide receiver on your team or vice versa. If the players fall to you, then go ahead but don’t sacrifice your long-term goals to achieve a pairing.