As we approach the redraft season, I want to begin a new series of recent risers and fallers based on events happening in the fantasy football world. In each article, I’ll give you two risers and two fallers. There are many reasons that a player could move up or move down, so I’ll cover various situations throughout this article series.Â
Risers
Dalvin Cook
Cook has moved up my redraft rankings over the past few weeks. He threatened to hold out of Vikings’ training camp during the offseason, but he realized that he had little to no leverage to do so based on the new collective bargaining agreement. Cook reported to camp on time, and he went through all required COVID-19 testing with his teammates.
Before Cook’s holdout threat, he was my RB5 in PPR redraft formats. I moved his ranking throughout the offseason, and I typically had him around the end of the first round. Now, Cook has returned to his RB5 position and fifth overall player. I’m entirely comfortable selecting Cook at that spot in redraft leagues, and I expect him to be a top workhorse back in 2020.
A.J. Green
Throughout the 2020 offseason, Green had a cloudy future in Cincinnati. The Bengals drafted Tee Higgins in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft as Green’s long-term replacement. They also assigned Green the franchise tag and failed to come to a contract extension by the July 15 deadline. There were rumors that Green might be traded to a new team, especially with Higgins in the fold to take Green’s place.
However, Green eventually signed his franchise tag and reported to Bengals’ camp on time. Head coach Zac Taylor has consistently praised Green, and he expects Green to work well with rookie quarterback Joe Burrow. Green has also fully recovered from his 2019 ankle injury and is a full participant in all camp activities.
Whenever Green has played, he’s been a fantasy WR1. Green will now play with his best-ever quarterback in Joe Burrow, and I expect the Bengals’ offense to improve significantly in 2020. Now that Green has certainty in both situation and health, I feel entirely comfortable drafting him as a WR2 in 2020. He’s my WR23 and 51st overall player, and I think I’ll have multiple shares of Green in 2020 at that cost.
Fallers
Todd Gurley
There’s something about Gurley that scares me for 2020. We all know about his arthritic knee, but a few recent quotes put me on heightened alert. This ESPN article portrays Gurley’s knee as far less than 100%, and the Falcons, therefore, plan to limit his workload.
In 2019, Gurley had a mixed bag performance. He averaged only 3.8 YPC, his worst mark since 2016. His passing game production also fell off a cliff, as Gurley averaged a horrific 4.2 yards/target. However, he managed to play in 15 of 16 games and still carried the ball 223 times. Gurley easily held off Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown for snaps, even though he was a shell of his former self.
Unfortunately, I’m worried that Gurley won’t be able to play a full 16 games in 2020. The Rams continued to play Gurley despite his ineffectiveness because they had few alternatives and lots of money tied up in Gurley. While the Falcons also have terrible backup running backs in Brian Hill, Ito Smith, and Qadree Ollison, they don’t have the same financial commitment to stick with Gurley.Â
Due to my concerns, I’ve lowered Gurley to my RB19 and 38th overall player in my rankings. Something tells me that Gurley has little left, and it doesn’t matter that he has no serious backfield competition. If he can’t play at a high level, he’s not going to produce in fantasy football when on the field. I won’t buy into Gurley solely due to his situation since I don’t believe in his talent anymore.
Jonathan Taylor
Unlike Gurley, I have no concerns with Taylor’s talent or health. Taylor is one of the most talented rookie running backs to enter the NFL recently, and he was my top rookie running back in the pre-draft process. However, the Colts insist that Marlon Mack remains their starter, and I believe that they will at least give Mack the first crack at the starting job.
Without a proper preseason, Taylor won’t have that opportunity to overtake Mack. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has removed much of Taylor’s chances to win the job throughout the offseason. The Colts’ coaching staff has also consistently said that they plan to use scatback Nyheim Hines in a pass-catching role. New quarterback Philip Rivers loved throwing to running backs during his time with the Chargers, so it’s possible that Hines could see third-down work.
Given all those factors, Taylor comes with significant risk, especially in such a messy season. Therefore, Taylor now comes in as my RB20 and 41st overall player. I prefer more proven options like Le’ Veon Bell, Chris Carson, and even Leonard Fournette over Taylor, based on Taylor’s uncertain usage. It’s tough to recommend fading a running back with Taylor’s talent, but I’m okay doing just that for 2020.
Thanks for reading this article. You can find me on Twitter at @DFF_Karp. I love to interact with anyone in the community, so reach out at any time! I take fantasy questions and help with all formats, so keep sending those questions my way.
