Methodology and Intro
After writing my redraft team breakdown series, I decided to start a new series as we approach the 2020 fantasy season. Every week, or probably more often than that, I’m going to bring you one fantasy sleeper representing a massive value in 2020 redraft leagues. All the links to previous articles are at the bottom of the article. In the first article, I detailed my methodology behind this series, so go back and read that piece if you haven’t yet!
Now, I want to jump into the first quarterback of my sleeper series, Tyrod Taylor. While Taylor isn’t a great real-life quarterback, I think he could provide fantasy football value, especially in superflex or 2QB leagues. Let’s jump right in!
Past Production
Here are Taylor’s relevant NFL stats. Taylor played for the Baltimore Ravens from 2011-2014, but he didn’t start any games. He also was Philip Rivers’ backup for the Chargers in 2019, where he attempted only six passes in mop-up duty.
Passing Stats:
| Year | Games | Completion % | Yards | TDs | INTs | Fantasy Finish | Fantasy PPG | PPG Rank |
| 2015 | 14 | 63.7 | 3035 | 20 | 6 | QB15 | 19.2 | 8th |
| 2016 | 15 | 61.7 | 3023 | 17 | 6 | QB8 | 17.8 | 9th |
| 2017 | 15 | 62.6 | 2799 | 14 | 4 | QB16 | 14.8 | 19th |
| 2018 | 4 | 49.4 | 473 | 2 | 2 | QB41 | 10.4 | N/A |
Rushing Stats:
| Year | Games | Carries | Yards | Yards/Game | TDs |
| 2015 | 14 | 104 | 568 | 40.6 | 4 |
| 2016 | 15 | 95 | 580 | 38.7 | 6 |
| 2017 | 15 | 84 | 427 | 28.5 | 4 |
| 2018 | 4 | 16 | 125 | 31.3 | 1 |
From 2015-2017, Taylor started for the Bills, where he was an interesting fantasy asset. Even though he never threw for more than 3,035 passing yards in any season, he managed to finish as at least a QB2 each season. In 2015 and 2016, Taylor was a QB1 in PPG, and he averaged almost 40 rushing yards per game each year. Taylor’s rushing stats made him a viable standalone fantasy asset, although he tanked most of the receiving options on the Bills during his time as a starter.
After 2017, Taylor left the Bills to join the Browns as their new starting quarterback. Taylor served as the bridge quarterback to Baker Mayfield for a few games before suffering a concussion. Once Mayfield entered the lineup, Taylor never got his starting job back, and he barely played throughout the rest of 2018. He eventually signed with the Chargers for the 2019 and 2020 seasons on a 2-year, $11 million contract as the clear backup to Philip Rivers.
During 2019, Taylor played only a few snaps in relief duty for Rivers. However, the Chargers decided to move on from Rivers after 2019, leaving them with Taylor as their presumptive 2020 starter. The Chargers did draft Justin Herbert with the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but Herbert is a raw prospect. I’ve warned about Herbert as a 2020 asset multiple times, most notably in a rookie redraft update in June. Taylor has always been the favorite to win the Chargers’ starting job, and head coach Anthony Lynn recently officially named him the Week 1 starter.
The Prevailing Narrative
Taylor’s main narrative is that he’s an irrelevant, washed-up backup quarterback that presents no fantasy value. Taylor hasn’t been a clear starting quarterback since 2017, and his last strong fantasy season was in 2016. Therefore, he’s entirely out of mind for most fantasy owners. He’s currently the QB31 in FantasyPros consensus ADP.
2020 Outlook
In my Chargers’ redraft preview, I pointed out that Taylor has an excellent early-season streaming schedule. He begins the season at the Bengals, then plays the Chiefs and Panthers at home. Taylor does face a couple of tougher defenses in Weeks 4 and 5 at the Buccaneers and Saints, but he gets the Jets, Dolphins, Jaguars, and Raiders in Weeks 6-9. Taylor is playable in all nine weeks, as he faces either a negative game script or a poor defense every week.
Even though I initially had Taylor as my quarterback in the DFF Redraft Championship, I later dropped him in favor of Jared Goff once Goff became available. Therefore, Taylor isn’t someone I would recommend rostering in a typical situation in a 1QB format. However, as an emergency streamer or a superflex/2QB league, Taylor is a meaningful name to consider. If he demonstrates his hold on the Chargers’ job and returns to his old form, I’m sure I’ll include Taylor in my weekly streaming article during the 2020 season.
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.
Previous Articles: Intro + Hayden Hurst, Sony Michel, Sterling Shepard, Jamison Crowder, Allen Lazard, Brandon Aiyuk, Jerick McKinnon, Jalen Reagor, Chris Herndon, DeAndre Washington, Joshua Kelley, Randall Cobb, N’Keal Harry
