Everyone wants the hot new thing. As kids, we all wanted the brand new toy for Christmas and turned our noses up at the pairs of socks we sometimes got instead. Now that we are adults we want the cool new sports car instead of the pre-owned Honda. It’s the same in fantasy football. Everybody wants to be the guy who drafts the young running back who vaults himself into the first round next year. We all target those third-year wide receivers looking for that elusive breakout.
But you know what? Those socks are a good present. They get the job done and you use them all the time. That pre-owned Honda is reliable and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to maintain. You can find similar values every year in fantasy football. No one in your draft room will let out a sigh of relief when you take one of these guys, but they’ll get the job done for you. These are the used cars and Christmas socks of the 2020 fantasy season. I present to you 2020 All-Uglies.
Chris Carson
What does this guy need to do to get our respect? He has two straight 1,000 yard seasons. He increased his receptions last year and was one of nine running backs who broke the 300 touch barrier. Only five RBs had more touches than Chris Carson last season. He finished as RB15 in 2018 and RB11 last year in half-PPR scoring. His top competition for touches includes Rashaad Penny, who will most likely start the season on the PUP list, and Carlos Hyde, who is a journeyman on a one year deal. Count me among those who are not worried at all about Hyde eating into Carson’s workload.
Despite all these points, Carson is still being ranked around the RB17 level. People love to point to Carson’s fumbles as a reason to avoid him. Yes, Carson put the ball on the ground seven times last season. But Seattle kept giving him the ball despite this. They had every opportunity to turn over lead back duties to former first-rounder Penny, and they still kept going to Carson. I’d be shocked if Carson doesn’t outperform his mid-RB2 price tag.
David Johnson
No one in the fantasy football community likes David Johnson anymore. Few people in the NFL like David Johnson. When the Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona for Johnson, the NFL world lost its collective mind. But there’s one guy who apparently loves David Johnson, and he’s the only one who matters. His name is Bill O’Brien, and he gave his top running back 245 carries last season. Carlos Hyde, who we noted is now in Seattle, didn’t catch many balls but he did run for over 1,000 yards. The top RB in Houston gets work. Carlos Hyde was 12th in carries last year. Lamar Miller, Houston’s top back in 2018, was 13th in carries that season. There’s your floor.
Say what you will about David Johnson, he has a proven history of catching passes. If he can add anything in that department, he should have no problem finishing higher than his APD of RB23.
Adam Thielen
Take a look at some of the WRs ranked just below Adam Thielen and you’ll see why he makes this list. Those names include DJ Moore, AJ Brown, Courtland Sutton, and Calvin Ridley. As I said, everyone is looking for that breakout guy. Everyone wants this year’s Chris Godwin. Adam Thielen might not be shiny and new, but he was WR9 in half-PPR before he got injured in week 7. He was WR7 in 2018 on a whopping 153 targets and WR10 on 142 targets in 2017. Oh, and Stefon Diggs now plays for Buffalo. Even if rookie Justin Jefferson is amazing right out of the gates, Theilen will still be the number one in Minnesota.
Thielen may not be a top 5 WR, but there’s no way he finishes outside the top 10 at his position. He has a floor of 140 targets and you can get him in the late second round. I’ll take that all day long.
Keenan Allen
This one is even more mystifying to me. Keenan Allen has played all 16 games each of the last three years. He finished 2017 as WR3 on 159 targets. He was WR12 on 137 targets in 2018. Last season, he saw 149 targets and finished the year as WR8. Keenan Allen is currently being drafted as WR19. Somebody help me understand this because it makes absolutely no sense. He’s averaged 101 catches a year for three straight seasons and you can get him in the late 4th? Yeah, that’s a steal. By the way, that sound you hear is all the haters yelling about Philip Rivers moving on to Indianapolis.
I get it. I really do. A change of quarterback always throws some uncertainty into the mix, and we hate uncertainty in fantasy football. No matter what combination of Tyrod Taylor and Justin Herbert the Chargers give us this season, Keenan Allen will remain the focus of the passing game. There’s fading a guy, and then there’s ignoring a guy. Keenan Allen is being ignored and that needs to change.
DeVante Parker
Unlike Thielen and Allen, DeVante Parker has only one elite season to his name. Parker put together a WR7 finish last year, breaking 1,200 yards and scoring nine receiving touchdowns. In fact, he was better than every WR not named Michael Thomas from weeks 7 to 17. There is one big red flag when it comes to Parker this year, despite his elite production over an 11-week sample size. That red flag is named Preston Williams. Williams tore his ACL in week 9, and up to that point had more catches and targets than Parker. Williams should be ready for week one this year, which is a valid concern if you are looking to draft Parker. But the truth is that every Dolphins‘ WR had a tough start to the season.
Through week 9 Parker was WR34 and Williams was WR39. But Parker’s hot streak starts in week 7 when he sees double-digit targets for the first time. Parker also scores in weeks 4 and 6, despite being out-targeted by Williams in both. That’s five out of eight games (Miami had their bye in week 5) where Parker shares the field with Williams and is still worth starting. If you’re worried about an undrafted rookie who is coming off a serious knee injury torpedoing the value of a guy who was just WR7 and handed a long-term contract, that’s fine. I’ll happily take Parker, who was second in scoring and fourth in targets over the final 11 games, at his WR26 price tag.
These guys might not be the shiny new targets that have the fantasy world buzzing, but they’re all great values that could help you lift a shiny new trophy at the end of the season. That’s what it’s all about… winning! Grab some of these 2020 All-Uglies and let your opponents be disappointed when their third year WR doesn’t break out. Have a guy who you think should’ve made the list? Hit me up on Twitter @DynastyWalrus.
