The Scorecrow Dynasty Fantasy Team | May 8th, 2020
The 2020 NFL draft is in the rearview mirror and dynasty fantasy owners are having their rookie drafts. During these drafts, dynasty owners have either helped or hurt the future of their teams. To help dynasty owners with their rookie drafts, six of The Scorecrow’s fantasy football writers have put together a list of their top rookies.
In addition to the list, each writer will give a quick explanation of a player at each position they are targeting and a player they are avoiding. In the third part of our four-part series, our writers list off their top 12 wide receivers. Without further ado, let’s get started!
For all of our rookie rankings click here.
Player I’m Targeting
Mike – Devin Duvernay, Baltimore Ravens
Homer warning, I am a Longhorns fan. Now with that out of the way, go draft Duvernay. Willie Snead is the projected starting slot receiver for the Ravens and Duvernay should easily steal his job as a rookie. Duvernay has great speed (4.39 40-time at the combine) and the Ravens’ offense is all about speed. Lamar Jackson loves to throw inside the numbers and favors his tight ends and wide receivers who run most of their routes in the middle of the field. With Marquise Brown threatening defenses over the top, I expect Duvernay and Mark Andrews to form a nice 1-2 punch in the middle of the field. Once again, speed kills, and the Ravens love it.
Josh – Isaiah Coulter, Houston Texans
The Texans took a flyer in the fifth round with Coulter and I could not be more ecstatic. He has big play capability and played outside much of his time in college due to lack of depth, though can play the slot if needed. He has a little bit of a challenge to work his way up the depth chart but he can be a steal in rookie drafts in the later rounds. Coulter has the raw potential to develop into a stud if he gets groomed properly.
Connor – Antonio Gandy-Golden, Washington Redskins
Gandy-Golden will start out as the Washington Redskins’ third wide receiver behind Terry McLaurin and Steven Sims Jr. However, Gandy-Golden has something neither of them does, size and the ability to be a sure-fire red zone target. I would say that by the end of the 2020 season, Gandy-Golden had more targets than Sims did.
Brady – Jeff Thomas, New England Patriots
Thomas signed with the Patriots as a UDFA as he has some off the field issues. He’s a burner and deep-field threat with great body control. Thomas has the agility and run after the catch ability to threaten defenders on short routes as well. Overall, he is not a one-trick-pony but has the tools to develop into a viable contributor. As well he should get an opportunity, as they did not re-sign Phillip Dorsett. His departure leaves 54 intermediate to deep targets for Thomas to work with. I don’t think it’s long before Thomas is on the field and production this year.
Frank – Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts
Pittman has a clear path to volume in the Colts’ passing game that includes T.Y. Hilton, Parris Campbell, and Jack Doyle. General manager Chris Ballard recently compared Pittman to Vincent Jackson. At 6’4″ and 223 lbs with 4.52 speed, Pittman has similar measurables to Jackson, who clocked in at 6’5, 230 lbs with 4.46 speed. Jackson had his best seasons playing with Rivers, so we could potentially see something similar happen with Pittman. Rivers loves his big targets, making it likely for him to establish an immediate rapport with the rookie. I expect him to eventually supplant Hilton as the main option, so he’s a great target.
J.R. – Lynn Bowden Jr., Las Vegas Raiders
Bowden did a little bit of everything at Kentucky, flashing the versatility that we saw out of another Kentucky wide receiver: Randall Cobb. Oakland’s receiving corps is heavy on target-takers (Darren Waller, Hunter Renfrow, Nelson Agholor, Tyrell Williams) but Agholor and Williams are consistent underperformers. I could see Bowden lining up in the slot, being the point man on jet sweeps, and even taking snaps behind center. While he may never be a top 10 wide receiver, he could be a guy whose many talents could make him a solid flex play.
Player I’m Avoiding
Mike – Laviska Shenault Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
The ultimate gadget player, Shenault is without a clear role on the Jaguars offense. While they did spend a second-round pick on him, they also spent a fifth-round pick on Collin Johnson, and still have DJ Chark and Dede Westbrook. Will he get touches in several ways? Yes. Will he consistently get them? I don’t think so. Combine the shaky situation with a bottom-five offense, there are several wide receivers I would rather have over Shenault.
Josh – CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
Lamb to be was selected by Jerry Jones to block Philadelphia from getting a stud wide receiver. With Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Blake Jarwin getting into the mix, they will be looked upon to get the bulk of the targets. Lamb is going to need to stand out to make an impact right away.
Connor – Lynn Bowden Jr., Las Vegas Raiders
I originally liked the Raiders drafting Bowden until they drafted Bryan Edwards the pick after. On top of that, the Raiders announced they will be using Bowden more as a running back rather than a wide receiver. Bowden will be at best the backup running back and the fourth string wide receiver.
Brady – Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
Higgins is a big body receiver, who is already drawing comparisons to A.J. Green. I’m here to tell you that he’s not even close to Green, and fans will be disappointed in thinking so. Higgins lacks separation, meaning almost every target that goes his way will be a contested catch. I had serious concerns about his game translating to the NFL and there is no way he can replace Green as the Bengals’ top wide receiver in a few years.
Frank – Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles
Reagor has a chance to eventually emerge as the number one receiver for the Eagles, but I don’t think it will be for a couple of years. DeSean Jackson is still the premier deep threat on the team, Alshon Jeffery is still a decent receiver, and Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert are great tight ends, so Reagor’s target share will be limited. Reagor will be a boom-or-bust fantasy option as a deep threat receiver. You would be wise to target other rookie receivers who have more of a diversified skill-set with a clearer path to targets.
J.R. – Denzel Mims, New York Jets
Mims is entering a very tenuous situation in New York. Breshad Perriman is the unknown factor as he finished the 2019 season with fantastic numbers after Mike Evans and Chris Godwin went down with injuries. Based on that performance, it would be surprising and completely unsurprising if he became the Jets’ clear-cut WR1. Jamison Crowder is Sam Darnold’s favorite safety valve. The oft-injured Quincy Enunwa could pose a threat if he’s healthy, and Chris Herndon should take away Mims’ target share, too. Mims has a fight ahead of him if he wants to make an impact.
Questions and comments?
thescorecrowsports@gmail.com
Hit us up on the Socials:
Twitter@thescorecrow
Reddit at u/TheScorecrow
Facebook at The Scorecrow
Instagram at The Scorecrow
Check out our Facebook Group where you can read and post articles at The Scorecrow
Reddit Group where everyone can post without fear of being banned at The Scorecrow
Follow Mike Fanelli on Twitter @Mike_NFL2
Follow Joshua Abbe on Twitter @jabbe05
Follow Connor Neal on Twitter @Draft__HQ
Follow Brady Podloski on Twitter @BpodNFL
Follow Frank Ammirante on twitter @FAmmiranteTFJ
Follow J.R. Duren on Twitter @jr_duren
Main Image Credit:
[getty src=”902778694″ width=”594″ height=”396″ tld=”com”]
