Mason Thompson | May 2nd, 2020
The draft has come and gone and some teams have improved while some have, well let’s just say tried their best. Of course, teams try to improve their roster, but fantasy football owners also watch where players go and how they impact other player’s situations. I will take a look at the veteran players who won from their team’s drafts, as well as some players that lost fantasy impact.
Winners
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
While I wasn’t a fan of the CeeDee Lamb selection for the Cowboys overall, it helps Prescott immensely in fantasy. He already finished as QB2 last year and now he has another weapon at his disposal. He should be viewed as a top-five quarterback in start up dynasty drafts now.
Dwayne Haskins, QB, Washington Redskins
Not only did the Redskins not take a quarterback, but they also helped Haskins out by selecting a new starting tackle and two new weapons. While opinions vary on Saahdiq Charles, let’s focus on the weapons the Redskins invested in. Antonio Gibson is a Deebo Samuel type player who can be used in just about every way for the Redskins offense, while Antonio Gandy-Golden provides Haskins with an excellent red-zone threat. He finished on a positive note at the end of the season and should continue this year.
Jarrett Stidham, QB, New England Patriots
While the Patriots are potentially moving to a run-first team, not selecting a quarterback during the draft projects greatly for Stidham. Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett played great when given the shot in New England and Stidham should do the same.
Drew Lock, QB, Denver Broncos
While adding Melvin Gordon helps, adding Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler to go along with Courtland Sutton is an excellent move by John Elway to help with Lock’s development, as well as fantasy players. The Broncos also added Albert Okwuegbunam to go along with Noah Fant. Lock and Okwuegbunam were teammates at Missouri and should have some chemistry built up already. I think Lock is a sneaky option for fantasy this year and is a great option in dynasty formats.
Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
Barkley finished as RB10 last year while missing three games due to an injury while also playing behind an abysmal offensive line. The Giants added Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart to shore up the ends of the offensive line during the draft and didn’t select a running back to eat some of his workload.
Todd Gurley, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Almost all mock drafts I saw had Atlanta taking a running back on day two of the draft. Not only did they not do that, but they also didn’t take a running back at all. While Gurley’s health is still a problem, this move by Atlanta favors Gurley greatly.
Losers
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
The Packers receiving core outside of Davante Adams and Allen Lazard is full of question marks. Green Bay didn’t select a single receiver in the draft and even took a quarterback in round one to replace Rodgers. He showed some signs of decline last year and while that may have been system growing pains, it’s still worrisome.
Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers
Sensing a trend yet? Jones is in the last year of his contract and with the contract Christian McCaffrey just got, it doesn’t look so pretty for Green Bay’s checkbook. Then, the Packers selected A.J. Dillon in the second round of the draft. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jones were to holdout before the season started looking for a new contract.
Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detriot Lions
Detroit was terrible last year and Johnson took a hit because of it. The Lions never used him as much as they should’ve and took D’Andre Swift in the second round. It’s getting more difficult to get a true feature back in fantasy these days.
Damien Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
I wasn’t the biggest fan of Williams last year and Kansas City selected Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the first round. Edwards-Helaire fits well with what the Chiefs want to do and Williams will now take a backseat to the rookie.
Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Mack cracked the 1,000-yard barrier last year but didn’t offer much in the receiving game. Jonathan Taylor offers a similar skillset to Mack but is far more explosive. The two should form a good duo but it definitely impacts Mack’s usage and his long term outlook in dynasty leagues.
Darrell Henderson, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Henderson played a limited role behind Gurley and Malcolm Brown last year. With Gurley on the way out, Henderson looked to have possibly found a bigger role on the offense until the Rams selected Cam Akers instead of J.K. Dobbins (more on that next). Henderson didn’t have much playing time last year and another back coming in doesn’t help with that.
Mark Ingram, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Ingram finished as RB11 last year in an already crowded Ravens backfield. Now, Baltimore has added Dobbins to the backfield and adds a different skillset to the Ravens offense, similar to what Alvin Kamara brought to the Saints offense when Ingram was there. Both should have an impact in Baltimore but Ingram won’t have five receiving touchdowns again and is now a sell in dynasty.
A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
After not playing a snap last year, the Bengals placed the franchise tag on Green heading into the offseason. He seemed sick and tired of the Bengals organization and that was before the Tee Higgins selection 33rd overall. Now, it’s only evident before Cincinnati trades Green to a team in need of receiver help. Pssst…. Green Bay, please.
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