Proceed With Caution: Wide Receivers (#FantasyFootball)

Whether you play traditional fantasy football or PPR, wide receivers are an important part of your scoring.  Unfortunately, picking a wide receiver who will bring you fantasy brilliance in also depends on the quarterback under center (and the offensive line).

Here are five wide receivers on teams that you should proceed with caution when you do your NFL 2020 fantasy football draft.

5. Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys’ wide receivers led the NFL in dropped passes last season with 29.  And you first choice Amari Cooper is the main culprit.  In 2018 season Cooper’s drop rate was 13.62%m the fourth worst in NFL.  Last season between two teams Cooper dropped eight passes ranking him sixth in the NFL in dropped passes.

Cooper is now a paid man, getting a deal worth $60 million guaranteed to stay in Dallas.  His quarterback is the only one on the team who didn’t get his heart’s desire.  And we have seen this story before, the roller-coaster career of Cooper.  Last season after the trade he was up, finishing in the top 10 for fantasy receivers.  So do you expect Cooper to stay up?

The Cowboys lost Randall Cobb in free agency.  There is still Michal Gallup who reeks of fantasy potential…even with 11 dropped passes last season.

You don’t want to run away from the Dallas receivers, you want to proceed with extreme caution and lower expectations.

4. Los Angeles Rams

This is less about head coach Sean McVay and his mental acumen than about Jared Goff and his 16 interceptions last season, and 20 interceptions that were dropped. And this season he will be without the services of running back Todd Gurley and wide receiver Brandin Cooks.

Yes, there is still Cooper Kupp who gave you 10 touchdowns and 94 receptions last season.  And Robert Woods who averaged 9.5 fantasy points per game.  But for right now the losses are bigger than what they retained.  And there is still the inconsistency of Goff to consider.

3. Chicago Bears

Speaking of reliance upon the quarterback…if the Bears continue to put Mitchell Trubisky under center, the Bears wide receivers are an afterthought. This is the very definition of wide receivers dependent upon their quarterback.

Last season the Bears wide receivers caught 23.6% of their passes behind the line of scrimmage.  The receivers corps was 28th in the NFL in yards after the catch.  They also didn’t help themselves with 12 combined dropped passes.  (Just an aside how confident on an offense can you be when they rely on Jimmy Graham as an integral piece?)

Allen Robinson has the chops to be a top fantasy producer.  Last season he finished with 154 targets and 98 receptions, but only seven touchdowns.  He averaged 7.4 yards per target and 11.7 yards per reception.  Think what he could become if the Bears had a quarterback who could get the ball to him downfield?  Until that proves to be the case proceed with caution on drafting Robinson.

2. New York Jets

Remember when Adam Gase was an offensive wonderkid? Last season the Jets averaged 4.6 yards per offensive plays.  While Jets offense totaled 19 passing touchdowns, only four of those came from receivers aligned wide (second-fewest in the NFL).

Now they are without the services of Robby Anderson who accounted for five of the touchdowns while averaging 15.0 yards per reception.  That leaves you Jamison Crowder who finished as the 26th best wide receiver in fantasy last season.

The Jets did add Tampa Bay’s Breshad Perriman who had six touchdowns while averaging 17.9 yards a reception last season.  But that was with a different quarterback and head coach.  This is New York! And Sam Darnold who averaged 6.9 yards per pass with 441 attempts and 273 completions is a big change from the 8.9 average yards per pass he is used to seeing.

But this may all boil down to Gase and his ability to come out of the offensive scheming funk he seems to be spiraling. That and the talent on the field. Talent in wide receiving area you might think of avoiding.

1. Carolina Panthers

The Panthers are in a precarious position. That doesn’t even account for last year’s 1.2 yards per route run on plays that targeted a Panther wide receiver.  Or having 21 interceptions and 17 touchdowns in the season.  Or even getting rid of head coach Ron Rivera, tight end Greg Olsen and quarterback Cam Newton.

It could be having your top-ranked wide receiver, DJ Moore have four total touchdowns in the season with 89 receptions and four drops on 135 targets.  The best wide receiver on the team was running back Christian McCaffrey, who pulled in 116 receptions and four drops on 142 targets.  Oh yeah, McCaffrey also added four receiving touchdowns.

The moral of the story, it is McCaffrey or bust in Carolina in 2020.

When drafting your 2020 fantasy football team, remember the wide receiving position does not stand alone.  If the quarterback sucks…well the wide receiver will suffer along with your fantasy goals.

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