2020 Fantasy Football Deep Sleeper: Thaddeus Moss

TE Thaddeus Moss (Washington Redskins) | Rookie

2019 Stats (LSU): 47 receptions for 570 yards, 4 TD

Due in part to the discovery of a Jones fracture in his right foot during his Combine medical check, Thaddeus Moss went undrafted in April. But the rookie tight end out of LSU landed quickly with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent, a decision he recently said was because they called him first.

Moss’ college career was affected by injuries, and while he’s big (6-foot-3, 249 pounds) with the requisite catch radius he does not have the speed and athleticism of his Hall of Fame father Randy Moss. But beyond the fact the Redskins called him first after the draft concluded, he landed in a spot where there’s a chance to make an immediate impact.

Washington released oft-injured tight end Jordan Reed this offseason, and Vernon Davis retired. That leaves Jeremy Sprinkle (26 receptions for 241 yards and one touchdown last season) and two underwhelming free agent signings (Logan Thomas and Richard Rodgers) on the depth chart.

Wide receiver Terry McLaurin was an instant difference maker as a rookie for the Redskins last year, and it was a good thing. After his team leading numbers (58 receptions on 93 targets for 919 yards and seven touchdowns), no one got to 50 catches or 400 yards and the running back Chris Thompson (42 catches for 378 yards, second on the team in both categories) left in free agency.

After only adding Thomas, Rodgers and wide receiver Cody Latimer to the skill talent around Dwayne Haskins in free agency, the Redskins did add running back Antonio Gibson and wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden in the draft. But there is still a noted lack of weapons in the passing game.

McLaurin had a 20 percent target share last year, followed by Thompson (12.5 percent), Steven Sims (12.1 percent) and Trey Quinn (10.1 percent). Thompson’s target share is available, as is the departed Paul Richardson‘s 42 targets (9.1 percent).

Focusing on tight ends, Sprinkle and Davis combined for a 12.7 percent target share in 2019 (59 targets). Assuming the Redskins offense functions better this year, after coming in dead last in the league in scoring (16.6 points per game) and third-down conversion rate (29.1 percent), the target pie will be bigger.

The Redskins were 17th in the league in pass play percentage last year (59.77 percent), with an uptick to 62.1 percent on first down (10th-highest in the league). Carolina, where new Redskins’ head coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner came from, was fourth in passing percentage and second in pass percentage on first down last year (a nod to a dreadful defense).

Rookie tight ends are rarely big factors in fantasy football, and Moss is difficult to project for a lot of reasons beyond that history. But there is an opportunity in front of him, and he’s someone for dynasty leaguers to have in the back of their mind. In re-draft leagues, he’s easily best left on the waiver wire in every scoring format and league size with some potential to be a streamer if things break right.

Thaddeus Moss 2020 Projection: 30 receptions for 338 yards, 3 TD

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