Most of you have probably heard by now about a particular high profile signing the Patriots made. For most signings, even the high profile ones, I can just make a small edit to the original projection and leave it at that. Swapping out Jarrett Stidham for Cam Newton under center, however, is no ordinary change. Cam's unique talents and abilities demand an entirely different offense, something that I have no doubt Bill Belichick is aware of. As such, we bring you our revised Patriots projection!
Category: Dynasty
There is often a disconnect between football outcomes and fantasy football production. The disconnect has its most significant impact when assessing the change in fantasy value for players on a team that drafted their new stud quarterback. In this article, we will look at the last decade of top-16 quarterbacks and analyze why you shouldn't expect increased fantasy production from any of the Bengals skill position players in 2020. However, if you think Burrow is going to be the greatest quarterback in NFL history, then you're probably going to disagree with everything in this article.
Maybe the Titans' defense wasn't what it was in 2018, but Dean Pees still did some excellent work with them in 2019. His decision to retire ends a very successful career that featured a top-12 defense in 11 out of his 12 years leading one. In the wake of his retirement, head coach Mike Vrabel has decided to not hire a new defensive coordinator to replace him, opting instead to spearhead a collaborative effort himself. They are keeping offensive coordinator Arthur Smith though after the Titans offense jumped from being a bottom-5 unit to a top-10 one.
The Pittsburgh Steelers had a rough beginning to their 2019 season. Ben Rothlisberger played in two games and missed the remainder of the NFL season due to an arm injury. His absence forced the Steelers to trot out Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at quarterback. Well, things did not go as planned. The skill players for the Steelers were average at best, and Juju came back down to earth from his breakout season in 2019. With Big Ben back and hopefully healthy, they look to regain their form and fantasy-friendly offense. Let’s take a look at their 2020 outlook.
Not that the Bucs had a bad offense before, but new head coach Bruce Arians actually turned all those yards into points. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles also did rather well with a defense largely devoid of talent. Sure he allowed a few more points than you'd normally like to see, but he was put in bad positions rather frequently by a certain turnover-prone quarterback. Both coaches will return for the 2020 season. Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich will also return, though Arians is truly the one in command of this offense.
Opportunity is just as much of a factor as talent when it comes to finding the next fantasy football sleeper. Ryquell Armstead is entering his second year in the league after the Jaguars made him the second pick in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He comes from a small school, Temple University, whose toughest in-conference opponents were UCF and Cincinnati. Even while playing against the less-than-stellar competition, Armstead was only able to rush for 1000 yards his senior year, despite getting at least 150 carries in each of his last three years. His 4.45 40 yard dash was particularly impressive considering his 220-pound frame, but otherwise, he did not wow anybody at the combine. It is no surprise that he was the twelfth running back off the board.
Cooks has been a wanted man in the NFL since being drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 2014. In 13 months, Cooks was traded from the Saints to the Patriots to the Rams. Cooks was moved arguably before his prime, too, between the ages of 23 and 24.
The Seahawks were perfectly adequate last season. 11-5 and won a playoff game. Certainly enough to keep all the coaching positions safe, but not enough to start seeing coaches getting poached to lead other teams. As a result, head coach Pete Carroll will return to continue his streak as the 5th longest tenured head coach in the NFL. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and defensive coordinator Ken Norton will return as well.
Matthew Stafford is currently being drafted as the 18th quarterback off the board in dynasty leagues according to myfantasyleague.com ADP data. Stafford is being taken around the 13th quarterback off the board in both redraft and best-ball leagues, according to fantasypros.com. Stafford would have been the QB 3 in 2019 if he continued on his pace for the whole season.
Not much to say here. It's not like head coach Kyle Shanahan is on the hot seat after making the Super Bowl. He also doesn't have an offensive coordinator that can be poached as Shanahan is his own offensive coordinator. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was considered a head coaching candidate elsewhere, but wound up staying put.
