Can Tyrod Taylor be a valuable piece to your fantasy squad in 2020? Click to find out!
Category: Redraft
This kinda felt like a sinking ship the moment Cam Newton walked onto the field to start the season despite clearly still being under the effects of last season's lingering injuries. To Ron Rivera's credit, he did manage to last all the way through twelve games despite benching Newton after two. At the end of the day though, when your entire team's success rests on the shoulders of a single injury-prone player then this is bound to happen sooner or later. Enter Matt Rhule. Carolina brings in Rhule as their new head coach after watching him turn Baylor's program around in just three short years despite following in the wake of a massive scandal. Rhule brings with him his defensive coordinator from Baylor Phil Snow, and hired LSU WR coach and passing game coordinator Joe Brady as his new offensive coordinator.
In my never-ending quest to bring attention to players worth stashing on the end of your bench, I'm bringing you not one, not two, but SEVEN. An entire starting roster of rookie players going incredibly late in drafts with the potential to break out and make you look like a genius.
Head coach Sean McDermott will continue his tenure after taking the Bills to the postseason for the second time in three years, a vast improvement over the 17-year drought preceding him. He will keep both his coordinators on board as well. This is an obvious decision regarding defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier after he helmed a top 3 defense. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll did not enjoy nearly the same level of success as the Bills' offense ranked in the bottom third of the league in both points and yards. Daboll did continue to coax noticeable improvement out of QB Josh Allen, however, which kept him safe from the chopping block (and almost earned him a head coaching gig in Cleveland).
Gage has the opportunity to do the former, with the Atlanta Falcons having the most vacated targets to fill at a whopping 258 (39.3%) and a not-insignificant 1285 air yards vacated. Many, including myself, expect Calvin Ridley to see a substantial uptick in targets this year. The additions of Hayden Hurst from the Ravens and Todd Gurley from the Rams will eat up a good portion of those homeless targets. That still leaves a healthy amount likely to go to the primary slot receiver, Russell "83" Gage.
Ryan Tannehill is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in dynasty Superflex right now. He is the 22nd quarterback off the board, according to the myfantasyleague.com average draft position data. Why do the Titans believe enough in Ryan Tannehill to extend his contract through 2024, and yet the fantasy community thinks he is in the bottom third of NFL quarterbacks?
Safe to say that no one in the Ravens coaching staff is losing their jobs due to poor performance last season. Perhaps more surprising is that none of them left for greener pastures after such all-around dominance. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman commanded the top offense in the NFL while defensive coordinator Don Martindale coached up a top 5 defense despite the mass exodus of star players prior to the 2019 season (earning himself quite the payday as a result). And of course, we can't forget head coach John Harbaugh, who was considered to be on the hot seat just a year and a half ago. There aren't many more secure HC seats going into 2020.
Thanks in no small part to a late-season surge, Dan Quinn keeps his head coaching seat by the skin of his teeth for the second year in a row. Sharp contrast from the Falcons' Super Bowl appearance just a few years ago. He retains Dirk Koetter as his offensive coordinator, but will relinquish his defensive coordinator title to Raheem Morris. Morris was promoted from DB coach, but had been calling defensive plays toward the end of 2019 anyway so there likely won't be a huge change on that side.
Nothing new to see here. Kliff Kingsbury returns for year two of his Arizona rebuild as both head coach and offensive coordinator after some eye-opening improvement on the offensive side of the ball. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph returns as well, although his seat is likely to be considerably hotter than Kliff's after the defense actually posted worse numbers than they did in 2018.
This year just felt like the physical embodiment of Murphy's Law for the Redskins. The defense regressed, the rookie quarterback did not appear ready for the big league, and approximately everyone was injured. Jay Gruden stood no chance. Taking his place as the new head coach will be Panthers castoff Ron Rivera. Rivera brings with him Scott Turner from Carolina to be the offensive coordinator. His defensive coordinator will be Jack Del Rio, who last coached at the NFL level in 2017.
