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Taking A Dive Into The Rosters From Around The League
Author: Chris Wolf
This time of year is typically the time when teams, trainers and agents hype up their players. We know how the world has changed in recent months and the NFL is no different in its approach to returning to “normalcy”. With the news of NFL staff and players testing positive for the Coronavirus, fantasy news is taking a backseat. As a result, fantasy players are missing out on the typical hyperbole surrounding pre-season roster news and notes.
In this series we will look at who’s who on rosters and how that may help in your drafts and early waivers.
Each week we will examine a division’s skill position current roster and predictive depth chart heading into training camp to see how that relates to their fantasy outlook.
Dallas Cowboys
HC: Mike McCarthy
OC: Kellen Moore
QB: Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton, Clayton Thorson, Ben DiNucci
RB: Ezekiel Elliot, Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, Darius Anderson
WR: Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Devin Smith, Ventell Bryant, Cedrick Wilson, Aaron Parker, Tevin Jones, Noah Brown
TE: Blake Jarwin, Dalton Schultz, Blake Bell, Cole Hikutini, Charlie Taumoepeau, Sean McKeon
Jason Garrett departs after 9 years at the helm and is replaced by former Packers cast-off Mike McCarthy. While taking a year off from coaching, McCarthy spent his time updating his approach to coaching and worked on becoming a “modern football coach”. He intends to keep Kellen Moore as the primary play-caller and adapt to Moore’s system instead of installing his own. Ranking number 1 in 2019 total offense with 6,904 yards it would be silly to fix what ain’t broken.
Dakota Prescott put together an MVP caliber campaign in his 4th year and has been blessed with even better weapons in 2020. Prescott set career bests with 4902 yards and 30 touchdowns as well as improving on completions and passer rating. Prescott faces an extremely passer friendly schedule for the first 8 weeks of the season before Dallas plays Pittsburgh and then Minnesota after the bye week. Prescott should be counted on for QB1 production for most of the season and you can safely wager he will return top 6 QB upside once again. Behind Prescott is former Bengal, Andy Dalton. This signing was extremely smart for both parties and was quite underrated when reported. Dalton has been a QB1 in fantasy with less overall weapons at his disposal and could very well return to fantasy starter status if anything were to happen to Prescott.
Ezekiel Elliot ($15M) is well entrenched in the conversation of elite running backs of the last decade. He seems as if he has been around longer than he has because he’s been so productive since the first moment he stepped on the field. The recently turned 25-year-old is absolutely outstanding in every facet of the game and salary aside, I really couldn’t fault anyone for arguing that he’s a better all-around running back than Saquon Barkley. The depth chart behind Elliot is rather slim except for the electric Tony Pollard. Something is in the water in Memphis because they keep producing lightning quick, slippery backs such as Pollard, Darrell Henderson, and Antonio Gibson. Pollard ($796K) is one of those guys that can line up all over the field to create a mismatch with the defense. Much has been said from the Dallas coaching staff about Pollard’s usage in 2020 and we can hope that he offers low-end flex play any given week or high-end RB1-2 play if Zeke were to miss any time.
Amari Cooper leads this triumvirate of stud wide receivers that will surely give opposing teams nightmares all season long. Cooper faded down the stretch last season, but he still amassed 79 receptions for 1189 yards and 8 td’s. If you can see past his 5 yr./$100 million salary, then he is a solid WR2 for your fantasy team. He will give you boom weeks, but he will also give you bust weeks, specifically against elite corners that will shadow cover. Unfortunately, he draws one of the few CB’s that will shadow cover in week one in the Ram’s Jalen Ramsey. This type of coverage will open up budding WR2 Michael Gallup. Gallup weighs in at just $880,000 a year and is a fantastic pivot for those that went RB/QB heavy in early rounds of their drafts. He showed WR2 value and even outscored the “great” OBJ in two fewer games played. That brings us to ultra-rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys absolutely crushed this year’s draft and it all started with the selection of the Oklahoma product in the first round. Lamb dominated with a 62/1,327/14 line in his final collegiate year and many had him as the 1st receiver to be selected in this year’s draft. Along with TE Blake Jarwin and possibly Elliot, Lamb projects to be a huge benefactor of the 190 vacated targets (2nd in NFL) and 1713 vacated air yards (also 2nd in NFL). Speedster Devin Smith rounds out the fourth spot on the depth chart.
Jason Witten has taken his dad running style to Las Vegas which leaves his 83 targets on the table for Blake Jarwin to scoop up. Jarwin’s $5.5 million salary is modest for the production he may post in this high-flying offense and his skill set as a TE will most assuredly keep him off the line and have him tearing down seems and managing the middle of the field for Prescott. There is very little competition for targets behind him with blocking TE’s Dalton Schultz and Blake Bell rounding out the roster.
New York Giants
HC: Joe Judge
OC: Jason Garrett
QB: Daniel Jones, Colt McCoy, Cooper Rush, Alex Tanney
RB: Saquon Barkley, Dion Lewis, Wayne Gallman, Javon Leake, Sandro Platzgummer, Elijhaa Penny
WR: Sterling Shephard, Golden Tate, Darius Slayton, Corey Coleman, David Sills V, Derrick Dillion, Binjimen Victor
TE: Evan Engram, Kaden Smith, Levine Toilolo, Erc Tomlinson, Rysen John
The NY Giants usher in a new era led by HC Joe Judge and OC Jason Garrett and this should be a fun one. Judge has made an immediate impact by making his coaches take laps with the players, taping tennis balls to players hands and removing the red no contact jersey from the former 6th overall pick in the 2109 draft. Enough about the stellar coaching, now on to the players. Daniel Jones had an impressive rookie campaign and the stat line might not actually reflect how well he played. He made plenty of rookie mistakes and reportedly has been focusing on cutting down on the crazy number of turnovers from last season. Jones posted a respectable 24 TD’s to 12 INT’s in his rookie output, but he also had a league-high 18 fumbles, losing 11 of them. Jones also kicked in 21.5 yards per game on the ground adding 2 touchdowns.
“The” offensive centerpiece in New York is Saquon Barkley. The generational runner is hoping to put most of 2019 behind him where he was banged up for part of the year. He is still on his rookie contract ($7.8M) and has little behind him to pose a threat to siphoning snaps. Wayne Gallman filled in during Barkley’s absence last year but did not exactly set the fantasy world on fire. Dion Lewis was brought in, but he should not pose much of a threat to the sure-handed Barkley even in passing downs. Judge claims that the offense will be run similar to Jason Garret’s offense in Dallas. The same (pre-Kellen Moore) offense that ran the ball a ton and preached clock management to keep the ball away from opposing offenses. This bodes well for the run game even though they will be without OT Nate Solder who chose to opt-out due to COVID-19.
The receiving corps was built around efficiency with good route runners that could find space in zones and worked well enough with the young quarterback. Sterling Shephard would be considered the no.1 receiver on this team but since being drafted in round 2 of 2016, he has not eclipsed 66 catches or 872 yards in a season. He apparently has been “embarrassing corners” at Giants camp but he will most likely be the first of many to do so in 2020. Shephard makes for a solid depth piece on your Dynasty Owner team but at a $10.25 million salary, you can find better alternatives that are number 1’s on their teams. Golden Tate has had a fine career while playing for four teams in his 11-year career but at $9.38 million, he is a worse version of Sterling Shephard. Playing in just 11 games in 2019, he produced a line of 49/676/6 and now has to share snaps with an improving Darius Slayton and possibly Corey Coleman. Slayton is predicted to fight for snaps and has reportedly been producing in camp along with Shephard. Slayton is in the second year of his rookie deal and his $688,000 contract is way more appealing than the previously listed receivers. Jones certainly trusted him and looked for him during his part-time starter stint last year filling in at times for Tate and Shephard. Evan Engram is said to be injury-free and feeling as good as he ever has coming into camp. Coming off a Lisfranc injury that derailed his 2019 campaign Engram hopes to bounce back in a big way. SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano predicts a career year for the former first rounder and is claiming for him to go over 1,000 yards “easily”. In his three years in the league, he has never gone over 722 yards in a season while missing an average of 4.6 games a year. If he can stay healthy, Engram is certainly talented enough to cash in on the hype.
Philadelphia Eagles
HC: Doug Pederson
OC: Press Taylor & Jeff Stoutland
QB: Carson Wentz, Jalen Hurts, Nate Sudfeld
RB: Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Corey Clement, Elijah Holyfield, Michael Warren, Adrian Killins
WR: Alshon Jeffery, Desean Jackson, Greg Ward, John Hightower, Jalen Reagor, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Quez Watkins, Marcus Green
TE: Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Noah Togiai, Caleb Wilson
The Eagles are poised to make some noise in the NFC this year….if they can stay healthy. That’s a big “if” and it hasn’t been a great start to the season. Wentz, Sanders, Jeffery, and Reagor have all missed some sort of time so far but the real damage they took was on the offensive line. With season ending injuries to RG Brandon Brooks and LT Andre Dillard the once promising O-Line will need to do some juggling to stay competitive.
Carson Wentz did a fantastic job in 2019 with what he was left with at the receiver position. Everyone outside of the other three NFC East teams was hoping to see the return to near MVP form of 2017. He is talented enough but has been rocked by injuries both to himself and his pass game targets. Wentz draws a hefty paycheck at $32 million annually but he is only 27 years old. His current contract runs through 2025 so if you are on the fence with the older QB’s in the similar price range, consider his contract just began where others are coming to end and seeking a new deal. Behind him is former Heisman runner-up Jalen Hurts. Hurts is a fantastic athlete that just happens to be playing the QB position. Several people have been pressing him into the Taysom Hill role but that may be just a little immature. He has talent and enough arm strength to stick around the league, but he is still quite raw.
The entire off-season was filled with speculation as to who Philadelphia would be bringing in to compete in the backfield. I don’t necessarily believe it is a complete assurance for Miles Sanders but a vote of confidence for Boston Scott. These two backfield mates make a fantastic duo and should both have enough of a workload to allow for plenty of fantasy goodness. Sanders had a solid second half of 2019 once Jordan Howard was out of the way and projects for roughly 20 touches per game. He is an excellent receiver and fantastic outside runner, but he does lack in the quick redirect department. Hopefully, he improves on his decisiveness a bit more in year two, but big things await him if his vision matures. Scott is more than just a satellite back and has true three down ability. He demonstrates power and elusiveness in his 5’6” 200 lb frame. His 8 missed tackles on 27 receptions are just a small sample of how powerfully slippery he is. The $615k salary for Scott is very enticing and should not be overlooked. If Sanders were to go down, Corey Clement figures to pick up his snaps in the run game while possibly expanding Scott’s targets.
On paper there was so much preseason talent and speed in this group it was silly. Fast forward a few months and Desean Jackson may shockingly be the healthiest guy in the group. Marquise Goodwin opted out, Jeffery is still not ready and probably won’t be to begin the season and Reagor injured his shoulder days ago. Ward and Hightower have appeared to step up and Arcega-Whiteside seems to be coming around. There is still a lot to hope for this group, but it just might take a little longer than expected. Reagor is the one that everyone is excited to see and for very good reason. He is fun to watch and is an absolutely electric athlete. His $3.3 million a year makes him a fine reserve in 2020 with fantasy starter potential in 2021.
Ertz is set to make $8.5 million this year and is nearing the time for a contract extension. Time will tell what the price tag would be, but it won’t exactly be Kittle/Kelce money. Ertz has been a fantastic tight end in his seven years with the Eagles and is not looking like he is done yet. Still under 30 years old, he has mirrored Travis Kelce since both came into the league in 2013. Ertz has Kelce beat in targets and receptions, but Kelce has edged him in yards, yards per game, yards after contact and touchdowns. Translation; Ertz is elite, Kelce is on another level. The looming contract extension for Ertz does not bode well for Goedert. It was once assumed that Goedert was to be the heir apparent to Ertz’s Philly legacy, now the 25-year-old might just have to be the very best TE2 in the league.
Washington Football Team
HC: Ron Rivera
OC: Scott Turner
QB: Dwayne Haskins, Alex Smith, Kyle Allen
RB: Adrian Peterson, Antonio Gibson, Bryce Love, Peyton Barber, JD McKissic
WR: Terry McLaurin, Kelvin Harmon, Trey Quinn, Steve Sims Jr, Antonio Gandy-Golden, Dontrelle Inman, Cam Sims, Jordan Veasy, Isaiah Wright, Jester Weah, Tony Brown
TE: Richard Rodgers, Logan Thomas, Jeremy Sprinkle, Marcus Baugh
You want to root for Ron Rivera. You need to root for Ron Rivera. Let’s recap his last few months. Get fired from a job mid-season after 8 years…check. Get hired by a team that was later involved in a very public scandal…check. Get hired by a professional sports team that doesn’t have a name…check. Find out you have cancer just before the season starts…check. Rivera is as hard as they come for coaches and he’ll need every bit of that mettle in 2020. His defense should be solid anchored by five former first round picks along the defensive front. But, it’s his offense that is a bit concerning led by Daniel Snyder favorite, Dwayne Haskins. Haskins is in his second year ($3.6 million) and showed some promise at the end of last year. The Ohio State product managed a stat line of 7 touchdowns to 7 interceptions for 1365 yds at an awful 58.6 completion rate in 9 games. Pretty bad but the good news for Haskins is Alex Smith is not quite ready to jump back under center and Kyle Allen is just plain bad. Haskins does not exactly have a stellar array of weapons outside of rookie star Terry McLaurin and possibly 2020 rookie Antonio Gibson.
With the departure of Darius Guice, Adrian Peterson keeps the role of the early down back and does not have much competition for that role. Entering his 14th season Peterson is not quite the fantasy god that he once was, but he can still get it done as a role player for this team with no name. In 211 touches he put together an 898/5 line while kicking in 17 catches for 142 yards. His $2.5 million salary is palatable since he is 35 years young and is most likely finished in 1-2 seasons. Bryce Love was a former Heisman hopeful that regressed after ankle and ACL injuries derailed his college career. Once considered a lock to be a first-round pick, he fell to the fourth round and is now fighting for a roster spot. Peyton Barber is a plodder without much burst and J.D. McKissic seems to have a secure role as a passing down specialist. That leaves Antonio Gibson for the other roster lock. Gibson ($1.2 million) is already taking first team reps and is possibly in line for more than just a reserve role at running back. He is a big bodied back that can play nearly any offensive specialty position on the field and will provide much needed versatility to a team short on dynamic playmakers.
The receiver depth chart seems to have taken shape this late in camp with McLaurin as the clear no.1, Inman as the no.2 and Sims lining up in the slot with Gandy-Golding holding down the no.4 duties. This quote from Norv Turner (from 247 Sports) says it all about McLaurin; “I mean, he’s a young man I think that had a solid year last year as a rookie, a third-round pick,” Rivera began. “He’s a guy that could be on the verge (of stardom), he really is.” McLaurin is set to be the centerpiece of this offense, but Washington will need to find a supporting cast capable of moving the offense alongside him. With Harmon shelved for 2020 (ACL), 2019 surprise Steven Sims could prove to push for the second most WR targets if he can hold off veteran Dontrelle Inman. Gandy-Golden has been reported to be behind in picking up the playbook and is not currently running with the first team offense. He offers a big bodied target for Haskins and may jump to the head of the line with some real-life reps.
The Washington TE position is one of the weaker ones in the NFL. Jeremy Sprinkle is in the mix to start but it looks like former QB Logan Thomas has the inside track on the gig. Thomas sports a $3 million salary and is not expected to be a high-volume pass catcher in a weak offense. You do the math.
We hope that you enjoyed this article. Check back soon for the NFC West roundup!
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