Fantasy Football Impact of Randall Cobb Joining Texans
The Houston Texans shocked the football world on Monday when they traded megastar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick. That move sent shockwaves through the fantasy football community as well.
You can read about how that deal affects Hopkins' value here, and how it affects Johnson's value here. But once the deal was announced it seemed inevitable that Houston would sign a wide receiver in free agency to join Will Fuller and Kenny Still. They found their man late Monday night.
The Texans agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal with slot receiver Randall Cobb. While no one believes Cobb is a true Hopkins replacement, he does have plenty of fantasy relevance in Houston's offense.
Cobb was a frequent resident of my in-season waiver wire pick-ups column in the back half of last season. He finished as the No. 45 overall wide receiver in total fantasy points (141.8) and No. 53 in average points per game (10.1) in PPR formats. After posting a 4-69-1 game in Week 1 against the New York Giants, Cobb slowed considerably until Week 10. He had three straight double-digit weeks from Weeks 11-13, combining for 14 catches, 307 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He caught only six passes over the next three week before finishing the season with back-to-back 12-plus point performances.
The above shows that Cobb was strictly bench or waiver wire fodder in most leagues last season. Will he be more than that in 2020? Not likely.
Sure, Cobb will have his big weeks and I'm sure I'll feature him on more than one waiver wire pick-up article in 2020, but he'll be a late-round flyer at best on draft day. He doesn't have the upside of players like James Washington or Parris Campbell or N'Keal Harry, all players who may be going in that range. Cobb may get the Cole Beasley treated (although, I'd rather have Beasley in 2020) in the sense that no one is enthused about taking a safe slot guy as their WR5.
The other factor to consider is how often the Cowboys threw last season compared to the Texans. Dallas attempted 3.4 more passes per game than Houston. Houston ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in passing attempts for the fourth year in a row in 2019, and I don't see a massive change in philosophy coming this season. That doesn't mean you avoid Texans wide receivers, or even Cobb, but I'd be cautious falling into the "Hopkins' targets have to go somewhere" narrative that's sure to come out closer to drafts.
Cobb is a perfectly fine WR5 who can fill in during bye weeks with a higher floor than most players that will be available on your waiver wire. However, he's not someone you need to target on draft day.
MORE FROM SI:
Fantasy Football Impact of Stefon Diggs Trade to Bills
Fantasy Football Outlook: Jimmy Graham Signs With Bears
Fantasy Football Impact of DeAndre Hopkins Trade to Cardinals
