Washington Football Team Fantasy Football: Streaming WFT Could Be Key To Your Title
*Contributors Note: All projections and average draft position (ADP) based on ESPN’s rankings and statistics
We are just two weeks away from the 2020 NFL season with a majority of fantasy football leagues yet to draft. This is one of the most certain—yet uncertain—offseasons when knowing who will make league rosters.
Because there were no OTAs, rookie camps, and a traditional preseason with four games with limited video and access to camp, we are more likely to see veterans hold onto roster spots that rookies would have taken in normal circumstances.
However, this could make it more difficult for fantasy players to figure out who to draft. For anyone that has played fantasy football before, you know that you never finish with the roster you drafted. It’s nearly unheard of for those that pay attention.
So I am here to help you sort out which Washington Football Team players you should—and shouldn’t—draft for your re-draft and dynasty leagues.
Terry McLaurin
2019 Statistics: 58 receptions; 919 receiving yards; 7 touchdowns; 191.9 fantasy points
2020 Projections: 73 receptions, 1,055 receiving yards; 5 touchdowns; 210.1 fantasy points
2020 ADP: 66.8; 24 wide receiver drafted
Terry 'McScorin’ had a pleasantly surprising breakout rookie season on a dreadful offense. This is also the only true no brainer draft pick in a 10 team, standard PPR league. McLaurin proved last year that he can battle the best cornerbacks in the league and still produce. Against Derrius Slay he racked up 5 receptions for 72 yards on 12 targets, with some of those missed opportunities being missed throws by quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Slay even said after the game that that was one of the toughest matchups he’s ever had. They will be seeing each other twice a year as Slay is now a Philadelphia Eagle.
McLaurin only had three games last year where he was targeted less than five times showing that he is a target machine. With the Washington FT likely to be playing from behind most of the year, there is a chance that Terry could see an average of eight targets a game. Something that might seem unthinkable with the new additions to the offense and all that is involved with a Scott Turner offense. Terry is the only reliable weapon who will likely be on the field for 95%+ offensive snaps this year. I would put Terry down for a top 15 season and flirting with top 10 status with volume ending up being his friend.
Dwayne Haskins
2019 Statistics: 1,365 passing yards; 7 touchdowns; 7 interceptions; 101 rushing yards; 76.7 fantasy points
2020 Projections: 3,702 passing yards; 18 touchdowns; 14 interceptions; 189 rushing yards; 211 fantasy points
2020 ADP: 169.9; T-33 quarterback drafted
The curious case of Dwayne Haskins fantasy value is going to be interesting to watch week to week. Frankly, that’s how you should handle him this year. If you are a traditional fantasy football player and stream quarterbacks throughout the season, Haskins might be the right guy for you to win games when the match-up is right. There is also the possibility that the Washington FT is going to be in a negative game script so much that they will have no choice but to keep chucking the ball around. If you are a daily fantasy sports (DFS) player, then Haskins could be a cheap quarterback option allowing you to invest in other players.
Even in an offense that could initially struggle out of the gates, 3,700 passing yards seems a little low. Haskins could end up eclipsing 4,000 yards passing this year with the gadgets and gizmos offensive coordinator Scott Turner will pull out from the playbook each week. McLaurin will be his prime target while looking to spread the ball around more to his other playmakers. Oh, yeah, and I would expect a few rushing touchdowns in the red zone ala Kirk Cousins and Cam Newton to help increase his fantasy production.
Antonio Gibson
2019 Statistics: N/A
2020 Projections: 303 rushing yards; 2 rushing touchdowns; 40 receptions; 386 receiving yards; 1 receiving touchdown; 126.9 fantasy points
2020 ADP: 150.8; 45 running back drafted
Antonio Gibson is the biggest wildcard on the Washington Football Team offense this year. The coaching staff is having Gibson learn plays specific to him from both the running back and wide receiver playbooks. This has led to a slower than normal progression and at times confusion on the rookie running back’s part. Gibson will be used as a swiss army knife and likely in packages with fellow third down back J.D. McKissic. Gibson is currently being drafted almost a full round before veteran Adrian Peterson. An ADP of roughly 151 is a perfect sweet spot for Antonio. His production early in the season is completely uncertain with McKissic also getting snaps. This position on the draft board is also prime for taking a late round flier on a potential sleeper or someone to draft and stash in a dynasty league. If there is high volume production from Gibson this year, we will see it starting to pop in the back half of the year. Also consider Gibson a cheap DFS Flex play a few weeks into the season.
Adrian Peterson
2019 Statistics: 898 rushing yards; 5 rushing touchdowns; 17 receptions; 142 receiving yards; 147 fantasy points
2020 Statistics: 607 rushing yards; 4 rushing touchdowns; 17 receptions; 133 receiving yards; 116.2 fantasy points
2020 ADP: 157.4; 47 running back picked
Veteran Adrian Peterson is probably the hardest one to figure out among the running backs and fantasy value. If Love can’t stay healthy, Peterson could touch 1,000 yards rushing and 5+ rushing touchdowns. If Love is healthy and/or the offense is playing on a negative game script, that means less touches for Peterson. Additionally, if Gibson can put it together late in the year, it diminishes Peterson’s fantasy value drastically. Peterson’s ADP as another late round flier could be a nice Bye Week plug and play, but anticipate having him as one of the first players you drop for an emerging young fantasy point machine. For DFS, I wouldn’t touch Peterson unless there is an extremely favorable match-up.
Logan Thomas
2019 Statistics: 16 receptions; 173 receiving yards; 1 receiving touchdown; 39.3 fantasy points
2020 Projections: 26 receptions; 311 receiving yards; 2 receiving touchdowns; 71.6 fantasy points
2020 ADP: Undrafted
Logan Thomas screams DFS and streaming tight end option. Haskins has been working hard building a relationship with Thomas during red zone drills. It seems to be paying off as they rarely have a bad drill together. That has expanded to 11 v 11 practice with Thomas being the likely safety valve option. With the offensive line being an uncertain unit, we could see a surprising early uptick in targets for Thomas. As with has been discussed before with likely playing in a negative game script most of the year, Thomas could benefit from that and see his reception and receiving yards double from the above projections in a real bullish scenario. For now, don’t draft him, but track him in your standard fantasy football league. If the Washington FT are playing a defense that is terrible against the tight end, snatch him up for cheap and invest your cap money elsewhere.
Steven Sims, Jr.
2019 Statistics: 34 receptions; 310 receiving yards; 4 receiving touchdowns; 85 rushing yards; 1 rushing touchdown; 109.5 fantasy points
2020 Projections: 50 receptions; 550 receiving yards; 3 receiving touchdowns; 44 rushing yards; 132 fantasy points
2020 ADP: Undrafted
Steven Sims, Jr. is a darling story going from undrafted to making the roster last year. His impact on the slot once he was seeing consistent playing time certainly helped Haskins as he developed. Sims has also worked with Dwayne this offseason to build a better connection. Steven is a serious red zone threat and could be a main target of Haskins is things do not develop quickly between him and Logan Thomas. Simms has proven to be shifty and has focused on refining his footwork in press coverage and short yardage situations. Sims is a better fit for 12+ team leagues and DFS then for a 10-team fantasy league. Keep an eye on him though. If rookie Antonio Gandy-Golden struggles early, Sims could see his target share increase based on past production.
Bryce Love
2019 Statistics: N/A
2020 Projections: 194 rushing yards; 1 rushing touchdown; 9 receptions; 68 receiving yards; 44.6 fantasy points
2020 ADP: Undrafted
This really won’t take that long. Don’t draft Bryce Love unless you are in a dynasty league and you are taking a flier on him. Don’t choose him in DFS until he proves he gets enough touches with Adrian Peterson also in the backfield.
J.D. McKissic
2019 Statistics: 205 rushing yards; 34 receptions; 233 receiving yards; 1 receiving touchdown; 83.8 fantasy points
2020 Projections: 122 rushing yards; 1 rushing touchdown; 21 receptions; 171 receiving yards; 1 receiving touchdown; 59.9 fantasy points
2020 ADP: Undrafted
J.D. McKissic is another one of those, “if this, then that” players on this roster. The one thing that we can likely be certain on is he will see a majority of the work as the third down running back while rookie Antonio Gibson is still trying to digest the plays that he has been assigned. The coaching staff has raved about McKissic all throughout camp and reports are that he has the ability to feast in Scott Turner’s offense. McKissic could also see an increase in projected production if the offense plays behind this year. His ADP is non-existent, but I would consider taking an early season flier on him especially in leagues that are larger than 10 teams. Also consider him as a cheap flex option in DFS.
*Contributors Note: All projections and average draft position (ADP) based on ESPN’s rankings and statistics
Sign up free, register and join us by voicing your opinion on our community pages and right below!
Alan Lepore joins "Washington Football" on SI.com, while still doing outstanding work as an editor/writer at FullPressCoverage.com or @FPC_Redskins. You can follow him on Twitter @AlanLepore or on instagram @leporealan. Alan is a Villanova University MPA Nonprofit Management candidate and is a fundraising/development professional.
