RADIO
I have been looking at data from the 2019 season since the Super Bowl finished. I have been looking at projections for the 2020 season for the past few weeks. I have been writing fantasy football columns from different perspectives for the upcoming year for quite some time now. Do you know one thing I haven't done? I haven't tried to condense my thoughts on the hopefully-to-come 2020 NFL season, team by team, in a single sentence. Now, that's challenging.
We are accustomed to talking about players rising and falling in the ADP leaderboards, about specific positions and their boom/bust candidates, about sleepers in different places, etc. But it feels like we never look at the bigger picture at once.
Up next, you'll find the list of 16 NFC teams and their outlook for the 2020 season in just a handful of words. With such small descriptions, it is possible that you have another view of things. I hope I can hit the nail on the head on the majority of lines, though!
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NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: The best offense in fantasy football by a mile (sorry, Bucs) independently of the position you look at: Prescott will once again drop in drafts and be available at cheap ADPs, Elliott is a more-than-known-and-reliable asset, and I have zero doubts Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb will give Amari Cooper a run for his money.
New York Giants: Let's not overthink the Giants and assess them for what they are, which is a one-man offense led by a Saquon Barkley (assuming he can stay on the field) that could easily surpass the 1,500 all-purpose yards and 10 TDs in 2020 while playing next to a bunch of question marks (Daniel Jones is perhaps the surest thing with his rushing upside, but other than that who is fully trusting the likes of Evan Engram, Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, and Darius Slayton?).
Philadelphia Eagles: Puzzle of a team in which everything can go right (Carson Wentz stays healthy and plays to surefire-QB1 levels, Miles Sanders bombs from the backfield on both receiving/catching stats, and Zach Ertz racks up points as the clear go-to weapon on offense) as easily as it can go wrong (just look at those bodies, their injuries history, and how little depth there is to this team's depth chart even with the offseason additions).
Washington Redskins: Dwayne Haskins should improve on his second year and (supposedly) first truly leading the team, and Terry McLaurin should be a pretty nice wide receiver through the year if only because Washington has basically nothing else on offense other than Scary Terry.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: Julio Jones and Matt Ryan should connect as they've always done, Todd Gurley II (if truly healthy) should be an 800+ yard/10+ TD rusher, Calvin Ridley will be waiting for Jones' to pass him the leading baton (which will happen sooner rather than later), and Hayden Hurst could be an under-the-radar league winner at TE!
Carolina Panthers: If you draft Christian McCaffrey you can pretty much forget about your league, you'd have already won it; if you don't, then try to get shares of D.J. Moore and most of all Teddy Bridgewater: Carolina has zero QB-depth and Bridgewater is a low-key starter with high upside being absolutely overlooked everywhere.
New Orleans Saints: Look nowhere else if you want to get some very tasty fantasy goodies in 2020: the Saints boast three potential 300-PPR points players at three different positions (QB Drew Brees, WR Michael Thomas, RB Alvin Kamara) that could end as the best players at their respective slots if all stars align, plus a great depth (Emmanuel Sanders, Latavius Murray) and a reasonably reliable tight end in Jared Cook.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Legendary quarterback Tom Brady playing along with an impossibly great receiving corps that includes two uber-legitimate WRs (Mike Evans and Chris Godwin), two walking parties at the TE position (Rob Gronkowski for the good, O.J. Howard for the bad)... and a backfield no one is reasonably paying attention to.
NFC North
Chicago Bears: Avoid everything that includes "quarterback" and "Bears" in the same sentence, pray for Tarik Cohen to keep it up (yes, I'm betting on him beating David Montgomery in total PPR-points by year's end), and give Allen Robinson all of your money because he'll thrive no matter the man throwing him the rock.
Detroit Lions: Love me, hate me team; Stafford should be back but we shouldn't trust him anymore as a 16-game player, and other than Kenny Golladay and perhaps Marvin Jones Jr. there is nothing to do with this team for fantasy purposes if you're serious about winning your league.
Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers might be pissed off, but make no mistake: he's still a top-tier quarterback (don't overpay for him, though) throwing the ball to one of the best receivers in football in Davante Adams (definitely overpay for him) and backed up by a terrific backfield in which Aaron Jones (even if not fully freed) can do it all. Cheating with a second sentence here, but for the love of God draft Packers-WR2 Allen Lazard!
Minnesota Vikings: The saddest fantasy football team would be one made of Vikings, from Kirk Cousins (middling, low-volume quarterback) to Adam Thielen (potential target-hog, but going on a one-man mission) going through the only bright light on this offense: do-it-all 1,300+ yard rusher Dalvin Cook... if you trust his health and contract situation.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: Call me crazy, but Kyler Murray has everything to turn into the next (fantasy-wise, at least) Lamar Jackson given his rushing prowess, the addition of DeAndre Hopkins, and the presence of Kenyan Drake in the backfield keeping defenses honest.
Los Angeles Rams: With Brandin Cooks out of town things become a little clearer for both Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods and both should reach the 1,000-yard mark this season... if Jared Goff plays a relatively average level of football; other than that, make Tyler Higbee and/or Gerald Everett one of your TEs down the road as one of the two will undoubtedly hit through the season.
San Francisco 49ers: Jimmy Garoppolo is no one to trust at quarterback and the offense will come down to George Kittle and the big-man exploits while the likes of Raheem Mostert, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk try to get some points themselves (don't overpay, or even pay at all, for any of them as they don't profile to become very relevant).
Seattle Seahawks: Efficiency hipsters, rejoice: Wilson is a lock to have a monster year, as is normal with him; Tyler Lockett will stay the same one-target/two-receptions/three-touchdowns guy somehow; and D.J. Metcalf has some pro-experience under his belt plus he's following Lockett's steps to becoming the ultimate low-volume/high-production receiver. Cheating again here, but Chris Carson might be the second-tier rusher you want in your lineups weekly.
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