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As we rapidly approach the start of the NFL season, we are being inundated with reports out of camp. Leonard Fournette released. Fred Warner with COVID. Derwin James with a knee injury. Yannick Ngakoue traded to the Vikings. My typing skills are trying to keep up. This is the last of the rankings updates, top 50 defensive backs for 2020 IDP leagues, with just a week or so before opening day.  

If you’ve followed my series on strategies and early-season rankings, you’ll know that defensive back rankings are dominated by strong safeties at the top of the board.  Corner is the most easily streamed position in IDP leagues and that has been my recommendation with this position. There weren’t a ton of changes in the rankings, but two big names have been affected by trade, Jamal Adams, and by injury, Derwin James. 

Updates:

Derwin James is the major player here. His knee injury, which is reportedly a tear of his meniscus, has not been updated.  If the injury is one where the cartilage cannot be repaired, and it’s just a “clean up”, he could return in 3 to 4 weeks (similar to Joe Mixon in 2018). If it’s a tear that can be repaired, he could miss most of the season. For this reason, I am dropping him off my top 50 list.  He’ll be a good waiver pick up later in the season, but with the expectation of missing a good portion of the season, he’s undraftable now ( and dropable in the leagues you and I already have him in).

EDIT: Updated expectation is that James will be out 6-8 MONTHS. This will turn out to be either a meniscus repair or an articular cartilage clean-up/repair. (articular cartilage is the cartilage that covers the bone. Once that is “torn”, it is considered arthritis with bare bone showing).  If articular, this is not good for his long term outlook.

Xavier McKinney of the Giants broke the 5th Metacarpal in his foot.  These injuries can vary in the amount of time it will take to return. McKinney falls off the radar for this reason just like James. This is the same injury as Deebo Samuel who is supposedly nearing a return after surgery in mid-June. That’s 9+ weeks already…

Marcus Maye moves up the draft board as he is expected to take on Jamal Adams’ role in the Jets defense. If Maye can step in and perform, he could end up in the top 25 when the year is over. The player the Jets acquired in the Adams trade, Bradley McDougald, will man the deep safety position for the Jets. With the Jets’ poor offensive expectations, McDougald will see plenty of action. He’s a low-end safety at this point. 

Jamal Adams moves down slightly on my board from 1 to 5 (now 4 with James’ injury). I wrote my thoughts about his value after the trade here https://football.razzball.com/the-docs-stock-report-jamal-adams

Logan Ryan signed with the Giants while I was editing this piece. I plugged him in at 48 since it sounds like he may be playing safety to fill in for McKinney. Ryan’s season last year was off the charts and is not repeatable. He’s worth a flier in deeper leagues but don’t draft him too early expecting last year’s numbers. If he were that good, why did it take so long for him to sign? It could have been the money, but teams paid up for other defensive backs in the off-season. 

2020 has been a crazy year. Keep an eye on the news and expect the unexpected.

  Name Team Position
1 Budda Baker ARI S
2 Landon Collins WAS S
3 John Johnson LAR S
4 Jamal Adams SEA S
5 Harrison Smith MIN S
6 Jabrill Peppers NYG S
7 Jordan Poyer BUF S
8 Tracy Walker DET S
9 Justin Simmons DEN S
10 Tyrann Mathieu KC S
11 Jessie Bates III CIN S
12 Keanu Neal ATL S
13 Shawn Williams CIN S
14 Minkah Fitzpatrick PIT S
15 Kyle Fuller CHI CB
16 Taylor Rapp LAR S
17 Terrell Edmunds PIT S
18 Vonn Bell CIN S
19 Stephon Gilmore NE CB
20 Marcus Peters BAL CB
21 Johnathan Abram LV S
22 Malcolm Jenkins NO S
23 Marshon Lattimore NO CB
24 Tre’Davious White BUF CB
25 Adrian Amos GB S
26 Kevin Byard TEN S
27 Marcus Maye NYJ S
28 Hasean Clinton-Dix DAL S
29 Denzel Ward CLE CB
30 Damarious Randall LV S
31 Justin Reid HOU S
32 Patrick Peterson ARI CB
33 Kareem Jackson DEN S
34 Ronnie Harrison JAC S
35 Eddie Jackson CHI S
36 Karl Joseph CLE S
37 Tre Boston CAR S
38 Marlon Humphrey BAL CB
39 Jalen Mills PHI S
40 Adrian Phillips NE S
41 James Bradberry NYG CB
42 Micah Hyde BUF S
43 Antoine Winfield Jr. TB S
44 Sean Davis WAS S
45 Janoris Jenkins NO CB
46 Chris Harris Jr. LAC CB
47 Juan Thornhill KC S
48 Logan Ryan NYG CB
49 Jordan Whitehead TB S
50 Jeff Odukah DET CB
51 Jeremy Chinn CAR S
52 Jaquiski Tartt SF S
53 Anthony Harris MIN S
54 Chuck Clark BAL S
55 Jalen Ramsey LAR CB