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Defensive back rankings can be highly variable based upon your scoring system and even with that, there is a lot of year to year fluctuations especially at cornerback. If you read my DB drafting strategy article you know that my advice is to wait on drafting them.  Yes there are some elite players, but in general, the production from this position varies from week to week based upon who the player is going up against and what you expect the game flow to be. This is the most streamable position in IDP leagues, especially if the league separates out the safety and cornerback positions.  

The reliability of the linebacker position to get you points and the lack of depth at the defensive line position should lead you to drafting them first before going after defensive backs. The main exception is if you play in a very tackle heavy format where getting one the top safeties could be an advantage. Regardless, safeties remain the backbone of combined rankings as the volatility of corners on a week to week basis is what makes them streaming candidates.

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So the country is mostly reopened now. New Orleans has even reached “phase 2” of their reopening, and as you can see in my sub-tweeted image below, folks are really getting out there. The guy in the back right is particularly out there if you know what I mean—don’t look!

Did you look? I told you not to! So there’s lots going on in the Big Easy lately. First we had the whole Drew Brees BLM saga, then protesters toppled a slave owner statue and now Dick’s taking full advantage of phase 2. But in the midst of all this craziness we find one rock: Michael Thomas. The guy just keeps getting better with receiving yardage totals exceeding 1,100 in 2016, 1,200 in 2017, 1,400 in 2018 and 1,700 in 2019. 2,100 yards in 2020 is logically the next stop, should be easy enough for Thomas to demolishing Megatron’s single season record by 140 yards. Anyway, here’s my top 20 wide receivers for 2020 PPR fantasy football:

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As a Raiders fan (F**k the Tuck!), I derived much pleasure from watching the Titans pound the Patriots in the Wild Card game last season. Yes, I’m a hater, but my respect for the organization is robust. 11 straight playoff appearances and three Super Bowls during that span speak for themselves. Anyways, when Tom Brady took his talents to Tampa Bay in the offseason, I giggled like a school girl at first, but then my inner M. Bison surfaced. History has shown that all dynasties end at some point, and the evil empire of the Patriots was about to crumble as well. Hallelujah! Praise be <insert religious entity>. But then I did some digging and what I found was not so pleasant. The Patriots may in fact not be crumbling. It may be reloading for its next iteration, as Bill Belichick went to Jarrett Stidham and adorned the finger with a ring.

Stidham was a five-star recruit at Stephenville High School in Texas. He signed with Baylor and ended up starting three games as a freshman, after the starter suffered a season-ending injury. Unfortunately, Stidham chipped an ankle bone and was shut down for the rest of the season as well. Then, the sexual abuse scandal surfaced at Baylor, and Stidham announced that he would be transferring to Auburn University, where he had a successfull two-year career…..considering the circumstances. 

The numbers look decent…

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Bienvenidos a Miami Nashville! I guess I need to switch from a Cuba libre over to a mint julep for this article. Let’s begin with the storied Miami Dolphins franchise. Miami rostered three quarterbacks who passed for over 20,000 yards and threw for over 120 touchdowns. You may have seen the bronze busts of the first two–Dan Marino and Bob Griese–in Canton, Ohio, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Yet it is the third Dolphins quarterback who owns the lowest interception rate and highest career quarterback rating of the trio. Yes, that’s right, Ryan Tannehill just made you say “no way,” but in that confusing dude-bro style that means “yes, extra sriracha pickles please.” Let’s take a closer look at Ryan Tannehill, who is an ideal quarterback to target in 2020 fantasy football, whether it be redraft, dynasty, best ball, or daily fantasy.

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Have you ever seen the show Alone on the History Channel? It’s a wilderness competition to see which contestant is able survive the longest in severe climates with no food and very few supplies. There’s no camera crew, each contest is responsible for filming all their own footage so they’re legit alone out there. A new season just started and *spoiler alert* one of the guys found an old boat which he repurposed into a hot tub by filling it with water and starting a fire underneath the hull. Man’s genius knows no bounds. Point of this tangent is I’m that guy. I’m out here alone in cold, ranking Austin Ekeler, Miles Sanders and Kenyan Drake acres ahead of the rest of the fantasy world. It’s alright though, I’m chilling over here in my homemade boat tub sipping on some juniper tea. Anyway, I went over most of these guys in my overall top 10 for 2020 fantasy football, but I won’t make you click—only click if you really want more nonsense—because here’s my top 10 running backs for 2020 PPR fantasy football with projections:

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Welcome to the master list of my devy prospects for single QB leagues! For those new to devy: in a “devy” league, short for developmental, managers can select players who are still in college (or high school) and stash them on a separate, inactive roster until they are drafted into the NFL. In this format, the player values can be all over the place and each manager’s process for player evaluation becomes of utmost importance. 

I have previously released articles with my position-specific rankings which describe in more detail my process and what I look for when ranking devy prospects. Check those out here: QB, RB, WR, and TE

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Have you signed up for your chance at an entry into the 2020 RazzBowl yet? Remember when you tried out for your high school’s rendition of Little Women back in the day, but didn’t make the cut? Well now you have one more shot at fame and glory. So what are you waiting for!? I know, beating some idiot named Donkey Teeth in the largest fantasy football joes vs. pros best ball contest in the world may not sound all that glamorous, but Andy Behrens, Heath Cummings, Jake Ciely, Jeff Erickson, Derek Van Riper and Michael Salfino will all be competing too, along with a slew of other big names from the fantasy football world. Darik Buchar of the National Fantasy Football Championship joined us on last week’s podcast to discuss the RazzBowl format and strategy. The Boof and I also talk a little about the RazzBowl format on our wildly popular new YouTube show, Fantasy Football Malpractice (11:20 mark):

In other news, the 2020 dynasty and redraft rankings page—including positional rookie rankings, devy rankings and IDP rankings— is filling out almost as quickly as my quarantine waistline. A couple days ago I gave you my top 10 quarterbacks for 2020 fantasy football. Without further adieu or click-bait, here’s the top 20 quarterbacks for 2020 fantasy football:

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What a time to be alive! 2020 has brought us pandemics, protests, rioting, looting and working from home in your underwear. You can cut the country’s social tension with that frosting spatula you’ve been using to itch your back. But whether you’re black, white, brown or cartoon, there’s one force with the power to unite us all: 2020 fantasy football rankings! Who’s with me? *crickets* Alright, maybe I got a little overexcited. It’s been awhile since I’ve had any human contact. Forget about six feet, I’m not allow to get within 300 feet of my girlfriend, Kerryon. But enough about the sad life of a donkey in love, here’s my top 10 quarterbacks for 2020 fantasy football:

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It happened again. Episode 4 of the legendary Fantasy Football Malpractice show is now playing on computers near you. The Boof and Dr. Donkey Teeth are taking over YouTube! 

This week we have a brief real talk about the current social climate in the United States before diving into fantasy football. In the news and notes segment we chat about DeAndre Hopkins’ proclamation that his numbers will only improve in Arizona and how the COVID induced NFL training facilities limits might provide opportunity for us fantasy football players. Then we dive into the RazzBowl, introducing the format for those not in the know. Sign up for the RazzBowl now!

Later in the Dynasty Dive segment we talk dynasty tight ends, including Jonnu Smith, Mark Andrews and the beast, Darren Waller. Lastly the show rounds out with a discussion about the evolution of gadget players in the NFL and who might see a fantasy uptick in 2020 due to this usage. Buckle up and prepare for some malpractice!

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When I wrote about the top 25 defensive lineman, it was easy to get excited about it. There were players who got you revved up when thinking about their explosiveness coming off the ball, dominating the offensive lineman and putting a hit on the quarterback.  

Writing about the next 25 conjures up very little of those feelings. Historically, this is the shallowest position for IDP leagues as once you get past the top 10-20 players, there is very little difference in the next 30-40. Last year in my home league (scoring was 0.5/tackle, 3/sack/FF/INT, so big play skewed), Joey Bosa finished as DL22 with 4.16 ppg.  Brian Burns was DL51 with 3.12 ppg. That’s only 1 ppg difference between those two players. Is it better to have Bosa, well of course, but over a season, it probably made little difference in your record on a week to week basis. Now this may change a bit with the change in position designation by some sites as many OLBs will be designated at Edge and moved into the defensive line category. This will expand the choices at defensive line and make this group of 25 more interesting. I’ll cover this topic as we get more clarity as to what most sites will do.

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We like short shorts. But on guys with tree trunks for legs who sport a mustache that makes Grey jealous? Yes, me likey. Me likey very much, but only when it comes with fantasy goodness. Who am I kidding? The fantasy goodies are just a bonus because Gardner Minshew is awesome on and off the field. 

If drafting in a league with swag as a category, Minshew is a top ten pick. Unfortunately, we are simpletons and haven’t evolved to that level yet. As it stands, touchdowns, yards, and interceptions are all we have to go on. Last season, Minshew finished as the 20th quarterback in fantasy points scored. He played 14 games. According to FFPC ADP for 2020, Minshew is being selected as the 26th quarterback and 156th overall player. Minshew is a screaming value and should return a handsome profit for those who invest.

Gardner Minshew is 6′ 1″ and 225 pounds. He began his college career at Northwest Mississippi Community College in 2015, leading them to the championship. He then played 17 games over two years for East Carolina, before transferring to Washington State University, where he piloted the team to a school-record 11 wins and led the FBS in pass completions, pass attempts, passing yards per game, and finished with 38 touchdowns. He was awarded the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. 

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When Heath Cummings of CBS Fantasy Sports asked me if I’d be willing to participate in his 20 round industry dynasty superflex startup mock draft, I had to check my schedule. My Kerryon Johnson stalking schedule that is. Between that and working up my 2020 fantasy football rankings I was booked solid. Fortunately, the bushes outside Kerryon’s house are pretty comfortable and I cracked the Johnson’s wifi password months ago. So it was all systems go for this 12 team PPR dynasty superflex startup mock draft, see the full results here. Anyway, here’s the team I came away with:

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