Now that I’ve given you my Top 25, Top 50 and Top 75 Dynasty Rankings for 2020 Fantasy Football, I’ll elaborate a little more on my general dynasty football philosophy. If you gathered some of the stale bread crumbs I left in the first three segments, you may have understood my philosophy to be one part L. Ron Hubbard, one part Antonio Brown and two parts Gordon Gekko. As the great Gekko once said, “I hate hockey and I don’t like kids.” Hmmm I think that’s the wrong quote from the Book of Gordon Quotes I got for Kwanzaa. That one may have been Gordon Bombay.
But getting back to the Gekko philosophy, I tend to look at my dynasty teams like investment portfolios. I tie my capital up in stable assets with upside—both at the draft and in season. This means I tend to fade the running back position. By nature, running backs aren’t stable due to the physical toll their work takes on the body and their greater dependence on offensive schemes, as well as the supporting cast around them.
Of course you won’t be winning your fantasy championship without at least a couple good RBs, so I focus the back end of my portfolio on a handful of growth or even penny stock backs with a chance to skyrocket into Phillip Lindsay or Raheem Mostert types. All of that said, there isn’t one ‘right way’ to invest. So acquire the players you believe in, build around them, and stay flexible in your views. Anyway, here’s my top 100 for 2020 dynasty football PPR leagues:
Rank. Player | Position | Age on 9/1/2020 | Free Agency Year
76. Antonio Brown | WR | 32 | 2020
I’ve caught a lot of grief for a lot of my rankings but one player omitted from my top 75 that literally nobody brought up is Antonio Brown. I’m a little surprised by that. Yes, he’s a bit crazy. Yes, he may never play in the NFL again. Yes, he’ll be 32 next year. But even with all that risk, AB is immediately a top 30 redraft player if he signs—even on the worst of teams—and he pounds some of the best farts in the game. I’d sniff around the buy window if you’re contending in 2020, bring a gas mask.Â
77. Michael Gallup | WR | 24 | 2022
78. DeVante Parker | WR | 27 | 2024
There’s an argument for Michael Gallup and DeVante Parker much higher in these rankings. Gallup is young and should benefit from a real coach in 2020 on a team with loads of talent, but I don’t think he has elite elite upside. Since Fitzmagic took over in week 6, Parker has gone off for 8 touchdowns in 12 weeks while averaging 5 catches and 83 yards per game. All that’s great, but long term QB question marks linger in Miami and really, who hasn’t been burned by Parker in the past?Â
79. Curtis Samuel | WR | 24 | 2021
80. N’Keal Harry | WR | 22 | 2024
We were promised a Curtis Samuel breakout in 2019. Little did we know Cam Newton would take the year off, leaving Kyle Allen to connect with Samuel for 70+ receiving yards only twice this year. He’s still very young, turning 24 this coming August, but QB uncertainty remains in Carolina as well.
The consensus top wide receiver from this loaded 2019 WR draft class, N’Keal Harry has fallen all the way down to my #6 WR from the draft class after an injury marred rookie campaign. The Big Harry is a physical specimen at 6’4″, 225 lbs and could quickly rise back toward the top of the 2019 draft class ranks. But the theme of quarterback cloudiness continues as we await Decision 2020 starring Tom Brady.
81. Kenyan Drake | RB | 26 | 2020
82. Mark Ingram | RB | 30 | 2022
The trade to Arizona was music to Kenyan Drake owners’ ears. He’s only 26 and has a meager 456 career carries on the odometer, but his dynasty value depends greatly on where Drake takes his musical melodies for the 2020 season.
Mark Ingram is now up to 1,523 career carries heading into his 30 year old season but he’s coming off one the best seasons in his 9 year career and remains a mainstay in the elite Ravens offense for two more years. Don’t expect much after the 2021 season but if your contention window is now, bump Marky Mark up your board.
83. Ronald Jones | RB | 23 | 2022
84. Devin Singletary | RB | 22 | 2023
Here’s a tier of two running backs I’ve been down on since they were drafted in each of the past two drafts.Â
In his rookie season Ronald Jones looked more like Ronald McDonald. He came back in year two looking like the Hamburgler. I mean, he looked bigger and stronger. RoJo has also looked much improved in the passing game and I now see the upside.
It seems everyone likes Devin Singletary more than I do. I was forced to defend his omission from the top 75 on last week’s Top 75 Dynasty Rankings Podcast. Cliff notes: I don’t believe Singletary is built to handle a full workload and I didn’t like his receiving ability when scouting his college film, which is key for a back of his size. That said, he’s been better than I expected across the board this year and the Bills haven’t been afraid to give him 20 touches, so I’m slowly coming around. Old biases die hard with these two.
85. Brandin Cooks | WR | 26 | 2024
86. John Brown | WR | 30 | 2022
In one iteration of these rankings Brandin Cooks was inside the top 75. He’s only 26 and he’s locked into the Rams offense for another 4 years, which is a positive, I think. But repeated concussions are a major concern, just listen to Troy Aikman announce a football game. We have to bake that risk into our Cooks valuation.Â
Since escaping the Arizona desert climate, John Brown’s sickle cell symptoms have subsided as he’s played in 31 of 32 possible games over the past two seasons. I’m excited to watch the Smokey Brown/Josh Allen connection grow over the next two years.
87. Derrius Guice | RB | 23 | 2022
88. Royce Freeman | RB | 24 | 2022
Two of the most popular running backs from the 2018 draft class were Derrius Guice and Royce Freeman. That is, until Guice tore his ACL in the preseason and Phillip Lindsay took the Bronco by the balls in Denver. I’m not sure if Guice will ever stay healthy or if Freeman will ever take a lead role, but be ready if they do.
89. Diontae Johnson | WR | 24 | 2023
90. Preston Williams | WR | 23 | 2022
91. Mecole Hardman | WR | 22 | 2023
The JuJu Smith-Schuster support group was out in full force when I snubbed him with my #50 overall ranking a couple weeks back. I’ll throw more gasoline on the fire by saying I think there’s a real chance Diontae Johnson is the best receiver in Pittsburgh.
Preston Williams was in the midst of a nice rookie season, averaging 4 catches and 53 yards per game prior to a year ending ACL injury. That was only a nine game sample but five of those games featured the ghost of Josh Rosen at the helm. Williams is a 6’5″, 220 stud muffin with a vaulted ceiling.Â
One perk to owning Mecole Hardman is all the erection team name possibilities. Also, he has the best young passer in the game at his disposable and he’s lightning fast, turning only 41 rookie season targets into six touchdowns this year. A Hardman is good to find.Â
92. David Johnson | RB | 28 | 2022
93. Devonta Freeman | RB | 28 | 2023 (2020 option for Falcons this offseason, they may move on)
Two running backs going on 28 years old with loads of uncertainty. David Johnson only has 781 career carries in five seasons due to two injury plagued years in that time. Devonta Freeman has compiled 951 carries in six seasons and has dealt with varying degrees of injuries himself in each of the past three seasons. Can these two stay healthy? Where will they call home? Will they have a full time jobs there? Why does my investment portfolio have a minus symbol in front of the total value?
94. Carson Wentz | QB | 27 | 2025
95. Sam Darnold | QB | 23 | 2023
96. Jameis Winston | QB | 26 | 2020
I don’t have a ton to say about this QB tier of Carson Wentz, Sam Darnold and Jameis Winston. I considered veteran options here too—35 year old Matt Ryan and 36 year old Aaron Rodgers. In shallower leagues none of these guys are sniffing my top 100 but I’m ranking for a little deeper crowd where QBs don’t grow on trees like condoms. It’s true, condoms come from trees.Â
97. Auden Tate | WR | 23 | 2021
98. Jamison Crowder | WR | 27 | 2022
99. Robby Anderson | WR | 27 | 2020
The back end of this top 100 was the toughest task of the entire ranking exercise. So many names in the same conversation here: Will Fuller, Anthony Miller, Julian Edelman, Sterling Shepard and Marvin Jones Jr. all received serious consideration for this final wide receiver tier. In the end I went with the upside of the big youngster Auden Tate, the rock solid PPR floor of Jamison Crowder, and the home run play of now free agent Robby Anderson. Â
100. Tarik Cohen | RB | 25 | 2021
Initially I had Rashaad Penny penciled in here, but read reports that he had more issues than “just a normal ACL tear.” Terrible news as Penny really seemed to be coming into his own just prior to the injury.
Instead, Tarik Cohen receives the nod for the final spot. He’s an electric PPR specialist who averaged 4.9 receptions per game this year. Even if the Bears never figure out how to fully utilize Cohen’s skills, he’ll be a free agent after the 2020 season, and maybe he lands in a system that allows him to shine a little more. Alright, that’s a wrap. I’m off to invest all my money in Palm Pilots, pretty sure they’re primed for a comeback!
