Fantasy Football Stock Watch: NFC West risers and fallers
By Drew DeLuca
Fantasy Football Stock Watch: Los Angeles Rams
The biggest offseason news in Los Angeles is two old faces who are now in new places. Brandin Cooks was then traded to the Texans, and Todd Gurley joined the Atlanta Falcons after his release by the Rams.
Long-term injury concern surrounded both players: Gurley has a well-documented, degenerative arthritic knee condition, and Cooks’ multiple concussions (two in 2019 now makes five documented concussions, including a high profile one in Super Bowl LII) are a lingering concern for not only this season but his career and general well-being.
Quarterback Jared Goff, much maligned by fantasy football analysts for being dishearteningly average, welcomes a pair of underrated rookie second rounders into the huddle as their replacements: Florida State rookie running back Cam Akers and Florida wide receiver Van Jefferson.
Akers, who we highlighted in our Rookie Stock Watch article last month, will be given every opportunity to unseat disappointing second-year back Darrell Henderson while Jefferson attempts to unseat Josh Reynolds from his WR3 role.
Goff, despite his “average” label, has finished as the overall QB12, QB7, and QB13 in fantasy football during his three full seasons as an NFL starter. At worst, he’s a fringe starter in regular 1QB leagues and a great target for those who wish to load up on other positions in the early rounds in 2QB or Superflex drafts.
Q: Why should such an average quarterback be an under-the-radar target in fantasy football?
A: Robert Woods, who has seen 130 or more targets in two straight seasons, and Cooper Kupp, who caught 94 passes for 1,161 yards and 10 touchdowns on 134 targets in 2019.
Neither Woods nor Kupp is ever taken above Round 4, yet both have been quietly prolific in their careers with the Rams. Despite the emergence of tight end Tyler Higbee in 2019, both Woods and Kupp should continue to see as least as much volume, given the departure of Cooks and question marks surrounding the identity and effectiveness of his replacement.
Speaking of Higbee, fewer players are as polarizing in the fantasy football community right now. According to FantasyPros.com, notable experts such as Yahoo!’s Andy Behrens and Liz Loza, and Michael Florio and Nick Mariano (both from Rotoballer) have planted their flags on Higbee as a Top Five tight end in fantasy football for 2020.
Others, however, point to the fact that Higbee’s five-game streak of 43 catches for 522 yards and two touchdowns coincided with the injury-induced absence of Gerald Everett, with whom Higbee shared targets previously.
For our purposes, Higbee is not someone to reach for, nor is he someone to avoid: in order to maximize value and ensure sufficient roster depth at other positions, Higbee should be taken no earlier than the middle rounds of all but TE premium leagues.