The first two sections of the 2020 Draft Kit detailed how to approach fantasy value in general, with an emphasis on identifying positional talent levels and adjusting draft strategies accordingly.
This third section will take a look at the relative positional talent levels for the 2020 season.
This will be done by ranking every position by the color-coded grades in the Draft Guide and Excel cheat sheets, with the non-PPR rankings serving as the guidepost. Keep in mind that for every position the goal is to have as many blue- and green-rated players as possible and to have the bottom of the bench supplied with yellow-rated players. There should be next to zero orange- or red-rated players on any roster outside of very deep leagues.
Quarterback
Color grade distribution
Blue-rated: 4
Green-rated: 7
Yellow-rated: 8
Talent availability rating: Average
It wasn’t long ago that quarterback talent was so plentiful that fantasy managers often waited until the later rounds to draft their starting quarterback. That isn’t the case this season, as with only 11 quarterbacks having blue- and green-rated overall grades it’s likely that at least one team in a 12-team league will end up with a yellow-rated starting quarterback.
This indicates it is not a year to take a passive approach to drafting players at this position. It can be wise to wait for a short time if your team isn’t fortunate enough to select one of the blue-rated players here but paying a bit of an earlier round premium for Deshaun Watson or Kyler Murray could be worth it given their blue-rated upside potential. Tom Brady is also still an undervalued draft asset given his blue-rated upside and 7th-8th round ADP.
Running back
Color grade distribution
Blue-rated: 11
Green-rated: 15
Yellow-rated: 16
Talent availability rating: Above average
With 26 blue- or green-rated players at this position, most, if not all, teams in a 12-team league should be able to claim two high-quality starting running backs. Even the yellow-rated prospects have starting-caliber upside, as all but one of the 16 yellow-rated running backs have green-rated upside grades. Given the comparative depth between running backs and wide receivers (more on which below), it might not be the year to count on slotting a running back into a flex starter role, but rather aiming for one or two of those green-rated upside plays to serve as potential alternate flex candidates.
Wide receiver
Color grade distribution
Blue-rated: 11
Green-rated: 19
Yellow-rated: 22
Talent availability rating: Well above average
No fantasy football position has more available talent this year than wide receiver. With 30 players having blue- or green-rated overall grades, it is quite possible to aim for three strong starters here even in a 12-team setup. Add that to 22 yellow-rated wide receivers, 16 of whom have green-rated upside grades, and it should be easy to stockpile four, and possible to roster five, players with blue- or green-rated overall or upside grades. Don’t let many too many of the quality candidates fly off of the board before adding a wideout to your fantasy roster, but do know that the depth here means other positions should win most of the tiebreakers if/when you have a quandary as to which player to take.
Tight end
Color grade distribution
Blue-rated: 4
Green-rated: 2
Yellow-rated: 15
Talent availability rating: Below average
This is the boom or bust position among the quarterbacks/skill position picks in fantasy football in 2020. That means it is strongly suggested that fantasy managers prioritize drafting Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, George Kittle, or Zach Ertz sometime in the first four to five rounds of most drafts. In the event those four aren’t available, Rob Gronkowski and Darren Waller round out the green-rated options that fantasy managers will likely have to select in rounds 6 or 7.
There is a silver lining in the event those six are off the board before a fantasy manager makes a tight end selection, as 13 of the tight ends with yellow-rated overall grades have green-rated upside grades. A number of those candidates can be selected with later round picks, so those taking this route can roster a couple of these upside plays with the hope that at least one will pan out as a green-rated starter this year.
D/ST
Color grade distribution
Blue-rated: 3
Green-rated: 5
Yellow-rated: 9
Talent availability rating: Below average
I get push back every year from fantasy managers who don’t want to take a D/ST in anything other than one of the last two rounds of the draft. That may have been understandable not long ago when D/STs were continuing on their decade-long trend of declining fantasy point production, but that trend is now moving back in the other direction and D/STs have thus earned a higher draft priority.
The suggestion here is that Pittsburgh and San Francisco are both worth taking around the tenth round, while New England can wait another round and the green-rated D/STs can all be taken a round or two after that. Getting anything lower than a green-rated D/ST will likely mean chasing stream start options far more often than necessary.
K
Color grade distribution
Blue-rated: 3
Green-rated: 5
Yellow-rated: 9
Talent availability rating: Below average
I’ve had a long-standing rule to not cover kickers in my fantasy football material because they are generally crapshoot options. With the advent of Paydirt I decided to change that and add kickers into the writing fold.
That writing rule may have changed, but the reality is we still shouldn’t overthink this position. The mindset here is to find a reliable kicker on a high scoring offense.
Only three players fit this description to a blue-rated level, those being Wil Lutz, Harrison Butker, and Justin Tucker. Fantasy managers who have already selected a D/ST in one of the earlier double-digit rounds might be tempted to wait until the last round to get a kicker, but don’t underestimate the consistency value of a blue-rated kicker. Take Lutz, Butker, or Tucker in the next to the last round if necessary, as the peace of mind that comes with having a strong kicker will save waiver wire claim time and unnecessary headaches throughout the season.
