Quarterback Stacks To Target In 2020
If you had to know one fact about my fantasy football strategy, it’s that I invariably take a late-round QB. While I love Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and others, I find consistent value at the position in the double-digit rounds. However, with the uncertainties that the 2020 season will bring, perhaps it is time to reexamine that strategy. Early QBs have the potential to win your matchup any given week, and the top QBs this year are no exception.
Stacks Implementing The Late-Round Quarterback Strategy In 2020: Read It Here!
This strategy of targeting an early quarterback can be effective in 2020 when building stacks. Stacking is a fantasy football term for playing multiple players from the same team to capitalize on the success of that particular offense. Typically this is done with a QB and either a WR or a TE.
For example, if Mahomes throws a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill, if you had Mahomes, you would receive 5 points in a standard 4 pt/TD league. Meanwhile, if you had Hill, you would receive 9.5 points for that play in a PPR league. However, if you had the pair, you would have 14.5 points for that single play. On high-powered offenses, you can hand yourself a week-winning boost on just a single play.
My co-analyst Zareh Kantzabedian already broke down the 2020 stacks to target when utilizing a late-round quarterback strategy. While I normally prescribe to this strategy, for those of you who wish to secure that safe early-round quarterback, below are my stacks to target for each of the top three drafted QBs in 2020 (per ESPN ADP).
QB: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
ESPN ADP: 15.3
Early-Round Target: Travis Kelce, TE
ESPN ADP: 17.9
Over the past four years, Travis Kelce has emerged as the clear #1 option in both Kansas City and in the NFL amongst Tight Ends. In each of the past four years, Kelce has had a minimum of 117 targets, 83 catches, 1,038 yards, and 4 touchdowns. These stats were good enough for Kelce to finish as the #1 TE for all four years. Additionally, over that period, Kelce has been a hallmark of availability, only missing one game over that stretch. While others like Tyreek Hill may provide more flare, a second and third round stack of Mahomes and Kelce will provide consistency with a strong upside throughout the 2020 season.
Late-Round Target: Mecole Hardman, WR
ESPN ADP: 137.9
The issue with a Kansas City stack is that most of your targets (Hill, Kelce, Clyde Edwards-Helaire) are going to cost you an early-round pick. However, in a later-round stack option, the primary goal is to find upside, and Mecole Hardman has it in spades. During Hardman’s first season in the NFL, the rookie was able to score on a whopping 15 % of targets. Hardman’s stats were incredible for his small share of targets, totaling 26 receptions on 41 targets, 538 yards and 6 touchdowns. Hardman’s remarkable 20.7 yards per reception would have placed first in the entire NFL had he received 50 targets (minimum targets Pro Football Reference requires to be on the 2019 receiving list). With both Hill and Sammy Watkins having injury concerns throughout their careers, Hardman could be in line for an enormous breakout in 2020 and is the perfect late-round target for the Mahomes owner in your league.
QB 3: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
ESPN ADP: 15.9
Early-Round Target: Mark Andrews, TE
ESPN ADP: 45.8
Lamar Jackson wasn’t the only breakout star in 2019 for the Baltimore Ravens. On just 35 snaps per game, Andrews commanded a 23% target share from Jackson. Andrews was able to turn that target share into 64 receptions, 852 yards, and 10 touchdowns. With Hayden Hurst and his 39 targets leaving for Atlanta, Andrews has a prime opportunity to improve his snap percentage and target share. Even if he doesn’t, Andrews accounted for 28% of Jackson’s TDs and established himself as the primary RedZone option for the Ravens. Typically costing you a 4th round pick, a Jackson/Andrews stack in 2020 could continue to pay dividends.
Later-Round Target: Marquise Brown, WR
ESPN ADP: 87.8
I’ll be honest, outside of Mark Andrews, there aren’t many enticing receiving options in Baltimore. The current depth chart for the Ravens Wide Receiver corps stands as Marquise Brown, Willie Snead, Miles Boykin, Devin Duvernay. As it stands, the only other receiving option worth having in Baltimore is Brown, who is being drafted as the WR 32 off the board near the start of the 8th round.
Brown started 2019 off with a bang. In his first two games, Brown received 18 targets, turning those targets into 12 receptions, 233 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Brown was eventually slowed by an ankle injury in Week 5 and was subsequently on the injury report for most of the season. However, even in his limited work in an injury-plagued year, Brown produced a respectable stat line of 46 receptions, 584 yards, and 7 touchdowns. The Ravens did nothing to improve their receiving corps in 2020 outside of drafting Devin Duvernay at 92 overall. As such, with clear upside and a firm hold as the WR1, Brown could establish himself as a great stack with Lamar at a discounted price.
QB: Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
ESPN ADP: 43.2
Primary Target: Brandin Cooks, WR
ESPN ADP: 115.1
Once you get past the top two QBs, the position becomes much murkier. While Watson is being drafted in the middle of the 4th round, because of the loss of Deandre Hopkins, Watson often falls into the 5th and 6th rounds.
Related | Why I’m Buying Brandin Cooks In All Of My Leagues (And You Should Too)
While many here would expect and prefer Will Fuller as the primary target here, I strongly prefer the second option of Brandin Cooks. Cooks is currently being drafted in the 10th round. In four years in the NFL, Fuller has failed to eclipse 670 yards in each season and has missed a total of 22 games over that period. While Fuller may have a higher upside than Cooks, Cooks has established himself a good, if not great, receive in the NFL.
Cooks may leave a sour taste in the mouth of many fantasy players, but this is wholly due to a lost 2019. From 2015 to 2018, Cooks had at least 1,000 yards each season. More impressively, Cooks achieved this with three different teams, demonstrating his ability to adapt to new situations. In 2020, Cooks finds himself on the fourth team of his career, but that hasn’t affected him in the past. Houston has 167 vacated targets in 2020, good for sixth-most in the league. Lastly, and perhaps most vitally, Cooks has only missed 8 games over his NFL career. As such, Cooks appears to be a strong bet to return to that 1,000-yard mark in 2020.
Related | The Houston Texans Stack Is Cheap And Dangerous
Secondary Target: Randall Cobb, WR
ESPN ADP: Undrafted
How is Randall Cobb going undrafted? In 2019 Cobb resurrected his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, operating as the primary slot receiver for Dak Prescott. Cobb finished as the WR 44, with 55 receptions, 828 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Cobb did so well that Houston paid him handsomely for his services. The Texans gave 30-year old Cobb a three-year deal worth $27 million.
In Houston, Cobb walks into a lot of opportunities. As mentioned above, the Texans have 167 vacated targets from the previous season. Additionally, Will Fuller and Brandin Cooks (the two receivers projected to start in front of Cobb) have missed a combined 30 games over their careers. Between Cobb’s safe PPR floor in the slot, and the potential to push even farther should Fuller or Cooks go down, Cobb stands to be a great late-round flyer and should be a FLEX-worthy start most weeks, should he need to be.
Follow @FF_Durham for more advice, decent takes, and overall positivity throughout the 2020 season.
