2020 Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings

1.1K

This is the revised edition 2020 Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings. Now that the draft is over, and the rookies are all on a team, we can get a better idea of who projects as fantasy assets.

The top 34 offensive players (QB/RB/WR/TE) have been ranked in this article. There will be future articles that are more positional rankings driven, but for the purpose of this article, we ranked the rookies in one overall list.

The positional breakdown for the top 30 is as follows:

• 3 QB
• 9 RB
• 16 WR
• 2 TE

The running back position is very top-heavy, having four in the top five. Wide Receivers, on the other hand, is very deep this year, making up more than half of the list.

Check out the rest of our Rookie and NFL Draft coverage.

2020 Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings

Complete a free five-minute mock draft against industry experts and custom analysis for your team with the FantasyPros Draft Wizard.

Quarterbacks

Joe Burrow

Burrow will be a day one starter after the Bengals released Andy Dalton. With a plethora of talented receivers to throw to (Boyd, Higgins, Green), Burrow has a strong chance to put up top 15 numbers in his debut season. There will be bumps along the way, like any rookie quarterback, but he should still the first rookie QB selected in your rookie drafts.

Running Backs

Jonathan Taylor

The landing spot for Taylor could not be any better. The Colts have one of the top offensive lines in the league, and Taylor should feast behind it on game days. Marlon Mack is often injured, and an inferior back compared to Taylor, so he should not eat into Taylors carries at all, especially around the goal line.

Another positive with landing with the Colts is Taylor has a competent QB in Phillip Rivers. He will keep the defenses honest, not allowing them to stack the box against Taylor. He should start day one and never look back. Double-digit touchdowns are a real possibility for Taylor.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Realistically, he is 1B to Taylor's 1A, but that can easily be swapped based on personal preference.

CEH was handpicked by Andy Reid, so you know he will be worked into the offense. I called him a Brian Westbrook clone in a previous article, and he should be used the same way in this offense.

CEH is a do it all back, so he should catch a fair amount of balls out of the backfield. He does face some competition in the form of Damien Williams, but by mid-season, the backfield should be his.

Rest of the Pack

J.K. Dobbins should get some play with Baltimore in year one but has a run-first QB and Mark Ingram to fight for carries. Dobbins will most likely have to wait for year two to start.

D'Andre Swift is a tricky one. If he wins the job in camp over Kerryon Johnson (let's be honest, he will), he will be in the conversation with Taylor and CEH. Swift is the type of back that you can build an offense around, should become a favorite for Matt Stafford early and often.

Cam Akers has to at least be mentioned here. The Rams spent a high pick on, so one would think that he will get some action, but they also spent a day two pick on Darrell Henderson Jr. last year, so Akers will have to prove himself. Akers is a versatile back who should be used often in the passing game, making him very attractive in PPR leagues.

Wide Receivers

CeeDee Lamb

Lamb has to be ecstatic with landing in Dallas. He has a QB in Dak Prescott who will get the best of out his talents, and he will line up with Amari Cooper and Micheal Gallup in week one. Lamb may not be the feature pass catcher in the offense but he will face zero double teams with Cooper on the team.

Lamb had a knack for winning at the line of scrimmage and lining up all over the field at Oklahoma. He should do the same in Dallas, seeing some time in the slot and on the outside.

Jerry Jeudy

Similar to Taylor and CEH, you can make a case for Jeudy or Lamb to be the first WR off the board in rookie drafts.

An elite route runner, Jeudy knows how to get open anywhere on the field, which should translate well in the NFL Even with Cortland Sutton on the team, Jeudy, like Lamb will see plenty of work on the outside and in the slot.  A lot of his success will be tied to how second-year QB Drew Lock progresses.

Rest of the Pack

Michael Pittman Jr. is a favorite of mine and sticks out to me in a loaded WR class. A big body receiver with speed, Pittman will play opposite TY Hilton in what should be a good passing attack with Philip Rivers slinging the ball. Pittman fits the mold of the typical WRs that Rivers like to throw to and should be a red-zone favorite for Rivers.

Justin Jefferson immediate steps in the role left vacant when Minnesota traded Stefon Diggs. Jefferson played mainly the slot role at LSU, but he does have the straight-line speed to take the top off of the defense. He is a day one starter for the Vikings as they lack depth at the WR spot.

Jalen Reagor (Eagles), Brandon Aiyuk (49ers), & Denzel Mims (Jets) all got drafted onto teams with immediate needs at WR. All three are projected to start and should help fantasy teams early in the season.

Lastly, keep an eye on Antonio Gandy-Golden. Drafted late by the Redskin, but is a uber talent with an athletic build. He is an ideal complement to Terry McLaurin.

Tight Ends

The tight end position may really lacked any top-end talent this year. The Saints traded multiple picks to go up and get Adam Trautman, but he is stuck behind Jared Cook in year one. Cole Kmet is an intriguing TE, but the Bears also have ten, yes ten tight ends currently on their roster.

---

Keep an eye out for more Fantasy Football content from the Fantasy Six Pack team as the season approaches.