20 Tips for Winning A Fantasy Championship in 2020

If you’re reading this article, it’s probably for one of two reasons. The first is that you are a cognoscenti of fine literature, and it’s a well-known fact that when it comes to the written word, it’s hard to top a fantasy football magazine.

It’s true. I read it on the internet – and if it’s on the internet, then it must be so.

The second is that you are preparing for the season to come in the hopes of securing that which all fantasy managers want but only one in each league can have – a championship at the end of the year.

I’ve already done what I can in the first regard by including “cognoscenti” in this piece – that word of the day toilet paper practically pays for itself.

Now it time to address the second, with maximum meat and minimum surfeit (word of the day double-score!).

So, without further ado or cockalorum (totally a word – for reals), here are 20 tips that will aid you in your quest for fantasy glory in 2020.

01. Thanks to the arrival of young quarterbacks like Kyler Murray of the Cardinals last year and Joe Burrow of the Bengals in 2020, the QB spot is deeper than ever in fantasy leagues. There are signal-callers like Daniel Jones of the Giants, Baker Mayfield of the Browns and Philip Rivers of the Colts who are being drafted outside the top-15 at the position this season. You could conceivably wait until every other team in your draft has a starting quarterback (and then some) and still wind up with a starter with considerable upside. Don’t be afraid to be patient under center this year.

02. Speaking of Murray, last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year has garnered a boatload of hype as 2020’s second-year breakout at quarterback. A bit too much hype, as a matter of fact. Yes, Murray is a mobile quarterback with an impressive array of passing-game weaponry at his disposal. But he’s also soared all the way to third among quarterbacks in ADP at Football Diehards. The bar has been set so high that Murray’s going to have a hard time clearing it.

03. If there is a second-year breakout at quarterback in 2020, Jones might actually wind up the guy. Consider these stats, courtesy of ESPN’s Matthew Berry. Jones had at least 20 yards rushing in seven of 12 starts. Jones had four games with 28 or more fantasy points, tied for third most in the NFL. From Week 8 on last season, Jones was the fifth-best QB in fantasy. And Jones played zero snaps with Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, Golden Tate, and Darius Slayton on the field together last season.

04. Ryan Tannehill of the Titans is a fantasy afterthought in 2020, being drafted outside the top-20 at his position in terms of ADP. But over the second half of the 2019 season, Tannehill was also a top-5 fantasy option in many scoring systems. Even if Tannehill’s production tails off some in 2020, he still presents excellent value as a platoon option or depth late on draft day.

05. After hitting something of a slump a few years ago, the running back position is back on top in fantasy football drafts – nine of the top 12 players in terms of average draft position in 2020 are backs. Does this mean that draft strategies that favor wide receivers early ala “Zero RB” are dead? Nope. But it does mean that you should be aware going in that in most drafts the RB position is going to be absolutely slammed in the early-going.

06. Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns is the ninth of those running backs – and the final pick in Round 1 on average. Chubb was second in the NFL in rushing last year with 1,494 yards and eighth in PPR fantasy points. Those impressive numbers aside, there is some cause for concern. From Week 9 on (when Kareem Hunt returned from suspension) Chubb was 23rd in PPR fantasy points among running backs.

07. After a disappointing 2019 season that saw Todd Gurley average just 3.8 yards per carry, the Rams cut bait on the 25-year-old. Now in Atlanta, Gurley’s being drafted as a high-end RB2 this season, checking in 15th at the position in terms of ADP. There’s some rebound appeal present with Gurley in his new home – even in last season’s “down” year Gurley was a top-10 fantasy back in PPR leagues from Week 11 on.

08. The 2019 season of Chris Carson of the Seattle Seahawks was cut short by a fractured hip. But Carson enters 2020 healthy again, reportedly the unquestioned No. 1 back in Seattle and a player who was fifth in rushing attempts, 10th in PPR fantasy points among running backs and one of the best backs in the NFL against stacked boxes. Not bad for a running back who is being drafted outside the top-20 at his position.

09. With Frank Gore out of the picture, second-year pro Devin Singletary is getting quite a bit of run as a breakout candidate in 2020. But before you invest heavily in Singletary this year, consider the number eight. That’s how many carries that Singletary received inside the 10-yard line all season long. By weight of comparison, Gore had 18. Given that his ADP is upward of six rounds later than Singletary, rookie bruiser Zack Moss may well be the better value among Bills backs.

10. Looking for a later-round running back with the potential of breaking into the top 20 in PPR formats? Matt Breida of the Miami Dolphins might fit the bill. After averaging over five yards a carry each of the past two years in San Francisco, Breida joined the Dolphins in 2020 as the lightning to Jordan Howard’s thunder in Miami’s backfield. Breida showed flashes of game-breaking ability with the Niners – if he winds up leading the Miami backfield in touches, he’ll crush his RB39 ADP at Football Diehards.

11. Not much went right for the Chicago Bears offensively in 2019, but wide receiver Allen Robinson quietly had a solid year – 98 catches, 1,147 yards, seven touchdowns, a WR7 finish in PPR leagues and a whopping 27 percent target share. Chicago’s pass-catching corps doesn’t appear markedly better this year than last, but with luck the arrival of Nick Foles will give the Bears a boost under center in 2020. If you hit the running back position early but can circle back and get Robinson as your WR1 in the third or fourth round, your fantasy draft will be off to a solid start.

12. Over the past two seasons, Robert Woods of the Los Angeles Rams ranks eighth among all wide receivers in PPR fantasy points – more than the likes of Robinson, Odell Beckham of the Browns, Amari Cooper of the Dallas Cowboys and Adam Thielen of the Minnesota Vikings. Woods set a career high with 90 catches last year and topped 1,100 receiving yards for the second straight season. With Brandin Cooks now in Houston, there’s little reason to think that Woods’ production is going to tail off – yet Woods is being drafted in mid-range fantasy WR2 territory.

13. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are riding a massive wave of hype into 2020 with the arrival of Tom Brady, and both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans are being drafted inside the top 10 after finishing in WR1 territory a year ago. Of this year’s top-10 at wideout, Evans is the riskiest pick of the lot despite never logging fewer than 1,000 yards in a season. Evans is coming off a career-low in targets (118), and his skillset as a vertical threat doesn’t exactly mesh with who Brady is at this point in his career. There’s also the matter of the red-zone targets that Evans could lose to Rob Gronkowski.

14. Speaking of Brandin Cooks, the unenviable task of replacing DeAndre Hopkins in Houston falls to the 26-year-old in 2020. It’s a risky play by the Texans given Cooks’ history of concussions – a history that makes investing fantasy draft capital in Cooks risky as well. But Cooks isn’t exactly an expensive commodity this year – the seventh-year veteran is barely being drafted inside the top-30 among wide receivers. That’s quite a discount for a player who posted an 80/1,204/5 line and WR16 PPR finish as recently as 2018.

15. This tip was originally dedicated to Julian Edelman of the New England Patriots and the value he had given his top-10 PPR finish in 2019 vs. his WR37 price tag with Jarrett Stidham as his (probable) quarterback. Now that Cam Newton is in Beantown, that ADP is going to climb—possibly by a lot. But even as a mid-range WR2 Edelman is an intriguing target. After all, we’re talking about a guy who just posted a 100/1,117/6/WR7 season on an offense that wasn’t exactly lighting it up in 2019. The 2020 version would have to completely tank for Edelman to not be a value play.

16. Raju Byfield of Fantasy Pros wrote that rookie wideout Justin Jefferson could be in for a huge first season as Stefon Diggs’ replacement in Minnesota. “Jefferson should be a near every-down player,” he said. “He should surpass 750 receiving yards on the season, but he has the potential for much more.” Jefferson exploded for 111 catches, over 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns last year at LSU, and with Diggs gone someone has to step up opposite Adam Thielen in the Twin Cities. Jefferson’s ADP this summer is barely inside the top 50 among receivers, and his upside is more than worth that modest asking price.

17. Travis Kelce of the Chiefs and George Kittle of the 49ers are the gold standard among fantasy tight ends this year, and there’s a pronounced drop-off after the top 5 players or so. Among that top 5, the best value lies with Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders. Waller exploded last year to the tune of 90 catches on 117 targets for over 1,100 yards and a TE5 finish in PPR scoring systems. Waller remains the top option in the Raiders passing game and has a good chance at backing up that 2019 finish, and his ADP is the lowest of the top 5 tight ends.

18. The first tight end being drafted after those top 5 tight ends is a familiar face who wasn’t available to fantasy managers in 2019 – Rob Gronkowski is back in the NFL after a one-year hiatus. Gronk’s being drafted early in Round 6 on average after joining Tom Terrific in Tampa, and in his last full season he was the top tight end in fantasy football in terms of PPR points per game. The problem is that season came in 2017, and since then the 31-year-old struggled through an injury-marred 2018 and sat out last season. Gronkowski is being drafted a lot closer to his fantasy ceiling than the floor.

19. Two years ago, Eric Ebron caught 13 touchdown passes on the way to a Pro Bowl berth and TE4 finish in PPR scoring systems. The 2019 season was a much quieter one (due in part to five missed games), and now the 27-year-old finds himself in Pittsburgh. There’s still Vance McDonald to contend with in the Steel City, but Ebron presents intriguing fantasy upside in his new home as the No. 17 tight end in terms of average draft position in 2020.

20. Many fantasy drafters like to wait to draft a team defense before targeting a squad with a solid matchup or two to open the season. In 2020, the Philadelphia Eagles fit that bill. The Eagles open the season on the road against a Washington team that ranked seventh in fantasy points per game allowed to team defenses last year. Philly’s Week 2 tilt with the Los Angeles Rams isn’t as favorable, but you ditch the Eagles for the Browns and their Week 2 meeting in Cleveland against the Cincinnati Bengals.


Gary Davenport is a Contributing Author and Associate Editor at Football Diehards and a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year.