Monday, May 13, 2024

Fantasy Football

WR Upgrades: Rising After the Draft

Belly Up Fantasy Sports, and everyone else, has been all over letting you know which incoming rookies are going to provide the best fantasy value. Now it’s time to take a look at which receiver’s stock is rising after the 2020 NFL Draft. Who earns the biggest WR upgrade due to their team’s draft strategy? Here are five candidates whose stock is rising as we approach fantasy draft day.

Check out the WR Downgrades : Falling After the Draft from Belly Up Fantasy Sports Writer Kye Potter

DeVante Parker

DeVante Parker’s Christmas came early this year. After the Dolphins drafted Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick, I can only imagine Parker was jumping for joy. Yes, Ryan Fitzpatrick will likely start week one, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tua take the field by week five. The Dolphins decided to stick with Parker being their top receiving threat as they chose not to bring in any WR talent with their top picks. The Dolphins did grab Navy WR Malcolm Perry with their last pick in the draft but he provides no threat to Parker.

Once, Tua is medically ready to play, or possibly Fitzpatrick plays so poor that Tua gets thrown in, Parker will pick up where he left off in 2019. The Dolphins added some beef to their offensive line by taking OT Austin Jackson with the 18th pick overall and then adding OG Robert Hunt with the 39th pick overall. By adding to the offensive line, it may make Brian Flores a little more comfortable about putting his franchise QB out there sooner rather than later. DeVante Parker can slide into a Top 15 fantasy WR role with the Dolphins upgrade at both QB and offensive line.

N’Keal Harry

You may wonder how losing one of the greatest QB’s of all time makes you an upgrade. Well, the 32nd pick in the 2019 draft missed 10 games last season after he suffered a brutal ankle injury in August. The Patriots had big plans for Harry last year but injuries slowed down Harry’s breakout. The Patriots currently have Jarrett Stidham slated in to be their starting QB in 2020. I do think this is who Bill Belichick will go with. I mean c’mon, Bill wants to show to the world that it was him that made the Patriots successful and not Tom Brady.

The Patriots went into the draft with 10 picks, however, did not come out with one WR. Harry is slated to be a starter alongside Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu. I have a feeling that Edelman will be pitching his way out the door here soon. Sanu is no young duck either as he will be 31 going into the 2020 season. Stidham will look to find Harry early and often. Harry will be a focal point for the Patriots in 2020, and I never question Belichick’s development process. We will witness the break out of N’Keal Harry in 2020, mark my words.

Allen Lazard

As a Bears fan, I truly loved the Packers’ draft picks. Jordan Love and AJ Dillon won’t play a huge role for the Packers’ success in 2020, and this Bears’ defense is in win-now mode. Fans were outraged when the Packers failed to bring in a WR for Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers praised Allen Lazard last season and told coach LaFleur that this kid needs more playing time.

Rodgers will be forced to get Lazard more involved in 2020. Aside from Davante Adams, the Packers have no dominant threats in their receiving game. Lazard will be the starter on the opposite side of Adams and with a full season with Rodgers, Lazard will fall into a larger role. He was productive with his 35 catches in 2019 as he averaged 13.6 yards a catch. Lazard received an upgrade here as the Packers believe he will suffice as their WR2.

Darius Slayton

Slayton found a groove with Daniel Jones in 2019. He brought in 48 balls for over 700 yards and 8 scores. The Giants didn’t draft a WR in the 2020 NFL Draft, and I didn’t think that they needed to. Between Slayton, Golden Tate, and Sterling Shepard they secretly have a pretty solid receiving corps. I was happy to see the Giants address the offensive line.

With the fourth overall pick, the Giants drafted OT Andrew Thomas to protect their second-year QB, Jones. They went on to draft OT Matt Peart in the third round and followed that up by drafting OG Shane Lemieux in the fifth. Going into the 2020 season, Tate will be 32, and Shepard will be 27. Jones will continue to build a relationship with Slayton, and those two together have the potential to put up big numbers. I would expect Slayton to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in 2020 as he received a major upgrade from the Giants’ 2020 NFL Draft.

Keenan Allen

You may find it weird to see Keenan Allen on this list, but he has received one of the biggest upgrades this offseason. If you have read any of my articles, I am not a big fan of Philip Rivers. Rivers has had a very good career but he just stunk up the Chargers offense in 2019. The Chargers have been busy this offseason addressing their offensive line. After a trade for Trai Turner and the signing of Bryan Bulaga, they have filled a couple of holes on that line.

The Chargers let Rivers walked and decided to use their first-round pick on QB Justin Herbert. Justin Herbert has a long way to go to be an elite QB in the NFL, but I know Allen will help him get there. Rivers could barely get the ball 10 yards down the field in 2019 and Keenan still managed to catch 104 balls. Hebert will look Keenan’s way early and often in 2019. I would not be surprised to see Allen catch 110 balls in 2020 as he has received a big upgrade in the QB department.

Check out my Dynasty Rookie Post-Draft Analysis: QBRB Part OneRB Part Two, WR Part One

Here, check out my previous TE Rankings: 40-3130-2120-1110-1

Check out my Rookie Mock Draft 1.0 , 2.0 and Dynasty Rookie WR Rankings

Check out my Top 10 Dynasty RB & Top 10 Dynasty WR as well!

Follow my work on Twitter @FinalDriveFF and check out other Belly Up Fantasy Sports articles