After the first five rounds in Fantasy football drafts, need starts to play a larger role in what drafters do. And since our 2020 Fantasy football rankings feature four running backs, three wide receivers, two tight ends and a quarterback from pick 61 through 70, it's a range where there's an answer for any need.
This early sixth-round range features two rookie running backs and two veterans, all four of whom are in uncertain backfield splits. The uncertain workloads could mean an outsized ceiling — consider players like Austin Ekeler and Miles Sanders went near this range in 2019.
But that uncertainty may also be an argument to fill the running back position earlier; the five pass catchers in this range sport much more secure roles.
As you get ready for the 2020 Fantasy season, the best place to start is by getting to know the player pool, and the best way to do that is to dive into Heath Cummings' breakdown of our top-100 players for 2020. He'll make the case for and against each player, so that when you get ready to pick, you can make up your own mind.
You can also prepare by subscribing to Fantasy Football Today for non-stop Fantasy football content. Check out our latest episode below where the team discusses their favorite sleepers for 2020.
You can read about No. 61-70 below, and find the rest of the top-100 here:
- No. 1-10 - Christian McCaffrey through Miles Sanders
- No. 11-20 - Travis Kelce through D.J. Moore
- No. 21-30 - Cooper Kupp through Aaron Jones
- No. 31-40 - Melvin Gordon through James Conner
- No. 41-50 - Lamar Jackson through Courtland Sutton
- No. 51-60 - Stefon Diggs through Cam Akers
- No. 71-80 - Michael Gallup through Tarik Cohen
- No. 81-90 - Deebo Samuel through Jordan Howard
- No. 91-100 - CeeDee Lamb through Tevin Coleman
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The Case For: Devin Singletary was awesome as a rookie, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, and earned a bigger role beginning in Week 9 and did not disappoint. From Week 9 through Week 16 Singletary averaged more than 90 yards per game. He should start 2020 with that same role and has a real shot at 1,500 total yards, especially with the flashes he showed as a pass catcher.
The Case Against: Singletary's primary problems from last year haven't changed much. He still has Josh Allen as his quarterback, for one. Allen is going to steal rushing touchdowns near the goal line, and he's going to scramble far more often than he dumps the ball off to his backs when the pressure is on. And while Frank Gore is out of the picture as the other red-zone vulture, Zack Moss may actually be a bigger threat to Singletary's workload. There's upside because of the Bills run-heavy offense, but you shouldn't count on Singletary as one of your starting running backs unless you draft a lot of non-running backs early.
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The Case For: Kareem Hunt was the No. 17 running back in PPR scoring after he returned from his suspension. He could be even better in 2020 with Kevin Stefanski taking over. Stefanski's Vikings were one of the most run-heavy teams in the NFL, which could provide room for both Nick Chubb and Hunt to prosper. The hidden value here is in Hunt's top-five upside if something happens to Nick Chubb.
The Case Against: A lot of Hunt's value last year came in the passing game, and the Browns figure to have fewer pass attempts to go around in 2020, along with more competition for those passes. Free agent addition Austin Hooper will demand a larger share of the targets than Ricky Seals Jones and Demetrius Harris did last year. Unless something happens to Chubb, Hunt will be a flex at best most weeks.
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The Case For: Every year, we overlook Jarvis Landry. And he beats our expectations every single year. Last year, he not only did that, but he also beat out Odell Beckham in Fantasy production. This is a 1A-1B situation, but Beckham is being drafted in Round 3 or 4, while Landry is often available as late as Round 6.
The Case Against: Everyone's targets are likely to take a hit in Cleveland with the addition of Austin Hooper and Kevin Stefanski. Stefanski is likely to call fewer pass plays and Hooper is likely to demand a bigger share of the targets than the tight ends did in 2019. To make things worse, Landry still hasn't fully recovered from offseason surgery and is only hopeful to be ready by August or September.
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The Case For: Every time Dak Prescott has had a true No. 1 receiver and Ezekiel Elliott on the field, he's been a top-six Fantasy quarterback. Now he has that and so much more. It's hard to think of a more talented receiving corps than one built around Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb. Add in the progressive offense of Kellen Moore installed last season and Prescott's running ability, and you have a legitimate contender for the No. 1 quarterback in 2020. But in most drafts Prescott won't be drafted until three or four other quarterbacks are off the board.
The Case Against: You could certainly make the regression argument for Prescott: In 2019 he threw for 1,000 more yards and seven more touchdowns than he ever has in his career. That's generally a pretty good indicator a quarterback won't be as good the following year.
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The Case For: The Lions clearly don't trust Kerryon Johnson at this point, which should give Swift an instant opportunity to win playing time. Swift was very efficient in college, averaging 6.6 yards per carry and 9.1 yards per reception. If he can beat out Johnson in training camp, he has a legitimate chance to be a top-20 running back and the best rookie from this class.
The Case Against: Swift never handled a featured role at Georgia and he won't likely get the opportunity in Detroit. Johnson, while injury prone, has been pretty efficient and could make it hard for Swift to get on the field on passing downs. Passing downs will be important in Detroit because this is a team that will face negative game scripts for most of the season. A rookie running back in a committee on a bad team is no way to spend a sixth-round draft pick.
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The Case For: While Julian Edelman won't have Tom Brady this season, he does still have Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels. Maybe more importantly, he has almost no competition for targets. Over the past three seasons, Edelman has averaged more than nine targets per game. Even if his efficiency falls off with worse quarterback play, he should still catch enough passes to make him a top-20 option on a per game basis.
The Case Against: We're talking about a guy who averaged 7.2 yards per target with Brady as his quarterback. With Brian Hoyer or Jarrett Stidham instead, things could get really ugly. This offseason the Patriots have behaved like a team that wants to run the ball and play defense, so even Edelman's usually reliable target volume could be at risk.
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The Case For: Ke'Shawn Vaughn has to beat out Jones and Dare Ogunbowale for a feature role in what could be one of the most prolific offenses in the league, but did you watch Ronald Jones in pass protection last year? Vaughn already has better pass-blocking technique than Jones, and he's a much better runner than Ogunbowale. There's nothing guaranteed for the third-round pick, but there's top-15 upside in this offense, and Vaugh is available as late as Round 6 or 7.
The Case Against: You have to earn the trust of Bruce Arians and Tom Brady. Unfortunately, Vaughn isn't going to have very much time to do that. The expectation should be that Jones starts Week 1, which leaves open the possibility that Vaughn never does enough to take the job the job. An even bigger fear is the fact that the Buccaneers have been linked to Devonta Freeman this offseason, who has shown he can be the three-down back the Bucs have been looking for.
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The Case For: As good as the 2019 rookie receiver class was, you'll be forgiven if you forgot that Marquise Brown was actually the first receiver drafted. It's not that Brown was bad, he just never got fully healthy. He's the clear No. 1 receiver on a team that may increase their pass volume by up to 15% in 2020. A 15% increase on Brown's per-game production would make him a must-start wide receiver even with some touchdown regression coming.
The Case Against: The Ravens could increase their pass volume by 20% and still be one of the most run-heavy offenses in the NFL. And, while Brown may be the unquestioned No. 1 wide receiver, Mark Andrews is the No. 1 target. It's going to be very difficult to reach 120 targets with the Ravens offensive approach, and it's hard to be a top-20 receiver with fewer than 120 targets.
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The Case For: Six tight ends in the past 30 years have earned at least 110 targets and averaged at least 9.5 yards per target: Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Antonio Gates, Shannon Sharpe, and Darren Waller. In other words, we've never seen someone do that and not end up an elite tight end. The Raiders offense and Derek Carr's style of play are a perfect mix for Waller's abilities. Even if he loses a few targets, a bit more luck on touchdowns should make up for some of that.
The Case Against: The Raiders added Henry Ruggs, Bryan Edwards, Lynn Bowden and Jason Witten this offseason. It's hard to imagine them adding all of those pieces without Waller's target share not taking a hit. That doesn't mean he can't still be a starting tight end, he just won't likely be a top-five option.
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The Case For: Once again, Hunter Henry was pretty awesome when he was on the field. His yards per target (8.6) was amongst the best at the position but also in line with his career norms. We still haven't seen the absolute ceiling, but what we have seen makes him an easy top-eight option.
The Case Against: With Tyrod Taylor and Justin Herbert there's a real risk that the Chargers see significantly worse quarterback play in 2020. Even if they don't, they seem likely to run the ball at a higher rate. Any reduction in pass volume will be a problem for Henry, who has to compete with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Austin Ekeler for targets.
Which players are poised for breakouts, which sleepers do you need to jump on, and which busts should you avoid at all costs in your Fantasy football league? Visit SportsLine now to get early rankings, plus see which WR is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.
