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Fantasy Football Sleepers 2020, and 7 Solid guys to target. The Counselor getting you prepared to crush your leagues this year!
We’re talking about fantasy football sleepers, 2020. Seven solid running back sleepers to target in your 2020 draft. Excited to talk running backs. It’s my favorite topic. I love talking running backs and you got to hone in on these sleepers and here’s the deal. Before… Here’s a little disclaimer when you’re looking at running back sleepers. You don’t really need any because aside from two of these guys here that are coming off in the first five rounds, stick with me on this. You don’t really need running back sleepers because you’re loading up on running backs early because everybody after round five, so round six and on is a big question mark. Now there’s a ton of running backs that could break out this year. Trust me on this. DeAndre Swift could break out. He could be the main guy there in Detroit. You got other guys that could also break out, AJ Dillon in Green Bay. You know, Aaron Jones gets hurt, AJ Dillon in Green Bay could break out, could be a guy that emerges, right? But I’m talking about running back sleepers here. Some targets that you can get mid to later. There are some good value guys here as well. But the whole thought process in your mind is you shouldn’t really be targeting too many late-round running backs. You should be more focused on getting them early and that’s when I talk about in my 16 round draft solution.
So I’m going to get into this show here. I got seven solid running back sleepers for you to target with the thought process of going robust RB. That’s my disclaimer. But these guys could potentially break out. Before we dive into this, make sure you are subscribed to this #1 fantasy football podcast! Here: https://thefantasyfootballcounselor.com/
1. David Johnson
First running back sleeper, a solid one you must target here. And I know I sound like a broken record, but I don’t care because I want to hammer this home. The guy I’m talking about is David Johnson. This guy could easily be the first-round talent and I know a lot of people shake their head and say no, but listen. David Johnson had an amazing 2016 year, phenomenal. 407 PPR points and I memorized this because I’m memorizing all their stats now. All I do is fantasy football. It’s crazy. I’m super passionate. 2020 is going to dominate. Okay? You guys are going to dominate. Stick with me. But David Johnson here, I mean amazing 2016 year, 20 all-purpose touchdowns, 16 on the ground, four receiving, phenomenal year. 2017, fluke injury, a guy hit his wrist as he caught the ball, was out pretty much. The year after, finished ninth in PPR amongst running backs, not bad. And then back in 2019 Kingsbury screwed him, wasn’t his fault. Last year in 2019, Carlos Hyde actually ended up getting 240 plus attempts, over a thousand yards and I believe six touchdowns. That’s Carlos Hyde, everybody. Okay? So when you’re looking at… I’m looking at it right now. 245 in attempts, 1070 yards, 4.4 yards per carry, six touchdowns. And he wasn’t really involved in the passing game. That’s okay. David Johnson could actually catch the ball. So if you look at a guy like Carlos Hyde, who got that much volume, but Carlos Hyde sucked though, in regards to fantasy production because he didn’t even finish anywhere near the top. He finished like 30th amongst running backs in PPR. It’s brutal. David Johnson’s extremely talented. And the Texans believe in him. That reason alone should be enough and there’s no other running back there that’s going to take the volume away. Love David Johnson. No more Carlos Hyde there. And that’s why I’ve stayed away from Chris Carson because Carlos Hyde sucks, but he’s good enough to take away volume from Chris Carson in Seattle. Stay away from Chris Carson. That’s beside the fact when you’re talking about David Johnson, full workhorse running back, chip on his shoulder, angry that he got screwed by Kingsbury. He is a sleeper if you’re looking at him as a fourth-round guy who could actually be round one, round two talent. Love him, love the ceiling, love the upside, Deshaun Watson, and him. It’s going to be an amazing connection and he’s going to be used as a pass-catching a running back, as well. Love the talent.
2. David Montgomery
The second guy I want to talk about here and you know, let’s just get the Davids out of the way. But David Montgomery, love him. Average ADP, fifth round, sitting 25th. By the way, David Johnson was sitting 21st amongst running backs in the overall ranking. This guy could finish top five. David Montgomery sitting 25th amongst running backs. This guy could easily crack the top 10. He is working on his top-end speed. I’ve already talked to a guy that knows David Montgomery personally, was in his condo, has been working with him, training with him. He’s working on his top-end speed. David Montgomery understands where he went wrong last year. He knows he was lacking explosiveness. He knows he’s got to improve on that. We know Nagy’s going to be on a short leash this year, not running the ball as much as he could have last year. But listen, man, David Montgomery finished 24th amongst running backs last season, 889 yards, 3.7 yards per carry, six touchdowns, and 242 attempts. That’s going to go up.
I’m looking at a floor of 260 attempts, a thousand yards easily, and 10 touchdowns on the ground as a floor for this guy. Top 15, finished with absolute ease, but the mainstream is sleeping on him. And another thing when I’m looking at him is there’s no committee there. Tarik Cohen just is not going to be a guy that’s going to get anything done there. Now Tarik Cohen does well in regards to the reception game, even though he doesn’t catch very well. He gets those receiving targets. He had 104 last year. They know David Montgomery can catch. Hopefully he gets some of those receiving targets and dips into Tarik Cohen, but Cohen’s not going to get attempts. He only had 64 rushing attempts. And I think Nagy knew he was an idiot for giving them those rushing attempts. Because I watched last year, it was absolutely ridiculous. Tarik Cohen would come out, third and one and they run Tarik Cohen up the middle. He’d lose five yards. Stupidity. So David Montgomery, love him as a sleeper, coming in at number two. Number three here guys, again, no particular order, but when you are looking at running backs, again, I try to avoid the sleeper running backs because again, I’m loading up on running backs early and David Montgomery, Dave Johnson could be part of that robust RB strategy early on. As you get later, you get a lot of question marks. So as I move on here, be cautious with these guys. Maybe get them as a late-round guy if you’ve got two or three running backs, you want that fourth or fifth running back, you can get these guys and the ceiling is high. As a late-round guy, for free pretty much.
3. Kareem Hunt
Now the next guy isn’t going to be free and you can get him late. He’s 30th amongst overall, right? Amongst running backs And you’ve got Nick Chubb sitting at eighth. But I’m the guy I’m talking about is Kareem Hunt. Sitting 26th in PPR. Actually, my bad, 26th in PPR amongst running backs right now. That’s terrible. This guy could easily be in the top 20 if Nick Chubb gets hurt. Now here’s the deal and the logic I don’t understand here. Something that doesn’t make sense. You’ve got Nick Chubb sitting at eighth amongst running backs. The thing is, he’s coming off at the end of the first round, early second, but you’re getting a guy in Kareem Hunt, that outscored Nick Chubb, six out of the eight games in PPR at the end of the 2019 season. So what doesn’t make sense to me guys, it’s racking my mind, is why would you invest a first-round pick on Nick Chubb and a first-round early second, even, when you can get Kareem Hunt if you really want a Cleveland Brown that bad. I’m staying away because I’m looking at a 60-40 split at a minimum with Nick Chubb getting 60 or maybe even a 50-50 split. But in PPR Kareem Hunt’s going to get those receptions. I’m going to go ahead and stay away from this entire situation, but if you are looking for a sleeper, why not get Kareem Hunt in like the sixth, seventh round, whenever he’s going. Right? I haven’t even looked at his ADP. I just did a mock draft. I have it in front of me here. Yeah, he’s coming off, what, like sixth, seventh round pretty much. I got him here, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, even as late as eighth round. So around six to eight, why would I not just get Kareem Hunt instead of getting Nick Chubb? And I know you’ll say aw, well, Nick Chubb’s a pure runner, this and that. Listen. The fact of the matter is Kareem Hunt will not be ignored. He’s not going to be on the bench. He’s going to be a thorn in the side of Nick Chubb. Stay away from Nick Chubb and if you want a deeper sleeper, a mid-round sleeper, get Kareem Hunt. That’s coming in at number three.
4. Cam Akers
Number four here, Cam Akers. This guy is currently sitting 30th amongst running backs. That’s insane. He’s out of Florida State. He had a terrible O line, 231 attempts, 1144 yards, 14 touchdowns. This guy was a beast in college. Now, the thing you got to look at here is the Darrell Henderson situation. Darrell Henderson did nothing there. So it’s going to be of a committee battle. The hot hand will prevail and I think it’s going to be Cam Akers because he was a top-six, top five, top-six prospect coming into the NFL draft. Obviously the Rams do not believe in Darrell Henderson. Cam Akers is there, could be an immediate impact. You get this guy in the fourth, fifth round, great value. People are sleeping on him and this guy could be a top 10, top 15 finisher if given the volume. And he can catch the ball. He had 30 receptions last year at college, for 225-ish receiving yards. 5’10”, 215, good build, he’s going to be solid. So Cam Akers is a guy you could target and will be solid for you.
5. Alexander Mattison
Moving on here, number five, let’s go with Alexander Mattison. This guy is 49th amongst running backs which is an absolute steal. This guy is going to be the starting running back in Minnesota, probably by mid-season when Dalvin Cook goes down, and he will again, because Dalvin Cook has not finished a season, and here’s the thing. A lot of people say to me, well what’s so special about Mattison? Mattison is actually better than Dalvin Cook or equal to. The reason Cook is really good is that it’s a product of that offense. Now, if you look at the attempts here, he had 100 attempts last year, had just over 400 yards, right? Almost 500 yards. Cook had 250 attempts so more than double and had about 1100 yards. So if you look at the way that is, if you double the attempts for Mattison, you would have just as much volume in regards to fantasy points, just as much fantasy points as Dalvin Cook. Dalvin Cook’s not special, and he hasn’t finished a season. There’s no way in hell am I investing a top-five pick on Dalvin Cook when I get Mattison later, as a steal, for free. Right now I can get like Derrick Henry or Saquon in the top five picks or whatever it is, and then get Mattison later. And a lot of people say, well, why don’t you go Dalvin Cook and get Mattison later as a handcuff? No. Why not get Derrick Henry who’s going to stay on the field, knock on wood, and get Mattison later when Cook goes down and he will, you could just get Mattison. Now I’ve got two RB ones instead, if Cook goes down, now I’ve got one RB one. Mattison’s a sleeper. Everyone is sleeping on him. Absolutely love him.
6. Joshua Kelley
Two more running backs, coming in sixth, Joshua Kelly. Listen, I’m not sold on Ekeler being the workhorse running back last year. Yes, he finished well in PPR, but he only had 132 attempts. There’s a reason why the Chargers went with Joshua Kelley here. Listen, he’s out of UCLA, 5’11”, 212 pounds and he was a pretty good workhorse in college. Last year, 229 attempts, 1000 yards, 12 touchdowns on the ground and he catches the ball. Not as good as Ekeler obviously, but he can catch the ball if needed. Not known as a pass-catching back, but Joshua Kelley’s a guy you can get for free as a late-round sleeper that could emerge. You know, Melvin Gordon’s gone. This guy is going to possibly get work. I’m not sold on Jackson being there and I’m not sold on Ekeler being a true workhorse running back. Consider grabbing Joshua Kelley late.
7. Zach Moss
And the last guy here, Zack Moss in Buffalo. Listen, 5’9″, 205, was a workhorse in college as well. 235 attempts, 1416 yards, a ton of touchdowns, at least 15 touchdowns, 28 receptions. He can catch the ball in the backfield. Zack Moss is talking about going Moss mode. Moss mode, kind of like beast mode, but Moss mode. Listen, the fact of the matter is I like this guy. I like him as a late-round guy, stash on the bench as a potential upside guy. I think he’s going to be coming down on third downs. Maybe even getting the starting job if he plays hard. Singletary has not been a full workhorse running back. I loved Singletary, prior to the acquisition of, and the drafting of, Zack Moss. I’m going to stay away from the situation with Singletary, drafting him in the third or fourth round. Not going to invest on Singletary, but as a late-round guy, why not Zack Moss as a late-round potential breakout guy.
Similarly, you can look at AJ Dillon in the same type of way, right? These guys are coming in because they probably don’t want to pay other guys, running backs like Aaron Jones, for example, in Green Bay, they don’t want to pay them that big contract when they’re due, when they can get guys that they can get in the second or third round, they’re drafting them, right? These teams. So they don’t have to pay. They can groom these other guys to be the workhorse running backs. Because we know the running backs, their shelf life is limited. These guys get hurt. So why invest the mega-contract on a guy, when I get some guy who could potentially perform better and drop the other guy ahead of him. Like Aaron Jones could be dropped for AJ Dillon.
So there you have it guys. David Johnson, David Montgomery, Kareem Hunt, Cam Akers, Alexander Mattison, Joshua Kelley, Zack Moss, seven solid running back sleepers you could target, with massive upside. But again, you don’t really want to be targeting sleepers at the running back position. You want to be loading up on those workhorses with that guaranteed production in the first three to four rounds. And I talk about that in my 16 round draft solution. So make sure you guys get it below. Thank you for being here guys. I appreciate you. Fantasy football sleepers 2020 at the running back position, seven solid ones for you. I hope you enjoyed the show. Leave a comment below. Let me know your thoughts and smash thumbs up. And I will see you guys in the next video.
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