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The Fantasy Football Counselor dives into the fantasy impact and outlook of Saquon Barkley going into the 2020 season. The verdict is in on if and where the Counselor will draft Barkley. (Transcribed audio below)
This is a very, very important episode because Saquon Barkley, in my opinion, has a very massive ceiling. I’m going to talk to you about that right here in this show, and of course, in the end, I’m going to give you guys my verdict on where to draft him, if you should draft him, my best-educated guess based on my research and information. So you guys have a well-educated decision before you decide to put anybody on your roster. That’s why I’m doing this impact series so that you guys have a solid impact on your Fantasy Football draft. Before I get into these guys, make sure you guys get the 16 round draft solution. This is the absolute game-changer.I’m telling you guys, this will help you guys crush your leagues, it’s an unfair advantage. So what it is, is a video training with all my notes of all the optimal players that I love in each round. So I filter out all the guys that I think are in a bust, everything is there for you laid out in a video training with all the notes and I update the notes up until the season starts.
Everything is their guys, there is a link here below, I pinned it here on YouTube, and of course, guys, if you’re listening in the car, I prefer whatever Apple or Spotify, I like both those platforms. You can subscribe here, if you’re on YouTube, to Spotify, I put a link here pinned as well and go on and head on over to thefantasyfootballcounselor.com to get the 16 round draft solution guys, okay. All right. Let’s talk about Saquon Barkley’s Fantasy Football value, why I love him so much, and why the ceiling is so high for this guy. Okay.
I want to note here a lot of people, and you should go back and it’s part of the impact series below, go back and check out my Christian McCaffrey video there I just did. A lot of people are going with him first overall in 2020, but I’m going against the grain here, and I’m going to say that Saquon Barkley has a higher ceiling. I’ll tell you guys why, last year PPR, I’m going to pull up his PPR numbers here, over a thousand yards rushing, he only played 13 games. He had 1,003 yards, okay, rushing. Joe, you’re like, it’s not that impressive, Christian McCaffrey had 1,387. Yeah, but naturally people just want to copy and paste last year’s top finishers and say, hey, because that guy finished on top, we’re going to draft them again.
Not the case. You got to look for a guy that has a higher ceiling. When I draft a first overall pick, my mission is that that first overall pick finishes … what? Well, first overall, I mean, that’s the whole point, right? Not only overall amongst wide receivers and quarterbacks and everything over the whole league but at their respective positions. So when I’m looking at running backs specifically, I want a guy that’s got the highest possible ceiling. So why do I think Saquons got the highest ceiling? I’ll tell you why, I’ve got a lot of notes on them and I’ve been studying them, and I love the tape, I love everything about him.
Clearly the best athlete at the running back position, you guys can debate that, but you’re going to lose. Saquon Barkley is the most physically gifted probably athlete in the NFL. I would say definitely running back. So there’s no debate there, okay. Week 15 and 16 of 2019, 30.3 fantasy points PPR week 15, 43.9 points fantasy in week 16. Guys, this is very, very important. This is the same type of momentum that David Johnson had in his rookie year, and he came out and he had his break out season. This is the same type of momentum that Derek Henry had back in 2019 before he went into the 2019 season. It’s about seeing the upside, seeing that they finish strong, seeing that there’s a ceiling in a lot of games, seeing that there’s a lot of talent. Now I want to make a note here, this is very important as well, Saquon Barkley, over a thousand yards, okay, 4.6 yards per carry, six rushing touchdowns, only 13 games. I want to keep reinforcing that to you. 52 receptions on 73 targets for 438 yards and two receiving touchdowns. These are the 2019 stats.
This is with a terrible O-line. This is with Daniel Jones. Still trying to figure out what the heck to do in that offense. Saquon Barkley’s going to be entering an offense where now he’s got a year under the belt pretty much with Daniel Jones give or take, right? So there’s going to be that rapport there, that’s number one. Number two, is going to be the workhorse running back, there’s nobody else going to take the volume away from Saquon Barkley, all good things, and now they’ve got an improved O-line and I want to reinforce this to you, that the Giant’s invested a lot in the NFL draft in their O-line. They drafted Andrew Thomas with their first pick in the draft, then in the third round, that was the first round, then they went and Matt Peart in the third round, then they went Shane Lemieux in the fifth round, who’s a guard. That is some serious O-line, will these guys be stud O-line men? Who knows, but Andrew Thomas is a top prospect coming into the league this year. He’s there to create some more opportunities and some holes for Saquon Barkley to run through.
Saquon Barkley 2020 Projection
Now you’re going to say, well, Joe, they don’t have receivers, and there’s going to be stacked boxes. Listen, we’ve got an improved O-line, we’ve got the best athlete in the game. Not to mention guys the receivers they have aren’t all that terrible. I understand you’re kind of scared. You’re like, yeah, we don’t have a De’Andre Johnson, we don’t have a Julio Jones. The Giants, if they felt that they needed a receiver, I think they would have addressed that somewhere in the draft. They’ve wanted to beef up that O-line to protect Daniel Jones. Obviously give more opportunities to Saquon, and they’re going to make him a focal point of that offense. So I’m looking at the numbers, they do have Darius Slayton. Okay. Slayton was their number one target getter with 83 targets, 48 receptions last year. Okay. Not exciting. He still had eight receiving touchdowns. So they’ve got Slayton, a healthy shepherd could be kind of a threat there, right, and they’ve got Tate. So there is options, not to mention Evan Engram, who I think is a big Fantasy Football sleeper this year.
So it’s not like, they’re like, hey, we absolutely have no receivers. These guys are pretty talented guys, and I think the ceiling is high for guys like Slayton, who is a young guy who has shown some rapport with Daniel Jones. So going back to Saquon Barkley’s Fantasy Football value, I got to say, I like him. I like him so much though so that I would consider him first overall. Yes, for Fantasy Football 2020.
Again, I’ll tell you why. The reason being is what goes up must come down. Christian McCaffrey having a pinnacle year, 471 plus fantasy points, very impressive. Saquon Barkley, he had a big 2018 with 385 fantasy points, had a bit of a dip, understandably so, missed a few games, he’s human, right, and not to say he’s injury prone, it was a couple of games. He’s back, he’s healthy, he’s good to go. Sa-quads is ready. So missing a few games, still rushed over a thousand yards and had a strong finish near the end, and if that finish near the end and his talent and that improved O-line and Daniel Jones getting in the groove, these are all signs pointing to a pinnacle year, a guy that’s going to get a ton of volume, a ton of opportunity, 261 attempts on the ground in 2018, 217 attempts in 2019, again, because he missed those games. He’s going to get the volume.
So I’m looking at at least a 270 rushing attempt type of floor. He’s going to catch a lot of balls as well. Looking at the stats last year, probably not the best to use, so I’m going to pull back into 2018 and look at his receptions then. there is now a totally different quarterback. I think this quarterback is going to feed him. 121 targets, 91 perceptions back in 2018 for 721 yards and four receiving touchdowns. So I’m looking at at least a hundred plus targets on a conservative floor level and at least 60 to 70 receptions on a low-end level, right? You’re going to have at least 1,200 rushing yards on the ground, 1,200 rushing yards, and you’re going to at least get at least a floor of 10 touchdowns, and this is just bottom.
I always look at worst-case scenarios. I Never look at the guy and say, oh, he’s going to have 20 touchdowns. I look at it like that in the back of my mind, but always kind of like under … I kind of look at their floor. So I’m looking at a floor of 10 touchdowns, 1,200 rushing yards, at least, 80 receptions. This guy’s going to be a monster this year, and again, they addressed the draft to accommodate Saquon Barkley and protect Daniel Jones, all good signs, and the only guy that I think may have a high ceiling, as long as he doesn’t face stack boxes is possibly Derek Henry. I think there’s going to be a lot of people that are going to surprise you at the running back position this year, I genuinely do. There is going to be a lot of people coming out and having that high ceiling.
If Clyde Edwards-Helaire is the workhorse running back and they don’t implement Damien Williams, he’s got a massive ceiling, but understand the chiefs also throw the ball a lot more. So his ceiling isn’t going to be as high as maybe Saquon. David Johnson, if he can get back into 2016 form and he’s got a chip on his shoulder, he’s got a massive ceiling this year, huge. I think David Montgomery if being able to stay on the field and get the opportunity, has a massive ceiling. I think there’s a ton of guys with a massive ceiling this year. Cam Akers as a rookie, I talk about that, that’s why you guys have got to make sure you guys subscribe and leave a thumbs up, okay?
Do you Draft Saquon Barkley 1st Overall?
So again, just to recap this, the verdict on Saquon Barkley, it’s very clear cut and simple to me. If I’m investing a first overall pick, it’s got to be Saquon, simply predicated on all the points that I made, and of course, the fact that there’s still more room, he still hasn’t hit his ceiling, whereas a guy that Christian McCaffrey has, and understand, it’s very, very rare, and I talk about this in the Christian McCaffrey impact series one, it’s very, very rare that a person, aside from Priest Holmes back in 2002, 2003, finishes two years in a row on top. So when you’re looking at Saquon Barkley Fantasy Football 2020, you got to be able to look at him and say, this guy had a bit of an off-year last year, he’s going to come back. Everything is pointing to a successful season for Mr. Saquon Barkley. I absolutely love the guy, the talent, upside durability, everything is there. Make sure you guys target him first overall.
And if you looking at Fantasy Football draft strategy, and he keeps saying this still is hammered in, he shouldn’t be your only running back, anyway. You got to go robust RB. If he busts or flops or gets injured, same with Christian McCaffrey or Derek Henry, whoever you draft in the first round because we’ve seen people bust in the first round, you got to always cover yourself belt and suspenders, and that’s what I talk about in the 16 round draft session. There is a link below, make sure you grab it. All right guys, that’s it.
A couple of important takeaway homework notes is subscribed to the audio podcast on Spotify search Fantasy Football Counselor, subscribe, and there’s a link here below. I’ve pinned it for Spotify specifically. We’ll also be talking about sports here. I’ve got Tom Santanello coming on the show. We’re giving you guys a ton of content. He’s a pro football insider giving you the reality aspect of football. I’m also getting other top influencers from every YouTube channel, for every team on the show as well. Tons of content there.
And of course, guys, leave a comment below. I’d like to interact and get back to as many people as I possibly can. Comment below, and let me know, would you draft Saquon first overall, or would you go CMC? I really love to hear your feedback on this. I want to get your feedback because your opinion matters to me, but keep it, professional guys, okay? I appreciate it. Subscribe, leave a thumbs up and I will see you guys next video impact series below, get it here on YouTube. I’ve got all of them filed in under the impact series, so you can see all the fantasy-relevant players and their impact all in a short amount of time. Thanks for being here guys. I’m out.
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