RADIO
Gage Bridgford evaluates Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow as a sleeper and breakout candidate in 2020, making him an undervalued WR in Fantasy Football drafts.
Realistically, the wide receiver position is the deepest of any in fantasy football on a yearly basis. This year, it's even more ridiculous than usual with at least 20 guys that could be WR1s at the end of the year.
We're not looking at one of those today though. We're looking at one of the players that are flying under the radar and could give you a lot of value in the later rounds of the drafts, Las Vegas Raiders wideout Hunter Renfrow.
The Raiders brought in a number of pass-catching options this offseason, such as wideouts Bryan Edwards, Henry Ruggs III, and Nelson Agholor, but it's all of their first years in this new system. Meanwhile, Renfrow will be getting his second year in the system to build on a strong finish to the 2019 season.
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Slotted for Targets
He caught 49 balls in 13 games last season, and he caught at least three in the team's final seven games. Only tight end Darren Waller can make that same claim heading into this season. Quarterback Derek Carr is going to keep things close to the line of scrimmage, and that's where Renfrow does his work. His average depth of target was 7.00, and Carr's was a career-low 6.60 yards.
Why Renfrow in 2020?
The first major factor that Renfrow has working in his favor this year is his pricepoint. Based on 1400 mock drafts over the last three days, Renfrow is going undrafted in redraft leagues, and he's being drafted behind teammates Tyrell Williams and Ruggs. Is the wideout more talented than either of those players? Not necessarily, but he does fit the mold of a guy that works well with what Carr does.
He finished the year on a tear. I mentioned above that he had a strong finish to the season, but I didn't realize what kind of pace he was on. Based on PPR points, the 24-year-old would have finished as WR10 if he had maintained that pace for an entire season, and he would have been WR14 on a points per game basis with Amari Cooper, who's being drafted as WR13 right behind him in both categories.
An underrated facet of Renfrow's game is his ability to create after the catch. Among wide receivers with at least 50 targets last season, the Clemson product was second in his Run After Catch Ratio (RACR) with a 1.22. The way this ratio is figured is his receiving yards vs. his air yards, and he was one of a select few with a number greater than one. Some will claim that yards after the catch aren't a "sticky stat," but the skillset and usage in an offense stay the same.
By the way, did I mention that Renfrow started just four games last season, and he was still second on the team in targets? When he was on the field, Carr was finding ways to get the wideout involved in the offense. Renfrow isn't going to be a WR1 this year. It's just not going to happen because he doesn't generate enough yardage and isn't a lock to score a ton of touchdowns. Despite that, you'd be doing yourself a disservice by getting him as one of your late-round flier wideouts. Renfrow has the potential to be similar to Cole Beasley from the Buffalo Bills last year. He'll catch four to five passes for 50 yards every week, and he'll get some touchdowns. That's the consistent production you need on your roster.
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