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This article and analysis was written by our friends at RosterWatch.
Welcome back RotoBallers. Today we are happy to be sharing another article from our friends at RosterWatch. In case you are not familiar, you should be! RosterWatch is one of the industry's leading resources for year-round NFL and fantasy football analysis, and led by a group of great people. You can find them on the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports channel throughout the year.
Today they are here to talk about their must-own rookie wide receivers for fantasy football as we approach the 2020 NFL season. A true stud fantasy receiver depends on the 3 T’s: Talent, Team and Targets. Based on those parameters, these are their top five must have rookie receivers come Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season.
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CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
Lamb was our consensus no.1 receiver in this year’s draft at RosterWatch. He can literally do it all on the field as an explosive combo of possession receiver and field stretcher. The one chink in Lamb’s armor, according to some, is his lack of experience with press coverage, an issue that will be largely mitigated by the fact Lamb will be playing primarily in the slot for Dallas.
Slot receivers play off of the line of scrimmage versus the opposing team’s worst corners, so they don’t often see press coverage. Lamb is going to see a ton of targets as Dak Prescott’s safety valve underneath and beyond, and he can do a lot with the ball in his hands - Lamb led the nation in yards run per route out of the slot last season (6.11 yards).
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
A superb route runner with vice-like hands, Jefferson benefits from the trade of Stefon Diggs to the Bills and potentially Dalvin Cook’s contract holdout. Diggs left a gaping hole in the offense, one that will be filled almost entirely by Jefferson and Adam Thielen - Yes, Tajae Sharpe will be in the mix, but he’s a role player at best, and the Vikings mainly use 2 WR sets.
If Cook misses time from a holdout, Jefferson will be asked to help pick up the slack, as Alexander Mattison is not the pass catcher that Cook is. In any case, Jefferson starts the season as the number two option in a solid Minnesota passing game.
Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles
Reagor was already primed to be the starter on the outside opposite DeSean Jackson, with Alshon Jeffery out indefinitely with a foot injury, but Jackson’s recent off-field antics could spell the beginning of the end of his time in Philly.
Jackson looked like the leading candidate to lead the Eagles in receiving this year, but all bets are off now, and Reagor could be the big winner a year earlier than most thought. With a 42” vertical and nose for the end zone - Reagor accounted for 40% of TCU’s receiving scores during his time there, the rookie is in line for big things in the Eagles’ pass-heavy offense.
Denzel Mims, New York Jets
Mims is my dark-horse candidate to lead all rookies in receiving in 2020, as the new outside man in the Sam Darnold led Jets offense. The only receiver in college football to have at least 8 TDs in each of the last three seasons, Mims flew out of the screen on his college tape - Enough so to make him my favorite receiver going into the draft. After a spellbinding Combine, where he ran a 4.38 forty amongst other amazing athletic feats, the rest of the fantasy world joined in my adulation.
Mims is a downfield specialist, much like the man he replaced, Robby Anderson, but he’s a much more physical player than Anderson, with the second most contested catches (20) in the FBS last year. We know Darnold can throw the ball up, and the odds are on Mims being able to come down with it more often than not.
Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
No I haven’t forgotten about Jerry Jeudy or Henry Ruggs, but Jeudy has to contend with Courtland Sutton and K.J. Hamler for looks from a suspect Drew Lock, and Ruggs is a deep threat on a team that ranked 30th in passes over 20 yards in 2019. If we’re talking about early and often 2020 impact, Aiyuk is your man.
Without even bringing his skillset into play yet, Aiyuk is in a terrific position to capitalize on the 49ers losing Deebo Samuel for 10 to 16 weeks with a Jones fracture, the same injury that kept Trent Taylor off the field for all of 2019. The 49ers most likely won’t push Samuel to get back like they did Taylor, who ended up having 5 surgeries due to setbacks. Aiyuk has less of a bullish build than Samuel, but his after the catch prowess is second to none.
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