Fantasy Football Player Notes

It was remarkable what McLaurin was able to do last year while playing on one of the worst teams in football. The disappointing part was that even though he saw 37.1 percent of his team's air yards (sixth in the NFL), he finished with just 93 targets. Knowing it's unlikely we see a big increase in pass attempts, it's hard for him to see an air yards number that is much higher. The reason we can be semi-optimistic with his targets is due to the lack of options around him. Kelvin Harmon and Paul Richardson are gone, along with the 86 targets they saw last year. In comes rookie Antonio Gandy-Golden, and veteran Dontrelle Inman, who was recently signed off the street. If we look at offensive coordinator Scott Turner's offense last year, you'll see it was very top-heavy when it came to the wide receivers, as D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel both hit 106-plus targets. I can't say there's anyone else on this Washington receiver depth chart that deserves more than 75 targets. This could be very similar to A.J. Brown, where we're looking at a player who might get a 25 percent target share in his offense, even if it is a low volume one. The difference is that McLaurin's quarterback hasn't ever posted all-time great numbers, and it's unreasonable to expect that. Still, McLaurin can likely live up to low-end WR2 expectations, though getting him as your WR3 is the ideal scenario.

There were a lot of people out there who liked Gibson as a sleeper, though I can't get on board now that he's going in the mid rounds. He plays for what might be the lowest-scoring offense in the league, and is still on a depth chart littered with at least three other running backs. Sure, he's going to be used in some sort of hybrid way, but do we really expect two Washington wide receivers to be consistent enough to rely on? He may be an electric player but his offense isn't. I'd rather take a player tied to an exciting offense.

It would really make sense for Washington to use Sims in a bigger role this year, as he looked the part at the end of 2019. Over the team's final four games, he racked up 36 targets, 20 receptions, 230 yards, and four touchdowns while manning the slot. Sure, Antonio Gibson is the new toy in the offense, but Ron Rivera has already said that he views him as a running back. When Washington goes three-wide, Sims should be out there in the slot, but that's just my opinion. We could see Gibson or even Trey Quinn play that role. Without preseason action, there are just too many question marks. Depending on which receiver is in the slot, he should have some value throughout the year as a streamer, but you shouldn't need to spend a late draft pick on them, as that is your time to take ultra-high upside picks.

Haskins did not look ready to be an NFL QB in 2019 - it's as simple as that. He was the worst quarterback in the league in terms of completion percentage and yards per attempt, and frequently missed wide open throws. He'll start for Washington but with only Terry McLaurin as a reliable receiver, Haskins would need to take a giant leap to be worth drafting in anything other than two-quarterback or superflex leagues. The odds are not in his favor.

Barber never found sustained success with the Bucs, and will now try his hand with the Washington. Washington has a below-average offense with a sub-par offensive line, but his competition for touches has decreased significantly without Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice. He'll still be competing for touches with J.D. McKissic, Antonio Gibson, and Bryce Love, but there;s a decent chance he seems some early down work. Still, he's only worth drafting as a bench option.

Everyone is talking about Antonio Gibson as the physical specimen on the team, but Gandy-Golden is remarkable in his own right. He doesn't run a 4.39-second 40-yard dash, but he is very agile for a player who's 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds. The biggest question mark with him is his adjustment to the stiffer competition, as he dominated at Liberty, racking up 2,433 yards and 20 touchdowns over his two years there. Once Kelvin Harmon went down with a torn ACL, it opened a door for Gandy-Golden to play opposite Terry McLaurin and make his mark. With no legitimate tight end on the roster, we could see Gandy-Golden become a favorite inside the red zone. Not that we're expecting Dwayne Haskins to throw 25-plus touchdowns, but we didn't expect anything from McLaurin last year, right? I'll be reporting on his snaps in The Primer after Week 1, so make sure you stay tuned. Given the leap in competition, he may start out behind veteran Dontrelle Inman.