Fantasy Football Player Notes

What a year for Sutton in 2019, eh? He didn't finish as high as some thought (WR19), but it was a miracle he finished there if you were to go back and watch some of the passes he came down with. His 125 targets were the 15th most among wide receivers, though it's hard to see that continuing. He had zero competition for targets last year, which is why he saw over 50 percent of the ones that went to wide receivers. He'll now have to contend with first-round pick Jerry Jeudy, who's the most polished receiver who's come out in the last five years, and second-round pick KJ Hamler in the starting lineup. That's not to mention Melvin Gordon, who's an established pass-catcher out of the backfield. Sutton is clearly a star, but this offense is now littered with talented pass catchers. There were just two games all last year Sutton saw fewer than seven targets, but I think that number goes up this year. He was a middling WR2 last year with those high target totals, yet he's being drafted essentially where he finished last year, and that's despite the improved talent around him. If Sutton wants to finish better than a low-end WR2/high-end WR3, he's going to need double-digit touchdowns, and that's just not something I can predict given the talent around him.

Over the last five years, I haven't scouted a wide receiver who was more pro-ready and well-rounded than Jeudy. With essentially no offseason, it's going to be difficult for him to walk in and develop instant chemistry with Drew Lock. At the same time, everyone on the team is learning a new offense, as Pat Shurmur has walked in as the offensive coordinator. Still, it'll be hard for him to overtake Courtland Sutton as the team's leader in targets. Jeudy can play many roles, including being the deep threat down the field, playing the possession-style role, or moving into the slot, which he did regularly at Alabama. Sutton isn't someone who'll move into the slot very often, which is a good thing for Jeudy, as Shurmur's slot receivers have done damage in the past. Again, the negative is that fellow rookie KJ Hamler is also a slot presence who's going to get some playing time. There's a path to Jeudy being a Terry McLaurin-like fantasy option this year, but his path to targets is not as easy. If Sutton stays on the field, Jeudy will be too inconsistent to trust on a weekly basis. He's still not a bad on to have on your bench as a WR4/5, because the talent is there.

It's tough to like a rookie who's likely the fifth option in the passing game, right? I'll tell you that Hamler is a baller and can play both in the slot and on the perimeter. He's likely going to break a few plays this year that have you wondering if he's worth a pickup, but we must always go back to the fact that he's the fifth option (Sutton, Jeudy, Fant, Gordon all ahead) on a run-heavy team that will only come on the field in 3WR sets. If there's an injury to one of Jeudy or Sutton, he's someone I'd snag off waivers, but you don't need to draft him.

He's buried with the acquisitions of Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler. I'd argue that Hamilton had his chance to make a dent in the league last year, as he was the clear-cut No. 2 wide receiver behind Courtland Sutton but didn't really earn much with his role. He saw 52 targets but caught just 53 percent of them for 297 yards and one touchdown. The Broncos said no thanks to his 5.5 yards per target through the first two years of his career. He's has more talent than what we've seen, but he's not an enticing option in fantasy football.