Overall rankings for 2020 fantasy football: Post free agency

Free agency is tidying up after it crashed through the NFL window and rearranged the furniture, so it’s time to get you, our loyal reader, some updated fantasy rankings for the 2020 season.

The NFL Draft will move things around a bit, but free agency is the more impactful of the two overall. Rankings at this time of the year are of course extremely fluid, but it’s good to get an idea of value throughout the offseason, as it allows you to watch trends with some perspective and maybe not jump on bandwagons unless absolutely necessary.

Tier 1

Your top running backs remain Tier 1 fantasy players due to their big usage both on the ground and through the air. Christian McCaffrey is the epitome of the do it all back, but Saquon Barkley is the most likely to reach for that No. 1 spot in PPR leagues.

Michael Thomas is the No. 1 fantasy receiver after his huge 2019. Emmanuel Sanders may cut into his huge reception numbers, but he’ll only help get him open for more touchdown chances. Thomas and Davante Adams are the only Tier 1 receivers, as they both are such dominant targets on their teams.

Tier 2

Tier 2 is fluid, as there are a strong set of players that have the upside of Tier 1, but have a question or two that could keep them from reaching those heights. Tier 2 starts with DeAndre Hopkins and goes to Tyreek Hill, Aaron Jones, Austin Ekeler all have big upside this season, while Hopkins, Julio Jones and Hill remain players who can easily finish in Tier 1 if things go according to plan.

Free Agency Fallout

Tom Brady’s departure from the Patriots will most-likely hurt the Patriots fantasy upside and likely won’t do much to help the Buccaneers’ players fantasy upside, as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both had huge seasons with Jameis Winston last year, but it will undoubtedly help Brady’s numbers, giving him a good boost in his 21st season.

DeAndre Hopkins getting traded to the Cardinals for David Johnson is probably the biggest fantasy move of the offseason so far. We can expect Hopkins’ absence to force Deshaun Watson to run more and spread the ball around more. His upside isn’t as high as it was, but he will still be a good fantasy quarterback. Kyler Murray is the big winner though, as he was missing that one stud receiver, but also has good young receivers that will only improve this season. Hopkins might not get the target percentage he did in Houston, but Kliff Kingsbury also wants to throw more than Bill O’Brien. Hopkins should remain a strong fantasy receiver if the transition isn’t too difficult early on.

Stefon Diggs heading to Buffalo is a nice gain for Josh Allen’s upside, but will likely hurt Diggs slightly, as the Bills do want to run the ball and Allen isn’t as accurate as Kirk Cousins. His presence should help the offense overall though, giving Devin Singletary more work in the red zone.

Jack Conklin going to the Browns is a big help to Baker Mayfield and the whole offense. Last season the offensive line was the weak link and Mayfield didn’t put up the numbers he did his rookie year. Mayfield did improve as the season went along though and adding Conklin and Austin Hooper can only help his fantasy stats this season.