Fantasy football team preview: Washington Redskins

The Redskins enter this season on the heels of a productive 2016 campaign where they averaged the third-most yards per game (403.4). Of course, Sean McVay was a big part of that success, and he’s now in Los Angeles as the head coach of the Rams. With McVay gone, Jay Gruden will assume play-calling duties. Like his brother, Gruden runs a West Coast offense that is predicated on the run and quick precision passing.

Quarterback

Not only is Kirk Cousins one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the league, but he’s also been one of the better fantasy options over the past two years. Last season, he finished fifth among quarterbacks in fantasy scoring, thanks in part to his 4,917 passing yards, which ranked third in the league. Cousins got off to a somewhat slow start, with just one top-10 fantasy performance in the first six weeks of the season. However, he finished strong with seven top-10 finishes over his final 10 games. Of course, DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon are out of the mix, but Cousins still has a stable of capable receives including new addition Terrelle Pryor. Cousins is a strong middle-round option to consider as a back-end QB1.

Running back

There’s a bit of a battle in the Washington backfield with second-year man Rob Kelley and rookie Samaje Perine duking it out for lead back duties. Kelley is coming off a surprise 2016 campaign where he went from relative unknown free agent signee to the Redskins lead back. After assuming the lead duties in Week 8, Kelley ranked 13th among running backs in fantasy scoring, and his 601 rushing yards were ninth-most over that span ahead of bigger names like LeGarrette Blount (595), Devonta Freeman (571), and David Johnson (562). However, his performance tailed off down the stretch with an average of just 3.3 yards per carry over the last six weeks of the season. He ranked a lowly 31st among running backs in fantasy scoring during that span. From an upside standpoint, Kelley isn’t the most ideal fantasy option.

Perine is a fourth-round selection out of Oklahoma who profiles as an early-down runner with his Michael Turner-esque build (5-11, 233). Prolific at the college level, he topped 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons at Oklahoma despite splitting work with Joe Mixon some of the time. He also scored 49 times and posted an impressive average of 6.0 yards per carry. Kelley currently sits atop the Washington depth chart, though it’s clear Perine will give him a run for his money for starting duties. Perine has reportedly had some struggles with fumbling and pass protecting in camp, so we’ll likely see Kelley open the season as the starter, but Perine is a good bet to surface on the fantasy radar at some point.

While Kelley and Perine battle for early-down work, Chris Thompson is essentially cemented in as the passing-down back. Thompson saw 59 targets last season, catching 49 for 349 yards and two scores. At the same time, he saw minimal work as a runner with just 68 rushing attempts. Thompson is only an option in deep PPR leagues.

Wide receivers

With DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon out, the Redskins have a massive 35.7 percent of their targets vacated from last season. We’re likely to the duo of Terrelle Pryor and Jamison Crowder on the field in two-wide sets. At this time last year, many did not take the idea of Pryor as a wide receiver seriously. The converted quarterback made a believer out of many in a breakout season where he posted 1,007 yards and four scores on 77 targets. He finished the year 21st in fantasy scoring with seven top-25 finishes. Perhaps more intriguing, Pryor tied for sixth in the league with 16 end zone targets. While he’s still a bit of an unknown, Pryor’s tasty fantasy upside is worth consideration as a back-end WR2.

In many ways, Crowder is the exact opposite of Pryor as a fantasy option. He has a solid floor, but possesses minimal fantasy upside. With Jackson and Garcon gone, there’s a good chance Crowder leads Washington in targets. However, his low average depth of target bodes poorly for big fantasy production. On average last season, Crowder was targeted just 8.2 yards downfield. Despite the lack of high ceiling, Crowder’s projected volume puts him in the WR3 conversation, especially in PPR formats.

Second-year man Josh Doctson is the favorite for No. 3 duties. He’ll play outside with Crowder in the slot. Doctson is unproven, but oozing with upside. He played just 31 snaps in his rookie season before an Achilles injury sidelined him for the rest of the year. He’s dealing with a hamstring injury in training camp, so fantasy drafters will want to keep an eye on his status. If healthy, he’s worth consideration in the later rounds of fantasy drafts.

Tight end

Jordan Reed is one of the league’s most dominant receiving tight ends when he’s on the field. Of course, that last part has continually been the problem, as Reed has missed 18 games over his four years in the NFL. To make matters worse, he’s been sidelined to start training camp with a toe injury. But when healthy, Reed has been an extremely productive fantasy option with 16 top-10 fantasy finishes in 26 games played over the last two seasons. You take on risk drafting Reed this year, but the reward could be an elite-level fantasy producer.

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