Fantasy Football 2020: QB, RB, WR, TE Rankings and Top Sleepers
August 29, 2020
Time is running out for those preparing for season-long fantasy drafts. The Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans are scheduled to kick off the regular season in just 12 days, and even late drafts will likely be held the weekend before.
With this in mind, we're here to help with your fantasy cram session. We're going to run down the top players at each key position—quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end—and examine some top sleepers to consider on draft day.
All rankings and analysis are based on points-per-reception (PPR) formats.
Quarterbacks
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
2. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
3. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
4. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
5. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
6. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
7. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
8. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
9. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
10. Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
Sleeper: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
While rookie quarterbacks can be risky in fantasy, Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller Joe Burrow should be in a good position for first-year success. He's the clear-cut starter and has weapons like A.J. Green, Joe Mixon, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins with which to work.
Burrow, who tossed 60 touchdowns with LSU last season, is ready to be a reliable starter from Week 1.
"I think he's as ready as any rookie quarterback's been in recent years," NFL Media's Peter Schrager said on Good Morning Football.
Burrow probably isn't throwing 60 touchdown passes this season, but he could be a legitimate fantasy star by mid-season. With an average draft position (ADP) of 123, he's worth picking up late.
Running Backs
1. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
2. Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
3. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
4. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
5. Darrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
6. Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
7. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs
8. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
9. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
10. Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
11. Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles
12. Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
13. Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers
14. Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks
15. Kenyan Drake, Arizona Cardinals
Sleeper: Zack Moss, RB, Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills rookie running back Zack Moss isn't going to step right into a starting role like Burrow. However, he should see a pretty consistent workload as Buffalo's backfield complement to Devin Singletary.
Last season, veteran backup Frank Gore logged 599 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The younger, fresher Moss should see even more production than that.
While Moss isn't a player who should be targeted to start at running back, he could be a solid flex option or a spot starter who can help avoid those bye-week blues.
Moss currently has an ADP of just 128.
Wide Receivers
1. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
2. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
3. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
4. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
5. Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions
6. Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7. DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
8. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9. A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans
10. DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
11. Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
12. Odell Beckham Jr., Cleveland Browns
13. Amari Cooper, Dallas Cowboys
14. DJ Moore, Carolina Panthers
15. Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears
Sleeper: Mecole Hardman, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs wideout Mecole Hardman showed some flashes of fantasy greatness during his rookie campaign last season. The Georgia product caught just 26 passes, but he turned those into 538 yards and six touchdowns.
In an already explosive Chiefs passing attack, Hardman brings a ton of big-play ability. Therefore, it's not outlandish to believe that he'll have a similar season-year leap to the one Tyreek Hill had in 2017.
As a rookie, Hill caught 61 passes for 593 yards and six touchdowns. In his sophomore season, he had 71 catches for 1,183 yards and seven touchdowns. Though Hardman will be competing with the likes of Hill, Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins for catches, he could approach the coveted 1,000-yard mark.
With an ADP of 130, he is a terrific value target in the back half of drafts.
Tight Ends
1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
3. Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles
4. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
5. Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders
6. Hunter Henry, Los Angeles Chargers
7. Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
8. Evan Engram, New York giants
9. Jared Cook, New Orleans Saints
10. Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns
Sleeper: Chris Herndon IV, TE, New York Jets
One thing to remember about tight ends is that outside of the three or four top guys, there isn't a huge gap in fantasy talent at the position. Hunter Henry might come off the board in Round 6 or 7 and end up with a similar stat line to New York Jets tight end Chris Herndon IV.
With an ADP of 186, Herndon is trending as a player who can be had at the very end of drafts.
Though injury and suspension limited Herndon to just one game and one catch in 2019, he racked up 39 catches, 502 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie the previous season. Now in his third year with quarterback Sam Darnold, Herndon could be in store for far more impressive numbers.