Is there dynasty value in the 2020 Packers wide receivers?

The Green Bay Packers have one of the best elder statesmen quarterbacks in the NFL, Matt Lafleur entering his second year as head coach, and an ascendant running back in Aaron Jones. Surely with all these positives, they have a bevy of exciting dynasty wide receivers in the mix. However, in 2020 the Packers wide receivers present almost nothing but question marks to dynasty fantasy football players.

The 13-3 Packers saw QB Aaron Rodgers complete 62% of his passes for 4,002 yards and 26 touchdowns, finishing as QB9 in fantasy scoring. Despite this, no Packers wide receiver finished inside the top 20 in fantasy scoring at their position. That stat is ever so slightly skewed by Davante Adams missing four games. His fantasy points-per-game average ranks sixth behind Michael Thomas, Chris Godwin, Julio Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, and Mike Evans.

Davante Adams

Adams is one of the most valuable WRs in dynasty fantasy football. He wins at all three levels, is impressive with the ball in his hands, and had more targets in 12 games than Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison had in a combined 32. The only cases you should find people selling are if they’re in a full-on rebuild that will take three or more years to complete. If that’s the case, I would be happy offering a top 5 pick along with a running back like Kerryon Johnson to push the youth movement.

Contending teams would require a king’s ransom to move Adams, but I can’t fault a team on the brink moving a couple of years worth of late firsts to get a difference-maker. I’d say it’s safe to assume two more seasons of mid-WR1 production and then two to three more seasons after that of WR2/3 numbers. 

Marquez Valdes-Scantling

The impressive rookie season Valdes-Scantling put together had many dynasty players hoping they had unknowingly struck gold. Isn’t that the dream? To take a chance on a late-round NFL selection and have him gel with a franchise QB as a rookie. Well, that never quite came to fruition, and we saw Valdes-Scantling finish as the WR83 in PPR scoring last year. Calling his route running raw would be a kind descriptor, and while it’s not the single issue with his game, it’s the most glaring one. Not able to rely on his long speed as the sole thing to win against defensive backs will force him to sink or swim in the NFL. 

With how poorly he finished the season and postseason, I wouldn’t buy Valdes-Scantling. If you are so inclined, he’ll best be a throw-in at the end of trade negotiations. A late third-round pick to mid-fourth-round pick would be almost immediately accepted. Just know that he fell out of favor when it mattered most with only six offensive snaps played over the Packers two playoff games.

Geronimo Allison

The most established Packers player outside of Adams, Geronimo Allison, just had the second year where he was supposed to be the number two man in Green Bay. Allison battled nagging injuries all year and didn’t eclipse 300 receiving yards despite hauling in 34 of his 55 targets.

Allison is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and his best bet for fantasy success is re-signing with the Packers if they’ll have him. Right now, Allison is in a similar dynasty scope as Valdes-Scantling. I prefer a late 2020 fourth round lottery ticket pick than Allison at this point.

Allen Lazard

Undrafted Iowa State WR Allen Lazard was the Packers’ second-highest scoring fantasy wide receiver in 2019. However, that only amounted to WR67 and an average of 6.4 points per game. Some people like his game and believe he could last on this roster, but I can’t stop seeing how slow he shows up on tape. 

Lazard appeared in all 16 regular-season games for the Packers but only started to get a role on the offense in Week 7 when he logged 85% of offensive snaps. He did post three games of 15+ PPR points, so there is an occasional ceiling to be tempted. I don’t see a dynasty future for Lazard, but if you want to acquire him, it should not cost more than a late third-round pick. Lazard is an exclusive restricted free agent in 2020.

Jake Kumerow

Kumerow fills the Jeff Janis role of occasionally making an exciting play that sees Twitter demand more playing time. He’s not the solution to the Packers WR issues in 2020 or any other year. Even in deep best-ball leagues, he does not belong on a fantasy roster. Kumerow is an exclusive restricted free agent in 2020.

Ryan Grant

Grant was acquired midseason by the Packers after disappointing stints with both the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders but failed to log any snaps with the Packers. Unfortunately, Grant is probably best known for a particularly dubious failed physical with the Baltimore Ravens after the organization realized they offered him much more money than any other NFL club would have during free agency in 2018.

He is waiver wire fodder even in deep leagues and should not cost anything to add if you’re looking to kick the tires on the veteran. Grant is a UFA in 2020.

Darrius Shepherd

Shepherd spent the second half of the season on the Packers practice squad. With so many other young options receiving playing time, he may remain as an emergency fill-in at WR. Safe to say, you don’t need to add him to any watch list.

Malik Taylor

Another practice squad player, Taylor would likely be behind Shepherd on any call list.

Equanimeous St. Brown

Now we get to the most intriguing player. The third member of the young WR triumvirate Green Bay drafted in 2018, EQSB, has prototypical size and measurables to play the X at the NFL level. The transition from college was always going to be about adjusting to the physicality of the NFL, and we just haven’t been able to see enough from the Notre Dame product. St. Brown is the only Packers WR (outside of Adams) that I want on a roster in dynasty leagues for 2020. If the Packers don’t invest a day one or day two pick in a WR, we could see St. Brown get a real chance to earn a starting spot. Like many analysts, I liked St. Brown during the draft process, and unless you have an ardent supporter holding him, he can be had for a similar price as Allison and Valdes-Scantling.

Andrew Thomas Jordan is an editor and analyst for the Pro Football Network covering Dynasty Football. You can follow him @The_ATJ on Twitter.