After a hectic Day 1 at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, things settled down a bit on Day 2. We only had running backs and a handful of coaches at media interviews, but a lot of interesting information was still divulged.
Here are the biggest fantasy football takeaways from Day 2:
Will Amari Cooper be a Cowboy in 2020?
New Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy took to the podium on Wednesday and spoke about Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott. Dallas is in a tricky situation with both players staring down free agency, but McCarthy’s statement that Prescott is their franchise quarterback would suggest a deal is likely going to get done.
Regarding Cooper and fellow pending free agent Randall Cobb, McCarthy said, “The goal is to have both of those guys back.”
Cooper revived his career in Dallas and could certainly reset the market for the position. Julio Jones is currently the highest-paid wideout, at $22 million per year. The good news is that Dallas has plenty of cap space, so Cooper is a good bet to remain in Dallas. That’s a positive for his fantasy stock because we know he isn’t a player who can have success regardless of which roster he’s on.
McCarthy gave us another quick fantasy nugget about Ezekiel Elliott.
“You get the ball to your playmakers,” he said. “Zeke will touch the football plenty in our offense.”
Historically, McCarthy hasn’t been the type to utilize a bell cow back. Then again, he didn’t have a back of Elliott’s caliber. It sounds like Elliott is going to remain one of the league’s highest-volume backs.
The Jags starting quarterback will be…
We don’t know. Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone told the media Jacksonville is “in a position where we feel we've got two guys who can play.” There’s an old saying in football that if you have two quarterbacks then you have none. That doesn’t quite apply here, but this is an intriguing situation for fantasy purposes.
Nick Foles got paid to go to Jacksonville last year, but an injury opened the door for Gardner Minshew, who proved to be one of the season’s bigger surprises. Over the first nine weeks of the season, Minshew ranked ninth among quarterbacks in fantasy scoring, and he finished the year with 21 passing scores. While top-10 fantasy numbers are unlikely, Minshew does have enough juice to be a streamer and 2QB option if he’s able to earn the starting job. On the other hand, Foles just hasn’t proven that he can be consistent enough to be a reliable fantasy factor.
Tua Tagovailoa’s hips don’t lie
The former Alabama signal-caller suffered a season-ending hip injury in November, causing concern for his draft stock. However, Tagovailoa told reporters on Tuesday that he expects to be medically cleared by March 9. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday that his MRI results came back clean.
This is obviously fantastic news for Tagovailoa, who we currently have as the No. 3 player on our 2020 NFL Draft big board. He’s all but locked in as a top-5 pick, but the landing spot will certainly impact his fantasy outlook. A number of mock drafts — including our most recent — have him going to the Miami Dolphins with the fifth pick. We’d be lying if we said that was the most exciting fantasy destination for Tagovailoa, but head coach Brian Flores showed last season that the culture is changing in Miami.
Regardless of where he lands, Tagovailoa should be a starter from the gate. Given his touchdown efficiency at the college level, there’s a chance he makes an immediate fantasy impact. He’s the clear No. 2 dynasty quarterback in this year’s class.
Running Back Interview Quick Hits
• Jonathan Taylor was prolific at the college level, but most of that production came on the ground. However, Taylor went out of his way to highlight his ability as a receiver, saying he models himself after Arian Foster. Longtime fantasy players will remember Foster’s dominance as a true three-down back. Taylor caught 26 balls last season after catching just 16 in his first two seasons at Wisconsin. He’s a threat to be the top-scoring fantasy rookie running back in 2020.
• Former LSU back Clyde Edwards-Helaire pointed out the fact that he’s never had a major injury or surgery and called himself the healthiest back at the Combine. Durability is always a concern when it comes to fantasy running backs, so this bodes well for Edwards-Helaire. He also said he patterns his game off of Josh Jacobs. Edwards-Helaire is the No. 86 player on our big board and will likely be a Day 2 pick.
• We don’t expect Eno Benjamin to go on Day 2, but the Arizona State back is one of our favorite deeper players at the position for fantasy purposes. Benjamin checks in at just 5-foot-8 but did add weight to his frame — he weighed in at 207 pounds after being under 200 at the Senior Bowl. That extra mass will help at the pro level.
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