Regression is unforgivable in fantasy football – it can strike in both directions, depending on how a player performed last season. No player is safe year-over-year as consistently productive.
Therefore, it is important to examine players who underperform to identify the issue (s) that plagued them and why their seasons ended up in disappointment. It’s the only way to project exactly which players have the potential to play handball in strong fashion.
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The following list provides one player at each position who is destined for a strong rebound season in 2020 fantasy football league.
Quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
Some may consider playing an entire 16-game season a rebound for Big Ben, but he has the potential to do so much more damage. Leaving 2019, Roethlisberger said ready because the QB3, QB10, QB17, QB21, QB6, QB9 and QB21 date from 2012. Those finishes do not paint the clearest picture, as Ben’s injury misery regularly led to shortened seasons, which apparently affected his point totals and finishes. negative.
Even if we look back to just the 2018 season, Roethlisberger finished third overall in fantasy points and 13th in points per dropback among all quarterbacks. No quarterback attempted more passes than Big Ben in 2018, as his 675 attempts were a solid 35 attempts above second place. In addition to an insane amount of volume, Roethlisberger finished first in passing yards (5,129) and fifth in passing touchdowns (34).
His age can pick him up, as he finished 13th in yards per attempt (YPA) and 22nd in average depth of goal (aDOT) among all quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts in 2018. A case needs to be made that numbers to suffering because of his incredibly high volume and not because of his age, but that remains to be seen as Roethlisberger only fit for two games in 2019.
Big Ben is the engine that makes the Steelers, and there’s no doubt about it. Here’s the comparison between the team in 2018 (with Ben) and 2019 (with the quarterback carousel they deployed).
Steelers offense | 2018-19
| Category | 2018 (Rank) |
2019 (Rank) |
| Red zone game | 146 (14th) | 115 (31e) |
| The goal line is played | 47 (6e) | 22 (30e) |
| Explosive plays past (15-plus yard downfield) | 101 (8e) | 62 (32e) |
| Continuous yard per attempt | 7.51 (13th) | 6.30 (31e) |
| Average yards per game | 6.0 (6th) | 4.7 (30th) |
| Offensive score | 67 (14th) | 54 (26th) |
While we still have to see what Big Ben will look like after elbow injury, it’s probably fair to expect a handball season, mostly because of the Steelers’ propensity to pass on football (high volume), Roethlisberger’s history of fantastic fantasy- performances and the talent with which he is offensively surrounded.
PFF’s fantasy projections do not expect a rebound from Roethlisberger, as he currently has rank QB30. One important factor that Ben has on his side is an incredibly friendly scheme – PFFs strength of scheme (SoS) metrically ranks the Steelers’ quarterback schedule as the fourth easiest in 2020.
Run back
Le’Veon Bell, New York Jets
Bell’s fall from grace was evident in his 2019 campaign, which resulted in a disappointing RB16 ranking of 15 appearances (215 total points). An RB16 finish is simply not productive enough for a player who was once the league’s poster boy in the running position, but there is potential for a strong rebounding season from Bell.
Even with how bad the Jets’ offense was last season, Bell managed to rank 14th on yard after contact (653) and 16th in missed forced play (41). As receiver, Bell rode eighth in yard behind catches, fifth in yard behind contact and sixth in missed tackles forced on receptions. The problems for Bell were his lack of efficiency and chances for scoring, but most of the blame for those two numbers can certainly be reduced to the lack of competent quarterback and offensive line play. The Jets ranked dead last in red zone plays, goal line goals, explosive plays rushing, explosive run percentage and rushing yard for contact per attempt, and Bell still hit an RB2 finish. Bell’s season almost begins to be a monumental achievement when you consider his lack of help offensively.
There is reason for optimism going forward. The first factor is Bell’s volume and workload – he scored a total of 245 rushing attempts (11th), 74 goals (seventh) and 66 receptions (seventh) in 2019. Even though he did not get much work in the money zone (Six carries within the 5-yard line, rank 32nd), Bell got the ball an extreme amount and was one of the most used receiving backs in football.
The next factor in Bell’s potential positive regression is the potential improvements to the Jets’ offensive line. While we still do not know how Mekhi Becton, George Fant en Connor McGovern will perform, we can at least approach the willingness of general manager Joe Douglas to invest a boatload of resources in improving the OL.
Finally, quarterback Sam Darnold should theoretically appear in 16 games. While Darnold has yet to justify his concept status or even inspire confidence in his capabilities as a franchise quarterback, he is still a much more effective option than backups Luke Falk en Trevor Siemian. In the three games that Darnold missed (Weeks 2, 3, 5), the Jets scored one offensive touchdown, rounded out five red zone plays and zero goal-line play. The offense should have played better with Darnold in the mix, but it proved terrible without him.
The following chart shows Bell’s production on a weekly basis. The decent scoring results during weeks that Darnold missed can be attributed to a sharp increase in receptions (use of pass play), which is always a plus in PPR formats with full points.
PFF’s fantasy projections view Bell as a boundary line RB1, rank him RB13. Another key positive for Bell is the third ranking scheme he will see in 2020, according to PFFs SoS metric.
Wide receiver
DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles
Probably, the main threat of the league, Jackson plagued just how much juice is left in his tank in three short games in 2019. The electric player, known as “Jaccpot” recorded only 38 receiving snaps, yet he conceded nine of his 10 goals for 159 yards and two touchdowns, most of which were against the Washington in week 1.
We still have to really experience what the Jackson and duo Carson Wentz may achieve, but they appear to have direct chemistry and could potentially form a dangerous playing duo this coming season. Jackson’s fantasy totals dating back to 2015 are not exactly impressive (WR43, WR45, WR37, WR66), but much of it has to do with a lack of health when used. Jackson appears to be in a good spot with the Eagles.
The lack of a true deep threat of Jackson’s caliber hampered the Eagles’ offense in 2019, as evidenced by Wentz’s 28th-ranked YPA and 23rd-ranked aDOT figures. They also passed the 21st in explosive play (15-plus yards downfield) and 27th in explosive pass percentage (12.3%) – all of which figures could stand to improve and probably would have if Jackson had handled another hand in terms of injury.
Jackson – the Eagles’ primary deep threat – was added by general manager Howie Roseman in hopes of operating as the vertical piece that the crime lacks, and theoretically the marriage would have worked perfectly. Dating back to 2010, Jackson ranks second in aDOT (16.0), first in receiving yards per reception (17.6) and 12th in yards per run (2.04) among all receivers with 500-plus goals. Wentz, on the other hand, has performed decently on passes that have traveled at least 15 yards downfield – he ranks 13th in yards and 10th in touchdowns dating back to 2016.
Probably the biggest hurdle for this duo is their lack of health – Jackson has not recorded a 16-game season since 2013 (his final year in his first stint with Philly), and Wentz has apparently suffered his fair share of injuries, although he did appear last season in 16 games. If the two are able to stay healthy, they even have a massive ceiling with the addition Jalen Reagor and an already loaded grid that includes Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert en Miles Sanders.
PFF’s fantasy projections expect Jackson to just fall in line with his career production, pegging him with a WR51 finish. However, Jackson – and his teammates – will have to overcome a tricky schedule with PFFs SoS metric ranking it the seventh-most expensive in 2020.
Close
Eric Ebron, Pittsburgh Steelers
Although he has never lived up to his airy concept status, Ebron has put together strong seasons in the past. Since entering the NFL, he’s been ready as the TE27, TE4, TE13, TE14, TE13 and TE40. Ebron’s best season came in 2018, which should come as no surprise, as his volume and use led to a very productive season – Ebron scored fourth in goals (108), first in touchdowns (13), third in goals from red zone (31) and first in end zone battle goals (18). While his use in 2020 with the Steelers may not look identical to that of his 2018 season, it’s fair to expect an improved performance with the upgrade of Jacoby Brissett to Roethlisberger at quarterback.
Dating back to 2015 (excluding his rookie season), Ebron runs fourth in goals (389), eighth in receiving yards (2,947), fifth in touchdowns (26), 10th in explosive pass plays (54) and 17th in yards per round (1.53) under all tight ends with goals of 100 plus. Looking at just goals in the end zone, Ebron ranks fifth (36) among all tight ends over the same time frame. Using Ebron in the money field is very encouraging, especially when you factor in the Steelers’ ability to reach the most important part of the field – they rank 14th in red zone games (719) and 15th in goal line games (176) until 2015, and that includes wrestling misconduct in 2019 that resulted in less than optimal quarterback play.
The Steelers have missed a dominant tight end threat since Heath Miller retired in 2015, but that has not stopped Roethlisberger from producing while focusing on his tight ends. Big Ben ranks 15th in YPA (7.9) and 14th in Custom Percentage (76.4%) when he straightened his tight ends since 2015 (min. 200 attempts).
The Steelers’ offensive as a whole is a leading candidate for positive regression going forward, and much of that has simply to do with Roethlisberger’s health. If Big Ben can stop, then every player benefits from the attack. This is a misdemeanor that has historically proven to be productive – all of his skill players are worth focusing on fantasy drafts by 2020.
PFF’s fantasy projections anticipate a TE21 finish for Ebron, which would be a slight improvement from his 2019 campaign. Like many players on this list, Ebron will benefit from his scheme – PFFs SoS metric ranks the Steelers’ tight end schedule as the 10th easiest in 2020.
