Christian McCaffrey is the consensus No. 1 pick for fantasy football drafts in 2020, but who should go second overall? We had a summit to answer this question and many more.
The ESPN Fantasy Football virtual summit highlighted many key storylines as we look forward to 2020 fantasy football drafts. Our composite rankings, which will be updated throughout the offseason, are always a great starting point as you prepare for draft day. But in order to give you a peek behind the curtain for some of our best discussions, we introduce our fantasy football roundtable series.
Each entry will feature members of our ESPN Fantasy team offering their analysis on the hottest topics that came out of this year's summit, which will hopefully get you thinking about how to approach your drafts in the months ahead.
Christian McCaffrey is a lock at No. 1 overall. Who's No. 2?
Stephania Bell: Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Cook proved his value last season after struggling with injury the year prior, a struggle that likely related to a heavy volume of work so soon after returning from an ACL reconstruction. With more than 500 yards receiving on 53 receptions to complement his dynamic running ability, he can consistently deliver in fantasy week to week.
Matthew Berry: Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
It's very close with Dalvin Cook, but I love the Giants' offense as a whole to take a big step forward in 2020 -- even with a rookie QB and many injuries, they were still 15th in offensive TDs last season -- and Barkley will remain a focal point. He's averaging 21.4 touches per game for his career and was the top player in all of fantasy over the final three weeks of last season.
Matt Bowen: Dalvin Cook
I'll take Cook -- even with the durability concerns -- given the consistent volume and the heavy run-game structure in Minnesota. In 2019, Cook had 10 games with 20 or more touches. Plus, he has some juice on screens and swings in the pass game, where he posted 53 receptions and ranked fourth among running backs in yards per catch. Give me the play-speed of Cook here, and the high-end volume.
Mike Clay: Saquon Barkley
Barkley's 2019 season felt like a disappointment, but he was still one of the league's most effective backs and his high volume remained, actually seeing a slight uptick in snap and carry share. Barkley was fantasy's No. 3 back during weeks he was active and perhaps he could see more goal-line work this season (only seven carries inside the 5-yard line last season) behind an improved and solid line.
Tristan H. Cockcroft: Saquon Barkley
One of the game's best all-around running backs whose 2019 numbers don't seem to justify that early a pick, only because of the high ankle sprain that cost him three weeks. After his return, though, he was the No. 4 running back in fantasy and only 11 points off the No. 2 spot on that list.
Daniel Dopp: Dalvin Cook
Look, you could take Saquon or Ezekiel Elliott here and I wouldn't argue with you, but Cook really took his game to the next level last season, averaging more than 20 fantasy points per game. He's a high-volume back with soft hands who doesn't need to come off the field. If this is what a healthy Dalvin Cook looks like, sign me up.
Eric Karabell: Saquon Barkley
One really cannot go wrong here, since there is a tier of proven running backs worthy of the honor, each projected by ESPN to finish within a touchdown of each other in PPR scoring. I go Barkley-Elliott-Cook, in that order, but I'd be fine picking No. 4 overall and choosing who remains.
Field Yates: Dalvin Cook
There isn't a wrong answer at Pick 2, as there are several options, including Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley, that make a compelling case. I'll go with Cook, however, who is coming off a season with 13 rushing touchdowns and an NFL-high 29 goal-to-go carries. I expect that role to persist this season and his excellent passing-game value helps propel him to pick two.