The right time to go WR over RB in Round 1 of 2020 fantasy football drafts

Every year, the running back position is not only considered important but also volatile and thin. Being able to snag a top-flight workhorse back is great, but it does come with its negative aspects, too.

The first round of 2020 Yahoo fantasy football 12-team drafts has a whopping total of eight running backs being selected, according to ADP, so at which point in the round should you consider pivoting to a wide receiver instead of a RB? Liz Loza, Andy Behrens, and Matt Harmon discuss in the video above.

For Liz, the right time to pivot to someone like Michael Thomas would be at the fifth spot, where most drafters have been selecting Derrick Henry. For her, taking Henry at pick No. 5 is doing so with the expectation that he’s once again going to be a top rusher and touchdown-scorer, even though his lack of a receiving ceiling separates him from some of the other top rushers in the first round.

In a full-PPR format Andy would go so far as to take Thomas at No. 4, showcasing how much of a difference-maker Thomas is with his ability to not only attract an obscene amount of targets, but to also convert those targets into catches. In half-PPR, he agrees with Liz in taking Thomas at 5 over Henry.

Matt pivots a bit differently. While he recognizes that the Titans have not been willing to give Henry a bigger receiving role, he does think Henry could surpass the 30-catch range this season due to Tennessee not being able to sustain the overly positive game scripts they had in 2019; they’ll have to throw more this season. As such, Matt is more willing to consider Michael Thomas (or Davante Adams, whom he has ranked over Thomas) at the sixth spot, selecting him over hyped rookie, Clyde Edwards-Helaire.