Green Bay Packers wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling currently represents one of the best values in all of fantasy football. The 2018 fifth-round pick is battling for the starting spot opposite Davante Adams in Green Bay’s offense. Valdes-Scantling showed promise as a rookie and could a weekly start if he can beat out Geronimo Allison and earn the trust of Aaron Rodgers.
When Aaron Rodgers trusts his wide receivers, they always put up fantastic numbers. Rodgers didn’t have that trust in Valdes-Scantling last season, and Rodgers missed a sizable portion of 2017 with a collarbone injury. However, in 2016 he had Jordy Nelson finish as the WR2 and Davante Adams finish as WR9 in PPR scoring. Going back to 2014, Nelson finished as WR3 and Randall Cobb finished as WR8. Playing for Rodgers provides a great opportunity, as long as the talent and trust are there. The question is whether Valdes-Scantling has the talent and if he can earn the trust.
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2019 Fantasy Football Outlook: Marquez Valdes-Scantling
2018 Recap
Marquez Valdes-Scantling was not supposed to play a big role on the 2018 Green Bay Packers. Selected in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Valdes-Scantling entered the year behind Adams, Allison, and Cobb on the depth chart. However, after injuries struck Cobb and Allison, Valdes-Scantling suddenly saw a good amount of time on the field.
On the season, Valdes-Scantling recorded 38 receptions for 581 yards and two touchdowns, good for a WR65 finish. This was an encouraging performance for a guy who started off as the WR4 on his own team.
Valdes-Scantling was not the most consistent player in the world. Once he saw regular playing time, the rookie recorded 10 or more fantasy points in six of his final 13 games. However, he also had six games in which he recorded fewer than seven, which is obviously not ideal in PPR scoring. From an efficiency standpoint, Valdes-Scantling had a 90 passer rating when targeted and a 46% success rate. The passer rating was the third-best mark on the team among players with 25 or more targets and the success rate was right about average on the Packers offense.
Ultimately, this was an up-and-down year for Valdes-Scantling. This isn’t uncommon for a rookie, and Valdes-Scantling put together enough good tape to make you believe he has a home in the NFL. However, we’ve seen plenty of rookies show promise in the past only to flame out as their careers progress. Valdes-Scantling has the opportunity to be a star, but does he have the talent to make the most out of it?
2019 Projection
It’s too early to definitively know if Valdes-Scantling will succeed, but the early signs are encouraging. Mike McCarthy is gone and Matt LaFleur is in as Green Bay’s head coach. LaFleur is one of the many Sean McVay disciples earning coaching jobs throughout the league, and his offense is reportedly catered to players like Valdes-Scantling. Additionally, Valdes-Scantling reportedly spent all of OTA’s and minicamp lined up opposite Davante Adams in two-receiver sets. Geronimo Allison was healthy for training camp and saw the field in three-receiver sets.
Even articles hyping up Geronimo Allison come with underlying information about how Green Bay views their depth chart. Back in July, Davante Adams said that Allison could be “dangerous” in Green Bay’s offense. Based on the headline, this would imply that Allison and Valdes-Scantling are both fighting for the WR2 position. However, reading the full quote shows that Valdes-Scantling is clearly ahead of Allison. Adams says that Allison has been “working a lot in the slot”, which implies that he’s not on the field in two-receiver sets.
On top of that, the Packers didn’t add any outside receivers of note throughout the off-season. Wide receiver was a problem in 2018, but the organization didn’t address the issue in free agency or the draft. This shows the team clearly believes in the players they already have, meaning they expect great things from Valdes-Scantling.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling Average Draft Position
Fantasy Football Calculator currently has Valdes-Scantling going off the board with the 103rd pick in PPR formats. This places him in the same tier as guys like Marvin Jones, Corey Davis, Dede Westbrook, and Courtland Sutton and roughly one round behind Geronimo Allison.
Quite frankly, this is a phenomenal value for a player who will easily outplay this draft position. Valdes-Scantling will catch passes from one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time with a long track record of sustaining multiple fantasy-relevant wide receivers. Valdes-Scantling is a perfect fit for LaFleur’s offense and should have a great season.
While he probably won’t have a top-10 finish as Cobb and Adams did all those years ago, he has what it takes to be a consistent WR2. At the very least, you should feel comfortable streaming him each and every week. Winning your league is all about finding those late-round values, and there aren’t many better values than Valdes-Scantling. If he’s still there in the eighth or ninth round, make sure to scoop him up.
