Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Robert Woods is one of those players that always gets overlooked in the fantasy football draft season. The former second-round pick annually outperforms his average draft position, and he’s set to do it again in 2020.
Note: All scoring information is given in PPR format
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2020 Fantasy Football Outlook: Robert Woods
2019 Recap
As a whole, the Los Angeles Rams struggled to recapture their offensive magic in 2019. In 2017 and 2018, this offense was nearly unstoppable as the league struggled to find an answer. That answer finally came last year, and it took the Rams a while to adjust to opposing defenses.
However, that didn’t stop Robert Woods from being productive. Starting and appearing in 15 games, the 27-year old recorded 90 receptions for 1,134 yards and two touchdowns. This made him the WR14 overall and the WR13 on a per-game basis, a pretty impressive feat considering the offensive changes throughout the season.
The biggest complaint about Woods’ 2019 season is the relative lack of consistency. While his overall finish and per-game performances made you happy, his week-to-week production left something to be desired. Woods had six games where he failed to reach double-digit fantasy points, including one game where he didn’t record a single reception. Additionally, he only made his way into the endzone three times (once on a run play), which is obviously less than you’d prefer.
Chances are, the week-to-week consistency problems were just a one-year fluke. From 2017 to 2018, Woods was one of the most reliable receivers in the league. Woods’ inconsistency can probably be chalked up to the overall weirdness of the 2019 Rams, and should improve moving forward. The touchdowns, however, will probably remain low. Throughout the course of his career, Woods has never scored more than six touchdowns in a single season.
2020 Outlook
One of the biggest mysteries in fantasy is determining what the 2020 Los Angeles Rams will look like on offense. Throughout the first two and a half years of the Sean McVay Era, the Rams primarily operated out of 11 personnel. However, the league eventually adapted to McVay, and the Rams dramatically changed their offense in the back half of the year. In Weeks 11-17, the Rams 11 personnel usage dropped from almost 80% to 58%. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether or not that trend will continue, but Woods will be productive no matter what happens.
We already know just how good Woods can be if the Rams primarily operate out of 11 personnel. From 2017 to 2018, Woods averaged 81 receptions for 1,143 yards and six touchdowns on a 16-game basis. Even in the first half of 2019, Woods still managed to be productive. Through Week 10 (Woods missed Week 11 with an injury), Robert Woods was on pace for 80 receptions and 1,006 yards.
If the Rams continue their heavy usage of 12 personnel, then Robert Woods has legitimate WR1 potential. Over the final six games of the season, Woods was on pace for 120 receptions for 1,515 yards and five touchdowns on a whopping 181 targets. Obviously, this pace wouldn’t sustain over a full season of work. However, this shows that Woods will be a big part of the offense, no matter what happens to the personnel groupings.
Additionally, Woods should have a higher share of the targets coming his way. Brandin Cooks battled injuries last year, but he still managed to see 72 targets last season. Josh Reynolds projects to fill the Cooks role in the offense, but he won’t see all of those vacated targets. Cooks is easily the best outside receiver on the team, so a percentage of those opportunities will come his way.
Robert Woods Average Draft Position
As of this posting, Fantasy Football Calculator has Robert Woods going off the board with the 46th overall pick in PPR drafts. This puts him in the same range as guys like D.J. Moore, A.J. Brown, and D.K. Metcalf.
Quite frankly, this is highway robbery. Wide receivers are going off the board later than usual this year, so you are capable of finding plenty of values in the mid rounds. However, it’s criminal to wait this long to take Robert Woods. The former second-round pick has a proven track record of success, a high target share, and is the featured part of a good offense. His relatively low touchdown upside keeps him out of the top tier of receivers, but he should be a week-in, week-out start with mid-WR1 potential.
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