Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay has quickly developed into one of the most exciting wide receivers in the NFL, a fantasy football figure to keep tabs on.
He followed up a breakout sophomore season in 2018 with even better numbers in 2019. And it's getting really hard for anyone to ignore just how good he has become in just three years in the NFL.
So the question has to be asked, can Kenny Golladay continue to improve? Or has he reached his peak?
Even if this is his peak, the wide receiver has turned himself into one of the better options at his position in the entire NFL.
However, that's what is so scary. It's hard to imagine he's done improving. Kenny Golladay has shown he is an elite deep threat. What about the short game though?
In 2019, the receiver proved that he can make those possession type plays. So if he puts it all together, 2020 could be something special.
With that in mind, what exactly is his fantasy football outlook in 2020? Let's take a look at Golladay's past and try to figure out what his present and future will be.
2019 Fantasy Stats
As mentioned already, Golladay has seen his numbers sky rocket over the last two seasons.
He was selected in the third round (96th overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Lions. In his rookie season, the wide receiver managed 28 receptions for 477 yards and three touchdowns.
The next year saw a massive jump. In 15 games, Golladay racked up 70 receptions for 1,063 yards and five touchdowns.
Then came 2019. And while he saw his receptions go down, with 65 in 16 games. The other numbers saw pretty big jumps. Golladay managed 1,190 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns. The receptions were 41st in the league. Meanwhile, the yards were seventh and the receiving touchdowns led the league.
What is most impressive about those numbers? Kenny Golladay did this with a serious quarterback problem.
The Lions have Matthew Stafford. In his career, he has been one of the better quarterbacks in the entire NFL. And last season was looking like it would be another year of Stafford dominating and proving he belongs in the conversation of the elites.
In eight games, the quarterback threw for 2,499 yards and 19 touchdowns (compared to just five interceptions). For the mathematicians out there, that means Stafford was on-pace for 4,998 yards with 38 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. That's an elite season right there.
However, the quarterback suffered an injury and missed the last eight games of the season. In his place, David Blough and Jeff Driskel took over at the position.
No disrespect to those two, but they are not exactly lighting up the scoreboard. They combined for barely 1,500 yards and just eight touchdowns, compared to 10 interceptions.
That absolutely hurt the production of Kenny Golladay. And due to that, it should come as no surprise that four of his five 100-yard receiving games came with Stafford at quarterback.
Kenny Golladay managed to keep bad games to a minimum. That's good for a “deep ball threat” type of receiver. Those boom-or-bust guys are very prone to bad games. And he did have two games with just one reception and another game with just two receptions.
None of those games saw him rack up big yards or score any touchdowns. But those were his only “miserable” games. Kenny Golladay scored a touchdown in nine different games. He had 10 games with four-or-more receptions and 11 games with at least 50 yards.
Those are all pretty strong numbers. For the most part, he was giving his fantasy owners good games each week.
2020 Fantasy Projections
Golladay has improved massively already in his career. Each of the last two seasons saw his numbers go up. In fantasy football terms, Kenny Golladay has become an absolute monster.
At just 26, it's safe to assume he's just entering his prime as well. That means the best seasons are still ahead of the wide receiver.
Oh, and Stafford is back. If he stays healthy all season, the numbers for Kenny Golladay could be absolutely massive.
How massive? The wide receiver could easily have even better numbers than he had in 2019.
How does 80 receptions for 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns sound? Like one of the best wide receivers in football, doesn't it?
And what's the best part about those numbers? The consistency. Kenny Golladay will likely still have a few “eh” games. Some where he only brings in two-or-three catches.
But he will keep those to an absolute minimum. And he's going to reward his fantasy owners with a few absurd days in the year too. Last season, Kenny Golladay had five 100-yard games. Four of them saw him also have a touchdown, one with two touchdowns.
You can expect a few 100-yard games with a touchdown in 2020 as well. In fact, you can expect quite a few of them.
Kenny Golladay will put up massive overall numbers in 2020. And he's going to be putting up pretty big numbers weekly. He's going to help you win a lot of games, and won't hurt you in too many weeks. That's a star fantasy wide receiver right there.
Rank At Position
The wide receiver position is absolutely loaded. That is great news for fantasy owners, because that means they can get fantastic production out of a receiver that they get in the third or fourth round still. I'm talking production that could be considered number one type of production.
So where exactly does that put Kenny Golladay? Julio Jones (Atlanta Falcons), DeAndre Hopkins (Arizona Cardinals) and Michael Thomas (New Orleans Saints) need to be considered the “top” guys right?
And of course, there is Davante Adams of the Green Bay Packers. Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers is elite as well.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a deadly duo in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. And the Los Angeles Rams are rocking the combination of Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods. Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup with the Dallas Cowboys are scary as well.
Of course, there are plenty others that could be put into this group. And there are plenty of up-and-coming stars as well. Stars that if they take the next step, could dethrone others on the list
So where does Kenny Golladay come in to play in these rankings? The top-five seem set pretty nicely. Jones, Hopkins and Thomas are the top-3. Adams is fourth and Evans is probably taking that fifth spot.
However, Kenny Golladay is not far behind them. He's right near the top of the rest of the pack.
Improving on last season on his own and getting Stafford back could add up to an elite season for Kenny Golladay. Due to that, the wide receiver is coming in at seventh in the wide receiver rankings.
He's simply too talented to be held back much lower than that.
The numbers are going to be massive, and he's going to give you consistent outings weekly. Some of them will even have the potential to single-handedly win you a game.
Kenny Golladay should be taken early in your fantasy leagues. Don't feel like the second or third round is a reach, he's that good.
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