Trey Quinn may have been 2018’s “Mr. Irrelevant,” but he has sneakily massive fantasy upside for 2019. After losing Jamison Crowder to the Jets and Maurice Harris to the Patriots, the Redskins have the 9th most available Air Yards in the league (1273).
Even better? A significant portion of this vacated volume should fall to the team’s slot WR with Case Keenum now at the helm. Whether Emmanuel Sanders last year or Adam Thielen the year before, Keenum repeatedly peppers his slot weapons. Quinn is currently the favorite to replace Crowder here, and could easily lead this lackluster depth chart in receiving as a result.
We are 1/1 betting on Keenum’s slot weapon, and we’re doubling down and labeling Quinn one of our favorite 2019 “Penny Stocks.” As explored with Sanders last preseason, Keenum relentlessly targeted Adam Thielen out of the slot in Minnesota. Thielen’s 25% slot target share led all WRs in 2017 (per PFF), allowing him to finish as the WR10. Sanders followed this up ranking third in target percentage (23.7%) and was the WR10 prior to his injury. Now, Quinn is in line for 20%+ target share and offers massive breakout appeal.
The SMU product fits the slot to perfection. He led the NCAA with 114 receptions, and much of this damage came from inside. Here, Quinn caught 75% of his targets with seven TDs and had the lowest drop rate (1.7%) in this receiver class. Despite lacking true straight-line speed (4.55 forty), he has the necessary short-area burst to dominate in this congested area (6.91 three-cone time), and he catches everything.
HC Jay Gruden loves him, too. He immediately mentioned “we feel great about Trey Quinn’s progress last year” when asked about Crowder. Last year, Gruden gushed in preseason, calling Quinn “a quiet assassin… is very detailed in his routes… got strong hands. Very quarterback-friendly target…. can also line up in different spots, so Trey is a guy that we’re going to rely on to be able to play multiple spots.”
Between the available volume, his own short area skill-set, his coach’s endorsement, and his QBs love for slot weapons, all the stars align for Quinn to breakout. Thus, he’s +237 spots on my current Big Board at 120, and one of my favorite late round WR sleepers.
