Hey, #4EYEDfans!
Here’s a breakdown of each offseason acquisition & what it means for fantasy purposes. We’ll update the list as transactions occur.
(MOVES SORTED BY LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE)
[LAST UPDATED: 4/16 @6:36 P.M.]
D-HOP -> ARIZONA
The Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins & a 2020 4th rounder to the Cardinals for David Johnson, a 2020 2nd rounder, & a 2021 4th rounder… Say what??
I would have paid to see the look on Bill O’Brien’s face when he found out what the Vikings got for Stefon Diggs (more on that later)…
Regardless of how much this move should have never happened – it did & it shifts the entire fantasy landscape in a major way.
Hopkins’ fantasy value is what it is at this point. He’s been a top-5 fantasy WR for 3 years in a row, as well as 4 out of the last 5 seasons. Even though he’s going to need time to gain a rapport with his new quarterback, he lands in a system with a play-caller (Kliff Kingsbury) who is one – if not the most – pass-happy in the league. If you wanna rank Hop as the No. 1 WR, no one can blame you.
Speaking of his new quarterback, Kyler Murray goes from being a sneaky mid-round target to now being a quarterback you are almost certainly going to have to overpay to get. Don’t be surprised when he’s the 3rd QB selected in a lot of fantasy drafts.
It’s hard not to push Deshaun Watson out of that 2nd QB tier of Murray/Wilson/Prescott considering his top targets are now a couple of injury-prone role players like Randall Cobb & Will Fuller. He’s still going to accumulate points with his legs (perhaps even more so) but there’s clearly going to be a limit to what he’s able to do as a passer.
The most important narrative here is that the player (David Johnson) who was seemingly a salary dump in this trade gets a chance to prove that he’s way more than that. Is he still? Johnson’s averaged less than 4 yards percarry for 3 seasons in a row, but the fact is he could get peppered with targets in the receiving game with Watson having no one to really depend on, & we all know that the Texans are going to feed their lead back plenty of carries (Carlos Hyde had 245 last year), so the fact of the matter is that all Johnson really needs to do is stay healthy. Unfortunately, that’s been just as big a problem for him as rushing for 4 yards percarry. He’s played 26 games in the past 3 seasons. There’s a ton of risk drafting him, but he’s also probably going to be highly effective for fantasy purposes (when he’s out there) just through pure volume alone. He makes sense as your 4th pick & RB2.
TOM BRADY -> TAMPA BAY
I can’t believe I’m actually typing this…
Tom Brady doing the unfathomable & choosing to leave the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is FANTASTIC NEWS… for anyone who wants to see me eat a leather shoe…
Not only did Brady prove me capable of being a complete baboon, but he proved once and for all that the rumors of him leaving New England were true all along.
He lands in a great spot for his fantasy value & you no one can blame you if you rank him ahead of Aaron Rodgers at this point – as the top guy in that 3rd QB tier of Brady, Brees, Watson, & Rodgers.
Brady’s not likely to put up 5,000 yards constantly playing from behind like Jameis Winston, but he’s got a far better chance at putting up fantasy points in TB than he would have in NE. If my boy Fitzmagic can put in work in that offense I think the GOAT will do just fine.
The move is definitely better for Chris Godwin than it is for Mike Evans. Although Arians is known for a down-field attack, with Brady succeeding more on short & intermediate passes, look for the team to prioritize getting the ball into Godwin’s hands closer to the line of scrimmage & letting him rack up yards after the catch.
If there’s anyone who loses with this move (other than NE skills players) it’s ME, definitely ME. I was so certain that an all-time great would never go to an organization as pitiful as the Bucs that I went on record a month or so ago saying that if he did, I would eat a leather shoe… Well, here we are folks…
If there’s anything to learn from my mishap, it’s that:
Any given Sunday,
Anything is possible.
DAK PRESCOTT -> COWBOYS
The Cowboys placed the Exclusive Franchise Tag on Dak Prescott, meaning he’s not allowed to negotiate with any other team. He’ll be under center for the Cowboys in 2020 whether on the Tag or a long-term deal (unless he holds out). Thank goodness!
The move keeps an elite fantasy quarterback & elite offense intact. Who knows what would have happened to the pieces in this offense (or to Prescott himself) had he left. Luckily, he returns, where he’ll be playing behind one of the best offensive lines in the league.
Everyone involved benefits, from Dak, to Zeke, to Michael Gallup, to Amari Cooper (if he also sticks around).
Now pay the man (Jerry) so we don’t have to go through this again next offseason!
AMARI COOPER -> COWBOYS
The Cowboys have locked up Amari Cooper long-term with a 5-year $100 million deal. Thank goodness!
We’ve seen Amari Cooper outside of Dallas, and what that is is a frustrating and inconsistent WR2. He may have taken strides forward since his days in Oakland, but there’s no telling whether or not he would have reverted back to his old highly inconsistent ways if he had found his way out of Dallas again. At least in Dallas, his inconsistency is defined by higher highs & less maddening lows.
Jerry keeping the gang together assures that not only will Cooper continue to be a low-end WR1, but Dak Prescott will continue to pile up fantasy numbers as well with his favorite target returning.
TEDDY BRIDGEWATER -> CAROLINA
The Cam Newton era is OVER.
Honestly, this sucks for Cam Newton, but it was time for a fresh start for him elsewhere anyways (Washington?)
It’s great news for Teddy. The guy deserved a legitimate opportunity somewhere. In Carolina, it’ll be his job, no questions asked. And he’ll be surrounded with talent. He makes for a solid sleeper at the position in fantasy drafts & can be drafted as a back-end QB1.
As scary as it is to say this, CMC might be in an even better position to score fantasy points than last year. If he could smash records with Kyle Allen behind center, what can he do with a legitimate passer like Bridgewater? He’s already the no-brainer No. 1 pick in snake formats, but don’t be afraid to pay up for him in auctions. He’s worth it.
The player who benefits the most from this move is probably D.J. Moore. Curtis Samuel would have benefitted too if the team didn’t go out & bring Robby Anderson to steal targets away from him. Moore was WR13 last year & if you want to take him in the 3rd round of your fantasy draft as your No. 1 WR, nobody can blame you.
Overall, this signing is a move fantasy enthusiasts can celebrate.
PHILLIP RIVERS -> COLTS
Does this open the door for Jacoby Brissett back to New England?? We’ll see. This move is generating a lot of headlines, but honestly, really not a whole lot changes from a fantasy perspective. Rivers is still an aging matchup-based streamer/QB2. T.Y. Hilton is still an aging injury-prone WR2 & Marlon Mack is still a rushing back who’s probably not going to do a whole lot of receiving.
If anyone benefits, it’s Jack Doyle.
Doyle was already trending up with Eric Ebron heading out of town & coach Frank Reich’s offensive system relying heavily on the TE position. Adding a Te-friendly QB like Rivers only boosts Doyle’s stock further & he’s now in the 3rd tier of TE’s (Evan Engram, Austin Hooper, Jared Cook, Noah Fant, Hayden Hurst) that are due to come off the board around Round 7, after the “Big 6” TE’s (Kelce, Kittle, Waller, Ertz, Andrews, & Henry) are already gone.
KENYAN DRAKE -> ARIZONA
Drake has signed his transition tag!
Buckle up!! It’s going to be the Kenyan Drake show in AZ once again in 2020, especially with David Johnson being shipped out of town. It’s great news for both the Cardinals & fantasy footballers alike. Drake was a perfect fit in Coach Kliff Kingsbury’s offense last season & he immediately slots in as a first-round fantasy pick this year.
From Week 9 through Week 17 last year (the 8 games that Drake played for the Cardinals), only two RB’s averaged more fantasy PPG than Drake’s 19.9 PPG – CMC (29.2) & Derrick Henry (26.0). Project Drake’s 8 starts with the Cardinals over 16 games & he’d have finished with 1,286 rushing yards – 5th in the NFL. His 16-game pace of 56 receptions would have ranked 9th among RBs. That would have made him just the 5th RB (CMC, Zeke, Fournette, & Cook) last season to have at least 1,100 rushing yards & 50+ receptions. So there’s a legitimate argument that not only is Drake worth a first-rounder, but he’s arguably worth a top-5 pick.
Adding DeAndre Hopkins shouldn’t be viewed as a negative for Drake & if it is, it should just barely be. Drake’s target ceiling might be capped with D-Hop in town but he’s still a solid bet to see 50+ receptions. Most importantly, defenses aren’t going to be able to stack the box to stop Drake (like they did in 3 of his 8 games with the Cards where he finished with less than 40 rushing yards). The move might actually allow Drake to be even more productive, & on a more consistent basis.
TODD GURLEY -> ATLANTA
Todd Gurley is back in the state of Georgia! Hooray!
Sean McVay refused to feed Gurley (223 attempts) or involve him in the passing game at all (31 receptions) this past year. You can’t fault McVay for prioritizing his player’s health over winning football games, but we shouldn’t expect Dan Quinn’s coaching staff in Atlanta (which has been on the HOT seat going on 3 seasons now) to do the same with Gurley. Atlanta NEEDS to win, and with only Brian Hill & Quadree Ollison behind him, Gurley is likely going to get FED, a lot more than 223 rushing attempts & 31 receptions… That might be bad for the long-term health of Gurley’s knee(s?), but it’s great for our ruthless fantasy community which only values points. Gurley makes for a solid (albeit risky) value pick in Round 3 as one of the last available workhorse backs.
The move is also FANTASTIC news for Malcolm Brown & Darrell Henderson. The Rams matched Detroit’s offer sheet for Malcolm Brown last year, and now he slots in as their starting back. Henderson also figures to be more involved & he carries a lot more PPR upside. Both should be treated as matchup-based RB3’s for now until the situation further clarifies itself.
We should also probably give a slight bump to the fantasy values of Jared Goff, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, & Tyler Higbee (& Gerald Everett?) as the Rams are likely to go into pass-heavy mode without a clear featured back.
MELVIN GORDON -> BRONCOS
Who saw that one coming?? Not I.
This is GREAT NEWS for the Broncos… I think… because you can never have too many talented backs… but there’s a whole lot to uncork here for fantasy purposes…
Gordon gets an offensive line upgrade by going from LA to Denver, but he’s landing in what’s now potentially a 3-way committee, in what was one of the lower-scoring offenses in the league last year, so there’s that… He’s probably not going to be as productive as he was as a workhorse early in his career, but he’s also probably not going to be as ineffective as he was last year… He could bounce-back while playing angry in a division where he gets to face his former team twice a year, but it would have been a lot better if he didn’t have a guy like Phillip Lindsay stealing touches behind him.
Speaking of Lindsay, this HURTS his fantasy value, but it doesn’t entirely kill it. If anything, he could actually be more of a value now that he’s only going to cost a late-round pick instead of the 4th or 5th rounder you would have had to spend on him before this move happened. Lindsay was consistently inconsistent already, and that was as the leading-half of a 2-way committee. Now, he’s almost assuredly going to cede the lead gig to Gordon, but is it going to be a 50/50 split, 60/40, 75/25? Who knows… and what about Royce Freeman?
Denver has used a 3-back rotation before & so it shouldn’t be a surprise if they do again. Freeman could be relegated to the role Devontae Booker’s held, but it would be a lot better if he was traded or released, where he could free up touches for Lindsay & Gordon & potentially find a solid opportunity for himself elsewhere. As of now, he’s completely off the redraft radar. Gordon’s going to fall somewhere in the mid-to-late RB2 range while Lindsay is more of an RB4.
It would be a lot safer spending a fantasy pick on Gordon & even Lindsay if they were attached to a more stable QB. Drew Lock could be good, but we really don’t know.
Lock himself could benefit from this move & be helped by a solid run game, but we really don’t know if that will equate to more fantasy success, seeing as that could lower his number of passing attempts. If there’s one thing for sure here it’s that nothing is for sure here.
STEFON DIGGS -> BUFFALO
The Minnesota Vikings traded Stefon Diggs & a 7th rounder to the Buffalo Bills for a 1st, 5th, & 6th rounder this year, and a 4th rounder next year… (someone tag Bill O’Brien…)
The move doesn’t really affect Diggs’ fantasy value all that much. He was an inconsistent mid-pack WR2 last year, finishing as WR17 & having 6 games with 7 or fewer fantasy points. Although he leaves a Vikings offense that was 30th in passing attempts per-game (with 29.2 attempts per game), he lands in a Buffalo offense that attempted just 33.0 attempts per-game & he also has to develop chemistry playing with a new QB. Getting out from behind Adam Theilen’s shadow should help, but we should pretty much expect more of the same from Diggs as a mid-tier WR2.
Speaking of Adam Theilen, he should go back to being a monster target hog and makes for an excellent bounce-back candidate. He’s a legit WR1 again & is an excellent target for those who want to wait until Round 3 to take their first WR.
The move makes John Brown & Cole Beasley nothing more than late-round fliers. Each could provide sneaky value again this year as weekly streamers, but temper expectations.
Josh Allen obviously benefits. With his rushing upside and now loaded receiving corps, he makes for a solid fall-back QB option for those who don’t want to pay up early for Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, or Deshaun Watson.
Keep an eye on what the Vikings add at WR. If they add a rookie early in the draft, that rookie has a chance at immediate success. If they don’t add any significant pieces, the team could lean even more heavily on 2-TE sets. Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr. both had their moments last year & could end up being solid streamers at a shallow TE position.
EMMANUEL SANDERS -> NEW ORLEANS
Saints mean business!!
This is a lot greater of an NFL signing than it is a fantasy signing. It makes New Orleans one of the most loaded offenses in the NFL & one of the top Super Bowl favorites heading into the season. Things are a little bit trickier for fantasy purposes.
For starters, we have absolutely no idea how to value Emmanuel Sanders in his new role with the Saints. New Orleans’ No. 2 & No. 3 WR’s (Ted Ginn & Tre’Quan Smith) had 30 & 18 catches last year respectively, so the dynamic is going to have to change if Sanders is going to have any chance at fantasy success. It likely will & Sanders is likely to have more success than Ginn & Smith did, we just can’t really say for sure how much so, or who will be affected the most.
It’s almost a guarantee that Michael Thomas is going to see a target reduction with Sanders in town. There’s almost a 0% chance he finishes with 149 receptions again. He’s still our top-ranked WR, but if you want to use this signing as justification for taking a RB in the first round instead, we can’t blame you. With the depth at WR & the scarcity at RB, just a slight dip in production could be the difference between Thomas being the only WR worth a first-rounder & him not being worth a first-rounder (like every other WR).
It also makes Jared Cook a bit riskier as a starting option at TE. We saw him & Drew Brees click towards the end of last season, but how will that dynamic change now that Brees has another new toy to play with?? If you draft Cook as your starter you better have a backup plan in place.
& We can also probably kill any talk about Taysom Hill being eligible at multiple positions. With Teddy Bridgewater out of town & NO adding WR talent, expect Hill to take a lot more snaps behind center, even if the plays designed for him are of the “trick” variety.
The one guy who stands to benefit for sure is no doubt Drew Brees. He’s surrounded with as much talent as he’s ever been & has another dependable veteran to rely on in the passing game. He leapfrogs Tom Brady as the top option in that 3rd fantasy tier of non-mobile high-end passers (Brees, Brady, Rodgers) that we are now (somewhat) jokingly calling the “Greybeard” tier.
BRANDIN COOKS -> HOUSTON
This is great news for basically everyone involved. Bill O’Brien is starting to rebuild the receiving core that he so dramatically tore down. Deshaun Watson is still definitely going to miss DeAndre Hopkins, but things are looking a lot better for Watson now then they were at the time of the trade. A grouping of Will Fuller, Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb, & Kenny Stills isn’t fantastic, but it sure isn’t bad either.
The Cooks acquisition might put a cap on Fuller’s upside, but at least now you won’t have to overpay to draft him. Cooks himself gets a fresh start away from a Rams offense that was likely to phase him out anyways. He’s got a real chance to bounce back. That’s a win-win. The only one who loses here is Kenny Stills. He’s probably the odd man out with Cobb locking down slot duties.
As for the Rams, this move brings some much-needed clarity to the offense. We don’t have to worry as much about Tyler Higbee now & he should be in prime position to build on last season’s breakout. We’re still wary of overdrafting him, but his targets are definitely more secure with Cooks being shipped out of town. The only question left is whether the team turns to Josh Reynolds & continues to heavily rely on 3WR sets or whether they fully commit to a 2TE offense with Higbee & Gerald Everett.
SAMMY WATKINS -> KC
The Chiefs now bring back 10/11 Super Bowl starters on offense with Watkins restructuring his contract to avoid becoming a cap casualty. It’s great for Watkins & the Chiefs in real-life but it might actually be less than ideal for Watkins’ fantasy value…
Playing with Patrick Mahomes might be less than ideal for Watkins fantasy value?? Are we reading that correctly??
Yep…
Even though Watkins benefits from playing alongside one of the greatest pure passers the game has ever seen, he’s still firmly behind Tyreek Hill & Travis Kelce in the pecking order & as we saw last year, even if Hill gets hurt, it isn’t necessarily going to equate to fantasy WR1 status for Watkins. Watkins will continue to be a back-end WR3 in fantasy as a high-upside (albeit injury-prone) option, but we can’t necessarily say for sure that his value wouldn’t have been higher had he been cut & landed somewhere where he could have been the clear No. 1 option. Not to mention, Watkins is also going to have to deal with promising speedster Mecole Hardman nipping at his heels for the No. 2 gig.
As for Hardman, we obviously have to bump him down now that Watkins is due to stick around – but we aren’t dropping him too far. While it was a clear No. 2 & No. 3 split between the two last year, we should expect more of a 2A & 2B situation this year. Not only did the Chiefs take Hardman in the 2nd round of last year’s draft, but they traded up to do so. They obviously put a premium on adding him to their team & we should expect them to find ways to scheme the ball into his hands, including in the rushing & return game. Hardman put up 555 rushing & receiving yards as a rookie (on just 30 offensive touches) & scored 7 total touchdowns (6 receiving + 1 return). If he can up his reception + rushes total to closer to 50-60, he could end up producing close to 1,000 yards & maybe even double-digit touchdowns. We’re still drafting him as a WR3 & probably even ahead of Watkins – who’s durability issues are a major concern (he hasn’t played 16 games since his rookie season in 2015).
The move is great news for Pat Mahomes & this is only going to help further the case that he should be drafted before Lamar Jackson. Even anti-QB-early pundits like myself have to consider taking Patrick Mahomes in the 2nd round. He’s going to score A TON of fantasy points for teams this year.
AUSTIN HOOPER -> BROWNS
The Cleveland Browns are prepared to make Austin Hooper the highest-paid TE in the league…
Yikes!!
Not only would this be a terrible use of cap space, but for fantasy purposes, it’s also one of the worst possible landing spots for Hooper…
Hooper could have been a lot more valuable of a fantasy asset in another offense that planned to feature him more…
Instead, he’ll siphon targets away from OBJ, Jarvis Landry, & Kareem Hunt while not seeing enough volume himself to be anything more than a mid-pack fantasy TE.
We’re not buying the argument that playing behind Julio & Ridley didn’t hurt Hooper’s value. Atlanta’s offense led the league in passing attempts last year with 42.8 per game. That’s almost 10 passing attempt per-game more than the Browns averaged (33.7) & that was before the Browns went out & made Kevin Stefanski the coach, who called plays last year for a Minnesota offense that averaged the 3rd fewest passing attempts in the league. It a near-guarantee that Hooper is going to see a sharp downtick in production. He’s more likely to finish closer to 50 receptions than the 75 he accrued last season.
As it stands, Baker Mayfield (who finished as QB21 last season) is the ONLY player who stands to benefit.
HAYDEN HURST -> ATLANTA
The Ravens traded Hayden Hurst & a 4th rounder to the Falcons for a 2nd & 5th rounder.
If you’re looking for a move with perfect fantasy ramifications – this is the one.
Mark Andrews should now see closer to a full snap-count after playing only 41% of the Ravens offensive snaps last year. He could really go off.
& Hurst ( who played 41% of snaps himself last season) is now freed from Andrews’ shadow, with a chance to really make a splash in Atlanta’s pass-happy system. Austin Hooper was playing about 90% of the snaps as Atlanta’s starter & Hurst should soak up most of, if not all of Hooper’s vacated snaps. That makes Hurst the ideal fall-back option for those who miss out on the “Big-6” TE’s (Kelce, Kittle, Waller, Ertz, Andrews, & Henry).
JORDAN HOWARD -> DOLPHINS
Yay!! Sort of…
Yay!! to Jordan Howard freeing Miles Sanders in Philly.
Boo!! to him ruining one of the better free-agent landing spots in fantasy for RB’s.
Miami had only special-teamers at RB, so whoever signed there was likely stepping into a massive workload. Good for Howard for grabbing it. Boo to him not letting Kareem Hunt or Melvin Gordon take it.
For now, Howard’s a low-end RB2 who won’t catch the ball, playing in a bad offense. His upside comes purely from his projected volume. But, if the Dolphins add another (receiving) back in the draft, you probably can’t trust Howard as anything more than a late-round matchup-based flex.
The Big YAY!! here is for Miles Sanders. For now, it looks like Doug Pederson could change his committee ways and really feed Sanders the ball. Sanders’ 3-down potential is sky-high. He had 50 receptions for 509 yards as a rookie & was just one of only two RB’s to average at least 10 YPC on 50+ catches, the other being Austin Ekeler. That kind of dual-threat upside means you can probably call Sanders a late-first/early-second rounder. But, if we know anything about Pederson, it’s that he’ll find another back to work in.
NICK FOLES -> CHICAGO
Praise the lord Hallelujah!!
Even if Nick Foles isn’t any better than average, that’s still a major improvement from what Mitchell Trubisky has been through his first 3 seasons in the league. Foles is almost guaranteed to start, but even if he doesn’t, the pressure he’s bound to put on Trubisky should be viewed as a positive.
Allen Robinson can be relied on with a bit more certainty now. After finishing with 98 receptions, 1147 yards, & 7 TD’s last year, this move should solidify his WR1 status. He’s a great fall-back option for those who wait to draft their first WR until at least Round 4.
With Taylor Gabriel gone, and Nick Foles having a known propensity for targeting his slot receivers, Anthony Miller is also going to make for a popular late-round sleeper pick. He averaged 5.6 receptions, 72 yards, & .33 touchdowns per game in his last 6 fantasy games and he could take another step forward this year with more competent quarterback play under center.
The player who most benefits from this trade is probably David Montgomery. The offensive line is still a HUGE need for this team, but with defenses not being able to key on the run as much with Foles under center, Montgomery should have a little more room to work with. He won’t catch the ball with Tarik Cohen still around, but you can probably take him confidentially as your second RB if you miss out on the higher-upside dual-threat options available in the early rounds.
KYLE ALLEN -> REDSKINS
Kyle Allen is being reunited with Ron Rivera… No surprise!!
This could mean a few different things. It could mean that the Redskins are planning on taking Chase Young at No. 2 & allowing Kyle Allen & Haskins to battle it out for the starting job (as Rivera has indicated), or it could just mean that if they are planning on taking Tua at No. 2, that they plan to move on from Haskins. So it could be a good sign for Haskins that Kyle Allen is the only legitimate competition they’re bringing in, or it could be very bad for him & mean that they don’t want him at all. It’s kind of hard to tell which until we see what they do at No. 2.
This is (sorta) good news for Terry McLaurin. Having two options at quarterback is better than one (even if they’re average options) & it means the team won’t be afraid to switch it up if the starter is struggling for an extended stretch. McLaurin finished as WR24 last season & should continue to rise up into that mid-WR2 range.
It also means that P.J. Walker – who was just signed from the XFL – is pretty much locked in as Carolina’s No. 3, with the potential to leapfrog Will Grier for No. 2. He’s a guy to keep an eye on as his dual-threat upside would make him an interesting fantasy asset if Teddy Bridgewater ever went down.
ERIC EBRON -> STEELERS
Ebron landing in Pittsburgh is good for the Steelers because now they have another red-zone weapon. It’s also good for fantasy footballers. It means that not only does Ebron free up Jack Doyle (who’s now a great fall-back fantasy option in a TE-friendly offense w/ a TE-friendly QB) in Indy, but he also lands with a team that lacked an attractive fantasy starter at the position, meaning Ebron’s boost in value isn’t coming at the expense of anyone fantasy footballers even cared about anyways. Ebron should have his weeks when he scores but you should probably aim higher than relying on him as your starter.
It’s definitely a boost to Ben Roethlisberger’s value, although it’s still hard to recommend a 38-year old QB who’s played 16 games once in the past 5 years & just 4 times in 15 seasons (excluding his rookie season) as anything more than a last-resort fantasy option. But as last-resort options go, he’s as attractive (not literally… have you seen that caveman beard lately?? no offense…) as they come.
Because of this signing, Diontae Johnson probably isn’t going to get the sleeper recognition that he truly deserves, but that’s OK. It only means that he’s going to come at even more of a value in fantasy drafts. Don’t forget about Johnson – who caught 59 passes for 680 yards as a rookie (both more than Marquis “Hollywood” Brown), playing with 2nd & 3rd string QB’s. The signing of Ebron (who’s a low-yardage TD-maker) was never really going to affect Johnson’s production anyways. He’s a sneaky bet for 1,000 receiving yards (if Big Ben can stay healthy) in an offense that led the NFL in passing attempts per-game in 2018 & he still makes for an excellent late-round sleeper even after this signing.
ROBBY ANDERSON -> CAROLINA
Normally, we’d be excited for a young & talented WR like Anderson to be reunited with his college head coach (Matt Rhule). The only problem is that Carolina already has two young talented receivers & perhaps the (dare I say) greatest receiving back of all time… But they are obviously looking to load up their offense to give Teddy Bridgewater as good a chance at success as they can. It’s great news for Teddy. Not as much for D.J. Moore & Curtis Samuel.
Moore is still definitely going to be the top dawg at WR & a perfect mesh with a get-it-out-of-your-hands-quickly-type QB like Teddy Bridgewater, but it’s hard not to say that this doesn’t ding his value at least a little bit. That might be a blessing in disguise though if his ADP slips a round or two.
Who knows what this means for Samuel. Is he still the No. 2 or is he the No. 3 now?? Odds are, he’s still the No. 2, but who knows exactly how much Anderson is going to chip away at his target total. You’re taking on some risk valuing Samuel as anything more than your 4th WR.
As for Anderson, we have no idea how to value him in an offense with a conservative passer & where he’s not the lead receiver. Carolina is far from an ideal landing spot for his fantasy value. We value consistency & Anderson’s boom-or-bust ways have never been preferred in our book anyway. Maybe we’re taking the hate too far, but in our book, with this signing, Anderson is completely off the re-draft radar.
It also makes Ian Thomas a little bit less attractive as a late-round sleeper at TE, considering how many mouths there now are to feed.
BRESHAD PERRIMAN -> JETS
It looks as if Perriman is going to step directly into the void that Robby Anderson’s departure left behind…
As a die-hard Ravens fan, I can tell you with near certainty that Breshad Perriman was public enemy in Baltimore for at least a solid year. You would have thought the dude beat up an old lady, or stomped on a cat. Nope – he just dropped a lot of passes. & He caught A LOT of flack for it. The former first-round pick didn’t just leave town when he was cut – he was booed out of it.
But a second chance in Cleveland in 2018 seemed to light a fire under him & he started to look a little bit more like the size/speed freak who ran a 4.25 40 at 6’2”/212 pounds. In 10 games with the team, he caught 16 of 25 targets for 340 yards (21.25 YPC!) & 2 TD’s, heating up as the season progressed. That earned him an opportunity with the Bucs this past year – where he went out & outdid himself once again, catching 36 passes for 645 yards (17.9 YPC!) & 6 TD’s, including a 25/506/5 split over the last 5 games when Mike Evans & Chris Godwin went down. Most importantly, he dropped only 1 of 69 targets. Now, it looks as if he’s played himself back into a No. 1 WR role by signing with the Jets. At worse, a No. 2 role if they draft a WR in Round 1.
Putting fantasy aside – Perriman’s journey to come full circle after being a No. 1 draft pick, to being cut & all the way back around again is something we should all be rooting for. It looks like he’s going to get a legitimate chance with the Jets & if there’s anything this guy has shown us before, it’s that he’s now ready to capitalize on the opportunities that are given to him.
For fantasy purposes, the Jets offense isn’t great – but that should only help Perriman’s value. He’s not going to cost much more than a 7th or 8th rounder & he should easily end up out-producing his draft slot if he can produce like even just a WR3.
DE’ANDRE WASHINGTON -> CHIEFS
What a mess!
This move doesn’t have any major implications, but it adds all sorts of uncertainty to an already cloudy situation.
People were already worried about Damien Williams being pushed by Darwin Thompson. Now we have to wonder whether or not Washington is a threat to steal touches too.
& what does it mean for Thompson? Do the Chiefs have any faith in him at all to step into a 3rd down role or is his only path to playing time through Damien Williams??
Any one of these three guys could emerge as a valuable fantasy asset in any given week but they’re more than likely going to cancel each other out most weeks unless injuries come into the equation.
Damien Williams is still sure to open the season as the starter, but the team’s got plenty of options if he at any point starts to under-perform.
DEVIN FUNCHESS -> GREEN BAY
Can they move him to TE??
This is great news for Devin Funchess. He steps into a situation where he can compete for what was one of the most attractive destinations for free agent WR’s – Aaron Rodgers’ No. 2 guy. He’ll likely take over Jimmy Graham’s redzone role & put a dent in Jace Sternberger’s upside. Regardless of whether the team brings in another WR via the draft, Funchess is a late-round sleeper as a WR4/WR5.
It really is a shame though that the best the Packers could do for a free agent addition was Devin Funchess. It’s too bad the team couldn’t sign a more talented player like Emmanuel Sanders or Robby Anderson (or even Breshad Perriman), or trade for a talented guy like A.J. Green. They are in a perfect window to compete for a Superbowl with Aaron Rodgers & a solid defense, but they sure haven’t acted like it with their refusal to make a move for a solid secondary receiver. As such, Aaron Rodgers can’t be treated as anything more than a back-end QB1 in fantasy. The Packers are likely to lean on their runningbacks heavily once again this year, which is good news for Aaron Jones & Jamaal Williams.
PEYTON BARBER -> WASHINGTON
Yuck!!
As if the Redskins backfield wasn’t already a crowded mess… let’s just throw another wrench into it with the signing of Peyton Barber. Barber won’t have any value himself, but he’ll do just enough to completely ruin the re-draft upside for Derrius Guice & especially Bryce Love.
What’s this mean for Adrian Peterson & J.D. McKissic (who was also just signed) ?? There’s no way this team is going to be able to carry five backs & we’re likely going to have to wait until mid-way through the preseason before we get any further clarity.
Yuck.
But, while Barber further muddies what was already one of the muddiest runningback rooms around, look at the bright side – Ronald Jones has been (temporarily) freed! Barber takes with him 170 touches from last year. Jones – who quietly had 203 touches himself last year – is in line to absorb a solid chunk of them. He finished as RB25 last year & has a solid shot at the top-15 this year. Expect him to continue to rise up fantasy draft boards as the offseason rolls on, especially if the Bucs forgo adding any significant competition via the draft.
CALAIS CAMPBELL -> BALTIMORE
For just a 5th rounder!!
Oh baby…
Unless you play in IDP (Individual Defensive Player) leagues, defensive free agent signings don’t generally register a blip on the fantasy radar. This one does.
The Ravens defense is a historically dominant unit. Even last year, they were the No. 4 highest-scoring D/ST, despite having a defense that wasn’t quite up-to-par compared to recent seasons. Their biggest weakness was stopping the run & winning 1-on-1’s in pass-rushing situations. Adding a nasty run-stuffing behemoth like Calais Campbell is the perfect solution & should also help provide that much-needed boost to the pass-rush.
The Ravens defense could easily finish as the highest-scoring in fantasy this year playing with an offense that just chews up time of possession & you can probably get them at a far better value, a couple of rounds after the 49ers defense comes off the board.
MALCOLM JENKINS -> NEW ORLEANS
Reunited & it feels so good!!
Like Calais Campbell going to Baltimore, this is one of the rare defensive acquisitions that actually registers a blip on the fantasy radar (outside of IDP leagues).
The Saints were already a top-10 fantasy defense (#6 according to ESPN standard scoring) last year, so adding a veteran playmaker on the back end like Jenkins – who has previous experience with the team – should really help solidify this defense as a top option & great value for those who don’t want to pay up for more sought-after defenses like SF, BAL, PIT, & CHI.
