Serious fantasy implications
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This is a huge year for Fantasy Free Agency. Of course a lot of the attention will be on the group of Quarterbacks that are available. I’ve already made my predictions for what might happen with them in my Quarterbacks Carousel blog entry. In this article I’ll highlight a few of the more intriguing Free Agents that could seriously effect the Fantasy Football outlook for next Season. There are some really intriguing possibilities that have the potential to transform franchises.
Wide Receivers
Allen Robinson & Marqise Lee – it wasn’t that long ago that the Jacksonville Jaguars duo was arguably one of the best Wide Receiver tandems in football. Even though the Jaguars had a great Season, and even won a playoff game. It wasn’t because of the play of their two Free Agent Wide Receivers. Marqise Lee had a pedestrian Season of just over 700 yards and 3 touchdowns. Allen Robinson spent the almost the entire Season on IR. When healthy Allen Robinson is the better Wide Receiver. He can be a true star in the NFL, and I expect the Jacksonville Jaguars to resign him. Marqise Lee will probably find himself wearing a new jersey next Season. Any team interested in adding a speedy Receiver with good hands could make an offer. I wouldn’t be surprised if the New York Jets, New England Patriots, or Dallas Cowboys make a play.
Sammy Watkins – people were stunned when the Bills dealt Sammy Watkins to the L.A. Rams. Word got out that Sammy wasn’t interested in remaining a Buffalo Bill, so only one Season away from Free Agency the Bills decided to deal him. Sammy Watkins didn’t have the kind of Season we were used to seeing from him. It took a while for Goff to get on the same page with the ridiculously quick Wide Receiver. The one thing that wasn’t missing from Sammy Watkins repertoire was his big play potential as evidenced by his 8 touchdowns on only 39 receptions. That’s a touchdown every five times he catches the ball. That’s absolutely insane! I would expect a Season of catching balls from Goff, and an off season to get their timing on point will turn Watkins into a true number 1 Wide Receiver once again. The L.A. Rams should sign him, and after a couple subpar Seasons they’ll get him for a deal.
Terrelle Pryor – will the real Terrelle Pryor please stand up. After a break out Season in Cleveland in 2016. Terrelle Pryor just couldn’t get it going in Washington. A former quarterback Terrelle Pryor has the ability to adjust to new systems relatively quickly. The Redskins are notorious for looking outside their own locker room when adding talent. That makes it very unlikely that Terrelle Pryor will be a Redskin next Season. There are industry insiders that have said the Panthers, Steelers, and Seahawks are all interested. Between those three I see the Carolina Panthers as the best fit.
Danny Amendola – lets be honest here. Amendola might have had his last quality Season. He’s not getting any younger, and he has a reputation for being brittle. In my opinion the only team that might have some genuine interest in Danny Amendola is the New England Patriots. He will probably get a two year contract for very little money as a security blanket in case Edelman gets hurt again. It doesn’t sound too appealing does it? Well actually for Amendola it might be exactly what he wants. Best case scenario he sees maybe 25% of the offensive snaps. The Patriots win another Superbowl with him on the roster. Due to his injury concerns, and veteran status he gets to take it easy at practice, and during training camps. The alternative is to call it quits. Hang up the cleats and retire. After having one of his better Seasons i don’t think he’s ready. I see him as a Patriot for at least one more Season.
Jordan Matthews – this one has me scratching my head. We haven’t had much of a sample size to evaluate Jordan Matthews. One thing is for sure. The Revamped Bills head office was quick to clean house, and build their team. Acquiring Jordan Matthews was one of their moves. So it remains to be seen if they stick with their guy, or accept that he was a bust. The good news is that if they decide to keep him. He definitely won’t cost much. The bad news is that there are quite a few teams looking for Wide Receiver help. I wouldn’t be surprised if Matthews takes a few calls from some other teams. There could be a lot of teams interested including the 49ers, Dolphins, Browns, Chiefs, and Redskins. I believe that there’s a very good chance that he ends up in Miami.
Running Backs
Dion Lewis & Rex Burkhead – here’s the problem that everyone faces almost every Season. Are the Patriots Running Backs any good, or are they just a product of a good system that forces defences to focus on containing Tom Brady? Obviously last Season LeGarrette Blount proved that he was for real. I’m willing to bet that Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead aren’t. I’m not saying that they aren’t good Running Backs. I’m just saying that neither one is more than a platoon or backup player. Which suits the Patriots just fine. Their platoon system prevents any one Running Back on their roster from standing out. That in turn makes resigning them relatively easy on the cheap. So in most cases that’s what happens. Only this year things are a little different. A number of Patriots coaches have left for greener pastures with other franchises. One such franchise that could use a serviceable Running Back is the Detroit Lions. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a move to land one of these and offer them a larger role in the offence. I see Dion Lewis as the more versatile of the two, and could be wearing the Lions Blue and White next Season.
Carlos Hyde – a lot of people have doubts about whether or not Carlos Hyde is a true number one Running Back in the NFL. I will go on record as saying that I don’t have any doubt. Carlos Hyde is definitely a number one Running Back. What people have forgotten is that until recently the quarterback situation in San Francisco has been a mess. Hopefully for Carlos Hyde, and the San Francisco 49ers signing Jimmy Garoppolo to a long term contract has fixed that. With a quality signal caller taking the snaps, Carlos Hyde should find a little more running room. I expect the 49ers to sign him because having a veteran Running Back that knows the system will only Jimmy Garoppolo progress smoothly.
Le’Veon Bell – look I wasn’t even going to talk about Le’Veon Bell because it’s pretty obvious what will happen in this case. On second thought though I realized it actually isn’t completely obvious. There are two scenarios that could play out. Scenario 1 is that the Pittsburgh Steelers pay him what he wants and he continues to slice his way through defences. Scenario 2 is that the Steelers and Bell fail to reach an agreement and he holds out. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was willing to sit out the Season. Bell has been the most consistent Running Back during his current contract. Unless the Steelers are willing to make him the highest paid Running Back. There could be a serious impact on Fantasy Football next Season.
Jerick McKinnon – after Dalvin Cook went down last Season. Jerick McKinnon finally showed some of that explosiveness many of us expected to see right out of college. Unfortunately for him he will be relegated to being a backup running back once the Season starts. Minnesota will be interested in paying him as one, but there will be other teams that recognized his star potential. Possible fits are with the Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, Houston Texans, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I would see the Houston Texans as a perfect fit. The addition of McKinnon could really make for an explosive offence.
Tight Ends
Jimmy Graham – Jimmy Graham’s career plays out like a highlight reel and last Season was no exception. 10 touchdowns and it took a while for Jimmy to really get rolling. Jimmy Graham strikes me as a bit of a Mercenary. He will go wherever the money takes him, but I don’t believe he’s interested in playing for a losing franchise. The Seattle Seahawks just missed the playoffs last Season so that might just be the push Jimmy needed to look elsewhere. Some may argue that him and Russell Wilson were really beginning to click last Season. Well it wasn’t like he didn’t click with Drew Brees in New Orleans. It will take a fair amount of money to keep him, and Seattle is limited with cap space. The teams with the deepest pockets that Jimmy could be interested in are the L.A. Rams, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, and Houston Texans. The only one of those three with a truly veteran Quarterback is of course the Patriots so I see him there.
Tyler Eifert – I’ll go on record as saying that Tyler Eifert is a total bust. The Bengals know it, and unfortunately for Eifert so does everyone else. The bengals won’t keep him unless it’s for peanut money. He’s most likely to land on a team looking to start a rookie quarterback, or first year starter. That way he can serve as a big physical target across the middle as the rookie develops. That limits his potential landing spots to Cleveland, Houston, San Francisco, or Cincinnati. I believe Cincinnati re-signs him for a song.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins – it took a while but Austin Seferian-Jenkins showed some signs of brilliance last season. The New York Jets have some of the deepest pockets right now. Although you should expect a large portion of their cap space to go to signing a marquee quarterback. Still i expect them to have enough money left over to keep Seferian-Jenkins. I fully expect him to be wearing Jets Green next Season.
Keep close attention!
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