Fantasy Impact: Andre Johnson Signs With The Colts

Nov 2, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson (80) before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Andre Johnson signs a 3 year $21 million deal with the Indianapolis Colts. Johnson who was cut by the Texas, was looking to land with contender in hopes to make a run for the Super Bowl. Johnson spent 11 years with the Houston Texans and has 13,597 career receiving yards. The question with Johnson is how much does he still have left in the tank? He will be 34 years old during the start of the season and history tells us that wide receivers his age usually fall off of a cliff when it comes to fantasy production. Is Andre Johnson going to be the exception? Last season he had 85 receptions for 936 yards and 3 TDs with a horrible quarterback situation. Andre Johnson is going to be paired up with the best quarterback that he has ever had in his career in Andrew Luck. The quality of targets that he’s going to get next season is going to be substantially better than what he has ever had. Johnson is going be a trendy pick next year in redraft close to rounds 3-6, and with Andrew Luck throwing him the ball he might be a bargain.

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One of the reasons why he wanted to be released by the Texans was that they were going to cut his volume, so this tells us that Johnson isn’t going to sign anywhere that’s not going to give him the opportunities to succeed. Andre Johnson should finish as a WR1 to a high-end WR2 next season. Due to Johnson’s age, he doesn’t hold much value on the trade market in dynasty leagues. He is great for a contending team as he fits the mold for the win now approach, but doesn’t have many years left. He’s a player that shouldn’t be on your roster to begin with if you’re a rebuilding team, but if you are the unlucky owners who are rebuilding and own Johnson then you might be able trade him for a late first round rookie pick. If you can’t sell him for a decent price then you might want to wait until the middle of next season, when he’s producing, then you are more likely to sell him to a contender.

Donte Moncrief WR Indianapolis Colts

Before Andre Johnson signed with the Colts, there was excitement in the air about Donte Moncrief. Moncrief is a very athletic prospect who the Colts drafted in the 3^rd round (90^th overall). The signing of Johnson puts all the anticipation for Moncrief to a halt. Moncrief will be playing as the 3^rd wide receiver behind Johnson and T.Y Hilton, and that’s going to limit his opportunity for targets. The terrifying thing about this signing is that there’s a chance that the Colts don’t like what they see in Moncrief and his development, and they felt like they had to pick up Andre Johnson to fill the void in their offense. A lot of times teams will tell you how they feel about their personnel by their roster moves (draft picks, signings, trades, and releases), and this could be a sign that Moncrief isn’t developing quickly enough for them.

Let’s take a look at his athletic metrics

Moncrief has everything you want as a wide receiver prospect. He has size, speed, explosiveness, college production, and paired with a stud QB.  One red flag was that he fell to the 3^rd round before he was drafted by the Colts, which means he was passed up by every team in the league multiple times. Falling to the 3^rd round isn’t that big of a deal, because he might be a player that takes a little longer to develop compared to the talented receivers that was drafted in last year’s draft. I’m not 100% down on Moncrief, but I have tempered expectations for him. I would still say he’s worth a 1^st round rookie pick, but at the same time I would recommend exercising patience if you were to acquire him, because it may be a year to two before he gets his opportunity.

Need Help with your dynasty team? Contact me on Twitter @bmatz08 and I will give you the guidance you need to make the best decisions on trades, drafts, and the waiver wire.

Next: Fantasy Impact: Jimmy Graham Traded To The Seahawks

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