NFL free agency fallout: Early impressions for fantasy

The past few days in the NFL have been crazy. Fantasy football is no different and the landscape is quite different than it was 48 hours ago.

With the caveat that all of the player movement that has been reported these past two days isn’t official yet, the NFL landscape is quite different. Contracts can’t be signed until today but most of the deals are agreed to in principle. Fortunately, FanSided has you covered with a handy free agent tracker. Free agency of course means the fantasy football landscape looks brand new for some teams. There are still a lot of tasks for teams to complete and fantasy fans won’t have the total picture until after the draft and into training camp.

Despite all that, there are still plenty of impressions to take from the first wave of free agency. For avid fantasy players, there’s no offseason, just like the real NFL. Most dynasty and keeper leagues never stop and even re-draft players need to start draft prep sooner than later. We’ll be taking a tour of each division and give a quick rundown of the action so far and what it could mean for fantasy football in 2018.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills – They retained defensive tackle Kyle Williams and brought in Star Lotulelei to pair with him on the inside. They’re trying to repair one of the worst run defenses in the NFL from 2017 and attempting to move up in the draft to take a quarterback. That’s all well and good, but it appears running back LeSean McCoy is the only fantasy-relevant asset on the 2018 Bills.

Miami Dolphins – Some teams never change. They traded away their best receiver in Jarvis Landry (don’t @ me with DeVante Parker takes). Miami has added defensive end Robert Quinn and a pair of receivers in Albert Wilson and Danny Amendola to help fill the Landry void. Unless Tom Brady gets smuggled to Miami in Amendola’s suitcase, there’s no reason to look at either player. The Dolphins will also reportedly release defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, which doesn’t help their defense at all. Receiver Kenny Stills and running back Kenyan Drake could be it for fantasy goodness.

New England Patriots – When you’re Bill Belichick, you get the benefit of the doubt. However, it’s hard to ignore the offense has lost Amendola, running backs Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead and also may lose tackle Nate Solder. This isn’t to say they can’t surround quarterback Tom Brady with good weapons, it’s just they haven’t done it yet. It’s a situation that will need to be monitored as the offseason progresses. The defense should be better with the addition of defensive tackle Danny Shelton from Cleveland, but likely can be left alone for fantasy.

New York Jets – This offense is going to look a lot different in 2018. First, they now have quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to compete with Josh McCown for the starting gig. The smart money would be on Bridgewater winning out. Gang Green also added underrated running back Isaiah Crowell to shoulder the load. He could be a solid RB2 this upcoming season if he gets fed the ball. Don’t forget that receiver Quincy Enunwa should be back from injury as well. They may need him if receiver Robby Anderson is suspended for his off-field antics. The defense could be useful in the right matchup with the additions of linebackers Avery Williamson and corner Trumaine Johnson.