Fantasy Football 2019: Free Agency Day 1 Recap

With NFL free agency underway, here are the moves that have been announced so far and their impact on fantasy football.

While the NFL free agency doesn’t officially begin until March 13, teams and players are already talking and working out deals. The first big announcement was the Pittsburgh Steelers trading star wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Oakland Raiders, surprising everyone and turning fantasy football on its head.

Since then, more moves have been announced and some were taken back. All of these moves, no matter the size of the deal or star power of the player, will have some fantasy football impact this season and beyond. Whether it’s a top running back or an offensive lineman, they all have an effect on the game and their teammates’ performance.

We’ve seen a Super Bowl MVP quarterback get traded, an aging wide receiver go back home, a linebacker change his mind, a team load up as they try to entice a superstar to sign, and a lot more. This is only day one and it’s already more exciting than what MLB free agency was.

NFL teams don’t seem to be shying away from the older players like the MLB is. There are a few players close to or over the age of 30 with deals. Though, with no true minor-league system, older players still have a spot in the NFL.

While we’re watching Le’Veon Bell troll us on Twitter as he decides on where he wants to sign, here are the moves that have been made so far and their impact on fantasy football.

Fantasy football: New QB in Jacksonville

It’s been rumored since the Philadelphia Eagles announced they weren’t going to franchise tag Nick Foles. The former Super Bowl MVP signed a four-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars signed Blake Bortles to a three-year contract before the 2018 season. After playing just 13 games and throwing for 2,718 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, he is likely going to be cut after Foles signs.

Foles will be a starter again, but this time it will be for a struggling Jaguars team. Dede Westbrook is the star wide receiver but things get rough after that. Marqise Lee, Donte Moncrief and DJ Chark fill out the wide receiver depth chart.

The tight end situation may be worse with James O’Shaughnessy listed as the starter, according to Ourlads.com. It also doesn’t help that the Jaguars running back, Leonard Fournette, constantly gets hurt.

Foles’ fantasy value goes up because he’s now a starter. However, being under center in Jacksonville doesn’t give me much confidence. He’s currently my QB21.

This move means that the Eagles front office has a lot of confidence in Carson Wentz staying healthy. He’s missed eight games over the last two seasons, giving Foles the opportunity to showcase his talents. The Eagles only other quarterback is Nate Sudfeld.

I like Wentz as my QB13 heading into 2019.

Fantasy football: Reunion in Philly

Staying in Philly, the Eagles traded for wide receiver DeSean Jackson. The Eagles will lose Golden Tate so they needed to add some depth.

The Eagles love to throw the ball deep. “Last 2 yrs: Wentz is 8th in air yards per pass att (all passes, not just deep att), 4th in deep TDs per gm, 9th in deep TD%,” as tweeted by Matthew Berry. Jackson will benefit from the long ball.

The Eagles will still have Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Jordan Matthews and Mack Hollins and wide receiver and Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz to catch passes from Wentz.

While Landon Collins joining the Washington Redskins helps their defenses, the NFC East defenses gave up no less than 230 passing yards per game. Wentz averaged 279.5 yards per game last year.

Jackson may not be the 1,000-yard receiver we saw early in his career, but if he can perform close to what he did in Tampa Bay, he’ll have some fantasy value.

If Jackson were to take catches away from any wide receiver, I think it would be Agholor. Jeffery is the top receiver, Matthews is the possession receiver and Ertz is the security target. The Eagles offense is good but not good enough to support all of these receivers.

Looking at Tampa Bay, they will be without Jackson and Adam Humphries, freeing up a ton of targets for Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Evans will get his and be a top-10 wide receiver. Godwin had 59 receptions, 842 yards and seven touchdowns. He can be a 1,000-yard receiver this season.

Jameis Winston may suffer without those two wide receivers but he has other things to work on first.

Fantasy football: New Running Back in New Orleans

The New Orleans Saints have done a good job developing running backs. Going back to 2000 with Ricky Williams all the way until 2018 with the duo of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, the Saints have been a source of valuable running backs for fantasy football.

This season may be a little different. Kamara took over lead back duties with Ingram out of suspension. Fantasy owners saw what Kamara could do out of the backfield in 2017 and he gained a huge following last season.

Ingram is now on the market, but that likely won’t last long. The Saints offense functions with two running backs, which leads us to why we’re here. The Saints are expected to sign the veteran running back Latavius Murray.

Murray had two good seasons with the Raiders before signing a three-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings. He lasted two seasons, recording 1,420 yards and 14 touchdowns on 356 attempts.

Kamara’s value shouldn’t drop too much because of this signing. He was more than serviceable with both he and Ingram on the field at the same time.

Back to Ingram, the Baltimore Ravens are looking to sign the veteran. Though, the Ravens have a crowded backfield, to say the least. They have Gus Edwards, Ty Montgomery, Javorius Allen and Kenneth Dixon. Ingram has been and is better than all of them.

He may be a part of another committee, but I think he’ll get more carries in Baltimore than in New Orleans.

Fantasy football: Revamped Defense in Arizona

The Arizona Cardinals are making moves to secure the middle of their defense.

The Ravens surprisingly parted with longtime player Terrell Suggs. He is expected to sign a one-year deal. If that wasn’t enough, the Cardinals agreed to a four-year deal with outside linebacker Jordan Hicks.

After 16 seasons with the Ravens, Suggs played in at least 15 games in all but two seasons (not including his rookie season). He has amassed 132.5 sacks over his career, including seven last season.

Hicks spent four years in Philly, playing in just 43 of 64 possible games. He has seven interceptions and five sacks in those games.

The NFC West doesn’t have the best quarterback play in Jimmy Garoppolo and Russell Wilson, Suggs and Hicks should create trouble for opposing offenses. They’ll join Haason Reddick on the Cardinals linebacker depth chart.

The Cardinals allowed the 29th-fewest passing yards but the most rushing yards per game last season. The linebacker additions should help limit those rushing yards. The Cardinals are worth drafting as your starting defense this season.

Fantasy football: Other Free Agency Moves

Other notable moves include:

Devin Funchess to sign with the Indianapolis Colts. He looked good in 2017, 63 catches, 840 yards and eight touchdowns, but took a step back last season. With Andrew Luck under center and T.Y. Hilton on the opposite side, Funchess should be a bounce-back candidate.

Tyrann Mathieu signs with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs allowed 273.4 passing yards per game. The Honey Badger should reduce that number a bit.

Sheldon Richardson joining an already-stacked Cleveland Browns defensive line with Olivier Vernon and Myles Garrett. They are a sleeper defense for me.

John Brown and Cole Beasley signing with the Buffalo Bills. What a downgrade after almost getting Antonio Brown. Brown can’t stay healthy and Beasley will occupy the middle of the field as a discount Julian Edelman.

Adam Humphries going to Tennessee. Marcus Mariota gets another young wide receiver to throw to. He had 816 yards, 76 catches and five touchdowns last year.

Jamison Crowder signing with the New York Jets. The 25-year-old wide receiver played in just nine games, catching 29 passes for 388 yards and two scores in 2018. With Robby Anderson likely not returning, Crowder is a nice replacement.

There is still plenty of time before training camp opens. With free agency just starting and the NFL Draft not too far away, the fantasy football landscape could change even more.