X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

The Grass IS Greener: Free Agent Moves that Will Increase Value

We've had a couple of months to fully digest what happened with NFL free agency now and to see how the NFL Draft impacted things, so now it's time to reflect on some of the changes around the NFL.

No player leaves one team for another and finds himself playing the exact same role. New teammates, new coaching, and an added year of development and/or wear-and-tear mean that something will always change. Value goes up, or value goes down.

Today, let's look at five players who changed teams this offseason who should find themselves in a better position now than they were in before.

 

Jordan Howard (RB, Miami Dolphins)

Look, I'm not saying that Jordan Howard is going to recreate his first two NFL seasons now that he's in Miami, but I do think the Dolphins are a great landing spot for him, as he'll get a lot more opportunities than he would have if he'd stayed in Philly.

The big reason is that Howard heads to a team that's clearly in a position where they need to just ignore the entire group of running backs who were on their roster last year. Three backs are set to return this year:

Player Carries Yards Per Carry
Kalen Ballage 74 1.8
Patrick Laird 62 2.7
Myles Gaskin 36 3.7

Not a pretty picture. I'm not sure I can put into words how much Ballage in particular struggled last season. Laird got some hype late in the season and was okay as a receiving threat, but he also averaged under three yards per carry. And Gaskin might be the most promising of the trio, but an ankle injury prematurely ended his season.

This is part of why they added both Howard and Matt Breida, who should combine to dominate the touches out of this backfield. Howard isn't the big winner of free agency that he was before the Breida trade, but this is a running back committee that should result in Howard getting more of the early-down and goal-line work than Breida. He wasn't getting that in Philly this year, and a healthy Howard should get somewhere around 60 rushing yards per game on average, plus a handful of touchdowns. There's fantasy value in that. Not a ton, but...some.

 

Chris Thompson (RB, Jacksonville Jaguars)

Thompson gets away from the complete mess that was the Washington backfield and steps into what should be a fairly defined role as the passing down back for Gardner Minshew II and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Last year, Leonard Fournette led Jaguars running backs in targets with 100, converting 76 of those into receptions, but I think it's fair to say that Fournette's passing production was more a product of necessity than anything else. His 6.9 yards per reception were the second-fewest of anyone with 100 targets, and among the 155 players overall who qualify for the yards per reception leaderboard, 25 running backs rank higher than Fournette, including Chris Thompson, who had 9.0 YPR in 11 games last year.

The addition of Thompson signals that the Jaguars realize that their offense can be a lot more efficient and effective if instead of dumping off passes to Fournette, they dump those same passes to the quicker, better-receiving Thompson. I don't think a healthy Thompson gets 100 targets like Fournette did last year because he won't be on the field as much as Fournette was, but he should see something in the range of 70ish targets, with the potential for more.

Advertising

The big concern with Thompson is his health. He's played a full 16 games once, back in 2016. But in games where he's on the field, he's got FLEX appeal in PPR leagues and should see around five or six targets per game.

 

Randall Cobb (WR, Houston Texans)

I don't really know if Cobb's value increases -- he did have 828 yards and three touchdowns for the Cowboys last year -- but I do think Houston's a great landing spot for Cobb.

The Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins this offseason and look to be going into 2020 with four main wide receivers: Will Fuller V, Kenny Stills, Brandin Cook, and Randall Cobb. Three of those guys are likely going to see the majority of their usage coming via the vertical passing game. Fuller's been quarter Deshaun Watson's speed threat when Fuller's been healthy. All three players had an average target depth of at least 10 yards last year, with Fuller leading the trio at 14, while Cooks had 13.8 while playing for the Rams. Those two both ranked in the top 20 among qualifying receivers in aDOT.

Cobb's 9.5 aDOT is near the middle of the pack. He's not the same kind of field-stretching threat that the other three are, though he does have a 77th-percentile 40-yard dash time. Cobb played out of the slot 86.4 percent of the time last year for the Cowboys; he'll serve as Houston's primary slot option as well, and the go-to receiver on short and medium routes for Watson to throw to. This is a talented receiving group, but don't be shocked if Cobb leads it in targets simply by offering something different than the other three receivers offer.

 

Breshad Perriman (WR, New York Jets)

Perriman's not going to play like 2019 Week 16 and Week 17 Breshad Perriman on a weekly basis in New York, but his future if he'd stayed in Tampa would have been fairly limited, existing as the third receiver behind two high-usage wideouts in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Now, he's in a worse offense on a worse team with a (probably) worse quarterback, but he's also got a chance to play a key role moving forward, something that boosts his fantasy floor a good bit higher than it would have been in a reserve role with the Bucs.

Jamison Crowder will man the slot for Adam Gase's offense, leaving just two real options to play outside:  Perriman and rookie Denzel Mims. I love Mims's potential, but for now, Perriman should be the main outside threat for Sam Darnold.

Granted, being the main outside threat for Sam Darnold isn't a great position to be in. Darnold's struggled as a deep passer last season, ranking 32nd in deep ball completion percentage. He was 14th in intended air yards per attempt, but just 20th in completed air yards per attempt. Perriman's not going to be a stud playing with Sam Darnold.

But there are positives here. First, Darnold was sixth as a rookie in completed air yards per attempt and fourth in intended air yards per attempt, so it's not like he's got some type of noodle arm. Accuracy needs to improve, but he can push the ball down the field. Of course, Adam Gase has to call plays that actually do push the football, so that's a concern.

The other thing is that having relatively no competition for his role means that Perriman is set to have a role that can usually be considered fantasy relevant in at least some leagues: he's the No. 1 outside guy on an NFL offense. Sure, it's not a perfect situation, but the Jets have a weak receiving corps, allowing Perriman to step in and contribute right away in his new home.

 

Advertising

Marqise Lee (WR, New England Patriots)

Here's my hipster pick of the article. Marqise Lee was on the verge of becoming a very good wide receiver after the 2017 season, but he then suffered a devastating knee injury that cost him the whole 2018 season. Last year, he returned, but never seemed to be fully healthy, missing time and ultimately appearing in just six games for the Jaguars, catching three passes for 18 yards.

Lee's on the move to New England now, and while I don't have too high of hopes for what he'll do up in Foxborough, I do think he's heading to a better situation for him. Lee needed a fresh start. He was out of the plan in Jacksonville; now, he has a chance to be at least somewhat part of the plan in New England.

The Patriots depth chart at wide receiver is a mess. Julian Edelman is obviously a lock to start, but beyond that, it's a lot of unproven names. Mohamed Sanu is good, but he and Edelman are both best as slot guys. N'Keal Harry is still young, but is coming off of a lost rookie season. The team signed Damiere Byrd, who has been in the NFL for four years now -- seriously, four years! -- and has totaled 44 catches for 488 yards and three touchdowns.

Lee's got a good chance of entering the season as a key rotational piece in this receiving group. I'm not drafting him in any fantasy leagues, but I am hitting that watch list button, because I've seen that a healthy Marqise Lee is a productive player, and if he gets thrust into a larger role during the season, he can have deep-league flex potential.

More Fantasy Football Analysis




LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
derrick henry fantasy football rankings news NFL DFS lineup picks

test publish 5 mins in future

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is finally underway and that means our friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great props we can look to take advantage of. PrizePicks is a great DFS picks site where you can choose to select plays in terms of fantasy points or single stats. The... Read More


PrizePicks NFL DFS Picks - Monday Night Football

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is finally underway and that means our friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great props we can look to take advantage of. PrizePicks is a great DFS picks site where you can choose to select plays in terms of fantasy points or single stats. The... Read More


D'Andre Swift - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL RBs: Updates for Aaron Rodgers

Warning: Undefined array key "amp_post_template_footer" in /var/www/rotoballer.com/wp-content/plugins/php-code-for-posts/Classes/Shortcode.php(91) : eval()'d code on line 6 Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in /var/www/rotoballer.com/wp-content/plugins/php-code-for-posts/Classes/Shortcode.php(91) : eval()'d code on line 6 Featured Promo: Get any full-season NFL Premium Pass for 50% off and win big in 2022. Exclusive access to our Premium articles, 15 lineup... Read More


derrick henry fantasy football rankings news NFL DFS lineup picks

PrizePicks NFL DFS Picks - Monday Night Football

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is finally underway and that means our friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great props we can look to take advantage of. PrizePicks is a great DFS picks site where you can choose to select plays in terms of fantasy points or single stats. The... Read More


Justin Jefferson - Fantasy Football Rankings, DFS Lineup Picks, NFL Injury News

NFL DFS Prop Picks for Monkey Knife Fight - Monday Night Football

Welcome to NFL Monday Night Football, where we have two games scheduled between the Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles and the Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills.  Monday's games mean our friends at Monkey Knife Fight are offering some fantastic props for us to play once again! The good people at Monkey Knife Fight offer some... Read More


D'Andre Swift - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL RBs: Week 2 Updates for Najee Harris, J.K. Dobbins, D'Andre Swift, Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram

Below you will find our fantasy football injuries report for running backs in Week 2, as of September 17. The injury statuses for various NFL running backs are up in the air for Week 2 including D'Andre Swift, Najee Harris, Alvin Kamara, J.K. Dobbins, and more. The fantasy football season may be just getting underway,... Read More


michael pittman jr. fantasy football rankings NFL DFS lineup picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL WRs: Week 2 Updates for Michael Pittman Jr., Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, Allen Lazard, Julio Jones

Welcome to Week 2 of the fantasy football season and the Saturday edition of our WR injury reports! Below you will find our fantasy football injuries report for wide receivers in Week 2 as of September 16th. The injury statuses for various NFL wide receivers are up in the air for Week 2, including Michael... Read More


justin herbert fantasy football rankings NFL DFS lineup picks

Fantasy Football Injury Reports for QBs: Week 2 Updates for Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Jameis Winston, Mac Jones

Below you will find our updated fantasy football injuries report for quarterbacks in the days before Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season as of Friday, September 16. There are a few NFL QBs dealing with injuries, including Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Jameis Winston, and Mac Jones. Being up-to-date on NFL injury news can give... Read More


Trey Lance - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Key Starters and Tough Calls - Lineup Spotlights for Fantasy Football Week 2

Every week, I share some of my favored choices and players to go with when dealing with challenging lineup decisions. These selections are based on my Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, available as part of the RotoBaller NFL Premium Pass. Enter promo code KING at checkout for a discount and get access to my ranks in all formats, plus... Read More


Saquon Barkley - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, Draft Sleepers

Week 2 NFL Pick Em Selections for No House Advantage

Hello everybody and welcome! The 2022 NFL season is underway and that means our friends over at No House Advantage have a TON of great DFS plays we can look to take advantage of. No House Advantage is a unique DFS prop picks site where you do not have to play against the house to... Read More


Wide Receiver Matchups to Target in Week 2: Greg Dortch, Terry McLaurin, Christian Kirk

Week 1 made some things come to light as we got some clarity on some murky situations. Unfortunately, many of our WR targets for DFS last week were victims of this. Robert Woods finished the game with one reception for 13 yards, as the Titans used the rookie receivers much more than him. Brandon Aiyuk... Read More


Carson Wentz - Fantasy Football Rankings, Waiver Wire Pickups, Draft Sleepers

Thunder Dan's NFL Betting Picks for Week 2: Top NFL Player Props Bets

Football season is back! Whether you like to bet game totals, sides, or player props, I have something in here for you, and try to cover a little bit of everything! This year, I started my own free sports betting newsletter, and the good people here at RotoBaller are allowing me to share my picks... Read More


Fantasy Football IDP Injury Reports For NFL Defensive Players: Week 2 Updates for T.J. Watt, Jamal Adams, Jalen Thompson, Ed Oliver

T.J. Watt owners, you know the feeling... I had T.J. Watt in my home league last season. He was constantly checking out of games early with nagging minor injuries, but he must have led every IDP manager who started him to the playoffs. I went back to the well and drafted him early this year.... Read More