Each offseason we see players go from one team to another. That did not change this year, but unlike in years past, this offseason we witnessed some big named players get traded and/or sign with other teams. These types of moves can impact fantasy production in a big way for some of these players and their supporting cast. Let’s take a look at some familiar faces that are on a new team and how it could affect their production this season.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Antonio Brown, Raiders – Brown was traded to the Raiders this offseason. Things between him and the Steelers did not end well, but that is behind him now and he is looking forward to making an impact on his new team. This move could affect his fantasy value as he goes from catching passes thrown by Ben Roethlisberger, to catching passes from Derek Carr. Although I think Carr is a very capable signal caller, I don’t think that he and Big Ben are on the same level. He is also going from an offense that attempted the most passes last year, to the offense that attempted the 16th most passes last season, which is a significant drop. Brown has topped 1,200 receiving yards in six straight seasons and even though he should be able to get there again this season, it is worth noting that Carr has never had a 1,200 yards receiver since joining the league. Brown’s days of being the top fantasy receiver are likely behind him, but he should still produce WR1 numbers this season.
Odell Beckham Jr., Browns – Here we have another elite NFL wide out on a new team. Since joining the league in 2014, Beckham has posted 1,000+ receiving yards four times and scored 10+ touchdowns three times. In fact, the only season he failed to top 1,000 receiving yards was in 2017 where he appeared in just four games. The move to Cleveland should not impact Beckham negatively. He actually gets a quarterback upgrade with Baker Mayfield, so numbers like we saw in the first three seasons of his career, where he posted 1,300+ receiving yards and double-digit touchdowns each season, are very likely this year. Durability is really the only thing that is concerning with him, as he has now missed at least four games in three of his five seasons.
Golden Tate, Giants– The Giants signed Tate to help out the receiving corps that was left very thin after Beckham’s departure. Tate Will be 31 at the start of the season, but the slot receiver can still be productive. After a solid first half of the season in Detroit last year, Tate fell off of the fantasy radar when he was traded to the Eagles. Even though he displayed the ability to be efficient at the start of last season, the concern I have with him this season is the uncertainty on the amount of volume he will be getting in New York. When you look at this offense, there is a chance that he will be fourth in the pecking order as far as targets are concerned, behind Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, and Saquon Barkley.
John Brown/Cole Beasley, Bills – Brown should benefit from signing with the new team, as he will not be catching the deep ball from young quarterback Josh Allen, who averaged the highest aDot of all quarterbacks last season. Brown’s ability to stretch the field is going to be huge for this offense. Consistency might be tough to come by for him, but in best ball formats he is someone that should be on your radar. Beasley will be the slot guy in Buffalo, but considering the way this offense operates, I would not be expecting a ton of targets for him this season.
Jamison Crowder, Jets – Crowder dealt with injuries last year and was limited to just nine games. Now he finds himself on a new team. This move could limit Crowder’s fantasy value because he now has to compete for targets with Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, and Chris Herndon. That said, it is worth noting that Crowder has been a very efficient pass catcher throughout his career, with a 67 percent catch rate. If he is able to lock in the volume on this offense, then he could have a fantasy impact, but that remains to be seen.
Randall Cobb, Cowboys – I really like this landing spot for Cobb. He joins a talented offense with a solid quarterback. Cobb is past his prime for sure, but he is not as old as most might think, turning 29 in August. Last season, Cole Beasley who operated out of the slot in Dallas, received 87 targets, which is the range we can expect for Cobb, with room for more. Injuries have been an issue for Cobb, as he has not played an entire season in each of the last three years. That said, he is healthy now and has a chance to make an impact on his new team. So far, the reports have all been positive on him in his new team. He might not offer a ton of upside, but is someone I am looking at later in my drafts because he does have the potential to provide fantasy owners with a decent floor in PPR formats.
Donte Moncrief, Steelers – Moncrief signed with the Steelers this offseason after they traded away Antonio Brown to Oakland. This is a really good landing spot for Moncrief, as there are plenty of targets up for grabs since Brown was peppered with 168 targets last season. JuJu Smith-Schuster will be locked into the No. 1 wide receiver role for Pittsburgh, but the No. 2 role is open. If Moncrief can lock it up, he might be able to be a viable fantasy receiver, but he has to compete with James Washington and Diontae Johnson. It is tough to trust any other receiver on this offense besides Smith-Schuster, but is tough to ignore that this offense attempted the most passes last year. Therefore this is a situation to be monitoring throughout camp and the preseason to see if someone locks up the No. 2 receiver position.
DeSean Jackson, Eagles – Jackson is back in Philadelphia where he spent the first six seasons of his career. Despite being past his prime, he remains one of the fastest receivers in the league and showed last season that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. His presence adds a deep threat to this offense, which should be helpful to Carson Wentz. The Eagles attempted the seventh most passes per game last year, so there should be opportunities for Jackson this season. Consistency is something that he has lacked for most of his career, but he makes for a very appealing bestball option this season. Even in regular PPR formats, Jackson could be useful to fantasy owners, making him a viable late round option.
Adam Humphries, Titans – Humphries joins a Titans receiving corp that could use his services out of the slot. He is coming off of a career season, as he set career highs in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. That might be difficult to duplicate this year, however, because he is coming from Tampa Bay who attempted the second most passes per game and joins the Titans who were 31st out of 32 teams in that department. He will likely operate as one of Marcus Mariota’s security blankets, but the volume might not be as high as it was last season. That said, he remains an efficient pass catcher and should make the best of his opportunities.
RUNNING BACKS
Le’Veon Bell, Jets – Bell finds himself on a new team, with a new offense, and new coaches. It was not a pretty ending in Pittsburgh for him, he sat out the entire 2018 season after not getting the pay day he felt that he deserved and refused to sign his franchise tender. The one positive about that is that he is coming into New York with fresh legs. Bell brings a unique talent to this offense as a runner and pass catcher out of the backfield. If it was not because of what Adam Gase said publicly, that he was against the signing of Bell, as well as how he handled the running back situation during his coaching tenure in Miami, I would happily be taking Bell in the first round. However, that is not the case, making me skeptical about him to a certain extent. Bell also gets a downgrade in offensive line and supporting cast. With all that said, if he receives the volume we are used to seeing, he should produce quality numbers in this offense.
Mark Ingram, Ravens – Ingram lands in a perfect spot to be an every down back in a run-heavy offense. He goes from one of the better offensive lines in New Orleans, to a very good one in Baltimore, so in that department he should be just fine. Ingram has averaged well over four yards per carry each season since 2013 and the last two times he received 200+ carries, he rushed for over 1,000 yards. He has also been productive in the red zone, with at least five consecutive seasons. The Ravens did draft the speedster Justice Hill during this year’s NFL draft, but he should not cut into Ingram’s workload too much. He will likely just be a change of pace back. Ingram has a good chance to post solid numbers this season as the featured back.
Latavius Murray, Saints – The Saints got a very similar running back to Mark Ingram in Murray. Not as versatile and not as good as Ingram, Murray still steps into a good situation. If he steps into the same role that Ingram had, Murray has close to 1,000 yard upside and 6-8 touchdowns. The Saints have a strong offensive line and have typically made good use of running multiple backs. The move from Minnesota to New Orleans is a positive one for Murray.
Jordan Howard, Eagles – Howard was traded to the Eagles this offseason and is in a position to bounce back this year, after a subpar 2018 season. He is not a good pass catcher, but has proven to be an effective in between the tackle runner, something the Eagles did not have in their backfield last season. Aside from last season, Howard has topped 1,000 rushing yards in each season in the league and last year he fell 65 yards short of that. Since the hiring of Doug Pederson in Philadelphia, they have been top 10 in rush attempts per game in all but one season, so this is an offense that likes to run it. Howard should benefit from that and from a strong offensive line. His current eighth round ADP seems like a steal to me. They have talked about running a committee in Philadelphia, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Howard emerge as the early down and red zone back, outperforming his ADP.
Carlos Hyde, Chiefs – This will be Hyde’s third team in the last two seasons, as he played six games in Cleveland last year and finished the season off in Jacksonville. It is very unlikely that he will have a significant role on this offense, as the team intends to use Damien Williams as their workhorse. Nothing to see here really, unless an injury occurs in this backfield.
Tevin Coleman, 49ers – Coleman is now on the West Coast in San Francisco and joins a crowded backfield. He will be competing for touchdowns with Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida in what will ultimately likely be a running back by committee. Coleman has good hands and can run in between the tackles, making him a good fit for this offense. That said, from a fantasy standpoint it is likely going to be a guessing game for this backfield unless an injury occurs. This limits his fantasy ceiling and value.
QUARTERBACKS
Nick Foles, Jaguars – The Eagles decided not to tag Foles which allowed him to hit the free agent market and the Jaguars wasted no time in signing him. He is now the signal caller in Jacksonville and should really help this team out. From a fantasy standpoint, I am not expecting huge things for Foles even though he does have some weapons to work with. In my opinion, he is more of a game manager than anything else, which is why I really think this is a great move for Jacksonville from a real life football perspective. This is a team that will likely be in the playoff hunt in the AFC because of Foles. However, that does not always translate to fantasy production. He remains a QB2 for fantasy purposes.
Ryan Fitzpatrick/Josh Rosen, Dolphins – The Dolphins parted ways with Ryan Tannehill this offseason and wasted no time in adding, not one, but two quarterbacks. Fitzpatrick was a free agent and he is expected to start off the season as the starter. The team traded for Rosen during this year’s draft and he could eventually get a nod as a starter at some point in the season. This offense lacks talent, so neither of these two quarterbacks should be on anyone’s radar at this time.
TIGHT ENDS
Jared Cook, Saints – The 32-year old veteran is coming off of his best season in the league. He reached career highs in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Now he lands on a much better offense with a much better quarterback. So far, the reports during OTAs have been positive for Cook and the team reportedly will draw up plays for him this year. From what I have read, it appears that he is primed for a big role in this high-scoring offense, so fantasy owners should be drafting him as a top 10 tight end this season.
