Quarterbacks
Josh McCown: The only QB worth mentioning right now unless Vick manages to get signed to the Jets and is given the starting job. McCown goes to Tampa Bay where he’ll get to play with his new toys, Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. Although they’re a downgrade from the Brandon Marshall-Alshon Jeffery combo he played with before, they’re still both big receivers that should help with McCown’s transition. Although I don’t see him worth owning in standard twelve team leagues since the QB pool is so deep this year, I could see him having some upside in a deeper league or a 2-QB league.
Wide Receivers
Eric Decker: The biggest name out of the wide receivers who entered free agency, and yet he’s the one who got the biggest downgrade. He signed with the Jets that pairs him up currently with Geno Smith as his QB. Which is a huge downgrade from playing with Peyton Manning. Although the amount of targets will make up for the lack of talent at his QB position, the touchdowns will drop off a lot because in reality how many offensive touchdowns are the Jets projected to score and that’s where Decker made most of his bank.
Julian Edelman: Re-signing with the Pats recently, and keeping all the fantasy value he had last year. In PPR leagues expect the same great production you got last year and he’s still a WR2 in standard leagues. There isn’t much more to say, except don’t expect LaFell to steal too many targets, Edelman should return similar numbers as he did last year.
Hakeem Nicks: Signing with the Colts may revive his career. Although it’s never really been a lack of talent that has held Nicks back but rather an inability to stay healthy. Although if he can stay healthy, expect a large rise in his numbers compared to last year. I still don’t think he will be able to surpass T.Y. Hilton and Reggie Wayne on the depth chart quite yet, but he should put up WR4 numbers with WR3 upside.
Golden Tate: His stock might have jumped the most out of all the receivers on the market. Tate has never been a number 1 receiver yet he was forced into that in Seattle and was never able to put up great numbers. Now playing next to Megatron, I expect Tate to put up career numbers. If you think about what an old Nate Burleson was able to do next to Megatron, now imagine a young motivated receiver like Tate with big hands next to Calvin Johnson. Side note, the Lions struggled with drops last year which is part of the reason they got a big handed receiver like Tate.
Emmanuel Sanders: Now this is the receiver who probably moved up the ladder in WR rankings everywhere. By signing with the Broncos, he went from a desperate Bye week fill in to a possible starter or flex option. Sanders is a different type of receiver than Decker in terms of size but with Both Thomas’s and Welker catching a lot of attention expect a lot of openings for Sanders to succeed.
Steve Smith: He wasn’t a good option last year, no matter what was the matchup and he still isn’t. Smith is a loveable receiver and I’ve always loved picking him up late in drafts but its time for all Steve Smith enthusiasts to move on. His production has dropped mightily and that’s not going to change in Baltimore where he will be the third or fourth option with a worse QB than he had in Carolina. Avoid drafting him at all; there are plenty of new young talented receivers to get instead.
James Jones: He’s an Oakland Raider now. I don’t know whom his QB will be which makes it tough to judge how well he’ll do. So I’ll base it off of the organization he signed with. No disrespect to Raiders fans but expect a large drop off in production from Jones because this team is in disarray. I will be avoiding drafting any Raiders in my fantasy leagues.
Jeremy Maclin/ Riley Cooper: Hard to predict their numbers since there are so many options in this offense although I’d say they raise Foles value. This is an offense that will help many win fantasy championships. I don’t expect Cooper or Maclin to breakout into every week starters but they should both be decent WR3’s.
Running Backs
Ben Tate: Tate had the injury bug for most of last year that didn’t really allow him to show off his skills while Foster was down. Although after signing with the Browns I expect him to put up high RB2 numbers. This is a team with a good offensive line and an overall offense that seems to be improving everyday. He should have a solid season and with the thinness at RB I fully expect him to go early in drafts like the fourth or fifth round.
Rashad Jennings: A year ago nobody had Jennings on his or her radar as a quality RB2. Well now that’s exactly what he is. After signing with the Giants early in free agency he locked up the starting gig in my opinion. I understand they resigned Hillis but he hasn’t done anything since the Madden cover and they still have David Wilson but he has a possible career ending injury so I don’t know if he’ll even be able to be the same Wilson they drafted. One more major thing contributes to my belief Jennings will keep his starting gig, he doesn’t fumble. Every RB the Giants benched has had butter fingers including Wilson, Bradshaw, and others.
Toby Gerhart: Another guy nobody saw as more than a handcuff. Now he’s going to get the bulk of the carries for the Jaguars. Although he’s still Gerhart, sure he’s talented, but he doesn’t have the breakaway speed to put up great numbers. Draft him as an RB2. Of course it’s great owning the starting RB of a team but again, most of Gerhart’s points will probably come from goal line touchdowns and how many do you expect the Jaguars to actually get.
Donald Brown: I was hoping he would get a starting job after his wonderful season last year making up for Trent Richardson’s deficiencies. Instead, he ended up in San Diego where he is now going to share touches with Ryan Mathews and probably won’t ever see a third down since that’s Danny Woodhead’s territory. I wouldn’t waste a draft pick on Donald Brown but keep an eye out on him, if Mathews gets hurt, Brown could be an interesting RB in that strong offense.
Darren McFadden: Same old story with him. Like I said earlier, I won’t be drafting any Raiders this season. By now, people should have their own opinion on McFadden’s value. I highly expect Latavius Murray to overtake the starting job.
Darren Sproles: Moving from the Saints to the Eagles interestingly enough didn’t change his value in my opinion. He’s still only worth a play in PPR leagues and he’ll be getting the same amount of touches he got in New Orleans. The truth is he’s older now, in his 30’s, and most of his impact will come by improving Foles stats.
Tight Ends
Jimmy Graham: Best TE available with Gronk’s injury status. The battle going on between his camp and the Saints is a little scary if he holds out. Otherwise he’s a first round pick in every draft. The difference between him and the next best TE is a large gap.
Garrett Graham: Resigned with the Texans and I expect him to do better this year. Bill O’Brian enjoys using two TE sets. I fully expect him and Ryan Griffin to be used often especially with a rookie QB most likely taking the reigns in Houston.
Dennis Pitta: Last year was supposed to be his breakout season. I was surprised the Ravens resigned him but that must mean the kid is worth the hype. I’d draft him as a risky TE1.