See part 1 for the introduction to this league and my roster.

I left the rookie draft pretty confident that I had filled most of the holes on my roster (except RB), so I did not enter free agency with the feeling there was any one position I absolutely HAD to fill. I had a few specific targets in mind, but I was targeting value contracts more than anything.

Before free agency I traded away Jalen Richard and a 2020 4th round pick for a 2020 2nd and a 2020 3rd round pick. Richard was my clear RB1, but with the Raiders drafting Josh Jacobs (who can also contribute in the passing game) I only believe his value is gonna go down this year. I do try not to sell out in the short term for long term gain, but this was a move very much aiming to improve my roster long term.

There are two waves of free agency in this league: undrafted rookies (late June) and veteran free agency (first two weeks of August). Both waves are auctions with the bidding price being the contract the player will receive.

Undrafted rookies

In very quickly became clear that the undrafted rookies would get bigger contracts than the players drafted in the later rounds of the draft. Even though none of them are huge contracts, it does underline why I think acquiring draft capital is so vital. I acquired three players in the first wave of free agency:

Alize Mack, TE, Free agent, 4-year contract starting at $22

Mack was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 7th round and I thought he might have a shot to get snaps fairly early in his career. He’s a big target and the Saints are weak at TE behind Jared Cook. However, Mack did not make the 53-man roster so all I can do now is be patient and see if he finds a new team.

Amani Oruwariye, CB, Detroit Lions, 4-year contract starting at $26

I was surprised when Oruwariye fell all the way to the 5th round of the draft, so I was glad to see him go undrafted in this league because I wanted a shot at owning him. He ended up becoming a bit more expensive than I had hoped, but I do believe he has the potential to become a starter in the NFL. He’s currently listed 5th on the Lions’ depth chart, so I don’t expect any fantasy contribution right away.

Tre Lamar, LB, Detroit Lions, 4-year contract starting at $1

As an undrafted free agent, Lamar waived by the Lions when he got injured and is now placed on IR (still with the Lions). The Lions do not have a lot of depth at inside linebacker there was a path to playing time if anybody (other than Lamar of course) got injured. At a $1 contract he’s a minimal risk, and currently sits as the only player on my taxi squad.

Veteran free agents

I only had two specific targets going into the second wave of free agency: Frank Gore and Calais Campbell. Gore seems to get touches wherever he plays and the Bills offensive line should be greatly improved from last year. He also posted the best PFF grade of his entire career (81.4). With LeSean McCoy now released by the Bills, Gore becomes an even better option (although Devin Singletary clearly is the long term play there). Campbell has been a force off the edge ever since he came to Jacksonville and was the 4th highest scoring DE in 2018. He’s a beast in the rungame and will most likely move inside on passing down this year with Josh Allen and Yannick Ngakoue rushing off the edge. However, I didn’t manage to secure either of these players as they became a lot more expensive than I expected (Gore $176 and Campbell $153).

Jarrod Wilson, S, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2-year contract starting at $30

Arguably the weakest position on a very strong Jaguars defense is free safety, and Wilson is currently listed as the starter for week 1. A starting safety (although free safeties are less valuable in fantasy than strong safeties) at $30 was too good value to pass on, although I do not believe Wilson is a particularly talented player.

Morgan Burnett, S, Cleveland Browns, 2-year contract starting at $73

From a value stand point, Burnett might be my worst acquisition in this wave of free agency, but I do believe he can be a starter for me this year. Safety might be my deepest position but I think Burnett will be very productive (at least in 2019) so I will have a few options to rotate if necessary.

Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi, WR, Free agent, 3-year contract starting at $21

A cinderella story in week 1 of the preseason the former homeless Sheehy-Guiseppi returned a punt for a TD – now he’s temporarily out of a team as he was released by the Browns in the final roster cuts. It was a long shot for him to contribute as a rookie, but it looks even less likely now and I might move him to my taxi squad in the near future.

Zach Kerr, DE, Free Agent, 2-year contract starting at $30

A rotational D-lineman trough his entire career, I thought Kerr could have another decent year with the Broncos, but he’s now been released. As a veteran it’s not unlikely he’ll get picked up by another team so at the moment his value could be hard to determine (as a free agent he does not have any value, I know).

Timmy Jernigan, DT, Philadelphia Eagles, 4-year contract starting at $1

In arguably my best value-signing of free agency, Jernigan went under the radar as he sat out most of 2018 due to injury. He’s most likely going to get his snaps as a run stopper on 1st and 2nd downs (Malik Jackson will take over on passing downs) and I think he could be a decent fantasy contributor since he is a talented player.

Additionally I also added the Patriots team Kicker (2 years – $15) and the Redskins team punter (3 years – $12).

I will go over my final roster and my week 1 lineup in another post before the season starts.