It’s been a while since we’ve had any meaningful football action, but that certainly doesn’t mean that there isn’t fantasy to talk about. Moves are being made that have major implications for the upcoming NFL season. Stars are moving, studs are emerging, and offenses are shifting. Let’s dive right in.

NFL Free Agency

Brandon Marshall to the Giants

Starting off hot with arguably the biggest move fantasy-wise is the 33-year old wide-out. Football-wise, I think the Giants won big time with this move. They got a top-tier receiver for what seems to be a bargain price of 2 years, $12 million, and only adds another lethal weapon onto their already high-powered passing attack. Marshall is a big, 6’4″ physical receiver who seems to be a great complement to OBJ on paper, but we’ll have to see in practice. Fantasy-wise, I see a slight bump in his production because his situation is undeniably better than the suspect QB rotation on the Jets, and the presence of other top targets should give him more open looks. However, to be honest, he’s looking to me like a guy who will be overvalued. He is 33 years old, has dealt with injury, and is a distinct number two to Odell Beckham Jr. Number two receivers can produce, don’t get me wrong, but I see him going as a top-15 WR, which I don’t believe he can be, especially with the presence of guys like Sterling Shepard taking away more targets. In the greater scheme of the Giants offense, I think this helps everyone but Sterling Shepard. Very rarely do WR3’s get top shelf production, and I don’t see this NY situation being very different for Shepard. But for Eli Manning, the presence of another physical, athletic target should boost his production a bit, and I believe that while OBJ might lose some targets, his big-play ability and floor should rise with Marshall forcing defenses to cover him and leave more room for OBJ to make plays.

DeSean Jackson to the Bucs

Another big wide receiver acquisition was premier deep threat DeSean Jackson. Jackson is a prototypical speedster, a vertical threat that can stretch a defense out and create big plays downfield. He enters the Bucs after a pretty successful 1,000+ yard season with the Redskins, and his move makes a massive difference to the Bucs offense. Individually however, I don’t see much of a difference in Jackson’s production in Tampa Bay this season. He will be a number two to Mike Evans, and similar to Brandon Marshall, that puts a distinct cap on his performance. However, with the presence of such a talented WR1, I see Jackson as a more consistent week-to-week fantasy option, with more targets in a pass-happy offense that will also see less attention paid to Jackson with Evans drawing the secondary towards him. He’s still pretty boom-or-bust, but just with less bust. Taking a step back, Jameis Winston enters the discussion of this season’s potential QB1’s. He’s got a big arm and is willing to sling the ball deep, and now he’s got not only a big, red-zone, physical guy in Evans, but also a speedster in Jackson that can create some massive plays. He’s also maturing, and isn’t the woefully inexperienced rookie he used to be. Watch Winston in your draft. Mike Evans takes a small boost from this move in my book. He will see a lot less double teams, and while his targets may drop, he will have a higher floor and see better looks and more openings in defenses. The Redskins offense seems to also be on the verge of collapse with the forecasted departure of QB Kirk Cousins, and with the loss of two of their most talented offensive weapons, I don’t see the Redskins offense as anything explosive next season.

Brandin Cooks to the Patriots

Seems like the Pats just can’t lose, even in FA! Stolen, basically for draft picks, Cooks adds a deep threat to an already effective passing attack, and this adds a new dimension to the short and medium route based New England passing game. But pump the breaks before drating Cooks as a top tier WR. The NE passing attack, as previously stated, is already effective. There are mouths to feed, from Gronk to Edelman, to even Hogan, and that means there will not an excess of targets for Cooks. Gronk’s value isn’t going to change much, his role on the team is pretty cemented, and the same goes for Edelman. Those two are Brady’s darlings, and that isn’t going to change with Cooks on the squad. What this will affect is the other guys, and the biggest loser in my eyes will have to be Chris Hogan. If you’re the Patriots, Cooks is a better option in the passing attack, and they kind of fill the same role as the deep threat in the offense, which Cooks is better at arguably. Malcolm Mitchell also takes a slight hit, but he wasn’t really rated too highly anyways. Consider Mitchell in really deep leagues, but the reality is that this passing attack is loaded, especially considering that Dion Lewis and James White will also demand targets out of the backfield. Tom Brady looks to maintain his level of production in my eyes, with a slight drop. I know this seems blasphemous, but Brady is getting up there in terms of age. He doesn’t have Father Time on his side, and I see a slight regression in his skills. However, this acquisition helps mitigate some of the work of Father Time, and overall, I see Brady as a mid tier QB1 next season. The New Orleans offense definitely see some shifting after this move. Michael Thomas cements his status as a legit WR1 for next season. He’s going to be the top WR on the depth chart, and combines a physical skillset with targets and throws coming from an all-time great QB in Drew Brees. Outside of Thomas, Willie Snead emerges as an intriguing WR3 option in a passing attack that is consistently explosive, and will now get the requisite targets to be a fantasy option with Cooks gone. Ted Ginn Jr. also materializes as a compelling WR3/4, with his speed and targets from Drew Brees making him a potentially viable start in very deep leagues. Drew Brees also doesn’t change much, he’s still a QB1 with a lot of solid targets.

Overall, this article could have just been called WR Free Agency Moves, but the impact of these moves were huge for a ton of players. Stay tuned for more articles coming soon, on the Combine, more FA, and the Draft!