| | | | Wednesday, March 9, 2022 | Hey everyone, Jamey Eisenberg here filling in for Chris Towers! The NFL offseason is in full swing, and we had a third quarterback make headlines Wednesday when Washington traded with Indianapolis to acquire Carson Wentz. This came after Aaron Rodgers decided to return to Green Bay, and Russell Wilson was traded from Seattle to Denver.
While Rodgers and Wilson are No. 1 Fantasy quarterbacks, the same can't be said for Wentz. He's just a No. 2 Fantasy option, and he's only worth drafting in two-quarterback and Superflex leagues. He averaged just 17.6 Fantasy points per game last season for the Colts, and he only has one season in his career over 21 points per game, which was in 2017 with the Eagles (26.6). It's hard to expect a dramatic improvement for a 29-year-old quarterback playing for his third team in three seasons. | | | | Wentz trade fallout | As for the weapons in Washington, you should view Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson relatively the same as Fantasy options from 2021. Wentz will hopefully be an upgrade over Taylor Heinicke from last year, but McLaurin remains a No. 2 Fantasy receiver worth drafting in Round 4, and Gibson is a Round 2 pick in the majority of leagues.
For McLaurin, he's had terrible quarterback play for most of his career -- the quarterbacks in Washington the past three seasons have been Heinicke, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Garrett Gilbert, Kyle Allen, Alex Smith, Dwayne Haskins, Case Keenum and Colt McCoy -- and hopefully, Wentz can bring out the best in McLaurin. His stock could rise with Wentz, and McLaurin should continue to lead the team in targets after getting at least 130 in each of the past two seasons.
Curtis Samuel and Logan Thomas have potential in Washington after both dealt with injuries in 2021, but both are only worth drafting with late-round picks in the majority of leagues. And Dyami Brown is someone to keep an eye on in deeper formats, but we have to see if Washington adds another receiver this offseason in free agency or the NFL Draft.
In Indianapolis, we can't fully evaluate the Fantasy options until we see what the Colts do to replace Wentz. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that the Colts could be in the mix for 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who is expected to be traded, and he would be a quality replacement for Wentz.
For now, continue to view Jonathan Taylor as the No. 1 overall pick in the majority of leagues, and Pittman remains a high-end No. 3 Fantasy receiver worth drafting as early as Round 5. Indianapolis has to decide about free agents like T.Y. Hilton and Zach Pascal, and Hilton can still be a late-round flier no matter where he plays in 2022. | | | | Mike Williams gets paid | | | The Rodgers and Wilson moves dominated the news cycle Tuesday, but Mike Williams got paid for the Chargers, earning a three-year deal worth $60 million, including $40 million guaranteed. Wow.
Williams just had 76 catches for 1,146 yards and nine touchdowns last season on 129 targets, and he had some amazing moments for Fantasy managers. The majority of his production came early in the season with at least 22 PPR points in four of his first five games, and he scored at least 15 PPR points in four of his final seven outings. But he also had seven games with seven PPR points or less.
You just have to know who Williams is as a Fantasy option. There are peaks and valleys, but he has the chance to be a weekly starter in all leagues. The Chargers clearly view him as a valuable weapon based on his contract, and he's locked in as a starter opposite Keenan Allen, with a great quarterback in Justin Herbert.
I'll draft Williams as a low-end No. 2 receiver in Round 5. He has league-winning potential some weeks, but he also will leave you wanting more, which is something you just have to accept when he doesn't produce on a given week.
The fallout of this contract for Williams means Josh Palmer will remain a backup for the Chargers, and he's no longer one of my favorite sleepers. I was hoping Williams would leave as a free agent and Palmer would get a bigger role, but clearly, that's not going to happen in 2022. | | Franchise Tags | Tuesday was the deadline for the franchise tag, and several stars found out their fate, including Davante Adams, Chris Godwin, Dalton Schultz, Mike Gesicki and David Njoku. We expected this news for Adams, and his Fantasy value is locked in now that Rodgers remains in Green Bay. Adams is a first-round pick in all leagues, and he's either the No. 1 or No. 2 receiver off the board behind only Cooper Kupp.
Godwin's Fantasy value is tied to what the Buccaneers do at quarterback to replace the retired Tom Brady. I will probably rank Godwin as a high-end No. 2 receiver no matter who starts in Tampa Bay, but hopefully it's someone better than Blaine Gabbert or Kyle Trask. One rumor at the NFL Combine was the Buccaneers would look at Teddy Bridgewater as a fallback option, and that would be good -- not great -- for Godwin and Mike Evans. We also have to make sure Godwin is healthy after suffering a torn ACL in Week 15 last year.
Schultz is now my No. 6 Fantasy tight end this season behind Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Kyle Pitts, Darren Waller and George Kittle. The Cowboys are expected to move on from Amari Cooper, and Schultz should be the No. 2 target for Dak Prescott behind CeeDee Lamb. He just had 78 catches for 808 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021 on 104 targets.
It was surprising to see Gesicki and Njoku get the franchise tag, and both remain No. 2 Fantasy tight ends at best. Gesicki is worth a late-round flier, and hopefully, new Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel can unlock his potential. The key will be what Miami does to fill out his receiving corps, but McDaniel could help Gesicki emerge as a consistent weapon for Tua Tagovailoa.
Njoku could be more of a receiving threat for the Browns if they move on from Jarvis Landry, but Njoku is still stuck in a three-headed tight end rotation in Cleveland with Austin Hooper and Harrison Bryant. I was hoping he had the chance to find a new team, but the Browns had other ideas by keeping him around. Hopefully, that works out for Njoku and Fantasy managers in 2022.
| | Rookie-only mock draft | | | | We held our first rookie-only mock draft for 2022, and the results were interesting. You can read the full results of the three-round, PPR mock draft here, but here's how the first round unfolded. Keep in mind their Fantasy value will ultimately be determined after the NFL Draft when we know what teams they are on. | | | | Round 1 | 1. Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State
2. Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State
3. Drake London, WR, USC
4. Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas
5. Isaiah Spiller, RB, Texas A&M
6. Rachaad White, RB, Arizona State
7. Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
8. Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State
9. Ken Walker, RB, Michigan State
10. George Pickens, WR, Georgia
11. Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State
12. David Bell, WR, Purdue
I love Hall heading into the NFL Draft, and I hope he ends up with a good fit in the NFL. My favorite receiver is starting to become London, but I want to see where Williams ends up, especially if he's healthy following the ACL tear he suffered in the national championship game. And I drafted Bell with the last pick in the first round, and he could be a potential No. 2 Fantasy receiver as a rookie with the right team. | | | | | | | | UEFA Champions League on P+ | | 24/7 Sports News | Real Madrid hosts PSG at the Bernabeu in what promises to be an instant-classic, with Los Merengues needing a comeback victory to advance to the quarterfinals. The Round of 16 continues on Wednesday!
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