Fantasy Football News and Rumors

[wilwhite]

I posted this back on March 12

I'm sure there are a bunch of virtually identical articles out there, but this one is from yesterday.

 

[averagejoe]

Haven't seen much of anything interesting enough to comment about.

You couldve told me i was crazy for wanting to trade a late 2nd round pick for Cousins on my Joes Other Dynasty League thread.

 

[eaglesnut]

I'm sure there are a bunch of virtually identical articles out there, but this one is from yesterday.

Yeah I'm just pointing out my rankings of the free agent movers and updating it

 

[averagejoe]

Saquon Barkley, Eagles
Derrick Henry, Ravens
Gus Edwards, Chargers - Harbaugh/Roman run 1st.
Aaron Jones, Vikings - QB will dictate more runs.
Zach Moss, Bengals - good offense fallout.
Josh Jacobs, Packers
Joe Mixon, Texans
Austin Ekeler, Commanders
Devin Singletary, Giants
Antonio Gibson, Patriots
D’Andre Swift, Bears - think it'll be RBBC
Tony Pollard, Titans - couldnt make it work in Big D.

 

[Clayton]

Saquon Barkley, Eagles
Derrick Henry, Ravens
Gus Edwards, Chargers - Harbaugh/Roman run 1st.
Aaron Jones, Vikings - QB will dictate more runs.
Zach Moss, Bengals - good offense fallout.
Josh Jacobs, Packers
Joe Mixon, Texans
Austin Ekeler, Commanders
Devin Singletary, Giants
Antonio Gibson, Patriots
D’Andre Swift, Bears - think it'll be RBBC
Tony Pollard, Titans - couldnt make it work in Big D.

I'd probably have Jacobs ahead of Moss but that looks good

 

[Shanemansj13]

Saquon Barkley, Eagles
Derrick Henry, Ravens
Gus Edwards, Chargers - Harbaugh/Roman run 1st.
Aaron Jones, Vikings - QB will dictate more runs.
Zach Moss, Bengals - good offense fallout.
Josh Jacobs, Packers
Joe Mixon, Texans
Austin Ekeler, Commanders
Devin Singletary, Giants
Antonio Gibson, Patriots
D’Andre Swift, Bears - think it'll be RBBC
Tony Pollard, Titans - couldnt make it work in Big D.

Good list.

Any of those teams targeting a RB in the draft possibly?

I think no doubt the Chargers and specifically Blake Corum, if they take him, Gus falls on this list quite a bit.
Maybe GB targets a RB mid to late rounds with Dillon on a 1 year deal.
NY Giants definitely will be targeting a RB. They have no depth

 

[eaglesnut]

Good list.

Any of those teams targeting a RB in the draft possibly?

I think no doubt the Chargers and specifically Blake Corum, if they take him, Gus falls on this list quite a bit.
Maybe GB targets a RB mid to late rounds with Dillon on a 1 year deal.
NY Giants definitely will be targeting a RB. They have no depth

Singletary is the depth. They have no starter.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Saquon Barkley, Eagles
Derrick Henry, Ravens
Josh Jacobs, Packers
Aaron Jones, Vikings
Tony Pollard, Titans
Gus Edwards, Chargers
Zach Moss, Bengals
Joe Mixon, Texans
D’Andre Swift, Bears
Austin Ekeler, Commanders
Devin Singletary, Giants
Antonio Gibson, Patriots

This is how I rank them

 

[averagejoe]

6) Tony Pollard, Titans

5) Tony Pollard, Titans

Explain how he overtakes Spears to be this high on your FA RB lists?

I feel it is Spears' job to lose and Pollard provides "incentive" and insurance for Spears.

 

[Bandit]

Explain how he overtakes Spears to be this high on your FA RB lists?

I feel it is Spears' job to lose and Pollard provides "incentive" and insurance for Spears.

Yeah I agree that Pollard shouldn't be that high, but they didn't pay a running back $8 million a year to be incentive or insurance for Spears unless they are just plain stupid because there were much cheaper options if that's all you wanted. I will be shocked if Pollard isn't the starter and Spears has basically the same role he had last year.

 

[TREFF]

You couldve told me i was crazy for wanting to trade a late 2nd round pick for Cousins on my Joes Other Dynasty League thread.

I wouldn't say that's crazy at all.. especially this year. Don't expect anything other than a stab in the dark to be available in the late second of rookie drafts

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Explain how he overtakes Spears to be this high on your FA RB lists?

I feel it is Spears' job to lose and Pollard provides "incentive" and insurance for Spears.

Every RB I ranked below him will be sharing the snaps also IMO and I don't think Spears could hold up as a featured back. Guess I feel Pollard can bounce back and win the starting job at some point this season even if he isn't the starter out the gate.

 

[averagejoe]

Yeah I agree that Pollard shouldn't be that high, but they didn't pay a running back $8 million a year to be incentive or insurance for Spears unless they are just plain stupid because there were much cheaper options if that's all you wanted. I will be shocked if Pollard isn't the starter and Spears has basically the same role he had last year.

Jury is out on Levis. Guess its do or die for him. My guess is Spears and Pollard provide a 1-2 punch to ease the pressure on Levis.

And as i mentioned, my opinion of Pollard is low. He was handed the RB1 job in Dallas and was pitiful. (And Dak was on fire a good chunk of the season too.) He'll have to make his own holes in Tennessee and i dont see that going well for him.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Jury is out on Levis. Guess its do or die for him. My guess is Spears and Pollard provide a 1-2 punch to ease the pressure on Levis.

And as i mentioned, my opinion of Pollard is low. He was handed the RB1 job in Dallas and was pitiful. (And Dak was on fire a good chunk of the season too.) He'll have to make his own holes in Tennessee and i dont see that going well for him.

He looked good behind Zeke, but didn't produce as the starter. Maybe due to injury or maybe he does better in a committee. Tennessee going to improve the OL this draft I'm thinking and Callahan has done a great job with less with the OL. Also I feel Tennessee will be trying to run plenty to protect Levis.

 

[eaglesnut]

Explain how he overtakes Spears to be this high on your FA RB lists?

I feel it is Spears' job to lose and Pollard provides "incentive" and insurance for Spears.

8m per year is too much for the backup. Signed to be the starter. It was never Spears' job.

 

[averagejoe]

8m per year is too much for the backup. Signed to be the starter. It was never Spears' job.

You and @Bandit are crazy.
His contract is $8 mill but his salary is just under $1.5 for 2024. And Spears is still on his rookie deal earning $1.2 mill this year.

 

[eaglesnut]

You and @Bandit are crazy.
His contract is $8 mill but his salary is just under $1.5 for 2024. And Spears is still on his rookie deal earning $1.2 mill this year.

6m signing bonus. They can throw it away if Spears wins the job in camp, but that ain't the plan right now.

I was not on the Pollard bandwagon last year but he's a nice back to give 200 touches too.

 

[averagejoe]

View attachment 359288

6m signing bonus. They can throw it away if Spears wins the job in camp, but that ain't the plan right now.

I was not on the Pollard bandwagon last year but he's a nice back to give 200 touches too.

Meh. The NFL throws money around. That signing bonus could be the result of a poor rookie RB class and a lackluster group of free agents available.

I have as much conidence in Pollard as i do in James Conner (and i hate Conner).

 

[TREFF]

Derrick Henry, Ravens
Saquon Barkley, Eagles
Josh Jacobs, Packers
Joe Mixon, Texans
Aaron Jones, Vikings
Gus Edwards, Chargers
Zach Moss, Bengals
Tony Pollard, Titans
D’Andre Swift, Bears
Devin Singletary, Giants
Austin Ekeler, Commanders
Antonio Gibson, Patriots

Henry- for me, easily, on paper, the best chance to lead the league in rushing and scores. Dude was second in the league last year behind only CMAC, in a very down year for him, running behind the worst line in the league. Upgrades at every position of the offense form TENN to Balt, and most especially the QB who should take some pressure out of the middle of the line with nothing more than the threat of keeping and running around the outside himself- no crashing DE, no OLB cheating inside. There's not a better situation in the league other than CMAC in SF with Shanny Jr.

Barkley - very similar to Henry's outlook..upgrades all around, same threat of a running QB, a team that can and will run the ball. Only, he's not Derrick Henry, and the Eagles do have multiple other options. Where the Eagle might tush push with Hurts, the Ravens will hand the ball to Henry, at least half the time.

Jacobs - IF Love is for real, the sky is limit as to what he can do. When he played for coaches that used him as a 3 down back, and gave him 18+ touches a game, Jacobs dominated, period. If the inefficient DIllon is his only real competition for touches, I expect a challenge for the rushing title, and the scoring title. Might not win either, but he'll be in the running.

Joe Mixon - tough to hold a season where there was no Joe Burrows around for half of it entirely against him. Granted, he wasn't exactly on fire with Burrows around either. But I'm banking on some rejuvenation. New town, new teammates, maybe a new Joe Mixon. I can't say that he's in a much better situation, I mean, Stroud/Burrows, Diggs/Chase, Dell or Nico/Higgins or Boyd..pretty even supporting casts. But i think DeMeco Ryans will understand that what they were missing, what good defenses will expose, is the lack of a running game. I expect a solid commitment to Mixon.

Aaron Jones- This is entirely dependent on who the Vikes end up with at QB. he could move up a spot or two, he could go further down. Dude still has plenty of juice, and the defensive focus will always be on JJ and Hock. Not much in the way of competition either as the guys on the roster are all bonafide NFL level RB's, but all have proven they are not the type to give more than spot duty to.

Gus - yes I know, you all know I hate the guy, and yes I do, and now without Lamar tearing the D's a new A-hole around the outside, you all will finally see WHY I hate Gus. For now he's the only game in town, or he'd be much further down the list. Once Harbaugh drafts/signs a new guy guy, whether that ends up being Corum, or someone else, I fully expect Gus to fade into the background no later than mid season. But for now, that's just speculation and we have to go on what's known, and that is, that Gus is an inferior-average at best NFL RB, and that he's the only game in town, on an offense that's been gutted of offensive talent, with a thus far underachieving QB. Best of luck Gus!

Z. Moss - if not for the presence of Chase Brown, I'd have him over Gus, easily. But Chase Brown is there, and I don't believe that the Z. Moss we saw for a 5-8 game stretch in relief of Taylor is the real Z Moss. The real ZAck Moss is the guy we saw from 2020-2022 nice back up, nothing more. Because of the offensive firepower of this offense in general, he has to be respected in fantasy circles, but I'm not giving him any more credit than that.

Pollard- As a couple others have speculated, I also firmly believe that T. Spears is the best RB on this team. However, I foresee nothing more than a 50/50 split at best, and most likely a 60/40 split in favor of Pollard, due in large part to Spears knee condition. But in reality, given the line the Titans are working with, it's of little difference who has the 60 and who has the 40, there's not much reason to chase this backfield.

Swift - again, there will be a committee, chances are Herbert is actually the best RB on this team. And again, it isn't like this offense is set up for any sort of guaranteed success in any way, shape, or form. Almost certainly set up with Caleb Williams who may be the next greatest thing, he may also be the next mega bust. More than enough red flags to suggest that success will take awhile, if ever. And Swift has never been one that makes his own running production. Gets what's blocked, and can make DB's miss in the open field, but he ain't breaking tackles through the line or by decent LB's. IF the QB isn't a legit threat, Swift is hosed.

Singletary - not much for competition, not much in the way of decent offense around him either though. And we know that his QB is terrible, so he doesn't even have that maybe factor like Swift might. As someone else mentioned, I fully expect this depth chart to have another name added at some point. Not that it matters, that guy will have difficulty producing too. At least Singletary produced 4+ YPC with the Texans and Stroud. No more Stroud though.

Ekeler - whatever made Ekeler special, that tiny bit of better explosion or wiggle or whatever it was, its gone now, and he's just another undersized "try hard" back. likely second in line for touches behind Robinson, a cuff at best.

GIbson - almost put him above Ekeler, but couldn't do it. Firmly behind Stevenson, who was exactly 25% of the entire Patriots total offensive production in '22, and just under %20 of the 17 game total last year, while missing 5 games, is not a great spot to be. Especially now that they also will be in QB limbo, they could be better, they could be even worse, but either way, Gibson isn't a challenge to Stevenson, and as such, has no business on a fantasy roster as anything more than a cuff.

 

[SmokingMonkey]

I will be shocked if Pollard isn't the starter and Spears has basically the same role he had last year.

It was close to 50/50 split last year and Spears saw more snaps than Henry in several games. I think this is the right way to look at it as well, might be a bit more hot-hand approach or at least less predictable (hopefully)