AFC East
New England Patriots
Rise | QB Tom Brady
The trade that brought Brandin Cooks into New England immediately rose Brady’s fantasy outlook, but a move that may have flown under the radar was replacing TE Martellus Bennett with TE Dwayne Allen via trade. It’s not that Allen is an upgrade over Bennett, but it lessens the blow caused by his departure to Green Bay. The rich get richer. Oh, and Rob Gronkowski will be back too.
Fall | WR Malcolm Mitchell
The addition of Brandin Cooks put a huge dent in the fantasy prospects of Mitchell. As with a lot of receivers in the Patriot offense, he could have a big game at any time, but predicting when that will be will be anyone’s guess. He is still worth drafting in most leagues, but his value has dropped to that of a late round flyer.
New York Jets
Rise | Jets Defense
I don’t know if the Jets’ defense actually rose, or if every other skill position fell making it appear that the defense got better. I don’t know if there is any fantasy relevance on this team.
Fall | WR Eric Decker
There are rumors the Decker won’t even be with the Jets this season. Where there is smoke there’s usually fire and IÂ won’t be touching Decker unless he is in a different uniform before my fantasy draft.
Buffalo Bills
Rise | QB Tyrod Taylor
The Bills selected QB Nathan Petermen, but as a fifth-round pick, he won’t be ready to start in this league yet. Barring an injury to Taylor, he should start all 16 games, and his running ability alone makes him a viable QB in fantasy.
Fall | WR Sammy Watkins
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Watkins is still the clear-cut No. 1 WR, but with the Bills taking WR Zay Jones in the second round, they may have just drafted his replacement. If you are in a redraft league, Watkins still has value for this year, but dynasty leaguers might wanna start looking at moving Watkins while he still has value.
Miami Dolphins
Rise | Dolphins Defense
Not really a lot of risers on this team. The Dolphins made a few good moves by re-signing DE Cameron Wake and drafting LB Chase Allen in the first round. Overall it wasn’t a bad offseason for the Dolphins but it wasn’t great either.
Fall | QB Ryan Tannehill
I don’t know if Tannehill really fell per se, but more or less stayed the same and while the other QBs ranked near him rose.. Guys like Eli Manning, Tyrod Taylor, and even Blake Bortles — to some extent — rose, while Tannehill stayed right where he was.
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs
Rise | RB Charcandrick West
The Chiefs drafted RB Kareem Hunt in the third round of this year’s draft, meaning West could potentially lose his primary backup role to the rookie. I assume it will be an open competition in training camp and preseason. We will have to revisit this battle later in the summer but even if West wins out, the rookie is bound to take some touches away from him.
Fall | QB Alex Smith
Smith isn’t much more than a bye-week fill-in in most leagues anyway, and his value, whatever it is, probably didn’t take a hit for this year. However, if you own Smith in a deep dynasty league, the Chiefs drafting QB Patrick Mahomes in the first round all but guarantees Smith won’t be the starter much longer.
Oakland Raiders
Rise | RB Marshawn Lynch
This was an easy pick for the simple fact that a month ago Lynch had zero value in fantasy football. Many expect Lynch to step right in a be the lead back behind the second best offensive line in football, and if that is the case than Lynch’s value not only goes up, it skyrockets. It remains to be seen just how much he has left in the tank, and I doubt we see much of him before the Week 1 opener, but if you can draft Lynch with a mid-to-late round pick, he could pay off handsomely.
Fall | WR  Amari Cooper
After a great rookie season, Cooper followed it up with a near identical season in terms of overall numbers, but ultimately disappointed a lot of fantasy football fans that expected him to become the next “dominant wide receiver”. Instead, Michael Crabtree — not Cooper — led the Raiders in receptions and touchdowns, and now with the addition of Marshawn Lynch, the Raiders may go even more run heavy than the were last year when they ranked 11th in rushing attempts per game.
L.A. Chargers
Rise | QB Philip Rivers
Rivers is coming off a bad season by his standards, but with his No. 1 receiver Keenan Allen back, second-year TE Hunter Henry looking to build off a good rookie season, and the drafting the wide receiver many thought to be the best in this year’s draft, Mike Williams, things are definitely looking up for Rivers in 2017.
Fall | WR Tyrell Williams
Assuming Keenan Allen has recovered fully from his second season-ending injury in as many years, rookie WR Mike Williams hurts last year’s breakout WR Tyrell Williams more than anyone else. Allen will likely move into the slot role in three-wide sets, but I’d expect Mike Williams and Allen to be on the field when they go with two wide receivers. Unless Williams has a bad preseason or doesn’t pick up the playbook fast enough, it would be hard to imagine the Chargers not starting him. This will be another interesting camp battle to keep our eye one.
Denver Broncos
Rise | QB Trevor Siemian
The Broncos, to this point of the offseason, are content going into the season with Siemian as their starter. The Broncos did draft a QB with the last pick in the draft, but he is unlikely to challenge Siemian for the job. Last year’s first-round draft pick, Paxton Lynch, has yet to show that he is NFL ready, leaving Siemian the defacto starter. Siemian won’t likely be drafted in most fantasy leagues, but if you are in a deep dynasty league he could be a viable backup QB.
Fall | RB Devontae Booker
When the Broncos signed Jamaal Charles off the street, no one took a bigger hit than did Booker. C.J. Anderson is expected to be back to full heath by the start of the season and will likely be the No. 1 running back. Whenever Anderson comes off the field, it will likely be Charles, not Booker, that gets the snaps. Booker is still the likely “handcuff” to Anderson, as I would expect Charles to stay in the same role even in the event that Anderson goes down, but Booker’s 3.5 yards per carry in 2016 will keep me from drafting him even if I own Anderson.
AFC South
Tennesee Titans
Rise | QB Marcus MariottaÂ
The Titans used three of their first four picks in this year’s draft on pass catchers, one of which was first-round selection, WR Cory Davis. This pick was somewhat of a surprise considering that WR Mike Williams, whom many thought to be the best receiver in the draft, was still on the board. However, Davis is an upgrade over what they had last year and the Titans now have a fairly deep, if unspectacular, receiving corps that also features Rishard Matthews, Tajae Sharpe and TE Delanie Walker. You add that with maybe the best one-two punch in the NFL at running back with DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry and you have yourself the makings of a good offense.
Fall | WR Tajae Sharpe
Sharpe showed a lot of promise early in his rookie season but he faded as the season wore on. He may have just hit the rookie wall and could come back this year to be a solid contributor, but when the Titans drafted WR Cory Davis, Sharpe’s fantasy prospects took a big hit. He will be, at best, the fourth option behind whichever running back is on the field, Delanie Walker, and Rishard Matthews, and he could potentially even be behind the rookie in some situations.
Houston Texans
Rise | RB Lamar Miller
The Texans decided that anything was better than QB Brock Osweiler and will likely start the season with Tom Savage under center. With Savage getting the nod, the Texans will likely go with a very conservative offense and allow the league’s best defense to force the other team into a mistake. That conservative approach will benefit Miller, who should see 20-to-25 touches a game in both the run and pass game.
Fall | WR Will Fuller / WR DeAndre Hopkins
The Texans drafted QB Deshaun Watson with their first-round pick, and he could eventually be the starter this season. If that were to happen, Fuller and Hopkins’ value may actually go up. As it stands now, with Savage expected to start, the Texans will likely go ultra-conservative with a run-heavy approach. Fuller and Hopkins’ value will be hurt by that type of offense. In Hopkins’ defense, it couldn’t be worse than last year, so maybe Hopkins has a huge bounce back season.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Rise | QB Blake Bortles
The Jaguars did not select a QB in this year’s draft, giving Bortles one more year — likely his last — to prove he can be a starter in this league. One thing that Bortles has not had the luxury of over his first three seasons is a running game. In fact, the Jags only have 13 rushing touchdowns over the last two years and Bortles accounted for five of them. He and the Jags hope they addressed that when they selected RB Leonard Fournette in the first round of this year’s draft. Bortles has some sneaky upside if he can recapture the magic of two seasons ago, but I wouldn’t bet the house that he will do it.
Fall | RB Chris Ivory / RB T.J. Yeldon
Obviously, Â when your team drafts a running back with the fourth overall pick, you’re going to lose value. One of these backs won’t be on the roster in 2017. That’s just a guess, but I can’t see them carrying all three into the season when neither Ivory nor Yeldon plays special teams.
Indianapolis ColtsÂ
Rise | QB Andrew Luck
The Colts needed defense and offensive line help going into the offseason, and while they didn’t completely address all their needs, they addressed them enough that each unit should better in 2017. They also drafted RB Frank Gores‘ potential replacement in RB Marlon Mack. Southern Flordia’s all-time leading rusher, Mack can help this offense immediately in the running and passing game, both of which will benefit Luck.
Fall | RB Frank Gores
Gore will be 34 when the season begins and it remains to be seen how much he has left in the tank. The Colts will likely look to lighten his workload, and he could eventually be replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Marlon Mack.
AFC North
Pittsburg Steelers
Rise | None
Fall | TE Ladarius Green
Before his release, I had Green as a top 15 TE in my early rankings. The fact that the Steelers outright cut him could mean his career may be over, and even if it’s not, he will never be fantasy relevant again.
Cincinnati Bengals
Rise | QB Andy Dalton
As much as people love to hate Andy Dalton, when he has had weapons on offense he actually hasn’t been terrible. The Bengals reloaded on offense in the draft taking the fastest player ever in the combine, WR John Ross and then following that up by taking controversial but talented RB Joe Mixon. A.J. Green will also be back to full health after going down with an injury in 2016. All of that means things are looking up for Dalton and his fantasy prospects. He still isn’t a top 10 QB, but he could be top 12.
Fall | RB Jeremy Hill
When the Bengals took RB Joe Mixon in the second round, I think Hill, being more one-dimensional, took the bigger hit over RB Giovani Bernard. Bernard is more of a passing down back but has shown in the past that he can carry the ball as well. Mixon can do both, but with Hill in a contract year, the Bengals will likely fade him out of the offense and let him walk at the end of the season — leaving the door opened for Mixon to take the position and run with it (pun intended).
Cleveland Browns
Rise | RB Isaiah Crowell
Crowell was one of the few bright spots for the Browns last year, and the other bright spot, WR Terrelle Pryor, left for Washington. Luckily, the Browns may have finally figured out this off-season thing. First, the Browns went out and upgraded their defense taking the best player in this year’s draft, DE Myles Garrett. Then they went and drafted their QB in Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer. Maybe with their upgraded defense, the Browns won’t get blown out as much and allow Crowell to run the ball into the fourth quarter, and maybe DeShone Kizer makes opposing defenses respect the passing game a little, or maybe they will be the same ole’ Browns. On paper, their offseason looks good, but only time will tell.
Fall | QB DeShone Kizer
He was drafted by Cleveland. Enough said.
Baltimore RavensÂ
Rise | RB Kenneth Dixon
The Ravens did not draft a running back in this year’s draft, meaning the Ravens will go into the season with Terrance West (the incumbent starter), newly acquired Danny Woodhead, Lorenzo Taliaferro,  Javorius Allen, and Dixon. That isn’t the greatest collection of running backs, and if Dixon — now in his second year — can show some of the potential he was thought to have when he was drafted, he could just take the No. 1 RB position from West before the season ends.
Fall | QB Joe Flacco
The Ravens may have the single worst WR corps from top to bottom in the entire NFL, and they did nothing to make it better. Flacco’s big contract has crippled the Ravens, but at least they got a Super Bowl out of it.
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