The beginning of Free Agency was hectic, as usual. I was glued to Twitter, waiting on Adam Schefter’s latest tweet. Even though a lot happened, there’s still many questions that need to be answered in the coming weeks. Lamar Jackson’s future is still up in the air, veteran backs like Joe Mixon, Leonard Fournette and Ezekiel Elliot still need to sign somewhere after being released, and why in the world someone has not signed Deandre Hopkins to a nice deal is a little beyond me.
But we do have things to discuss. These are my biggest takeaways so far. A mega-trade leads to a QB adding a terrific weapon, a social media star is sent to Fantasy Purgatory, and prayers are answered in Dallas. Let’s get to it.
Embed from Getty ImagesJUSTIN FIELDS GETS A MUCH-NEEDED WEAPON
Last year, I think there was a large sigh of relief from people like me, who were begging the Chicago Bears to use Justin Fields like he was meant to be used. The man is 6’3” and nearly 230 pounds of pure muscle. He’s also fast as hell; and when he took off on the first long touchdown run about halfway through the season, (it was as if the heavens opened up and the angels began singing because one thing was very clear: Justin Fields has a gift.
And while that rushing ability gives his fantasy outlook elite upside, his lack of passing options and opportunities makes him look unrefined and untrustworthy. I argue that this is unfair to put all of this on Fields. His pass-catchers – aside from Darnell Mooney – are a who’s who of unknown guys who do not have the ability or talent to help Fields out. Sorry Chase Claypool stands, it’s like Fetch – it’s never going to happen. (Whoever gets that Mean Girls reference, I think we should be friends.)
But now the Bears received a great haul for their Number 1 pick, including D.J Moore. The former Carolina Panthers star is a huge upgrade for Fields. Not only does Moore have great hands, but he’s got one key thing that I think will benefit the Bears as a whole: he gets a lot of yards after the catch. Moore is a slippery guy that fights for every yard and breaks tackles constantly. He makes things happen.
For the Bears to do this, I think that it means that they are serious about keeping Justin Fields, and they’re going to try to give him as many weapons as he needs to maximize his potential. Oh, I’m so excited for his upcoming season. We could see our new Fantasy QB1.
JUJU SMITH-SHUSTER GETS SENT TO PURGATORY
Hot take: The Patriots are where decent-to-middling skill players, and therefore fantasy values, go to die.
Don’t believe me? Remember when Nelson Agholor was with the Raiders and was Derek Carr’s arguable top option and was thriving? He was then immediately traded to the Patriots and nobody has heard his name since. He went from 896 yards and 8 touchdowns in one year, to 835 yards and five touchdowns in two years combined.
Devante Parker is another example: after his breakout year is 2019 (this was about the time everyone had given up on him) with the Dolphins – nearly 1300 yards and 9 touchdowns – we all thought that Parker was the guy. Even with several injuries and missed games, his next season was very serviceable. 2021 was an eh year for him, but that’s what happens when you can’t get on the field. Now at New England, he’s rocking just over 500 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Which brings me to Juju Smith-Shuster. Sure, he hasn’t been very good for several years now. I get that. But last year was different. Last year was, dare I say, hopeful. On an offense like Kansas City, where you have the best QB in the league throwing 40 times a game, there’s opportunity there. In 2022 he had 78 catches and almost 1000 yards. HOPE, DAMN IT, HOPE! Less Tik-Toks, more production. But now he’s in New England with Mac Jones/Bailey Zappe throwing to him and a run-first offense, so expect 45 catches, 485 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 500 Tik-Toks.
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TONY POLLARD, RB 1 SEASON
I got so much crap from my league-mates in one of my most important leagues because I traded for Tony Pollard. They said Zeke’s better. I said watch the film. Tony Pollard passes the eye test. They pushed back saying I was dumb and I didn’t know anything.
So I watched Pollard be incredibly efficient with his 8 rushes a game until Ezekiel Elliot got hurt…and the legend of Tony Pollard was born. Suddenly everybody was talking about how Pollard is amazing and he’s so much better than Zeke and I waited for an apology to come my way. It never did, but the feeling of being so right and knowing that they knew I was right was delightful.
https://www.dallascowboys.com/video/tony-pollard-top-plays-2022-season
The only downside was Jerry Jones’s utter infatuation with Zeke. Even while fans were begging him to let Pollard be the RB1, he was adamant about Zeke coming back and slightly lowering Pollard’s high ceiling. But something finally got to him because the Cowboys released Zeke and Pollard, for now, is alone.
Last year, even with splitting carries with Zeke, he put up numbers like 1007 yards and 9 touchdowns, averaging 5.2 yards a carry. Not to mention he only had 193 rushing attempts. As long as the Cowboys don’t draft Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs, I’m confident that Tony Pollard will have a stupendous year. He’s one of my favorite draft picks, no matter what round.
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