This free agency we have seen wild moves from across the league that left us all in shock. From blockbuster trades to massive free-agent deals, major changes will completely shake up our predictions heading into this upcoming season. Let’s break down the most notable winners and losers from this offseason.
Winners
Will Levis
During Levis’ 9 games last season, he was sacked 28 times. His offensive line was one of the weakest points of the Titan’s season as they gave up the 5th most sacks with 64 for the entire season. The biggest issues were their tackles and center. They addressed their issue at center by adding Lloyd Cushenberry with a big payday. He allowed only one sack last year and was one of the bright spots on the Broncos’ offensive line last year. The Titans also added a major playmaker in Calvin Ridley. Ridley will take over as the WR1 on the depth chart moving DeAndre Hopkins down the depth chart creating an elite one-two punch at the receiver position.
Tennessee will also likely be addressing the tackle position in the draft as well, which will help boost one of the worst offensive lines from last season. These additions would give Levis the tools he needs for a potentially elite fantasy quarterback. He should be on people’s radars for a late-round league winner.
Drake London & Kyle Pitts
The Falcons have finally found their quarterback! After a lot of inconsistency and change at the position, the Falcons have brought in Kirk Cousins to lead their offense. This is major news for the young Falcons pass catchers in Drake London and Kyle Pitts. Last season, London had a relatively quiet season putting up 69 catches for 905 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, he had those 69 catches on 110 targets putting up a 62.7% catch rate. Having a consistent quarterback in Cousins, London is looking to turn all those targets into catches and reach that 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. Looking at Pitts, Cousins has always targeted his tight ends. Before Cousins’ season-ending injury, T.J. Hockenson was the TE4. Will this finally be the year we see Pitts live up to the hype?
George Pickens
With the departure of Diontae Johnson, Pickens is left as the clear WR1 in Pittsburgh and will no longer have to fight for those targets. Looking at last season, Pickens had 63 catches for 1,140 yards while Johnson had 51 catches for only 717 yards. Pickens was much more productive with his targets and if he’s given those targets, we could easily see Pickens finishing top 10 in receiving yards next season. His biggest downside is we don’t know who will be throwing him the ball next year. Wilson has been said to be the Week 1 starter, but that can change very fast and could lead to some inconsistency.
Losers
Nico Collins
Last season, Nico Collins was a draft-day steal, finishing his breakout season as the WR9. However, this breakout season is looking more likely to be an anomaly with the addition of Stefon Diggs. Diggs comes into this wide receiver room as the clear WR1 as he looks to return as a top 5 wide receiver after a down year in Buffalo.
Collins also has to worry about a healthy Tank Dell returning and snatching that WR2 position. In the 4 games leading up to Dell’s season-ending injury, Dell outtargetted Collins in all 3 of the 4 games. Dell’s partnership with C.J. Stroud blossomed as the year went on which will likely leave Collins as the WR3 heading into the season.
QBs Losing Their WRs
Both the Chargers and Bills underwent major changes during this offseason. Unfortunately for Justin Herbert and Josh Allen, they have been left by their go to targets and will now try to find their replacements. While these teams will likely be addressing their receiver issues in the draft, as of right now, these quarterbacks may struggle without having an elite go to target.
After a disappointing loss in the Divisional Round, the Bills underwent major change on both ends of the ball. This included losing both their WR1 and WR2 in the forms of Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. These two accounted for 41.6% percent of the team’s targets last season leaving a major hole in their passing game. After free agency, Khalil Shakir and newly acquired Curtis Samuel are the two tasked to fill these holes in their receiver room. Josh Allen will likely have to rely on his tight ends in Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox.
Justin Herbert and the Chargers had a major underperforming season finishing with a 5-12 record. This led to both personnel and organizational changes in the form of a new coach and GM. Herbert saw his WR1, Keenan Allen, and WR2, Mike Williams, get traded and cut respectively. Losing these two pass catchers and Austin Ekeler in the same offseason meant the Chargers had lost 42.9% of their total yards from last season. Luckily, Gus Edwards was brought in to fill the hole left by Ekeler, but Ekeler’s impact in the passing game will be missed. Herbert will look towards Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnson to step up into these roles.
We can’t wait for you to join us on SmashUp next year with some added strategy based on these winners and losers!