This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
By: Matt “TheJerk” Morrison (@DynastyJerk)
Free agency opened and has been open for a full week. We have a lot to talk about since my last article so I’m going to get started. Let’s get into some of the biggest free agent signings…
The News
There will no doubt be players that I leave off of this article, but that probably means I didn’t deem them “rosterable” in Dynasty Owner leagues. There is also the chance that I had an oversight on a player or two, so please let me know if you think there is anyone that I missed. You can contact me on Twitter @DynastyJerk. These contracts will be arranged by total salary in order of highest to lowest.
Kenny Golladay
Golladay had a season to forget in 2020. He played in only four games but averaged 16.5 fantasy points per game. He looks to slide in as the Giants #1 wide receiver on a 4 year – 72-million-dollar contract.
Jonnu Smith
Jonnu is leaving the AFC South champion Titans, and he will be joining the Patriots who are in desperate need of a pass catcher, even if he is a tight end. Smith will receive a hefty salary increase of 4 years for 50 million dollars. At 12.5 million dollars per year, he becomes the tight end with the third highest salary. It’ll be roughly sledding ahead for Smith owners, but you may not be able to let him go given the tight end scarcity.
Hunter Henry
Speaking of expensive New England tight ends, let’s see what Hunter Henry signed for…He worked out a contract that is worth exactly the same as Jonnu, per year. He signed a 37.5-million-dollar salary over 3 years. Henry is only one year older than Smith, if you can believe it, and it remains to be seen which tight end will be the most productive for New England. For what it’s worth, my money is on Jonnu.
Corey Davis
As many of you know, I was low on Davis coming into 2020. Well, I think I’m even lower on him this year. It’s tough for me to imagine he can be valued at a 12.5-million-dollar salary. As my friend Dave Brady said, “I guess 2 great games and 3 ok games in a contract year really pays off.” While I may disagree with his definitions of “great” or “ok” games, I completely agree with his statement. It often happens that a player gets hot in a single year or hot in a string of games at the end of the season, and it earns them a bigger contract than they deserve. Right or wrong, it happens. Regardless, Davis will look to bring hope to the rebuilding Jets. The deal is 3 year – 37.5 million dollars.
Curtis Samuel
Samuel has the second highest new contract of any wide receiver, so far. He will be a Football Team? Football Teamer? Let’s just say he will play for the Washington Football Team. His contract is 3 years – 34.5 million dollars or 11.5 million dollars per year. I like this landing spot, and I think this contract is right on the money, but I can’t help but thinking that there are a lot of scenarios where Curtis doesn’t return value at this number. I’m not really sure why I feel pessimistic about his situation, but I think it has something to with the fact that he is the #2 on a team that doesn’t know who their starting quarterback is yet. I will be holding him in my BETA league, but I don’t blame anyone who has to drop him out of necessity.
Nelson Agholor
Agholor had a fairly successful 2020 with Las Vegas. This season was enough for New England to spend yet another high price on a pass catcher. Agholor looks to become the Patriots #1 wide receiver on an 11 million dollar per year contract. Believe it or not, this will not be last new New England pass catcher we talk about.
Allen Robinson
Robinson signed his nearly 18-million-dollar franchise tag last week. I would bet that this is only a placeholder until him and the Bears can come to an agreement on a long-term contract. Expect another Top 10 season from Robinson, especially if he keeps the same quarterback all season long.
Kendrick Bourne
Bourne didn’t receive the largest contract, but he signed for the second most years of any newly signed player. A reliable possession and red zone receiver, Bourne is the fourth “semi-high” value pass catcher that the Patriots have recently signed. The contract is 3 years – 15 million dollars. For those of you keeping track at home, that’s more than 124 million dollars contracted to offensive weapons.
Chris Carson
Carson surprisingly resigned with the Seahawks. After he wasn’t franchised, I wrongly assumed that he would walk. It turns out that Seattle’s plan all along was to contract him for less money per year than a franchise tag would have cost ($11,112,000). Carson signed for a steal to the tune of 2 years – 10.425 million dollars. I really like Carson these next couple of years.
Marvin Jones
Jones finished as WR52 thanks to an above average touchdown rate. (Jones caught 9 touchdowns on only 76 receptions). 9 touchdowns is tied for 10th among all receivers. Look for Jones to immediately contend for the receiving touchdown leader on his new team, the Jaguars. Jones also brings a veteran presence to a generally young receiving core. 6.25 million dollars per year is not bad value for a high upside touchdown player like him.
Kyle Rudolph
Rudolph signed a 2 year – 12-million-dollar contract with the New York Giants. He joins a crowded tight end committee with Evan Engram and Kaden Smith. A 6-million-dollar price point is much more affordable than last season, but it still may be tough buy given the completion for targets.
Ryan Succop
Succop signed a 3 year – 12-million-dollar contract with the Buccaneers. No surprise here as this contract is right on par with the league averages. Expect him to be dropped in many leagues.
Kenyan Drake
Drake was one of my most anticipated signings of this offseason. Unfortunately for me, and other Josh Jacobs’ owners, he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. Drake immediately becomes one of the most valuable handcuffs in all of fantasy football. With his 2 year – 11-million-dollar salary, he should be acquired by every Jacobs owner. I would say that you should trade for him, but he has been dropped in a fair amount of leagues so check the waiver wire first.
Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andy Dalton
I lumped both of these veteran quarterbacks into one section as they have the same salary: 1 year – 10 million dollars. Fitz went to Washington and Dalton went to Chicago. The truth is that Dalton has a much more favorable situation and that is solely based on the fact that he has been told he will be the starting quarterback. Fitz will have to compete for the starting job which obviously makes his situation more dubious. It’s also worth mentioning thay Dalton is 5 years younger than Fitz.
Rob Gronkowski
Gronk, as expected, has resigned with the World Champion Bucs. If you owned and kept him last year, you can keep him in 2021 for 2 million dollars less (1 year – 8 million dollars). He quietly finished as a Top 10 tight end so he is a solid “keep candidate.”
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Another player that is surprisingly rejoining his team is JuJu. Like Carson, after JuJu wasn’t franchised, I assumed that he would walk, especially given the Steelers cap limits. JuJu comes back to the Steel City on a single year contract worth 8 million dollars. Expect a better finish than WR32.
Emmanuel Sanders
We have a quartet of verteran pass catchers that will be on 1 year – 6 million dollar contracts in 2021. The first one is Manny Sanders. Sanders signed with the Bills and will provide a solid replacement for John Brown. He’s lost a step and will not be the burner that Brown was, but he’s a solid possession receiver in addition to Diggs and Beasley.
A.J. Green
Green is 32 years old and is ready to continue his career for a new team. That team is the Arizona Cardinals. 1 year – 6 million. It’s almost unexplainable that Green had five games with zero catches. He played in those five games. He was targeted in all five games, but he was unable to secure a catch in those games. Quarterback play is without a doubt a main factor for this stat, but we will see if AJ can restart his career with one of the best young quarterbacks in the game.
Gerald Everett
Everett also signed for 1 year – 6 million. He signed with the Seattle Seahawks. It’s too early to tell what this move means for his dynasty outlook.
Jared Cook
Cook is the final player I want to talk about with a 1 year – 6-million-dollar salary. He signed with the Chargers. While I don’t like his projections compared to what Hunter Henry would have done, I will be interested to see what he can do with Justin Herbert. His age (soon to be 34) is also a long-term concern.
Mike Davis
I love this signing, and it’s mostly due to the fact that I own Davis in both my DO leagues. Davis signed a 2 year – 5.5-million-dollar contract with the Atlanta Falcons. While I still believe that the Falcons will add more running back depth, this move has to make Owners feel good about Davis.
Marlon Mack
Finally, we’ve come to a player that deserved more than he received. I mentioned Mack a few articles ago. I talked about how his injury would affect his new contract. Well, this is an injustice. Mack signing back with the Colts for 1 year – 2 million dollars is an absolute steal. This is bad for Mack, Mack owners and Taylor owners. Based on how JT finished the season, I see no chance that Mack is the day one starter.
Quick Hitters
Time for the lightning round. These are players worth mentioning, but don’t need a full write up.
Matt Prater: 2 years – 7 mil, Signed with Arizona
Dan Arnold: 2 year – 6 mil, Signed with Carolina
Jamaal Williams: 2 year – 6 mil, Signed with Detroit
Williams will be the second string running back at best. Swift is the best overall back followed by Johnson.
Keelan Cole: 1 year – 5.5 mil, Signed with NYJ
Devontae Booker: 2 year – 5.5 mil, Signed with NYG
I actually like this spot for Booker. Not that I like Booker himself, but I think he can find himself a nice back up/complementary role to Saquon.
Jacoby Brissett: 1 year – 5 mil, Signed with Miami
David Moore: 2 year – 4.75 mil, Signed with Carolina
Carlos Hyde: 2 year – 4.5 mil, Signed with Jacksonville
Tyrell Williams: 1 year – 4 mil, Signed with Detroit
Williams no longer owns the award for most overpriced salary.
John Brown: 1 year – 3.75 mil, Signed with Las Vegas
An interesting signing by the Raiders. It looks like they are building a speed team.
Mo Alie-Cox: Second round tender – $3,384,000
Tim Patrick: Second round tender – $3,384,000
Phillip Lindsey: 1 year – 3.25 mil, Signed with HOU
This is an unfortunate landing spot for Lindsey. His talent will be buried on a depth chart that consists of David Johnson and Mark Ingram. Who knows…maybe he will emerge at the #2?
Breshard Perriman: 1 year – 3 mil, Signed with DET
Mitch Trubiski: 1 year – 2.5 mil, Signed with Buffalo
This is just a depth signing. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mitch gets cut in the preseason.
Lamar Miller: 1 year – $1,212,500, Signed with WFT
And that just about wraps up the most recent free agent adds. Before we go, I want to do two things. First, I purposely left off one of the biggest free agent signings. The player is Will Fuller. Afterall, this is a Houston Texans article.
Will Fuller
Fuller leaves Houston. He will join Tua and the Miami Dolphins. The deal is 1 year – $10,625,011. In 2020, Fuller was on his way to the best seasons of his career…Oh wait…Fuller did have the best season of his career despite missing 31% of the games. He put up 53 receptions, 879 yards and 8 touchdowns. I was going to expand this out for a 16-game season to show just how dominant Fuller was, but it would be a moot point as he will miss Week 1 of the 2021 season. As we know, this stems from a six-game suspension he was handed after he violated the NFL’s performance enhancing substance policy. Starting in Week 2, Fuller will bring a much-needed speed boost to the Dolphins receiving core who ranked 20th in passing yards per game in 2020.
Who’s Next?
Here are the top free agents still available.
- Larry Fitzgerald
- Golden Tate
- Sammy Watkins
- Todd Gurley
- Duke Johnson
- Tevin Coleman
- James White
- Matt Breida
- LeSean McCoy
- Adrian Peterson
- Frank Gore
- Le’Veon Bell
- Trey Burton
- Dede Weatbrook
- Allen Lazard
Free Agents I’m Most Excited About
- T.Y. Hilton
- Leonard Fournette
- Antonio Brown
- James Conner
Thank you for reading and be sure to watch the video that relates to this article. In my next article we will be starting a new division. Please follow us on Twitter @Dynasty_Owner and subscribe to Dynasty Owner on YouTube. Take care and be safe.
TheJerk