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By Matt Morrison (@dynastyjerk)
If you tuned in two weeks ago, you read my Top 10 Free Agents for 2023 article. In it, I listed my favorite free agents for the upcoming off-season, and I also gave a short write up about each player. Today, I will continue in that same mindset as I talk about some of the high profile players who I didn’t mention in my last article.
Both of these articles are not a complete list. There will be many more free agents who I talk about in the coming months, but don’t list today. I’m just starting by giving a broad view of the most sought after players. But before I do that, let me talk about my thoughts on the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl
By the time you are reading this article, the big game will have already been played. That’s okay. Sometimes, I think it’s fun to read predictions and pre-analysis after watching whatever game the writer is talking about. That being said, I am writing this article on Wednesday February 8th. The current betting line is Eagles -1.5 with an Over/Under of 51 points.
If I were a betting man (which I am not), I would stay away from both the spread and the Over/Under. A total of 51 points is a massive amount to put up and any stalling by either offense for a period of time could end the over bet pretty quick. That mixed with the fact that it would just not be fun to root against scoring in the Super Bowl makes me scared of the total.
The one thing I am somewhat confident in with this game is the Eagles money line. I like the Eagles to win this game, but I am not confident they will win by more than 1 point. The Eagles have better offensive weapons coupled with a much better defense. I look for Philadelphia to win their second Super Bowl in the past six years with Jalen Hurts ($1,506,292) winning the MVP.
More NFC Free Agents
Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield ($18,858,000) comes in as a top player I am tracking this off-season. His QB30 finish on the season is both a function of his inconsistent play as well as the fact that he changed teams. I don’t expect him to re-sign with the Rams in 2023, but I’m also undecided on where he should or could land. Wherever he goes, don’t be surprised if he is a backup to start the season, and also don’t be surprised if he costs you less than $10,000,000.
Jimmy Garoppolo
Garoppolo ($7,000,000) may be a little less exciting than Baker, but his range of possible outcomes is vast. He has the chance to return as the 49ers’ starting quarterback or as the backup quarterback again. He could also explore free agency and pretty quickly be picked up by a QB needy team. There are so many moving parts, and the first one is that San Francisco has three starting caliber quarterbacks. I would say that it’s likely one will be gone before the start of the 2023 season.
If I had to take a guess right now, I would say that Trey Lance ($8,526,319) is the starter next season and Brock Purdy ($934,252) is the backup. This is just a gut feeling I have. I realize that the 49ers could easily trade Lance for picks in the upcoming NFL draft and roll into the season with Garoppolo and Purdy as their two QBs. Regardless, Jimmy is probably going to get paid as a competent quarterback this off-season (because that’s what he is). Look for a salary of over $30,000,000 per year.
Jamaal Williams
Williams ($3,000,000) is a player who I am less interested in if he does not return to the Lions this season. He has carved out an amazing role for himself that I’m just not sure every team would give him. If he returns to Detroit, I would expect similar usage as in 2022, but I would bet on the touchdown number dropping off a bit. D’Andre Swift ($2,134,728) obviously gets a massive dynasty boost if Williams does depart. I have Williams making $6,000,000 per year. This is still nice value for the RB13 last season.
Allen Lazard
Allen Lazard ($3,986,000) makes this list by default. I have talked about this in past articles, but this wide receiver free agent class is not the greatest. Lazard is one of the top wide receivers despite never getting close to a 1,000 yard season. He was on a one-year tender in 2022 which brought his salary to probably a little less than what he should have earned. That will not be the case this season. I like Lazard to command north of $10,000,000 per year no matter what team he ends up on. I’d say an Marquez Valdes-Scantling-type contract (3 years – $30,000,000) is close to what Lazard will receive.
Dalton Schultz
Schultz ($10,931,000) has been a fan favorite of mine for the past three seasons. He has been on my BETA league roster ever since the inaugural draft. The 26 year old had a fine showing last season (134.4 Dynasty Owner fantasy points) although it wasn’t as dominant as in 2021 (208.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). Schultz essentially missed three games in 2022 and still posted a Top 12 tight end finish. Yes, I know that being a Top 12 tight end isn’t the greatest finish in the world, especially for a $10,000,000 plus player. However, like I said, he was injured for part of the season.
I have little doubt in my mind that Schultz will return to Dallas on a multi-year contract. This new contract will put him up with the league leaders for tight end contracts. The only way I can describe it is by putting the contract comparisons up next to him.
- Mark Andrews: 4 years – $56,000,000
- Dallas Goedert: 4 years – $57,000,000
- Travis Kelce: 4 years – $57,250,000
The fact is that this is the going rate for tight ends at this point in NFL history. Do I think Schultz will reset the tight end market? No, I don’t. But I do fully believe that he will become one of the top five highest paid tight ends in the game.
Conclusion
I thank you all for reading, and keep in mind that I will be talking about all of these players again as well as new players in the upcoming months. If there is any player that you would like me to talk about more, please send me a message, and I’ll do a full spotlight on that player.
Message me on Twitter (@dynastyjerk) and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I would appreciate it if you followed @Dynasty_Owner on Twitter as well as subscribed to Dynasty Owner on YouTube. Thank you all. Take care and be safe.
TheJerk