The fantasy football offseason began with the start of NFL free agency. This column is intended to be a one-stop tool for quickly analyzing the most important player movements – trades and signings of free agents, including those who have re-signed with their teams.
Sportzshala fantasy writers Tristan H. Cockcroft, Eric Carabelle, Liz Loza, and Eric Moody share their take on what every move means for player fantasy value in 2023. columns.
DJ Moore moved to Bears
Fantasy influence: positive
Moore becomes the main target of Justin Fields. In relative terms, that’s not bad, given the revolving door of the mediocre passers-by he worked with in the Carolinas. Fields’ passing game may still be evolving, but he raises Moore’s statistical ceiling, even if they have more variance than the average QB-WR duo. The Moore becomes the WR2 midrange and the Fields QB1 body is strengthened.
However, Moore’s arrival eats up most of the Bears’ pie, making Chase Claypool and Darnell Mooney more depth-oriented matchups, while tight Cole Kmet should win but be at greater risk of occasional quiet play. We’ll see how this Bears offense plays out under Fields, but I still like Claypool’s advantage against Mooney’s weaker defense. — Cockcroft
Derek Carr signs with Saints
Fantasy Impact: Neutral
Carr is well-suited to play on the Saints’ offense, and in 2021 he is only one season away from throwing for 4,804 yards and 23 touchdowns. While he has a chance to repeat that result in 2023, even in this strong season, he is ranked 14th among fantasy quarterbacks. In fact, Carr has never been in the top 10 in fantasy points.
Chris Olav is by far the player who has benefited the most from Carr’s arrival. Olave had 1,042 receiving yards and four touchdowns as a rookie, with Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston at center. Carr will try to use Olaf’s ability to attack the defense vertically. Last season, Carr led the league in touchdowns on passes from 30 or more yards. — Moody
Jimmy Garoppolo signed with the Raiders
Fantasy Impact: Neutral
After six years in San Francisco, Garoppolo will reunite with Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas. Despite an average of 7.9 YPAs, in 2022 the seasoned signalman only scored fantastic 15.0 points per game (QB19 among qualifiers). In Vegas, he is unlikely to be as effective, but given the talent surrounding the team, his production figures will remain unchanged. In a largely sideways move, the Raiders’ players in skill positions, chief Davante Adams among them, should not be relegated given the change in QB. After a season-ending foot injury, Jimmy G remains a QB2 middleweight for super flex goals. — Danger
Source: www.espn.com
