The 2013 fantasy football off-season has begun. You have to pay close attention to everything in order to stay on top of your dynasty league. For most of us, we do well to steal some time away from our families and jobs to watch the games on Sunday. It becomes difficult to monitor the daily happenings around the league and even more demanding to process how that news affects your dynasty team.
That’s why we’re here!
Now that we’ve entered the off-season, the next few months will be filled with rumors. Much of the “news” will be speculation about the futures of individual players. While this can be important, it can also be a challenge to determine the validity of certain reports. I will included many of these reports and share my opinion about how the player’s value might be affected, for better or worse.
Here is a quick look at the events of the past week and how they impact the players on your team:
Brandon Lloyd, WR FA
In a move that surprised nobody, the New England Patriots released wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, who despite some impressive statistics had a disappointing season for the Patriots, including some off the field concerns. Lloyd is already 31 and his dynasty value has evaporated. Most are still holding him on their roster with hopes he lands in a nice spot, but he may never be a fantasy starter level player again.
Donnie Avery, WR KC
Free agent wide receiver Donnie Avery signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and has already been named by local beat writers as the favorite to start alongside Dwayne Bowe. Avery was a solid, yet unspectacular option for both the Colts and fantasy owners last season. With his downgrade at quarterback from Andrew Luck to Alex Smith, it’s hard to envision his statistics improving.
Matt Hasselbeck, QB IND
Veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was released by the Titans and subsequently signed by the Indianapolis Colts. Hasselbeck will backup Andrew Luck and barring an injury will get little playing time. Hasselbeck has proven during his time as a backup that he can step in and have success. While it was a very smart signing for the Colts, he only has dynasty value in the deepest of leagues.
Tim Tebow, QB NYJ
It has been well known the Jets and backup quarterback Tim Tebow would be parting ways this off-season and he has been on the trade block with no known suitors. Now, there are unsurprising reports that Tebow will be released if the Jets cannot find a trade partner. A season ago, only the Jets and Jaguars were interested in Tebow and the Jags seem to have lost interest, even with the potential affect he could have on ticket sales. Tebow is maintaining a slight bit of dynasty value as he is rostered in many leagues I am involved with or follow, but it might be time for him to consider a position switch if he can find a team willing to take a shot on him.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB TEN
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, recently released by the Buffalo Bills, has signed with the Tennessee Titans to serve as Jake Locker’s backup. Titans coach Mike Munchak has already made it clear that Fitzpatrick will not threaten for Locker’s starting job. Many dynasty owners had already given up on Fitzpatrick as a fantasy option and he had tumbled down rankings. Even though Locker has been somewhat of a disappointment early in his career, Fitzpatrick offers very little upside for dynasty owners. He should only be rostered by Locker owners, and maybe not even in that case.
Devin Hester, WR CHI
Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman revealed this week that Devin Hester would return to an exclusive role as a returner and would not be used as a wide receiver. Hester was given a shot as a pass catcher over the past few years, but mostly because the team was desperate for wide receiver help. Now, they have Brandon Marshall dominating targets and youngster Alshon Jeffery to go along with new tight end Martellus Bennett. Unless you are awarded points for return yardage, Hester belongs on your waiver wire, though he was likely there already with his poor performance at wide receiver.
Drew Stanton, QB ARI
Newly signed quarterback Drew Stanton is reportedly the frontrunner to start for new head coach Bruce Arians and the Arizona Cardinals. Arians has repeatedly praised Stanton every chance he’s gotten and seems content with the quarterback depth chart. The connection between Stanton and Arians is clear as they were both with the Colts last season, so he is familiar with the offensive system the Cardinals will have in place.
Arrelious Benn, WR PHI
Wide receiver Arrelious Benn was traded by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a swap of late round picks. Benn has struggled in his time in Tampa, but at only 24 years old and now with a chance at a fresh start, Benn should be given a shot at playing time. While he would clearly play behind DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, there have been trade rumors about both of those players. The Eagles also wasted no time in extending Benn’s contract an additional year through 2014. Likely to be found on the waiver wire in most leagues, Benn is worth stashing for the next few weeks in case one of the Eagles’ veterans is dealt.
Follow @RyanMc23 on Twitter
Loading ...
So if Avery is supposed to start, does that mean that Baldwin is pretty much value-less in KC? It’s not like Alex Smith is going to be supporting 3 WRs…
I agree regarding Smith/KC offense supporting 3 WRs- I don’t see that happening. Baldwin is clearly more talented than Avery, but that may not matter if he is already on Reid’s bad side. I have been recommending Baldwin as a good buy low, but with Bowe returning to KC and Smith at QB, I would avoid Baldwin.
I would associate Baldwin’s worth to that of ANY Scott Pioli draft pick. Every single one of them is worthless including Eric Berry. All that non-sense about drafting high character guys lol the only guy that might be worth anything at all is Justin Houston who had questions about his character but he slid to the mid rounds so Pioli took a chance on him. Man Pioli gave us just 4 attrocious years of football. Even the year we made the playoffs the team was just awful and boring…last year you couldn’t even see “good football” when you went to a game because the Chiefs were so talentless that they brought out the worst in the visiting teams ala the Ravens whopping 9-6 victory. I would rather lose with excitement like the Saints anyday than make the playoffs looking like the Chiefs did in 2010.
i tried to trade Baldwin and D. Thomas for DHB this week. the owner wanted nothing to do with Baldwin. I think his Andy Reid Fantasy value has come and gone with in a month. SAD!
Baldwin is a bust. Reid has already made the right read on JB.
That is surprising. Today, I moved Baldwin for the 2.06 rookie pick. I think he still has potential, but I’m not willing to wait on him.
So if there are trade rumors about Maclin and Jackson moving from Philly, is that a likely improvement in their projections or not? After Vick gets hurt I assume the next quarterback will be mediocre at best. But given the rather large number of bad QBs in the league, is it statistically more likely either goes up or down?
Anyway, hope you get the gist of the question and have an informed opinion.
I would be very surprised if either actually got moved. I think Jackson is being somewhat overrated based on the expectations of the Kelly offense. The truth is, we won’t know until we see it in action.
Vick is likely to miss some games, but with Foles and a rookie likely coming in, there could be decent options. I would not feel good about investing too much into either Maclin or DJax right now though.
Yikes…one of the most boring weekly updates since November…hopefully news picks up, these guys are all scrubs!!
Keep up the great work though even in lousy weeks…haha…
I have the option to franchise one player. The other will be a RFA. Knowshon Moreno or James Jones. I was originally thinking Jone particularly with Jennings leaving. However now I am considering Moreno due to the higher value on RB’s.
Franchise Jones, even if he cannot duplicate the TD’s numbers , he still will catch passes from Rodgers and earned the trust of his QB. Cobb will be moved all over the field and even be used from the backfield, Nelson is a fieldstrecher, to get him the ball, Rodgers needs more time, which the O-Line still won’t give him , that was the reason for Nelson somehow poor stats last year. i do not think Packers will improve their O-Line dramatically. Packers let Jennings leave. They must feel confident in Jones.
Moreno had some nice games for the Broncos last season, he steped up nicely when McGahee went down, but still he was not that impressive at all, too slow , his lateral movements lacks quickness. The Broncos seem not too high on him.
If you could have Moreno as your RFA, you still got the shot to retain him , if you are sold on him.
Well all said regarding whom to franchise or to tag RFA, depends on your league’s set up, rules and prices of franchising and how the RFA will be handled.
If Franchising Jones would cost you like a top 10 WR, than i won’t do it……!!!
Jon Baldwin would fit in great with Indy, Baltimore, or St Louis. Pump some balls his direction in the preseason and get second for him. Andy knows what hes doing, who the hell am I? Back to my beer