Boston Three Party: The Dynasty Impact of Antonio Brown signing in New England
Wow.
What an unbelievable day full of twists and turns. After being released by the Raiders, I really believed Antonio Brown would have to wait a bit until finding his next team. Instead, he quickly agreed to a one-year contract with New England worth up to $15 million with a $9 million signing bonus. While I listed the Patriots as a possibility earlier today, I really didn’t believe it could happen. While New England has had some great success with veteran players who have burned bridges like Corey Dillon, Wes Welker and Randy Moss. They’ve also struck out with malcontents like Chad Ochocinco and a host of others. After an off-season where many wondered just who Tom Brady would throw to, the Patriots all of a sudden have a projected starting receiving corps consisting of Brown, Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon – on paper, that’s scary for defenses, This is a whole new ballgame, though, as Brown’s antics are becoming that of legend. Regardless, this move has a massive impact in dynasty leagues on several players.
Let’s run down the players affected.
Antonio Brown, WR NE
Unreal. Brown gets his third chance with the NFL’s most successful (and likely most despised) franchise. While many players have been brought in to be an explosive element the Patriots have been missing since Randy Moss left, Brown is the first legitimate player who has the physical ability to do what Moss did. Now, do I think that will happen? No, I clearly do not. However, this is about as good a landing spot as Brown could have hoped for. He’ll be the deep threat the Patriots really needed and we’re going to see just how much Brady has left in the tank this season as he’ll have no shortage of weapons at his disposal. Brown immediately vaults back into the WR1 discussion. However, I’m going to go on record saying I’d sell Brown as fast as humanly possible if he posts a few good games. I just don’t see this as a match made in heaven as Brown’s me-first attitude and need for the spotlight has a chance to wear on New England in short order. At least it seems he’s being classy about it as he posted this below on social media. It certainly looks like he’s a changed man, right?
Josh Gordon, WR NE
I’m personally rooting for Gordon as a person more than a player. He has some demons that have obviously been very difficult to manage. On the plus side, maybe Gordon won’t feel quite as much pressure with Brown in the picture as the clear lead dog in the receiving corps. It could also give him some great opportunities as defenses key in on Brown. I see Gordon being downgraded a touch to the WR2/3 level with the addition of Brown, but it’s also anyone’s guess as to which of these two players will actually last the longest on the roster. This is as volatile a receiver room as there’s ever been. Expect Gordon’s ADP to dip slightly with this news.
Julian Edelman, WR NE
You could make a case that Edelman could lose some value with Brown in tow. I have a hard time believing he’s going to lose much, if any. Edelman is Tom Brady’s safety valve and that shouldn’t change too much. While there are a ton of mouths to feed suddenly with the Patriots, Edelman should still be able to put up his typical PPR numbers. He can be downgraded a touch, but I wouldn’t be overreacting much,
Phillip Dorsett, WR NE
If there’s a loser in this deal, it’s likely Dorsett. He’s going to find snaps and targets really hard to come by if Gordon, Brown and Edelman are all healthy, sober and non-dramatic. At this point, he’s a pretty tough hold in dynasty leagues.
Demaryius Thomas, WR NE
Thomas was cut, then brought back last week after shining in the Patriots last preseason game. It’s going to be interesting to see just how New England handles this situation as Thomas won’t be thrilled spending the last season or two he has on the bench. Your amazing stat of the day comes from 2013 when Josh Gordon led the NFL in receiving yards, Antonio Brown was second and guess who was fourth? Yep. Demaryius Thomas. Amazing the Patriots have been able to get all these players under one roof and re-tooled what looked to be a pretty poor receiving corps. I wouldn’t be stunned if Thomas ends up eventually being the odd man out. He’s a tough hold in dynasty leagues at the moment, despite an amazing career. His path to meaningful snaps looks tough right now.
Cameron Meredith, WR NE
He just keeps getting buried on the depth chart and still doesn’t look healthy. His dynasty value is hanging by a thread.
N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers, WRs NE
Meyers lit the fantasy world by storm this off-season and remains a strong hold in dynasty leagues. Unfortunately, he’s going to be fighting for scraps at the moment. As for Harry, this is another disappointing development for the highly touted rookie. It seems apparent this is going to be a major redshirt year for him.
Tom Brady, QB NE
He might play until he’s 50. If things go well, he’s in line for a great season.
Rob Gronkowski, TE FA
Can you imagine?
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
