Initial reactions to trades and free agency signings.
Denver Broncos:
Melvin Gordon: I like this move for Austin Ekeler’s fantasy stock; he moves up as a capable workhorse who balled out during Gordon’s holdout. Ekeler averaged 26.75 fantasy points a game during the first four weeks.
For Gordon, it doesn’t really move the needle either way for me. He’ll come in and likely take over as the workhorse back in Denver with Phillip Lindsay splitting touches out the backfield. Both are capable of catching out the backfield and will be good safety valves for young Drew Lock. Gordon stays in a similar split/situation as last year.
Los Angeles Chargers:
Austin Ekeler: Love this man. He way outperformed expectations and pushed to become the starter after being overlooked as an undrafted rookie. I had my doubts that such a small back could handle the RB1 workload, but his receiving chops boosted his fantasy points to 26.75 fantasy points a game. Chargers are likely to add another back but if they stay with the two main backs on the roster, we’ve seen Ekeler outperform Justin Jackson as the main guy and post top 5 numbers. He’s unlikely to maintain that success but capable of top 13 RB. He was the second most targeted running back in the league last year, but this year he will have a new QB. I think he will still be heavily targeted because he is masterful at that skill set.
Hunter Henry: They tagged the talented yet injury-prone TE. That was the right move for the Chargers. The offense and defense are an impressive collection of talent. Henry and Ekeler will likely serve as safety valves for a rookie QB after the draft. Both should maintain above-average options at their positions, just outside of top tier though.
Not a direct fantasy target, but I love the moves of trading for guard Trai Turner and signing cornerback Chris Harris. This defense will be scary good and get the ball back to the offense quicker. They struggled at the line, being one of the worst in the league, so Turner helps improve there. This roster is well developed, the QB and O-line are the biggest missing pieces.
Kansas City Chiefs:
Damien Williams: The team picked up his 2020 contract option. If he stays the only back in town his upside is a game-changer. But this was the same upside we were chasing all year last year. After putting it together during the playoffs and being the best offensive player in the Super Bowl, besides Patrick Mahomes, I find myself chasing that hype train again. The Chiefs are rumored to draft a RB though, and if they invest in a top-end RB then Williams upside will be stipend again.
Las Vegas Raiders:
Marcus Mariota: Hopefully, this signing will push Derek Carr to take more risks. His play has always been too conservative, but I do feel bad because he had a lack of weapons. I truly believe Antonio Brown would have changed the way we look at Carr. That being said, neither QB is worth playing in fantasy and both should do enough for their offensive playmakers to succeed. Darren Waller and Josh Jacobs remain my favorite playmakers on the offense, look for Jacobs to catch even more this year.
Jason Witten: As stated above, I love Waller’s talent and Jason Witten won’t cut into that. He is a depth signing toward the end of his career that won’t make much of a fantasy impact. More of a TD vulture if anything.