Fantasy Football 2022: Biggest Winners, Losers Amid NFL Free Agency
There are a handful of players now in better situations
The Jacksonville Jaguars have spent a ton, the AFC West has completely stolen the show and the Buffalo Bills beefed up the league’s best defense with edge rusher Von Miller.
There have been plenty of winners to go around during the first two days of NFL free agency, but the start of the league year also has had a trickle-down effect on fantasy football. There are a handful of players and offenses who find themselves in a better situation Thursday than they were in during 2021 campaign.
With that, we wanted to highlight some of the biggest winners and losers of the free agency period, specifically in regards to fantasy football.
Winners
Trevor Lawrence
The Jaguars second-year quarterback could reap the benefits of Jacksonville’s spending through the start of the free agency. The Jaguars franchise tagged offensive tackle Cam Robinson and signed free-agent guard Brandon Scherff. Additionally, Jacksonville added at the skill positions with wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones along with pass-catching tight end Evan Engram. Lawrence should be in store for a much better sophomore fantasy football season with head coach Doug Pederson there to replace Urban Meyer.
Joe Burrow
Remember how Burrow was sacked more times than any quarterback last season, ultimately hindering his individual production and thus his fantasy output? Yeah, well, the Bengals wisely tried to address that during the first week by adding a pair of offensive lineman in Alex Cappa and ex-Patriot lineman Ted Karras. Burrow has the weapons on the outside, and getting the blocking up front certainly could help make the game easier for the third-year quarterback.
James Conner
The Cardinals running back was re-signed in free agency to a profitable three-year deal while Chase Edmonds, Conner’s counterpart in the backfield last season, departed for the Dolphins. Conner completely took over the goal-line work during the 2021 season, but he’s officially become Arizona’s RB1 to stand alongside Kyler Murray. Conner will be viewed as a RB1 in 12-team fantasy football leagues.
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Russell Wilson
Wilson’s stock was never in question during his time with the Seahawks given that he had D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett as receiver options, but the star signal-caller now enters a better fantasy situation with the Denver Broncos. Wilson will have a strong complement of receivers — Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick — along with a running game headlined by Javonte Williams that keeps opposing defenses honest. While Wilson will have a brutal AFC West schedule with the Chargers, Chiefs and Raiders also bulking up on both sides of the ball, there’s a chance those quarterbacks — Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes and Derek Carr, respectively — could get into some shootouts.
Dallas Cowboys pass-catchers
CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup fantasy owners will benefit from a horror show of an offseason for the Cowboys. Dallas traded WR1A Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns and WR4 Cedrick Wilson opted to sign with the Dolphins. Lamb and Gallup now should see the majority of targets to wide receivers while tight end Dalton Schultz, set to play on the franchise tag, also will benefit.
Allen Robinson
Robinson reportedly agreed to join the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. It finally — finally — gets him out of the Chicago Bears offense where he was hindered under former head coach Matt Nagy and first-year quarterback Justin Fields (in 2021). Sure, Robinson will have to compete for targets with the best receiver in fantasy football, Cooper Kupp as well as Robert Woods, but he’ll also face advantageous matchups given LA’s depth at wideout.
Russell Gage
Gage, similar to Robinson, will have a much tougher fight for targets than he did as a de-facto WR1/WR2 in Atlanta, but joining a team with Tom Brady as your quarterback certainly can be viewed in a positive light. Gage, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, now joins a receiver trio with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. He, too, will face better matchups for it, though, and Brady’s favorite receiver always has been the open one.
Los Angeles Chargers defense
The Chargers not only traded for three-time All-Pro Khalil Mack to provide a dynamite pass-rush combination with Joey Bosa, but LA then went out and signed cornerback J.C. Jackson at the start of the unofficial league year. Jackson was a stud during his four years with the New England Patriots — he recorded the most interceptions of any player in the league since entering in 2018. One massive drawback for the Chargers, though, will be having to face Mahomes’ Chiefs, Wilson’s Broncos and Carr’s Raiders six times per season.
Losers
Dak Prescott
Prescott has had to watch the front office-aided exodus with the Cowboys’ offense losing three starters from the previous season. The biggest departure when it comes to a fantasy football aspect will be Cooper to the Browns, but Dallas also is down a pair of offensive linemen with Connor Williams signing elsewhere and the release La’el Collins.
Damien Harris
The Patriots running back saw the majority of work and was a valuable RB2 last season, but now New England has three holes on the offensive line, two more pass-catching backs in James White and hybrid back Ty Montgomery and fullback Jakob Johnson also walked out the door. Neither White nor Montgomery should take Harris’ touches between the tackles — that will be second-year running back Rhamondre Stevenson — but it nevertheless becomes a more crowded backfield behind a worse offensive line.
