Wednesday marked the beginning of the 2016 NFL football year and with it came a bevy of free agent signings that will surely have a significant impact on the upcoming fantasy season. Whether you are investing your money into a full-season league or prefer the freedom of setting daily lineups, it is important to identify winners of the week’s free agent action so you can have a leg up on your competition heading into the year. Let’s take a look at some of the big moves made by teams you might not have initially pegged as fantasy gold mines.
Houston Texans:
It is easy to understand the hype starting to form around the “other” team from Texas. The Texans made a big splash to begin free agency by prying away a couple of coveted skill position players while immediately revamping their offense. The signing of Lamar Miller allows for the team to replace an aging, and often injured, Arian Foster (who had been waived by the team earlier in the off-season) with a guy who possesses the tools and desire necessary to be a work-horse back. Most importantly, this addition brings an element of speed to the offense that just wasn’t quite there last season. This signing itself would present an upgrade to the offense of last season’s AFC South champions, but the Texans decided to smash the ball out of the park by convincing Brock Osweiler to buck the Broncos and become the new face of the franchise. This franchise, mired with mediocre quarterback play since Matt Schaub’s meteoric fall from grace, was fed up after witnessing Brian Hoyer’s historic meltdown in the AFC divisional wild-card matchup versus Kansas City and, while relatively untested, Osweiler has shown in his short stint as a starter that he may have what it takes to push the team over the edge. And even though he’ll have the help of Deandre Hopkins, such an overhaul on the offensive side of the ball means there may be a bit of learning curve before this teams catches its stride. So, while it might be risky to invest in these guys from the start, if you are looking for a sleeper pick or playing with house money by using a Fanduel tv promo code, these new look Texans could provide some sneaky value once the season gets underway.
Oakland Raiders:
The Oakland Raiders might be good next year. Like, really good. With cap space to burn and a serious desire to appease one of the most “eclectic” fan-bases in the NFL, the Raiders are taking advantage of miscues by the incumbent champs and are gearing up to make a run at the AFC West crown. The signing of Kelechi Osemele should have an enormous impact on the value of the Raider’s young offensive core. Derek Carr, Latavius Murray, and Amari Cooper should all see spikes in production as a result of improved protection and time to throw. Oakland took its offensive line woes to heart, addressed the matter in a serious way, and now has an offensive unit that, on paper, has potential to do some serious damage out west. And then, so as not to have the defense feel left out, the team went and signed two of the best available free agents on the other side of the ball in Sean Smith and Bruce Irvin. Upgrading the front seven by pairing Irvin with Khalil Mack (who, in case you forgot, is an absolute beast) should prove to give opposing quarterbacks nightmares, improve starting field position for the offense, and require less time for the secondary (headlined by Smith) to lock down opposing wide receivers. The Raiders are, for the first time in a long time, trending way up and now is a good time begin targeting some of their young studs, penciling them into your draft plans.
Tennessee Titans:
Really, the AFC South again… not kidding! Arguably the worst division in the NFL last year, the South is making a lot of noise before the season begins. In order to keep pace with the additions made by the Texans and Jaguars, the Titans made some big moves on the offensive side of the ball. The focus is clear in Tennessee: provide Marcus Mariota with the tools necessary to succeed. And so far it seems they have been successful in that regard by trading for Demarco Murray and signing free agent Rishard Matthews. Murray, only one season removed from a record setting campaign, will provide a depleted backfield with much needed explosiveness and hopefully take some of the pressure of making plays off of the second-year signal caller. To help his case the Titans also signed Ben Jones away from the Texans to shore up the offensive line. Matthews should also be able to contribute immediately and provide opportunity for freak-athlete Dorial Green-Beckham to continue to grow into his role. All of a sudden, Mariota is surrounded by weapons – Murray, DGB, Delanie Walker, and Rishard Matthews can all stretch the field and have the ability to break open a play at any time. While Walker is a top tier option at TE, don’t be surprised to catch people sleeping on the rest of the talent this offense is packing, especially after Murray’s down year in Philadelphia. There is some definite value to be found in this skill group.