Fight Chance Fantasy's Dynasty Question of the Week: Who are some free agency winners this offseason?

As usual, the NFL’s free agency period has flipped many NFL rosters on their heads. Just when you have a good feeling about a player's position on a team, a free agent or player may land on a team and destroy a player's value. Fantasy and dynasty managers sometimes stand on pins and needles hoping that one of their players doesn’t take a hit on their perceived production for next season. A few of the staff writers here at Fighting Chance Fantasy want to discuss players who are winners after arriving on their new squads.

Quarterbacks

Jimmy Garoppolo, QB Las Vegas Raiders

After a few years with the 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo looks for a fresh start with his old coach Josh McDaniels. Garoppolo is very familiar with Coach McDaniels's offense from their time in New England and should be able to fit right in with the offensive game plan. Jimmy G is an accurate passer which is a big key in unlocking the potential of this offense and has a legit WR1 in Davante Adams and will also benefit from having Jakobi Myers recently added to the roster. Garoppolo could be an excellent QB2 option in deeper leagues. - Leo Grandio @smooth1074

 

Dak Prescott, QB Dallas Cowboys

Although Dak Prescott hasn’t changed area codes his surrounding pieces on offense have. With Brandin Cooks's arrival, Prescott now has three wide receivers that can cause havoc on opposing secondaries when you include Cee Dee Lamb and Michael Gallup in the discussion. Let’s not forget that the Cowboys have also moved on from Ezekiel Elliot which will pave the way for Tony Pollard to get more touches and targets out of the backfield. Look for Prescott to rebound and have an MVP-type season in 2023 in this wide-open offense. - Leo



Daniel Jones, QB New York Giants

Daniel Jones will stay put in New York / New Jersey after re-signing a 4-year $160 million contract. The best part is he will be tied to the offensive guru Brian Daboll. With only 15 touchdown passes in 2022 (five more than he threw in 2021), we’ve yet to see Jones truly break out or reach his potential through the air. 

Although Jones has not been able to replicate his rookie season passing numbers, what gives the young signal caller a nice floor are his wheels. He’s got some impressive straight-line speed where he was able to reach over 700 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns this past season. 

The Giants will be able to move on after two more seasons with relatively minimal cap damage if things don’t improve. We’ll see if Daboll can help elevate Jones to the next level. - Conner Shears @ConnerShears

Marcus Mariota, QB - Philadelphia Eagles

If you are looking to put a player on your bench that could make an injury appearance, look no further than the newest Philadelphia Eagles QB2, Marcus Mariota.  His play style fits coach Nick Siranni's scheme much better than Gardner Minshew's. Mariota has talent, and the Eagles have always been solid at scouting solid fill-ins to cover quarterback injuries for nearly three decades now. Mariota is worth the pick-up or late-pick trade, especially if you have Jalen Hurts on your dynasty team. - Matt Miles @DirtyAirFC

Running Backs

David Montgomery, RB Detroit Lions

Some may think that David Montgomery heading to the Lions this offseason is bad news for his fantasy prospects because D’Andre Swift is there. But if we’re all being honest here can anyone trust being healthy for an extended period of time? That would be a no for me! Now that Jamaal Williams has left the building and now resides in the Big Easy, Montgomery will have the chance to have a stellar season. The veteran running back will no longer have Justin Fields stealing any goal line carries from him and as previously mentioned Swift can not stay healthy and tends to be used more as a between the 20’s kind of back. Montgomery has also proven in the past that he can be used in the receiving game, making him a solid RB2 heading into the upcoming season. Oh, yea and the Lions have a pretty badass offensive line too. - Leo

 

Damien Harris, RB Buffalo Bills

Hey, I get it, there’s nothing sexy about this signing for the Bills, but it is being overlooked by most fantasy managers. Damien Harris is just one season removed from 929 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground and is joining a backfield with James Cook, a fine running back who will likely get first crack at leading the backfield but is sub-200 pounds, meaning Harris is a good bet to see a lot of goal-line work. 

I know what you’re thinking, ‘but Josh Allen is their RB1 and will steal all the goal-line touches.’ While that has been true in years past, coach Sean McDermott has made it publicly known that Allen’s incredibly physical style of play is not sustainable long-term. 

With Allen due for a decrease in rushing workload (we’ll see), and the smaller back in Cook is the only other remaining running back, Harris could be a nice sleeper to add to your rosters and stash for cheap. - Conner


Miles Sanders - RB - Carolina Panthers

One of the more talked about stories going into the season was Miles Sanders telling you "Don't Draft Me in Fantasy." If you didn't listen, you were rewarded with an RB10 in the fourth round of your drafts. Sanders is now reunited with Deuce Staley, who coached him through one of his most efficient seasons early in his career.  Sanders's current competition is Chubba Hubbard, who despite stepping into a leading role for the Panthers after the departure of Christian McCaffrey, still only managed an RB68 season. Replicating another RB10 overall season is going to be tough for Sanders, but a top RB20 performance with a late sixth to seventh-round ADP makes the veteran running back a solid prospective free-agency winner this season. - Matt

Wide Receivers

D.J. Moore, WR  Chicago Bears

One of the biggest winners this offseason has to be D.J. Moore. Moore has had to deal with the three stooges at quarterback for the last couple of years and has seen his talents be wasted with inconsistent quarterback play. Now he gets a beast of a quarterback in Justin Fields, who will get him the damn ball. After a rocky start last Fall, Fields illustrated that if likes a certain target, he would look their way as often as possible. Darnell Mooney prior to his injury and Cole Kmet were the main beneficiaries of all these targets. Moore will easily be a WR2 for the foreseeable future for dynasty managers and could see a nice Fields/Moore stack in plenty of fantasy line-ups in the future. - Leo

Brandin Cooks, WR Cowboys

Brandin Cooks is the ever-underrated receiver in the fantasy realm. After a down season in 2022, Cooks has escaped Houston at last after being traded to Dallas for a couple of late-round picks. The veteran wide receiver has topped 1,000 yards in six out of nine seasons and will benefit from being in a better offense with Dak Prescott at the helm and CeeDee Lamb opposite side of the field to take the heat off of Cooks as he looks to assume the number-two role in his new offense. Look for Cooks to get back to his typical 1k-yard mark at least one more time in his 30th-aged season. - Conner


D.J. Chark - WR - Carolina Panthers

The potential for D.J. Chark to finally have a solid quarterback that can throw deep in Carolina makes him a speculative winner in this year's free-agency pool. The NFC South is a wide-open division, and the Panthers are rebuilding a solid group making a division win in their range of outcomes in 2023. - Matt  

Tight Ends

Darren Waller, TE Giants

After a couple of stellar seasons in 2019 and 2020, Darren Waller has started to come back down to earth over the last two campaigns for the Raiders. This could be blamed on two things. One is that he has dealt with some injuries after playing all 32 games in those two breakout seasons. The other reason has been the inconsistent quarterback play from Derek Carr. Now Waller has a fresh start with the Giants and will be an intricate part of coach Brian Daboll's offense. With no true WR1 currently on the roster, the table is set for Waller to become one of Daniel Jones's main targets this year. The veteran tight end will be a bargain this year. - Leo

 

Irv Smith Jr, TE Bengals

Just like you, I’ve been waiting for the Irv Smith Jr. breakout, but injuries have piled on and kept the 24-year-old off the field for much of his three-year career. However, Smith gets a fresh start in Cincinnati in a high-powered passing offense led by Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. 

Will he end up being the fourth or even the fifth option in the passing game? More than likely yes, but this is as good of a situation for Smith as there could’ve been. If he can stay healthy and carve out a role in this offense, he will be a viable option at tight end in fantasy. The breakout is coming. I can feel it. - Conner



What player do you think was a big winner during free agency? What topic or questions would you like for us to cover in the upcoming weeks? You can reach us on Twitter at @FCFantasySports.

 

 

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