The NFL's 'legal tampering' window begins March 16, at which point the free agents will be available to the highest bidders. This article will look at the top 10 free agents and examine various landing spot scenarios, breaking down the fantasy implications for each case. The players are listed in descending order of projected fantasy value. You can view free agents 1 through 10 here.
11. Breshad Perriman, WR, TB
Perriman will understandably face his share of skepticism – it was less than two years ago that the WR-needy Ravens cut Perriman in training camp – but he flourished in the final five games in 2020 while serving as Tampa Bay's lead receiver in light of injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. He saw 37 targets in those games, catching 25 for 506 yards and five touchdowns, which makes him a former first-round pick with a recent history of breakout production. Robby Anderson is the presumed top free agent wide receiver after A.J. Green, but Perriman is still a candidate to get the bigger contract. Given that Anderson has multiple years of solid production, though, it's probably correct to identify Perriman as the more risky signing between the two. If Perriman's market is worse than Anderson's, then perhaps Perriman's lower price tag would make him within the budget of more teams than in Anderson's case. There's a chance that the Buccaneers might be among that group.
Potential 2020 teams: Tampa Bay, Denver, Philadelphia, Green Bay,
The NFL's 'legal tampering' window begins March 16, at which point the free agents will be available to the highest bidders. This article will look at the top 10 free agents and examine various landing spot scenarios, breaking down the fantasy implications for each case. The players are listed in descending order of projected fantasy value. You can view free agents 1 through 10 here.
11. Breshad Perriman, WR, TB
Perriman will understandably face his share of skepticism – it was less than two years ago that the WR-needy Ravens cut Perriman in training camp – but he flourished in the final five games in 2020 while serving as Tampa Bay's lead receiver in light of injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. He saw 37 targets in those games, catching 25 for 506 yards and five touchdowns, which makes him a former first-round pick with a recent history of breakout production. Robby Anderson is the presumed top free agent wide receiver after A.J. Green, but Perriman is still a candidate to get the bigger contract. Given that Anderson has multiple years of solid production, though, it's probably correct to identify Perriman as the more risky signing between the two. If Perriman's market is worse than Anderson's, then perhaps Perriman's lower price tag would make him within the budget of more teams than in Anderson's case. There's a chance that the Buccaneers might be among that group.
Potential 2020 teams: Tampa Bay, Denver, Philadelphia, Green Bay, New Orleans, Las Vegas
12. Jameis Winston, QB, TB
As a quarterback Winston can probably command a significantly bigger contract than some of the players ranked ahead of him in this descending fantasy rankings, but he falls this far mostly because of the possibility that he simply ends up on a new team that throws less in terms of volume or/and depth of target. Returning to Tampa would probably be the ideal for fantasy purposes, but Bruce Arians seems well short of enthusiastic about the scenario. If he doesn't return to Tampa, then the list appears limited to the Chargers, Tennessee, and Indianapolis. It's not clear which of the three might hold a 30/30 quarterback in the highest regard, but Philip Rivers has extensive connections to Indianapolis and Winston doesn't.
Potential 2020 teams: Tampa Bay, Chargers, Tennessee
13. Philip Rivers, QB, LAC
Rivers is 38 years old and doesn't have much to work with at this point other than his mind, but Rivers' quarterbacking instincts alone might make him a top-32 starter all the same. A return to the Chargers appears highly unlikely, which would seemingly leave Rivers with Indianapolis and Tampa Bay as his primary starting options. For what it's worth, Melvin Gordon thinks Rivers will sign with the Colts, where coach Frank Reich (offensive coordinator) and offensive coordiantor Nick Sirianni (quarterbacks coach) are familiar colleagues to Rivers, the three of them working together with the Chargers from 2013 to 2015. The Buccaneers have reportedly been linked to Rivers as well, but Rivers has no connections there and is probably smart enough to realize he's a better fit for the Reich offense than the Arians one.
Projected 2020 team: Indianapolis, but keep an eye on Tampa
14. Tom Brady, QB, NE
The Boston Herald reported Wednesday that Brady and the Patriots discussed his contract in a way that was less than fruitful. I don't know what to make of that, nor what to make of the sort of market there might be for a 43-year-old quarterback outside of New England, but at least in the case of Tennessee you have the Mike Vrabel connection. The standing with Ryan Tannehill and the Titans appears somewhat tenuous, so Tennessee would generally seem like the best bet if not New England.
Projected 2020 team: New England, but keep an eye on Tennessee
15. Ryan Tannehill, QB, TEN
As long as Brady returns to New England, it's mostly difficult to see Tannehill playing anywhere but Tennessee. That's both because it suits his abilities and because it's not obvious where else there would be a demand for him. Philip Rivers to Indianapolis strikes me as somewhat likely, so I think it's between Tannehill and Jameis Winston to fight over the Chargers and Buccaneers in the event that he doesn't return to Tennessee. Tampa would be somewhat interesting – Tannehill showed a nice deep ball at times last year – but Tannehill's explosiveness in 2019 was only on a low per-game passing volume. Tampa's offense is much more pass-happy, and it would magnify Tannehill's flaws to a much greater extent. I guess Arians couldn't hold that against Tannehill too much after Winston's 30-30 season.
Projected 2020 team: Tennessee but keep an eye on Tampa Bay
16. Randall Cobb, WR, DAL
Cobb had a strong 2019 season as Dallas' primary slot receiver, turning 83 targets into 55 receptions for 828 yards and three touchdowns on 728 snaps. Mike McCarthy unsurprisingly expressed a desire to re-sign Cobb after Dallas added McCarthy as head coach, and it's possible that the two sides could make it work. He played on a one-year, $5 million deal in 2019, and with age 30 coming up in August it's unlikely that Cobb will command an especially strong market. Still, any team that could use a slot receiver upgrade will probably take at least a glance at Cobb.
Potential 2020 teams: Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta, Denver, Carolina
17. Devin Funchess, WR, IND
Widely hated even before he was forgotten, Funchess is a free agent once again after missing nearly all of his one season with Indianapolis due to a collarbone injury. GM Chris Ballard indicated a potential interest in re-signing Funchess, so Funchess might yet make a more proper Indianapolis debut after playing just 36 snaps in Week 1. Only 26 years old in May, Funchess has at once been around seemingly forever, yet still has time to break out after disappointing many fantasy owners in the past. If not Indianapolis, then Funchess would have to appeal to a team looking for a big, primarily outside receiver.
Potential 2020 teams: Indianapolis, Chicago, Chargers, Arizona, Jets, Green Bay, Baltimore, New Orleans
18. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, SF
Sanders in his prime would dust the likes of Funchess and Perriman, but with age 33 coming up March 17, Sanders' experience is becoming a liability for his market. The favored outcome both in the betting and in the team fit sense would probably be the 49ers, because they traded a third and fourth-round pick for him in season and coach Kyle Shanahan has openly been a big fan of Sanders' for years. If San Francisco can't keep Sanders, he could be useful to a team looking for wide receiver help both outside and in the slot. In San Francisco he mostly played outside, for what it's worth.
Projected 2020 team: San Francisco, but keep an eye on Las Vegas or Kansas City
19. DeAndre Washington, RB, LV
Washington is limited as a runner – he has a career average of just 4.0 yards per carry and was credited with just a 7.4 percent broken tackle rate last year (31st percentile) – but he has sub-4.5 speed and was very effective as a pass catcher in 2019. Serving as the top backup to Josh Jacobs, Washington saw 41 targets on 273 snaps, catching 36 for 292 yards (87.8 percent catch rate, 7.1 YPT).
Potential 2020 teams: Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Miami, Chargers, Washington, Kansas City
20. Eric Ebron, TE, IND
Ebron's second season with the Colts didn't go nearly as well as the first, his 14 touchdowns in 2018 followed up with just three in 11 games in 2019. Although he can blame his two ailing ankles for some of his struggles in 2019 – Jacoby Brissett wasn't so helpful either – Ebron dealt with drops issues in both of his seasons with Indianapolis, and he likely won't re-sign. Ebron could theoretically offer something to any team that has 500 or so tight end and slot snaps up for grabs. Turning 27 in April, Ebron still has more seam-stretching speed than most tight ends, but his consistency issues make it difficult to envision him as the true TE1 on any particular team.
Potential 2020 teams: Washington, Atlanta, Arizona, New England
21. Lamar Miller, RB, HOU
I haven't heard so much as a peep about Miller since he tore his ACL in the preseason, but it'd be awfully surprising to me if he went from a solid-if-underwhelming starter to out of the league over a training camp ACL tear at 28. Miller will be 29 in April, but he was one of the league's faster running backs before his injury and should still have some juice left. He could be a fallback option for teams that miss out on Drake and Gordon, or he could serve as a mostly overqualified backup for someone on a one-year, prove-it contract.
Potential 2020 teams: Houston, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Chargers
22. Carlos Hyde, RB, HOU
It's not clear whether the Texans have an interest in re-signing Hyde, but he was their primary ballcarrier in light of Miller's ACL tear and the subsequent trade to acquire Hyde from Kansas City. He ran for 1,070 yards and six touchdowns on 245 carries (4.4 YPC), but most of his yardage was created by his blocking more than himself (52.5 percent of yardage after contact -- 20th percentile), and he was predictably a zero in the passing game (66.7 percent catch rate, 2.6 YPT). But unlike fellow free agent big back Jordan Howard (shoulder), Hyde at least has a clean injury sheet.
Potential 2020 teams: Houston, Tampa Bay, Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Buffalo, Chargers
23. Jordan Howard, RB, PHI
Howard's probably a better pure runner than either Miller or Hyde, but he's behind both on this list due to pass-catching and durability concerns. He's a better pass catcher than Hyde but a worse one than Miller, which is bad since Miller is probably below average himself. Additionally, while Hyde might slightly trail Howard as a pass catcher, Howard loses that ground thanks to the shoulder injury that basically ended his season. If Howard could get full clearance I'd probably rank him ahead of Hyde and maybe Miller, though.
Potential 2020 teams: Houston, Tampa Bay, Miami, Detroit, Buffalo, Chargers
24. Demarcus Robinson, WR, KC
Robinson has drawn some hype as a free agent target, getting linked to the Eagles and Giants, and there very well could prove to be a healthy market for the 25-year-old former fourth-round pick. Robinson had a good sophomore year at Florida (53 catches for 810 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games) and has 54 catches for 737 yards and eight touchdowns in the last two years on 88 targets (61.4 percent catch rate, 8.4 YPT), but I still find his production highly concerning. Robinson caught seven passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns on eight targets between Week 17 of 2018 and Week 2 of 2019 -- both games against the Raiders. That means he totaled just 47 receptions for 476 yards on 80 targets in the other 30 games (58.8 percent catch rate, 6.0 YPT). But Robinson has some acrobatic ability at least and is relatively quick for his size (10.96 agility score).
Potential 2020 teams: Philadelphia, Giants, Denver, Tampa Bay, Las Vegas
25. Nelson Agholor, WR, PHI
Agholor's career has had some highs and perhaps a few more humiliating lows, but there's an off-chance he finds some post-hype production outside of Philadelphia. He has pedigree on his side as a former first-round pick with elite production at USC, and he's somewhat athletic (4.42-second 40-yard dash). But Agholor will always have his drops issues even when he does separate, as evidenced by his shoddy 59.9 percent catch rate at 6.7 yards per target over 71 games.
Potential 2020 teams: Dallas, Carolina, Denver
