By The Hudsonian, Joshua Hudson
If you head over to the Club Fantasy Instagram page, you can stay up to speed on all the transactions as they occur, or as fast as my graphic designer can make some bomb ass pictures for you to like. Below you’ll see how I view all of the relevant NFL offseason transactions. I say relevant because, for the purposes of fantasy football, defensive signings don’t impact us as much as the offensive ones. I’ll cover the defensive signings when I do my team-by-team previews later in the summer.
I’ll identify the player, who they signed with or were traded to, and how I think it impacts their fantasy value going into 2017, positive or negative. Next up: Kenny Stills remains in Miami.
WR Kenny Stills is staying in Miami. Look for similar production and someone who’s likely a bye week fill in for late round value. (Design credit: Kathilia Colón; @katcolon37 on Instagram)
Transaction: Kenny Stills re-signs with the Miami Dolphins
Fantasy Outlook: It’s pretty clear the wide receiver pecking order in Miami is Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, and then Kenny Stills. Because of that, his contract is rather alarming. Stills signed a 4-year deal, averaging a little more than $8 million per season. Stills is being paid like a high-end number two receiver. Most of his numbers last season – 42 catches for 726 yards and a career high 9 touchdowns – were on deep balls and in place of the oft-injured DeVante Parker. If Parker is healthy, and there’s no reason to think he shouldn’t be, Stills is a deep threat and that’s it. If he has 9 touchdowns in 2017, the next Seth Rogen movie will win Best Picture at the Oscars.
Stills finished 44th among wide receivers in 2016. This new contract is not going to suddenly force more balls his way. Sure, the Dolphins will want to stretch the field with him, but they’re not chucking 120 balls his way with a variety of routes. He runs go routes. That’s why he only had 42 catches last year. Maybe he gets 50 catches in 2017, but he’s not getting more than 800 yards and I’m willing to bet he doesn’t top 4 touchdowns.
So how do you prepare for your draft in accordance to Stills? He’s likely to be drafted in the top 35-40 WRs. I think that’s about where he belongs. He’s an insurance policy to people who believe in the forthcoming Parker breakout – you know, what we all thought was going to take place in 2016. And yes, I’m still in the Parker breakout bandwagon. But if I can’t grab Parker, a 11th or 12th round flier on Stills isn’t the worst thing in the world.