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: Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith sign with Philadelphia.
Transaction: Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith sign with the Philadelphia Eagles
Fantasy Outlook:Â The Eagles identified a huge weakness on their team in 2016 and set out to improve upon that huge weakness during the offseason. By bringing in Jeffrey and Smith, they have done exactly that. Jeffrey has a legitimate chance to be a WR1 in fantasy in 2017, something he has been in the past. In 2013 and 2014, he combined for 174 receptions for 2,554 yards and 17 touchdowns. Pundits might point out that he was the team’s de facto number two receiver behind Brandon Marshall, but the numbers are the numbers. Without Marshall across from him, he combined for 106 catches, 1,628 yards and 6 touchdowns. The numbers not shown? Jeffrey played in 32 games between 2013 and 2014, while he only played 21 between 2015 and 2016.
When Jeffrey’s on the field, he is a legitimate threat with a catch radius that rivals the best in the league. The Eagles need that sort of effort with second year QB Carson Wentz leading the offense. They also need someone that can stretch the field to keep defenses honest. That’s where Torrey Smith comes in. Much like DeSean Jackson, the new Buccaneer and former Eagle, Smith is a legitimate deep threat, and averages 17.0 yards per catch. Less like Jackson, Smith is in fact a one trick pony. He’s had only one 1,000 yard season in his career, and his last two years in San Francisco were wasted with poor quarterback play and underutilization.
Coach Doug Pederson hopes these new additions will aid Wentz in his development and improve an offense that ranked 22nd in total yards and 16th in scoring. I would rank Jeffrey as a solid WR2 in fantasy with obvious WR1 upside if he remains healthy for the full season, and Smith is hovering around top 40 status. His big play ability will give him potential to land in the top 30 if utilized properly by Wentz and the Eagles, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Smith is a late round flier at best.