Atlanta
The Falcons signed WR Damiere Byrd (Chicago) to a one-year deal
Why It Matters: We should watch every wide receiver move in Atlanta, as Olamide Zaccheaus and Auden Tate are currently slated to start. Byrd has speed and he has made contributions to three different pass offenses with middling to poor quarterback play at each stop. He could end up with some deep best ball league value if he can break into the top three on the wide receiver depth chart and Marcus Mariota doesn’t flame out.
Baltimore
GM Eric DeCosta said "if the right guy (at running back) falls, we will definitely strike"
Why It Matters: Both J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards are coming off of ACL tears and the team has admitted that one or both could start camp on the PUP list. A rookie could get a lot of first-team work in OTAs if he impresses, and set himself up to make the next contract decisions on Edwards and Dobbins after the 2023 season more difficult. The Ravens won’t take a running back in the first round, but after hearing this, the position should be considered in play on Day 2.
Buffalo
The Bills signed WR Stefon Diggs to a four-year, $104 million extension
Why It Matters: This was predictable after Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill reset the wide receiver market with huge new contracts on new teams, making Diggs 5 year, $72 million deal signed in 2018 look like peanuts. The Bills want Diggs to retire in Buffalo and the terms of this extension show that clearly. They will be paying a premium by 2022 standards for Diggs' early 30s seasons, but in a few years, the wide receiver pay scale could blow past the current seemingly lofty levels. The Bills likely opened up some cap room with this extension to help maintain a Super Bowl level roster through the next few years, when Josh Allen’s cap number rises.
Houston
The Texans signed RB Marlon Mack (Indianapolis)
Why It Matters: The Texans' backfield is the easiest one to break into right now, but it is also the one with the least intrinsic value in the league, at least if last year is any indication. Mack came back from an Achilles tear to make the Colts roster last year and should be even better in year two removed from the injury. Keep him on your offseason/training camp watch list as he battles Rex Burkhead and Royce Freeman for playing time.
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New England
The Patriots traded a 2023 third-round pick to Miami for WR DeVante Parker and a 2022 fifth-round pick
Why It Matters: Bill Belichick famously prefers veteran wide receivers to rookies, so this isn’t that surprising. Parker is only due around six million each of the next two years, which is less per year than Cedrick Wilson got in free agency, so his contract isn’t a liability. Mike Reiss of ESPN indicated that this trade probably spells the end for 2019 first-round pick NKeal Harry, as the two have similar games. Parker isn’t a great separator, but he can win contested catches with the best of them. It’s not clear how compatible that will be with Mac Jones' conservative approach, but the acquisition was reasonably priced considering that the third-round pick discounted by having to wait a season and getting another receiver via trade doesn’t hurt the team's 2023 compensatory pick haul, currently projected to be a third (for J.C. Jackson going to the Chargers) and sixth (for Ted Karras going to Cincinnati). Parker has negligible fantasy value, and he’ll make it more difficult for any other pass catcher on the New England roster to be consistently relevant this year.
New Orleans
The Saints traded the #18 pick, a 2022 third-round pick, a 2022 seventh-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 second-round pick to the Eagles for the #16 pick, #19 pick, and a 2022 sixth-round pick
Why It Matters: The Saints could be collecting ammo to move up for Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, as the Eagles did in 2016 when they first moved up from #13 to #8 before trading up for Carson Wentz at #2, but they also could want to move some draft capital into the present to add another rookie cost-controlled contract, with the potential to add more picks next year via a possible Sean Payton trade. If the Saints do stay home at 16 and 19, expect one of the picks to be a wide receiver, possibly Chris Olave or Garrett Wilson from Ohio State.
Philadelphia
The Eagles traded the #16 pick, #19 pick, and a 2022 sixth-round pick to New Orleans for the #18 pick, a 2022 third-round pick, a 2022 seventh-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 second-round pick
Why It Matters: This one was elementary for the Eagles, who didn’t want to have three first-round picks scheduled to hit free agency at the same time. Taking three picks in a span of five in the first would also prevent them from getting multiple value picks because the first and second would remove players that were higher on their board than the consensus. The team will have another first-round pick next year as ammo to move up for a quarterback in a better quarterback draft if they have decided to move on from Jalen Hurts, and if the Saints underperform, they might have landed a top-10 pick in this trade that made sense for both teams.
Seattle
TE Noah Fant said the Seahawks haven’t discussed whether they will pick up his fifth-year option with him
Why It Matters: Hopefully this is just a case of lack of communication and not a sign of true indecision on the Seahawks' part. Fant’s 6.85 million fifth-year option is less than the per year on the 3-year, $24 million contract the team gave Will Dissly this offseason, and Fant hasn’t had multiple catastrophic injuries. The Seahawks could be holding out to sign Fant to a long-term extension before committing to the fifth-year option, but if that doesn’t happen, the decision to guarantee that number so that Fant is under team control in 2023 is a no brainer.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that league executives believe that WR DK Metcalf could be dealt "at the right price"
Why It Matters: The "right price" is likely going to be multiple first-round picks, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN. The Jets have multiple top 10 picks this year and could dangle a package that includes the #10 overall pick (which they ironically got from the Seahawks in a similar deal for Jamal Adams), but they probably won’t relinquish their natural #4 pick. The Chiefs are in the market for a receiver, but they just traded away Tyreek Hill because he wanted a contract that probably isn’t far off of what Metcalf is due next year. Seattle showed the pitfall of paying multiple firsts for the privilege of signing a player to a top-of-the-market deal. While wide receiver is more valuable than safety, the Seahawks are still unlikely to find a trade partner willing to pay their asking price, so they’ll have to hope they can sign Metcalf before the market goes even higher with fellow class of 2019 receivers A.J. Brown, Deebo Samuel, and Terry McLaurin also due new deals next year. To complicate matters further, Brown, Samuel, and Metcalf are all represented by the same agent, Tory Dandy.
Tampa Bay
TE Rob Gronkowski said he’s "not ready to commit to the game of football right now"
Why It Matters: It’s obvious that if Gronkowski plays in 2022, it will be for the Bucs, but it’s not obvious whether he will play. One beat writer estimated the chances at 50/50, so that should be factored into any decisions on whether and where to take Gronkowski in early best ball drafts. The pick can be hedged with a late choice of Cameron Brate, who is a capable pass catcher and would be fantasy relevant if Gronkowski doesn’t return to the field this year. Gronkowski was an elite fantasy option last year before injuries started to wear him down as the season went along yet again.
The Buccaneers re-signed RB Giovani Bernard to a one-year deal
Why It Matters: Bernard could take some third-down work away from Leonard Fournette, but not enough to move the needle on Fournette’s underrated fantasy value. Ke’shawn Vaughn was set as the backup to Fournette before Bernard was brought back, but now the picture is a committee behind Fournette with a possibility of the Bucs still taking a back in the first three rounds to really complicate the picture. Bernard could have late late-round value in deep PPR best-ball leagues.
The Buccaneers signed S Keanu Neal
Why It Matters: Neal will return to safety after playing linebacker under Dan Quinn in Dallas last year. He’ll likely take the spot of Jordan Whitehead, who signed with the Jets in free agency. The Bucs also signed Logan Ryan to bolster the safety position and should be in solid shape with that top three behind their strong front seven. Neal has more fantasy relevance as a safety than a linebacker, so this is good news for his IDP stock.
Tennessee
Dianna Russini of ESPN reports that Tennessee is "not shopping or taking calls" regarding WR A.J. Brown. Head coach Mike Vrabel said Brown won’t be traded "as long as he is the head coach".
Why It Matters: The Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams contracts reset the wide receiver market, which means teams like Tennessee with great young draft class of 2019 receivers coming up for free agency are going to have to dig deeper to sign them to extensions or use the franchise tag. Kansas City looked a year ahead after Hill demanded Adams money and decided to trade him since they knew they weren’t going to sign him to another deal. The Titans clearly don’t have similar reservations about paying Brown what the market dictates he is worth.
Washington
Front Office Sports reports that two sources with knowledge of the congressional investigation into wrongdoing in the Commanders organization told them that at least one person passed along information to the investigation alleging that the team did not pass along the full 40% of ticket sales from each home game to the league, which then disperses them to the visiting teams
Why It Matters: The Commanders are relying on Carson Wentz to be their savior while the vultures continue to circle around Snyder. Peter King believes that this could be a "way out" for the league and present an opening for new ownership, which could change the outlook for the franchise.
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