Last Minute Free Agency Rundown: WR
Akash Patel is a writer for Felix, the AI-driven fantasy football assistant. To sign up for exclusive early access to Felix for free, click here.
As of the publishing of this article, tomorrow is the beginning of the legal tampering period. For those unfamiliar with that term, legal tampering is the period in which agents can negotiate with other teams for unrestricted free agents. In this 4 part series, we’ll highlight the 4 fantasy positions’ free agents, potential landing spots, and fantasy impact. Enjoy!
Notable Free Agent WRs
Kenny Golladay
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Corey Davis
Curtis Samuel
Will Fuller
Marvin Jones
Kenny Golladay
Estimated Value: 4 years-64 million
Golladay missed 11 games in 2020, but the 2019 Pro Bowler is likely to leave Detroit barring any franchise tag. The 6’4 WR would be able to fetch a good payday to be another team’s alpha WR. We can likely rule out a couple of locations, such as the Ravens, who have already come out and said that they don’t want to shell out for Robinson or Golladay, or Patriots who currently employ Matt Patricia, Golladay’s former head coach. Patricia wasn’t the most liked during his time in Detroit. Some possibilities are the Dolphins or Colts, both in need of a fantastic jump-ball WR. While Devante Parker and Michael Pittman are decent, both teams could benefit tremendously by adding an elite WR to help their struggling QBs. Furthermore, the Jets are also in contention for the talented WR.
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Estimated Value: 4 years 60 million
After a disappointing third-year season following the departure of Antonio Brown, there was genuine concern about Smith-Schuster from some. He rebounded well in a contract year with 97 catches for 831 yards and 9 TDs. One reason for the dip in yardage production is the His average depth of target of 5.6 was the lowest in his career, and when compared to his excellent 2018 season (8.7 aDOT), the change is night and day. This can be explained by Ben Roethlisberger’s league-low 2.3 seconds to throw, which allowed his WRs very little time to get downfield. Even so, Smith-Schuster’s check-down capabilities can be very useful to a team, even if it is less than ideal for fantasy usage. JuJu has expressed interest in staying in Pittsburgh, but the team has little space to resign him and will likely focus on resigning key defensive pieces and operating with Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool as their WRs. Possible landing spots for the slot receiver include the Jets, Ravens, and Washington Football team, who could all use upgrades at the position. Jamison Crowder, Willie Snead, and Steven Sims are all relatively unathletic, underproductive, or expensive when compared to Smith-Schuster, and each receiving corp could use an upgrade. For fantasy, Smith-Schuster is only 24 and should be a good WR2 in a less crowded offense.
Corey Davis
Estimated Value: 3 years-40 million
The former 5th overall pick has had a relatively disappointing career up to this point, but Davis broke out in 2020 for a career-high in yards, touchdowns, and catches (tie for career-high) opposite of A.J. Brown. As the Titans denied his 5th-year extension earlier in the year, he’ll hit free agency. Davis has the build of an alpha WR but hasn’t had much success as the WR1 on his team (whether that be his fault or not). He instead thrived last year opposite of the dominant A.J. Brown. Possible landing spots include the Patriots, Ravens, and Titans. For the Patriots, I have held back from putting them on this list for WR singings due to their history of not making a big splash in free agency for WRs. Besides a 5 year 28.5 million dollar contract for Danny Amendola in 2013, they haven’t spent more than 20 million dollars on a free agent WR in the last 10 years. However, Davis could be a good, cheaper signing for a position of desperate need for the Patriots. The Ravens could also be interested in Davis as a big-body weapon for Lamar Jackson. As of now, Miles Boykin is the only WR on the team over 6’0 unless they resign Dex Bryant. Nonetheless, Davis would be a clear upgrade over both and an added safety blanket for Lamar Jackson. Finally, the Titans. Right now, the only relevant WR under contract in 2021 for the Titans is A.J. Brown. Resigning Corey Davis would make all the sense in the world if the Titans didn’t have the 4th worst defense in the league last year. Nonetheless, WR is an undersold need for the Titans. For fantasy, none of these landing spots are ideal. These teams had the 3rd, 1st, and 8th worst passing offenses in the league, but the reality is that teams that want Davis are those that want a talented WR for cheap due to a lower prioritization of passing in the offense.
Curtis Samuel
Estimated Value: 4 years-48 million
Samuel is an intriguing talent as a WR with low 4.3 speed who is also used in the run game. In 2020, Samuel put it all together with upgraded QB play for 851 receiving yards and 200 rushing yards. His versatility will be very enticing for teams as he enters free agency. Possible landing spots include Green Bay, Washington Football Team, and New England. In Green Bay, he would operate as the WR2 behind Davante Adams, giving Rodgers, the 2020 MVP, the weapons that he desires. In Washington, Samuel would reunite with Ron Rivera, the coach who drafted him in 2017. Furthermore, he would add some much-needed talent to the offense that ranked 4th worse in the league last year. For New England, they would add a relatively cheap playmaker to the offense. Depending on the landing spot, Samuel can be a solid WR3 if he is able to build on his solid 2020 season.
Will Fuller
Estimated Value: 4 years-48 million
After 4 years of not staying healthy, Will Fuller changed his offseason habits and starting working out differently. As a result, he had the first healthy season of his career and was on pace for a 77–1278–12 season before missing the final 5 games due to a suspension. As a result, teams are likely to be intrigued by Fuller’s upside yet wary due to his injury history. One popular landing spot is the Green Bay Packers, who pursued the speedy WR via trade prior to the in-season deadline.
Thank you for reading! I truly hope you enjoyed this article. You can find me on Twitter, where I tweet fantasy-football-related content every day.
I write for Felix, which uses AI and data-driven processes to deliver fantasy football advice instantly via chatbot. You can sign up for early access to our app on our website.
