Top Ten Fantasy Football Free Agent Signings

1.    WR DeSean Jackson: Washington Redskins
Fantasy footballers likely had the same opinion as Eagles’ RB LeSean McCoy after DeSean Jackson was released from the club: shock and amazement. Why would coach Chip Kelly jettison a homerun hitter and fantasy stud? While Philadelphia must now replace its playmaker, Washington coach Jay Gruden is salivating at the potential of his passing attack. Gruden, the former Bengals’ offensive coordinator, orchestrated the growth of QB Andy Dalton and WR A.J. Green in Cincinnati as rookies. Now with the addition of Jackson, he has a plethora of riches—QB Robert Griffin III, WR Pierre Garcon, TE Jordan Reed and RB Alfred Morris—to deploy against NFL defenses. Both Garcon and Jackson surpassed 1,300 yards receiving last year while registering a combined 195 catches and 14 touchdowns. In six seasons, the newest Eagle has scored 36 times (receiving and punt returns) and averaged over 17 yards per catch. Despite a small and lanky frame, the speedster has missed only nine games during his career. It is unlikely that Jackson and Garcon both replicate last year’s yardage totals; however, touchdowns could easily increase in Gruden’s system. Fantasy Diehards are drooling about the possibility of a full-course buffet of yards and points in Washington.

 
2.    WR Golden Tate: Detroit Lions
The sky is the limit for Golden Tate after signing with the Lions in March. At Notre Dame, he earned the Fred Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top wide receiver in 2009. At 5’10” and 202 pounds, Tate dropped to the second round of the draft, and Seattle snatched him with the 60th pick overall. During his four seasons with the Seahawks, he improved his receptions and yards each campaign and scored 12 times during the past two seasons. Tate transports from a run-dominated offense—coach Pete Carroll’s club ran the pigskin on more than 55% of its plays from 2010 to 2013—to a pass-first aerial assault, which employed a 60:40 pass-run ratio last year.

According to Pro Football Focus, the newest Lion employs the best hands in the league, recording over a 95% catchable-pass rate as a professional, and is deadly in the open field, leading the NFL in yards after the catch (7.9) last year. With All-World Calvin Johnson on the field, Tate will enjoy single coverage, and likely surpass 1,000 yards receiving and score double-digit touchdowns in 2014 with QB Matthew Stafford flinging the football.

3.    RB Ben Tate: Cleveland Browns
During his four-year career as a backup to Arian Foster in Houston, Ben Tate has tantalized (and frustrated) fantasy owners. Now, Tate enters training camp atop a club’s depth chart for the first time after signing with Cleveland. A classic one-cut ball carrier with good speed, the free-agent acquisition flawlessly fits in new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s zone-blocking run scheme. When on the field, he is a fierce downhill competitor, who at times, has thrived. The 25-year old does not have a lot of tread on his tires—only 421 career carries—and has averaged 4.7 yards per tote in the NFL. Unfortunately, the veteran runner has missed 24 games during his career and suffered a variety of injuries: ribs, ankles, hip, groin, shoulder and hamstring. The Browns also signed former Bengals’ fullback Chris Pressley to blast open holes in Shanahan’s two-back scheme. Head coach Mike Pettine expects Tate to jumpstart a non-existent ground game and move the chains. Assuming the former Texan will wear the uniform in all 16 games seems unrealistic based upon his injury history. When he is healthy, Tate will surely produce fantasy goodness during the fall.

4.    RB Knowshon Moreno: Miami Dolphins
Without a doubt, Knowshon Moreno is being overlook by fantasy experts and fans after signing with the Dolphins. The former Bronco isn’t an elite runner, but he is a significant upgrade over Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas. Last year, Moreno finished with 1,586 yards from scrimmage, which was fifth best in the league: He also scored 13 touchdowns and caught 60 passes. The newest Dolphin is a three-down back, who can pick-up the blitz, and protect QB Ryan Tannehill from getting clobbered by pass rushers. Athletically gifted, Moreno is also mentally tough and a tremendous team player. As a rookie in 2009, the Georgia product gained nearly 1,000 yards rushing and scored nine touchdowns while operating in an offense decorated with far less talent than Miami’s roster this year. The Dolphins have considerably upgraded the offensive line during the off-season, and Moreno will be the undisputed leader in the backfield. The free-agent acquisition is a value-based selection for astute fantasy owners after the fifth round of drafts in 2014.

5.    WR Eric Decker: New York Jets
After an astounding two seasons in Denver, the top free-agent wideout touched down in a Jets’ uniform. Decker corralled 172 receptions for over 2,300 yards and scored 24 touchdowns during the past two campaigns with Peyton Manning throwing the football. The four-year veteran is not ranked among the top physically gifted athletes at the position. However, he provides New York with a much-needed enhancement for a pathetic passing attack, which didn’t employ one receiver among the top 75 last year. It is obvious that Decker’s stock skyrocketed with Manning. Nevertheless, do not discount the fact that he scored eight touchdowns in 2011 with Tim Tebow and Kyle Orton behind center. At 6’3” and 214 pounds, the newest member of Gang Green provides the club with a dependable competitor, who changes the outlook of the aerial attack. Not a speed demon, Decker utilizes the entire route tree and is savvy enough to get behind the secondary. He doesn’t shy away from contact and runs quick slants and intermediate patterns over the middle. Decker will not replicate last season’s statistics, but a middle ground between 2011 and 2013 is reasonable: Expect around 67 receptions for 950 yards and eight scores.

6.    RB Rashad Jennings: New York Giants
While fantasy fans discussed and dissected QB Eli Manning’s poor performance last season, a pitiful running game, which averaged only 3.5 yards per carry, doomed the Giants’ attack. Coach Tom Coughlin changed coordinators in the offseason, but philosophically, he wants to retain a power-running game, which relies on a simple off-tackle run to ignite the play-action pass for Manning. New York pursued Rashad Jennings, its top free-agent ball carrier, to carry the pigskin on its strong-side ground game. The former Raider excels at the simple off-tackle play, and is a physical runner, who can remain on the gridiron all-three downs, catching passes and blocking blitzing rushers. In Jennings, the Giants acquired a veteran with only 387 career rushes while averaging 4.3 yards per carry. During his tenure in Jacksonville and Oakland, he never played with a signal caller as talented as Manning or coach as accomplished as Coughlin. When Jennings got the starting gig last year, he rushed for 539 yards on 113 handles and scored six touchdowns in six contests. He also nabbed 19 passes for 160 yards. While he has never been a team’s chief courier for 16 games, the newest Giant is a picture-perfect component in Coughlin’s offense and well worth drafting as a second fantasy runner.

7.    RB Chris Johnson: New York Jets
Fictional: The newest Jet is a homerun hitter.
Veracity: Chris Johnson is still a productive NFL running back.
Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg oversaw one of the least efficient units in the NFL last season: New York ranked 25th in yards per game (318.1) and 29th in points scored per game (18.1). Coach Rex Ryan and Mornhinweg are clearly fighting to retain control of the club beyond 2014 and are willing to roll the dice that the speedster can regain his magic once in awhile. At 28-years old with lots of mileage, Johnson is best suited for a backfield-by-committee and joins Chris Ivy and Bilal Powell in New York. The former 2,000-yard rusher is extremely durable having missed only one game during his six-years in Tennessee. Out of the backfield in space, Johnson is a tremendous pass catcher—averaging 45 receptions per season—and can still shake-and-bake defenders one-on-one in the open field. Last year, his longest run from scrimmage totaled merely 30 yards, and he averaged a career-low 3.9 yards per attempt. The Jets want to mirror the results of its 2009-10 ground-and-pound attack with Thomas Jones, LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene when the team reached the AFC Championship Game each season. Fantasy Diehards should expect a 60:40 run ratio between Johnson and Ivory this season; however, the former Pro Bowler’s six-consecutive 1,000 crusades will come to an end. He is likely to acquire around 1,300 yards from scrimmage and score about five times in 2014.

8.    WR Emmanuel Sanders: Denver Broncos
The newest Bronco playmaker proclaimed that suiting up with Peyton Manning is “wide receiver heaven” after signing with Denver. While the future Hall of Famer is not a deity, he does have a propensity on the gridiron to make average players fantasy studs. Sanders is the next in line to benefit from Manning’s magic touch and pinpoint passes. Possessing quick-twitch capabilities, the former Steeler is an explosive wideout, who gains separation, makes tacklers miss and can play in the slot or outside the hash marks. At 5’11” and 180 pounds, Sanders’ frame is unlike Eric Decker’s—who he replaces—but offers Denver another valuable asset in a pass-catching corps that includes Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas, Wes Welker and Andre Caldwell. During the past two seasons playing in a run-dominated offense, the former SMU product caught 111 passes for 1,366 yards and crossed the finish line seven times. A third-round pick in 2010, Sanders has already ran patterns and caught passes from Manning at Duke University since signing his contract, and he owns the skill set to flourish at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. With the 32-year old Welker recuperating from two-concussions last season, Sanders may very well finish second on the team in receptions and easily set high-water marks in all statistical categories this year.

9.    WR James Jones: Oakland Raiders
A tale of two underappreciated seasons for James Jones: He led the league in touchdowns with 14 in 2012 and set career highs with 59 catches for 817 yards in 2013. The former Packer gets nearly zero love from NFL general managers (or Fantasy Diehards) despite hauling in 310 passes and scoring 37 times in seven seasons. The Raiders desperately coveted veteran leadership at the wide receiver position, and Jones provides QB Matt Schaub a reliable target. Born in San Jose, CA, the 30-year old played at San Jose State before being selected in the third-round of the 2007 draft and returns home to the Bay Area. Not a game breaker, Jones is ideally a No. 2 receiver, who yields returns on mismatches. Limited athletically, he runs quick slant patterns and gains yards after the catch, utilizing his shrewdness and strength. Sneaky on deep patterns, Jones patiently awaits to get open downfield on unsuspecting defensive backs. He will shine lining up on the outside at times and can tutor the youngsters (Rod Streater, Denarius Moore and Andre Holmes) on the Oakland roster. Jones doesn’t ascend to the cream of the crop among fantasy wideouts, but should provide some bye-week (or injury replacement) punch during the long season.

10.    WR Hakeem Nicks: Indianapolis Colts
Only a soothsayer could proclaim without a doubt, which Hakeem Nicks will materialize for the Colts this season: The two-time 1,000-yard receiver or the back-to-back fantasy bust in 2012-13. For a paltry $3.5 million, Indianapolis gambled that the 26-year old can regain his dominant form of a few years ago. If not, Nicks will be on the sideline begging for a job next February. It is a wager worth taking. A leg injury certainly curtailed Nicks’ production the past two campaigns, and there are questions concerning his health moving forward. He struggled mightily last year, catching only 56 passes and failing to reach the end zone. In the past, he was a wonderful route runner but now lacks sharpness in his cuts. No longer an elite downfield threat, the newest Colt is still dangerous on underneath patterns and quick slants. With above average hands, the former Giant is a big and physical competitor who uses his body well. He joins a cadre of weapons (T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne and Coby Fleener) for QB Andrew Luck in Indianapolis. In 2014, he is a low-risk, high-reward fantasy prospect for shrewd managers willing to grab him as the draft is adjourned.