Rodgers to Giants? Darnold to Titans? Best Landing Spots! Final Free Agent Preview! (Fantasy Football Podcast 03/06)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fantasy Football Today – Episode: "Rodgers to Giants? Darnold to Titans? Best Landing Spots! Final Free Agent Preview!"

Release Date: March 8, 2025
Host: Adam Aizer
Analysts: Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg, Heath Cummings, and others
Episode Duration: Approximately 11 minutes

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Introduction to Free Agency Excitement

Adam Aizer [00:30]:
Adam kicks off the discussion with enthusiasm about the upcoming free agency period, highlighting the potential moves that could impact fantasy football drafts. He emphasizes the significance of players like T. Higgins not being true free agents due to the franchise tag, which limits their availability.

Key Points:

• T. Higgins' Situation: Not a true free agent; holding the franchise tag.
• Chris Godwin's Potential: Coming off a major injury, yet remains a valuable wide receiver option.
• Quarterback Class Insights: Discusses the attractiveness of free-agent quarterbacks such as Darnold, Russell Wilson, and Gardner Minshew, noting their potential impact on fantasy teams.

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Quarterback Free Agency Analysis

Jamey Eisenberg [01:25]:
Jamey delves deeper into the quarterback free agency pool, mentioning that while some quarterbacks like Darnold are considered prized assets, others may serve more as bridge players rather than long-term solutions.

Notable Quotes:

• Jamey on QB Durability:
  "These are not necessarily long-term answers at the position." [01:25]

• Adam on Justin Fields:
  "Fields is the one that could be somewhat, you know, franchise altering." [03:13]

Discussion Highlights:

• Justin Fields: Potentially a game-changer due to his dual-threat capabilities, especially his rushing touchdowns which enhance his fantasy value.
• Daniel Jones' Destinations: Possible moves to Minnesota or Indianapolis, offering him a chance to resurrect his career in a new environment.
• Russell Wilson's Impact: Could significantly boost pass-catchers on his new team, making him a valuable addition.

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Running Backs and Wide Receivers Free Agency Outlook

Jamey Eisenberg [04:11]:
Shifts focus to running backs and wide receivers, noting the aging roster of available receivers and the scarcity of young, high-target options.

Key Points:

• Running Backs to Watch: Najee Harris and Aaron Jones are highlighted as top available options, with potential landing spots in Denver and the Raiders.
• Wide Receivers Age Factor: Many top receivers entering free agency are 28 years or older, posing concerns for longevity and consistent fantasy production.
• Darius Slayton's Potential: Could thrive if moved to the right team and system, serving as a cost-effective second option behind established stars like DK Metcalf.

Notable Quotes:

• Jamey on Receiver Aging:
  "Devonte Adams gonna be 33 in December, 32 years old... they are not young guys." [05:04]

• Adam on Darius Slayton's Fantasy Value:
  "He scored 17.2 or more PPR fantasy points in each of his last three games in 2023." [06:12]

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Potential Landing Spots and Team Impact

Adam Aizer [07:26]:
Adam speculates on Devonte Adams potentially reuniting with Aaron Rodgers, enhancing his target share and fantasy output.

Notable Quotes:

• Adam on Adams & Rodgers Synergy:
  "If he gets 10 targets a game, he's probably going to be a must-start player in half PPR." [07:36]

• Jamey on Adams' Fit with New Teams:
  "He could be a good fit with Devonte Adams... maybe the Patriots." [08:28]

Discussion Highlights:

• Patriots as a Landing Spot: Despite initial skepticism, the Patriots could benefit from Adams' presence, providing a veteran boost to a young quarterback.
• DK Metcalf's Potential Trade: A move to New England could elevate Metcalf's role, making him a top-tier receiver within the Patriots' system.
• Risk on Josh McDaniels: Concerns about Adams joining Josh McDaniels' offense, which has a history of being overly conservative and potentially limiting Adams' effectiveness.

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Final Thoughts and Fantasy Implications

Jamey Eisenberg [09:36]:
Jamey wraps up the free agency preview by weighing the potential impact of key moves on fantasy football, particularly focusing on the balance between player age, system fit, and overall team dynamics.

Notable Quotes:

• Jamey on DK Metcalf's Value:
  "He could be a good fit for what they're looking for and what they need." [09:54]

• Adam on JSN's Draft Strategy:
  "I think he's going as a third-round pick." [10:41]

Key Insights:

• Balancing Age and Production: Managers need to consider the age of wide receivers and running backs, weighing their past performance against potential decline.
• Strategic Drafting: Emphasizes the importance of drafting receivers like JSN in the appropriate rounds to maximize value without overpaying in drafts.
• System Compatibility: Highlights the critical role that a player's new team's offensive system and quarterback can play in determining their fantasy value.

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Conclusion

The episode provides a comprehensive overview of the upcoming free agency period, dissecting potential quarterback, running back, and wide receiver moves that could influence fantasy football strategies. Hosts Adam Aizer and Jamey Eisenberg offer insightful analysis on player value, team fit, and the broader implications for fantasy managers aiming to dominate their leagues. Key takeaways include the strategic importance of securing quarterbacks like Justin Fields, the cautious optimism surrounding running backs such as Najee Harris, and the nuanced evaluation of aging wide receivers like Devonte Adams and DK Metcalf.

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Notable Quotes Recap:

• "Fields is the one that could be somewhat, you know, franchise altering." — Adam Aizer [03:13]
• "These are not necessarily long-term answers at the position." — Jamey Eisenberg [01:25]
• "Devonte Adams joins a team that already had Garrett Wilson and he earned 10 targets per game." — Adam Aizer [07:36]

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Note: This summary focuses solely on the content-heavy discussions within the specified transcript segment, excluding advertisements, intros, outros, and unrelated segments to provide a clear and informative overview for those who haven't listened to the episode.

Transcript

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[Adam Azer]

You know, I'm starting to get pretty excited about free agency next week and I'm not apologizing for it. I'll tell you why right now on FFT Express. All right, welcome everybody to FFT Express. I'm Adam Azer with Jamie Eisenberg and we've been saying it all along. Especially if T. Higgins who got franchise tag does not end up getting traded. It's just not a great free agent classic. He's not even a free agent right. He got the franchise tag. So Chris Godwin coming off a major injury might be the best wide receiver. But Jamie, I'm getting excited because I do think there are some teams that could have some quarterback upgrades and people don't love the quarterback for agent class. But look great quarterbacks don't make it to free agency, right? So you know Darnold could be an upgrade somewhere. Maybe Russell Wilson's an upgrade somewhere, maybe Gardner Minshew's an upgrade somewhere. But it's very similar to, very similar to last year's names other than Cousins. Kind of an interesting quarterback class. I don't know that they are fantasy relevant but they could help wide receivers.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

They absolutely can. And, and look two QB league super flex leagues, a lot of people play in those formats so they're going to be relevant. Darnold right now is is considered the prize. It seems as if Fields is heading back to Pittsburgh. Aaron Rodgers is going to be a headline grabbing player for sure. Wherever he ends up. Could be the Giants, could be the Titans, could be the Raiders, you know. So most of these guys though aside from probably Darnold, but we know what his career has been like, are going to be bridge quarterbacks whether it's to a rookie this year or to a rookie next year. These are not necessarily long term answers at the position. Maybe Justin Fields could be because he's still young enough. Did have an interesting season with the Steelers last year, got them off to a 4 and 2 start. Was actually starting to look like a good fantasy Quarterback mostly with his rushing, had five rushing touchdowns. So he's, he's the one that could be somewhat, you know, franchise altering. And then we'll see probably one or two of these guys. You mentioned Minchu. I wouldn't be surprised. Daniel Jones in two spots. One, if Darnold leaves, does Minnesota lock him up to have sort of a veteran in place, knowing that McCarthy didn't play as a rookie coming off a knee injury. And so if McCarthy's injured, look what Kevin O'Connor did with Darnold, who was considered to be a bust as an NFL quarterback. Right. He made him into a pretty good quarterback. And then Indianapolis is another spot that I could see Daniel Jones going because he's a similar type of quarterback to Anthony Richardson. Right. Guys mobile can run, can probably keep the offense not necessarily changing things. And if Richardson struggles, does, does Jones sort of resurrect himself there? So those are two kind of destinations I see for Daniel Jones. But yes, it's a very, very not sexy free agent group, but certainly the quarterbacks, you know, Darnold being the headliner isn't exactly the guy that you say, oh, my God, I can't wait to see where Sam Donald goes.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah. Fields is actually so interesting because he's the one that probably makes your, your wide receivers worse for fantasy, but he could be the best quarterback to start for fantasy, you know, because obviously we know why he runs so much.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

And again, you know, I, I agree with you, but look what he did for DJ Moore. DJ Moore's best season.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, but just look what he did for George Pickens. I, I know DJ Moore is like the only example.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I, I don't, again, I don't disagree with you, but I also think it was like, we're gonna handcuff Justin Fields, especially when they're winning. Yeah.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah. Now they were extremely conservative. Extremely conservative. Pickens definitely took off a little bit when Russell Wilson, those first six games, he was great. He was fantastic. Okay. And Russell Wilson himself, obviously, you know, is in this mix as a free agent quarterback and he might, might be good for some pass catchers. Yeah. What else are you kind of looking forward to in, in free agency?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

So the receivers are old. You know, that's one thing. I mean, first off, if you want to, you know, kind of a, a fun look at free agency, I, I, we're breaking down each position this week, so quarterbacks and running backs are on the site. Receivers will be out by the end of the day. And I, I put destinations just for fun, you know, so I put Darnold with the Titans, for example. I put Rogers with the Giants, just to torture you. But, you know, some, some guys that, you know, could have some, some fun landing spots. One quarterback could be great for fantasy is James Winston. You know, I mean, wherever he ends up, we know that he's, he's a good fantasy quarterback by himself. And he's done great things for his receiving core. The running backs and the receivers are just kind of, kind of a who's who group of guys. You know, when you're talking about maybe Naji Harris as the best running back, who's available, Aaron Jones as one of the best running backs, who's available, and he may not leave, he may not leave Minnesota. It's going to be surprising to see if any of these guys end up as featured rushers, you know, so Naji, I think is the one that could potentially still get a, a starting job somewhere because 27 years, I think 26, 27 years old, coming off 4,000 yard seasons. He doesn't fumble. He's got three fumbles in his career. He doesn't miss games. He showed that as a rookie he could be a pass catcher, you know, so the two, the two. My two favorite spots for him would be Denver and the Raiders. I think the Raiders make a lot of sense just because of what Pete Carroll likes. But Denver obviously is, is a good landing spot as well. And then for the receivers, again, I don't think Chris Godwin leaves. Even though he didn't get the franchise tag, he wants to stay in Tampa Bay. They want to keep him. They probably get him a little bit cheaper just because of the injury. And then it's just a lot of old guys. Devonte Adams gonna be 33 in December, 32 years old. Keenan Allen is already 33. You have every, every top receiver. I did 10 guys, by the time the season starts, they'll be 28 years old or older, you know, so Marquis Brown turns 28 in the summer. Darius Slayton's gonna already 28. Christian Kirk is going to be 29, you know, so they're, they're not young guys.

[Adam Azer]

Darius Slayton, I don't think he'll ever, you know, get the targets. But that's been a guy where like Malik Neighbors misses weeks five and six, right? He gets 11 targets in both games.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I'll tell you who Darius Slayton is this year for me. He's darn on Mooney. Get him on the right team, get him in the right quarterback, get him in the right system. Could be A good number two guy. Like, I put him in Seattle as the replacement for those guys that are leaving because he's cheap. He'll be cheap. And then draft a guy. I can see something like that.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah. And he scored. Scored 17.2 or more PPR fantasy points in each of his last three games in 2023. But this is what we're talking about. We're talking about Darius Sleep. Right? This just tells you a lot about the free agent class. All right, we'll be right back and take a quick break here and wrap things up with free agency on FFT Express.

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[Adam Azer]

Hassle for convenience. Pickup fees may apply. You know, I did some research on devonte Adams yesterday, and if he ends up with Aaron Rodgers, just consider that.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

That he.

[Adam Azer]

He joins a team that already had Garrett Wilson and he earned 10 targets per game with Aaron Rodgers. And if the two of them are on the same team, he might get 10 targets a game again. And I don't care how old or how bad he is, if he gets 10 targets a game, he's probably going to be a must start player in half ppr. And I. I put the Patriots as a landing spot for him. And there was a stat that really shocked me. You know, I don't think devonte Adams is going to be a deep. Like a few years ago with Derek Carr, he caught a lot of long touchdowns. I don't think that's him anymore. Right. He's gonna be an intermediate area or even short area guy. Drake May led the NFL in completion percentage on past attempts of 6 to 12. Air yards completed 74.2% and I think he was second in yards per attempt on those throws. So maybe he'd be a good fit with Devonte Adams. I thought that.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I think you picked the one team he will 1000% not go to.

[Adam Azer]

Green Bay.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

No.

[Adam Azer]

Who?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

The.

[Adam Azer]

The Patriots?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Adam Azer]

Why will he 1000% not go there?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Who's the Robins coordinator?

[Adam Azer]

I don't even know who it is.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Josh McDaniels.

[Adam Azer]

Oh, yeah, it is Josh McDaniels. That's right. Yeah. Look, time heals all wounds.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Oh, money Will heal all wounds if they pay him.

[Adam Azer]

They have the most cap space.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

But I don't think he's. I think he wants from. From all indications, he wants west coast. And I don't think Rogers is going to the Patriots, so I don't think he's going to go play with Josh McDaniels again in.

[Adam Azer]

Well, I was gonna put Chargers, but I knew you were going to do that, so I didn't. Because that's a good call, obviously.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Yeah, I mean, look, the Rams could certainly have some interest, you know, if they want to, you know, get a veteran guy in there to replace Cooper Cup. Wouldn't be surprising if San Francisco if they move on from Brandon Ayuk and they get a trade partner and now they have to replace not just Iuk and replace Iuk and Samuel. So that's a team. I believe he's from that area, but yeah, I don't think he's going to play for Josh McDaniels.

[Adam Azer]

And we're hoping that DK Metcalf gets traded. I mean, I'm kind of hoping he gets traded because I just think it'd be interesting. I sort of know DK Metcalf on Seattle. It's, it's, it's whatever. I would like to shake things up for him and for JSN sake because that could catapult JSN. I don't even know Jason would be.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

A top 10 wide receiver. I mean, you know, you, you brought up the, the stats, you know, the, the targets were there for him and he had a pretty, pretty solid season. You know, you look at the way that he finished. I know week 17 wasn't great, but weeks 14, 15 and 16, fantasy playoffs for a lot of people like, like superstar, 18 plus points or more in those three games, you know, so that's the next domino to fall from a trade standpoint. And it could help Metcalf, like you said, you know, so ends up. But like him to New England makes a lot of sense. You know, a guy that can sort of be the alpha there. I don't think he is a true number one NFL wide receiver, but he could be for that team for what they're looking for and what they need, especially if they're just going to go the draft route, have a lot of money to spend, have a, you know, young quarterback that could use a veteran presence. So I like that fit.

[Adam Azer]

I think JSN might get overdrafted if you're calling him top 10 because this is team that. Yeah, I mean, they fired their offensive coordinator because they were throwing too much. And I mean, look, if he's the only guy they don't really add anyone of significance. Then it'd be hard. Not third round, third round. Let's sit on third round. Third round Be great for jsn. All right.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I think he's right now is going as a third round pick.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah. I just don't know that I'd take him in the second. But you know my thing with slot rate. 77 slot rate insanely high, fifth highest in the NFL. Minimum 50 targets. You just can't find wide receivers that have huge years with that kind of slot rate. But I would hope they play more on the outside. They did two years ago when Metcalf missed the game. They did not like last year when.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Metcalf I don't think they have a choice if you're bringing in a whole new receiving form to only play him this line.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, I would hope so. All right, that's it for our free agency preview. We can't wait to break down all the moves next week on FFT Express. See you later.

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