Winners
Justin Fields
Last year I made a custom Justin Fields T-Shirt that said “I’m having a Fields Day”. As I currently write this, I am wearing it with absolute bullishness.
Finally, a superstar wide receiver by the name of DJ Moore has come to the aid of Fields to hopefully elevate this passing game after the Bears made a trade out of the #1 pick with the Panthers to acquire the WR.
Darnell Mooney didn’t quite fit the bill as the #1 guy but makes for an absolutely perfect #2 on the team.
Added to his increased weapons, we all know how devastating he was on the ground in 2022. He had over 70 rush yards in 8 of his last 10 games and broke the single-game rushing record for a quarterback (178 yards) against the Dolphins. His end of seasons stats saw him rush for over half of what his passing yards were.
If Fields and the offensive coaches can get a bit more efficient and productive on that side of things and Fields continues to progress as a player, Fields is easily a top 5 QB for me going forward despite always being prone to an interception or two.
Miles Sanders
Miles Sanders has top 10 RB finish potential in 2023, especially if the word on the street is true that the panthers see Sanders as a 3 down back. Sanders reunites with Josh McCown and his running backs coach Duce Staley from his rookie season in Philadelphia so its obvious that Sanders was somewhat of a priority for the Panthers.
Sanders had over 50 missed tackles recorded last season and whilst the juice drips away with every carry logged, he was hardly a workhorse in his time at Philly. He is more than competent in the passing game, vital for the incumbent rookie QB and his room mate Chuba Hubbard is nothing more than a relief type back so it’s all Miles to the moon.
Whilst the Panthers offensive line isn’t quite Phildelphia’s, Donta Foreman sure did get some gaping holes and productive stat lines last season.
I would more than happily give up a mid (1 QB) /late 1st (SF) for Sanders in dynasty at this point and could be a steal in 3rd/4th rounds of redraft, especially if you go zero RB early.
David Montgomery
Montgomery stays in the NFC North and comes to the Lions from the Bears.
Expect Montgomery to pick up the goal line work that saw his predecessor Jamaal Williams get a crazy amount of touches from inside the 10 in 2022 (45!) which helped him amass 17 rushing touchdowns. They say money talks and to give Monty a 3-year deal worth $18 million, with $11 million guaranteed says to me that they’ll give him the bulk of the work from the get go.
The Lions look to be a team on the up and looking to make some noise so should see positive game-scripts and were often in high-scoring games last year. High-scoring games = loads of fantasy points to go around.
Treat Montgomery as a guy on the RB 1/2 border for this upcoming year.
Garrett Wilson
Assuming Aaron Rodgers joins the Jets, it could be all systems go for the offensive Rookie of the year.
Looking at his splits between the QBs that formed the carousel last year, it’s clear Zach Wilson was restricting Wilson’s production capabilities. He still managed to turn in a 1,000 yard season off of 83 receptions but all Wilson needs is someone that can get him the ball and Rodgers is still one of the more accurate guys chucking the rock.
There are enough other weapons such as Lazard and Breece Hall that teams won’t be able to blanket cover Wilson to stifle him (not that it would matter too much). With an upgrade at QB, he should find the endzone a few more times than the 4 from 2022.
He’ll be a high-end WR2 with real possibility of being a WR1 (maybe even THE WR1? Bold prediction) should the Packers and Jets agree to a trade.
Jordan Love Owners
Finally! Those that have “held the bag” with regards to Jordan Love shares, you can let them loose in 2023!
Not saying that he’s a QB1, but considering how long you may have held on to those shares of Love and waiting with bated breath that the prima donna Aaron Rodgers finally walks out on Green Bay, at least you now have a player that is gonna score you some points. Blow the dust off the bench button on your respective apps and slot him into your Superflex spot. He should be your low end QB2/3 on your roster in Superflex leagues. It’s not much, but it’s better than a goose egg.
Shout out to those who held him since the rookie drafts!
Other Notable Winners:
Rhamondre Stevenson – Damien Harris gone, replaced by James Robinson. Does have some other 2nd year guys but should see a decent chunk of the load.
Tony Pollard – Zeke gone, replaced by Rojo. Cowboys may draft a bigger back but it looks a sthough pollard gets the keys in 2023.
Nico Collins – Whilst they brought in Schultz and have other guys there like Robert Woods from the Titans and Metchie possibly returning, I don’t think the Texans invest in a WR with premium draft capital in the draft. See if you can get him for a mid to late 2nd rounder in dynasty as he’ll be a good depth piece, especially if the QB they take smashes it.
Sleeper Alert
Samaje Perine – decent deal for Perine who produced in a full-time role when Mixon was out for the Bengals. Javonte Williams is no shoo-in to be ready to go week 1 so could be a cheap pickup and may even be on waivers right now. He could muscle his way into a timeshare and way outproduce his value.
Losers
De’Andre Swift
A rollercoaster of emotions no doubt in the Swift camp with the highs of seeing Jamaal Williams leave the Lions, but to then see David Montgomery come through the turnstiles at Ford Field no doubt saw his thoughts crash through the floor.
Swift is oft injured and whilst a really good, talented football player the Lions clearly can’t rely on him and have shown as much through their actions of the deal that D-Mont got as above.
Mike Evans/Chris Godwin
Going from Tom Brady to Baker Mayfield/Kyle Trask is like going from eating at a 5-star Michelin restaurant to eating off the floor.
Mike Evans’s 1,000 receiving yard streak is under threat and the ceilings of both he and Chris Godwin have reduced significantly with the Quarterback change in Tampa.
Purely because neither of the aforementioned QBs are going to throw in the vicinity of what Tom Brady did over the past few years (Brady threw over 700 balls last season!). The quality of targets will decrease as they won’t be as accurate and they are likely to score fewer points/have fewer trips to the redzone compared with the GOAT’s numbers.
Godwin is saved somewhat in PPR formats due to his role and Mayfield was able to find Jarvis Landry back in Cleveland so should be a low-ceiling WR2. Evans might even be a touchdown dependant WR3 in 2023 who may only be of use in bestball. Welp.
Michael Gallup
It’s commonly quite tough to hit the ground running after coming back from an ACL injury and you do find the first season back takes a bit of time to find your game.
That being said, Gallup may have lost his spot as the #2 in the depth chart at WR as the Cowboys have traded for Brandin Cooks so it seems the Cowboys aren’t going to gamble on Gallup being able to turn things around.
Added to this, the Cowboys make it clear they want to run the ball and will be a run-heavy offence in 2023. He should be a late-round bestball pick and will definitely be a guy that has 1 or 2 big games due to the high-powered nature of the offence, but good luck trying to identify when those will be.
Other losers to note:
Alvin Kamara – Jamaal Williams should continue his goalline trick for the saints, Kamara was already battling Hill for rushing TDs…And he may start the season suspended.
Dameon Pierce – Singletary joins the backfield and poses a problem to his workload. Pierce was great in his rookie year but Singletary who is much more competent in pass protection could take a chunk of a small fantasy scoring pie in Houston.
