Free Agency Review - AFC East

So the first division I will be looking at is the AFC East and there’s been a fair few changes and I get a feeling that for 3 of the teams in this division the upcoming draft is going to be majorly important.

-Buffalo Bills-

Key Additions:

AJ McCarron	QB	2yrs	$10m
Chris Ivory	RB	2yrs	$5.5m

So the Bills shipped off Tyrod Taylor to the Browns for a third round pick which is a decent return for a guy they didn’t seem to want to believe in. As a result they’ve needed to look at QB and after the dust settled in the QB market they picked-up AJ McCarron. The former Bengal who spent a lot of the offseason linked to the Browns ends up in the hole left by the guy Cleveland went for instead. I fully expect the Bills to trade up for the QB they want in this year’s draft. Whoever that may be, they will be in a battle with McCarron to be the starter in week one.

Elsewhere in the backfield, Chris Ivory should act as a decent backup to LeSean McCoy but will have minimal fantasy relevance. Defensively they splashed out for Star Lotulelei from the Panthers (5yrs, $50m) but have lost Preston Brown which leaves them light at MLB.

They have a lot of work to do. McCarron is going to need a rival and their defence needs work. Losing LT Cordy Glenn in the trade with the Bengals to make their first upward move means they have work to do on the offensive line but I think McCoys value is more heavily influenced by his condition than anything else. However I think the Bills fate this year and quite possibly for the next few years, may be dependent on this years’ draft.

-Miami Dolphins-

Key Additions:

Frank Gore	RB	1yr	$tbc
Albert Wilson	WR	3yrs	$24m
Danny Amendola	WR	2yrs	$12m

The headline for the Dolphins was more the departure of Landry to the Browns than any arrivals but they have had to find new alternatives to throw his not inconsiderable targets to. They settled on former Chief Albert Wilson and Mr Playoffs for the Patriots Danny Amendola. Amendola has won rings with the Patriots with team friendly deals so was perhaps deserving of a payday. He should take a fair few of the slot targets but of course he needs to be on the field to do that and his body is certainly delicate. In additions Albert Wilson adds to Kenny Stills and Devante Parker in what is now a wide receiver corps busy with quite average players. There’s no clear cut number one and there doesn’t look to be a guy getting a Landry style share. Parker has been hyped so often and never delivered, Stills will have to find chemistry with Tannehill and new addition Wilson was a good gadget player for the Chiefs but beyond that is he going to be their answer? It points towards a spread of targets which is awful for fantasy but perhaps not the worst idea for the Dolphins in general.

Elsewhere Frank Gore returns to where he went to college for what is surely the final act of his career. IT reduces Kenyan Drakes value considerably and neither are really good options for fantasy now. On defence, releasing Ndamukong Suh may just signal their intentions for this season. They didn’t open up a lot of cap space by cutting him (not this year anyway) but left a huge hole in their defence. They traded with the Rams for Robert Quinn who is a decent addition but I think it’s a reasonable assumption that there is going to be something of a rebuild in Miami. They will need a new Tight End having released Julius Thomas who just cannot find the form he had with Peyton Manning in Denver. With so many wide receivers they may just stick with Anthony Fasano and run more 4 WR sets which could be handy in PPR, especially in deeper leagues.

With Tannehill returning at QB the fantasy outlook is uninspiring and probably one to avoid. Kenyan Drake looks to have the talent to be a decent Running Back option, but even if Gore hadn’t arrived was there enough around him for this to be realized anyway? Gore removes the questions about whether Drake will get lead back type touches and basically leaves the fantasy prospects of Dolphins players floundering in the late, late rounds.

-New York Jets-

Key Additions:

Teddy Bridgewater	QB	1yr	$6m
Josh McCown	QB	1yr	$10m
Issiah Crowell	RB	3yrs	$12m
Terrelle Pryor	WR

After the Browns made trades early on, the Jets entered Free Agency with the most cap space of any team and they probably didn’t manage to use it the way they wanted to do. Money wasn’t enough to convince Kirk Cousins to come to them and by the time the dust settled they ended up bringing back Josh McCown for a season and giving Teddy Bridgewater a 1 year prove it deal. Bridgewater should be a decent backup and I hope he gets a chance to prove his worth for a future contract; however in the long term the Jets are going to be drafting their QB for the future this April. McCown should be a decent mentor and should also keep the team ticking after an impressive 2017 regular season before injuries ended his season.  In the receiving positions they have lost Austin Seferian-Jenkins and need to hope Jordan Leggett can step up or they can bring in a replacement at tight end. Their wide receiving corps may take a hit if Robby Anderson does indeed find himself suspended and the first step the Jets have made has been to sign Terrelle Pryor in the hope he turns out more like he did in Cleveland than the guy he was in Washington. With other options being the likes of Kearse, Enunwa and Stewart I think it’s fair to say they needed some help.

With Matt Forte retiring the Jets have looked to former Brown Isaiah Crowell to fill the void. To me this is a scenario where Crowell can succeed if he is indeed good enough for this league. RB31 last year behind what wasn’t a terrible offensive line does leave questions but when you look at the backfield he is still perhaps their best early down option. Bilal Powell will remain a part of the offence but he’s neither young nor exciting and last season he was within 2 fantasy points of his new rival. Elijah McGuire becomes the third guy in a 3 headed monster and when you look at this combination together, it would not a be a shock if the Jets draft a Running Back some point after they take their Quarterback.

They have however spent some decent money on their defence (perhaps too much when you look at the Trumaine Johnsons 5 year $72m contract). Releasing Muhammed Wilkerson may make them a better unit and hopefully the new pieces can gel together to form a cohesive unit. New Centre Spencer Long helps the offensive line They are another team where the draft is going to direct which direction they are going. Last season they managed to make something out of nothing and I just wonder if they can reproduce that form. 

-New England Patriots-

Key Additions:

Rex Burkhead	RB	3yrs	$9.75m
Jeremy Hill	RB	1yr	$1.5m

The team most people love to hate have done what you would expect a successful franchise like them to do… not a lot. The only real offensive addition with fantasy relevant is the much maligned Jeremy Hill coming in to replace Dion Lewis. It’s a surprising signing given his habit of dropping the ball which will put you in the doghouse (see Mike Gillislee) but you can’t rule out the Patriots making him useful for their system. Rex Burkhead being retained on a long term deal may be the most interesting development in terms of fantasy. Provided James White continues to work on passing downs and Hill and Gillislee can’t gain the trust required, Burkhead could be a rare Patriots Running Back with some value. Don’t rush him too high up your rankings however; this is still the Patriots.

On defence they added Adrian Clayborn, brought in Devin McCourty’s brother Jason in a trade with the Browns and re-signed Patrick Chung after an impressive year. All this means I don’t see them having the terrible start that they did last year, even with Matt Patricia now at the Lions.

As you’d expect with the Patriots they’ve gone for the “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach and even the loss of Amendola shouldn’t really hurt them. They may expect some more production from Kenny Britt but I suspect Cooks, Edelman, Hogan and Gronk will be the main targets for Tom Brady and that once again, they will be the favorites for the division.