While caught up in NFL Draft coverage, it’s easy to forget that free agency is upon us in less than a month’s time. We’ve been looking at each team closely, seeing what needs they should be addressing in the draft, as well as free agency.
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While doing that, we started to think about which team the top free agents would sign with. Here are the ideal landing spots for each of the top free agents, as the teams have a clear need, and it’d give the players themselves the opportunity needed to succeed.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady: Patriots
Similar to Drew Brees, there’s no logical reason Brady should be going to another team at this stage of his career. When you’ve mastered a playbook inside and out, it’d be rather difficult to walk into a new franchise and have any sort of chemistry with any of the pass-catchers. Heck, we saw new pass-catchers for Brady this year and it didn’t quite pan out. The Patriots are the best-case scenario for Brady.
Philip Rivers: Colts
There haven’t been many quarterbacks who’ve been underappreciated the way Rivers has, so now is his time to choose the landing spot that gives him the best shot at winning a title. The Colts have the best offensive line that Rivers has ever seen, play in a dome nine-plus times a year, have a rock-solid head coach in place, and have plenty of money to spend in free agency. The Colts or the Bears would make the most sense, but the Bears GM is unlikely to budge, as it’d probably cost him his job.
Jameis Winston: Buccaneers
I haven’t even given consideration to anywhere other than the Bucs for Winston, as it just seems that’s what’s bound to happen. They aren’t a team who’s built to win now, so a veteran quarterback would make no sense, and it’s not like they have the draft capital to get a franchise quarterback. This is also the best-case scenario for fantasy football players.
Dak Prescott: Cowboys
Let’s be real – Prescott isn’t going anywhere. If the Cowboys are forced to choose between him and Amari Cooper, it’s going to be Prescott who gets the franchise tag. Going into his second season with Kellen Moore as the play-caller would be great, too, as he’d likely have more freedom in the offense, though it worked pretty well for the passing game in 2019. Now, if Prescott loses Cooper, that would deflate his stock quite a bit.
Ryan Tannehill: Titans
Were the Dolphins that badly run as an organization that Tannehill was a hidden gem just waiting to emerge as one of the best quarterbacks of this generation? I’m not saying that, but his 117.5 QB Rating was the fourth-best of all-time. You know one quarterback who was above him? Nick Foles. Remember when he left the Eagles for the Rams? What happened? It’s possible that Tannehill may be great elsewhere, but we know he’s great in Tennessee, so why would we want that to change.
Running Backs
Derrick Henry: Colts
We all know that once Henry gets to the second level, he’s pretty much gone, right? Well, the Colts have the best offensive line in football, and call me crazy, but they shouldn’t be relying on Marlon Mack to be the feature back. They’re also one of the teams who happen to have the cap room to make something work for Henry. This is the ideal landing spot for Henry from a fantasy perspective.
Melvin Gordon: Chargers
I don’t believe Gordon will be back with the Chargers, but rather think it’s the ideal landing spot for him. Some may scoff at this, but he and Austin Ekeler do extremely well together in that backfield. Gordon has plenty of miles on his tires and isn’t coming off one of his better seasons, which means if he left the Chargers, he’d be involved in some sort of timeshare. The Bucs also make sense, but Ronald Jones deserves a chance to shine, and they don’t complement each other very well.
Jordan Howard: Titans
The Titans aren’t likely to pay Derrick Henry the $50-plus million guaranteed money he wants, so why not grab the much cheaper solution in Howard? He’s a downhill runner who’s averaged a solid 4.4 yards per carry over his career while being reliable with the ball in his hands, especially on the goal-line. He doesn’t offer much in the passing game, but hey, neither did Henry. The alternate landing spot would be with the Texans.
Kenyan Drake: Cardinals
If you watched the final eight games of the season (the time Drake joined the Cardinals), you know why we want Drake back in a Cardinals uniform. Despite a shoddy offensive line and not much help at wide receiver, Drake racked-up 652 rushing yards (5.3 yards per carry) and eight rushing touchdowns, while also hauling in 27 receptions for 250 yards. He’s clearly the perfect fit for Kliff Kingsbury’s offense.
Lamar Miller: Buccaneers
At this point in time, Miller isn’t getting a workhorse role anywhere. Because of that, we have to look at backfields that may be incomplete right now. The Bucs are my favorite, as it’d allow Ronald Jones a chance to shine with 14-16 touches per game, while mixing Miller in for 8-12 touches. Over the course of his career, he’s been much more efficient in a timeshare. The Falcons could also be a team that makes sense for him.
Carlos Hyde: Bills
It’s only natural for Hyde to follow in the footsteps of Frank Gore, right? We don’t know if the Bills want to rely on Devin Singletary for 18-plus touches per game, but at the very least, we could see Hyde in the goal-line role for them, as Gore was last year. No matter where Hyde goes, it’s difficult to see him being very fantasy relevant at this point, unless he returns to the Texans and they don’t draft a running back.
Wide Receivers
A.J. Green: Bengals
He’s going to be back with the Bengals and it’s going to be glorious. Not only will he be playing in Zac Taylor’s improved offense, but he’s not going to receive the double teams he used to, as Tyler Boyd and John Ross have created names for themselves in the past year. And the biggest reason we want him to remain with the Bengals is due to the arrival of Joe Burrow, someone who will raise the level of the offense.
Amari Cooper: Colts
I know, I know… I’m putting together a big wish list for the Colts, but here’s why: They have plenty of cap room, have a team that’s supposed to be built to win now (and for the future), and it seems like a foregone conclusion that they’ll be going after Philip Rivers. We all know that Cooper plays better inside of a dome, as his footwork is impossible to stop, so why not put him in the dome alongside T.Y. Hilton with Rivers throwing them the ball?
Robby Anderson: Packers
I don’t believe Anderson is a true No. 1 wide receiver like some, which is why landing with the Packers would be the ideal situation, as he’d have Davante Adams playing opposite him. Anderson is a great complement to him as well and would give Aaron Rodgers the field stretcher he desperately needs. The Packers should address wide receiver early in the draft, but if they want to snag Anderson, that would work, too.
Emmanuel Sanders: Vikings
The best place for Sanders at this point of his career is in the slot, as he’s going to be 33 years old this coming season. Fortunately, the Vikings need a full-time receiver to play the majority of slot snaps. Slotting him inside Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen would give them a deadly trio, and one that not many teams are equipped to handle.
Devin Funchess: Bills
With John Brown and Cole Beasley as Josh Allen‘s top two options, they really need to add a bigger body wide receiver who can help bail him out in a tough situation. Funchess isn’t a separation master or anything, but he can come down with contested catches quite regularly. He would be a massive help in the red zone.
Tight Ends
Hunter Henry: Jaguars
The Jaguars played musical chairs with their tight ends last year, going through seven of them throughout the season. Sure, they drafted Josh Oliver last year, but he’s not someone who’s a game-changer. Adding Henry to the roster would help eliminate a need for another wide receiver, too. It seems likely that the Chargers will retain him, but no matter where he lands, he’s going to be a big part of their offense.
Austin Hooper: Falcons
Call me crazy, but I believe Hooper benefits greatly from what Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley bring to the table. Why would we want him to leave that? They also have no one else on their roster who’s ready for a full-time role, so it makes sense they’d bring him back. The Bengals would also make sense given the fact that Tyler Eifert is an unrestricted free agent.
Eric Ebron: Bears
While I’m not a fan of Ebron the player, he’d fit the Bears scheme as the move tight end, though it’s incredibly tough to see the Bears moving of from Trey Burton, who still has two years and $13.9 million left on his contract. The Bears would have to eat $7.5 million in dead cap to release him this year, which isn’t likely to happen. The Steelers and Packers are teams who could be interesting landing spots as well.
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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.