Being in the right situation and having a good opportunity can often outweigh talent when producing fantasy football points. The same can be said for the following players who find themselves in a better situation today than they were a few weeks ago, before NFL Free Agency, making them attractive targets in redraft formats this season.
Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR)*
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Russell Gage (WR – Tampa Bay)
ECR 120 (WR48)
After Chris Godwin went down with a torn ACL in Week 15 and Antonio Brown walked off the field at MetLife Stadium in Week 17, the Buccaneers had a large hole in their receiving corps. Despite Godwin being franchise tagged by Tampa Bay, the team decided to bring in fourth-year receiver Russell Gage. The former LSU Tiger put up 770 yards and four touchdowns for the Atlanta Falcons in 2021, and he has the potential to step in a large role for the Buccaneers in 2022.
With Tom Brady coming out of retirement, the Buccaneers will likely look to air it out as much as they did in 2021. Tampa Bay led the league in pass attempts with 715 and was fourth in wide receiver targets with 409. In the first five games of the season that Brown played in 2021, he was the WR6 in fantasy points per game, absorbing the 18th most targets amongst all players as a WR3 in a crowded offense.
I am not saying Russell Gage is nearly on the same talent level as Antonio Brown, but there is an opportunity for Gage to be one of Brady’s favorite targets even in a crowded offense. The Bucs have yet to sign back TE Rob Gronkowski and assuming they do not sign or draft another receiver to take over the WR3 role, there are a lot of vacated targets for Gage to attract in 2021.
Michael Gallup (WR – DAL)
ECR 101 (WR43)
Earlier this month, the Cowboys traded WR Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick. While this was a move to save cap space and maintain the rest of their roster, they decided to sign back WR Michael Gallup to a 5 year, $62.5 million contract that would lock up the former Colorado State star for the next half-decade.
Gallup finished the 2021 season with 445 yards and two touchdowns, despite missing almost half the season with a knee injury he suffered in Week 1. Gallup was not the same receiver after his injury, but this offseason will give him a chance to fully recover to get more involved in the Dallas offense in 2021. Cooper leaving in free agency opens up 104 vacated targets, even with him only playing 15 games in 2021.
In addition, Gallup scored only two touchdowns in his 10 games played, having only eight total targets in the red zone despite being known as a lethal red-zone threat. With Cooper leaving the Cowboys’ offense in 2022, Gallup is due for many opportunities as a weapon for Dak Prescott.
Ronald Jones (RB – KC)
ECR 114 (RB41)
The Chiefs had a deep rotation of different running backs in 2021, which included Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Darrel Williams, Jerick McKinnon, and Derrick Gore. As a result, Kansas City brought in veteran RB Ronald Jones. The 24-year-old running back still has a lot of juice left in the tank, as he rushed for 978 yards to go with seven touchdowns in 2020.
The former USC Trojan has not been getting the volume fantasy managers have hoped he would get, as he has was in a running back-by-committee with Tampa Bay RBs Leonard Fournette and Giovani Bernard in 2021.
Now with Kansas City, Jones could get a large share of the volume in the Chiefs offense, especially with Tyreek Hill traded and Edwards-Helaire not living up to his first-round draft capital. Andy Reid, known for producing great fantasy RB talents in Brian Westbrook, LeSean Mccoy, and Kareem Hunt, said Jones “has the chance to be a ‘major part’ of the KC offense.” With a fresh new start in the explosive KC offense, Jones has the chance to be a great value in the late rounds of fantasy drafts this Summer.
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