Free Agency is moving quickly, and a lot of IDP players are on the move! We are in for a big shakeup at LB with so much changing scenery. The biggest Safety moves actually improved their new teammates, and the defensive line doesn’t have a lot of big moves but some interesting moves with potential. Even though there were some interesting changes in CBs I’m not going to include them here due to the variance of CBs making them very hard to predict. There are still some big moves to be made, and some big potential cuts are still in play, but these are the moves that I have found most interesting so far.
Interesting Free Agency IDP Moves
Defensive Line
Javon Hargrave – PHI to SF
Moving from a great team to a great team makes this move somewhat lateral for the DL2/DT1 the last two seasons. The upside is likely higher in SF on the line with Bosa and Armstead, but interior guys that aren’t Aaron Donald are rarely DL1s.
Arden Key – JAX to TEN
Key should move from the 3rd man in Jacksonville behind Trayvon Walker and Josh Allen to the starter across from Harold Landry in his return from a torn ACL. The increased snap percentage should make him a bench option with upside.
Marcus Davenport – NO to MIN
This signing makes it looks like one of Danielle Hunter or Z’Darius Smith is on their way out. If that’s the case, Davenport will get a nice boost in terms of snap percentage and should see a jump in counting stats.
Still waiting to see where these guys land:
Linebackers
Tremaine Edmunds – BUF to CHI
Since his LB8 overall performance in his 2018 Rookie season Edmunds has been a firm LB3 for IDP leagues, underwhelming a lot of fantasy managers. Last year Roquan was LB2 when he was traded to Baltimore. In the next four weeks, Jack Sanborn took over that spot and was LB18, and in the last three weeks of the season, when Joe Thomas took over, he was LB9. Shaq Leonard put up some monster seasons under Matt Eberflus (Indy DC), and I’m excited about Edmunds’s potential in that same system.
T.J. Edwards – PHI to CHI
The only thing holding Edmunds back could be his new fellow Bears LB T.J. Edwards. Edwards is going to be the main run-stopper in the middle of the defense and can call plays as he did for Philly last season. It will be hard to match last year’s 159 tackle total for Edwards, but he’s still an LB2 option even with Edmunds next to him.
Bobby Okereke – IND to NYG
Okereke put up numbers next to Shaq Leonard (LB11 Overall in 2021) and Zaire Franklin (LB5 Overall in 2022), who were both LB1s the past two seasons. Okereke finished as an LB2 (22 and 13 Overall) in those seasons, and now he goes to the Giants, who had NO help at this spot last year. Okereke will have all the work he can handle in New York.
Eric Kendricks – MIN to LAC
Kendricks may have taken a bit of a step back last season, but he’s one of the most consistent LBs in the past decade. Kendricks has finished between LB3 to LB25 over the last 4 seasons and has had 100+ tackles for 7 straight seasons. I expect more of the same in L.A.
Cole Holcomb – WAS to PIT
Holcomb has finished LB16 and LB10 in 22 and 21 (PPG) and should be a plug-and-play replacement for the Bush/Spillane combo for the Steelers right next to Myles Jack and play every down.
Kaden Elliss – NO to ATL
I LOVE this move for Atlanta, Elliss was awesome for the Saints last season in a hybrid LB/Edge role, and he should continue that in Atlanta. In the four games from Weeks 10-13 for New Orleans, Elliss averaged 17 points per game and was LB7 overall. The playing time should be there for Elliss to make an immediate impact.
Azeez Al-Shaair – SF to TEN
This is a huge opportunity for Al-Shaair as he’s been stuck in Fred Warner‘s shadow, and Dre Greenlaw earned the starting job over him the last two seasons. He’s going to Tennessee to start and hopefully build off of what we saw in 2021 when averaged 11 points and finished as an LB2 filling in for Greenlaw.
Cody Barton – SEA to WAS
Barton is a way better fantasy option than real-life option, which leaves him on shaky ground. Barton was benched midway through the 2022 season but rebounded to finish the year and clocked in at LB18 overall. It’s likely Barton will enter the season as the starter next to Jamin Davis unless the Commanders spend a draft pick at this position.
Kyzir White – PHI to AZ
White follows his DC from Philly (Gannon) to fill in as a starter at a position the Cardinals have been trying to fill for a while. Kyzir has put up 100 tackles in each of the last two seasons, and I would expect that to continue in Arizona as long as he’s healthy.
Robert Spillane – PIT to LVR
I’m not sure that Spillane should be a starter, but with what’s on the Raiders roster, he could earn a full-time role. Spillane started the last 4 games with Pittsburgh, and he averaged just over 11.5 points per game which would have made him a firm LB2. The Raiders could easily add someone that makes him rotational, but if he gets the full-time gig, he can be a late target to start.
David Long Jr.– TEN to MIA
A lateral move going to Miami. He’ll stay in the middle of the defense, while Jerome Baker will continue to move around. Long has finished as an LB3 (25 and 35 Overall) in the last two seasons, and I expect him to stay in that area.
Still waiting to see where these guys land:
Defensive Backs
Jessie Bates – CIN to ATL
This move is actually better for new teammate Richie Grant than it is for Bates, in my opinion. Bates will come in and play FS allowing Richie Grant to play in the box more and make more tackles in the run game. Bates has had some great IDP seasons, but he cratered last season and was cut in most leagues. He’ll be a DB2/3 on most boards in Atlanta, but he has a ton of upside.
Vonn Bell – CIN to CAR
Another former Bengals Safety whose addition will likely increase a teammate’s value. Jeremy Chinn will spend more time in the box as an LB and could increase his production, which has declined from a DB1 (5 Overall) in his 2020 Rookie Campaign to a DB2 (20) and DB3 (29) in the last two seasons. Bell has seen a steady decline in IDP numbers since his DB1 finish in 2019 but should see a chance to make some tackles in Carolina and potentially boost his stock.
DeShon Elliott – DET to MIA
Elliott moved to Detroit and became a DB2 in IDP after being nothing more than an injury fill-in for the last two seasons in Baltimore, where he hovered around 7 PPG. With Jevon Holland playing FS and Kader Kohou playing Slot CB, Elliott should spend more time in the box, which could lead to higher tackle totals. There are a lot of high tackle players on this defense in Baker, Wilkins, and Long all over 80 last season, so he’ll have to earn it.
Still waiting to see where these guys land:
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