Fantasy Football Draft Value Risers: Gus Edwards, Caleb Williams, Marquise Brown

With NFL Free Agency largely in the rearview, it’s time to look at fantasy football draft values. There were players that were helped and others hurt during the NFL free agency process. Let’s look into a few notable names below.

Players Trending Up

Gus Edwards (RB – LAC)

Speaking of Gus Edwards, the former Raven found himself on the free agent market for the first time since joining the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Edwards scored a career-high 13 rushing touchdowns in 2023, the first time he’d scored more than six in his career. However, Edwards looked like he’d lost a little juice, rushing for below 5.1 yards per carry on the season for the first time in his career, with his average dropping to a still respectable 4.1. With the Chargers moving on from nearly all their pass-catchers and Greg Roman set to install his run-heavy offense, a reunion with Gus Edwards made sense after their history in Baltimore. Edwards lacks the ceiling we’d truly love for fantasy football, but he’s in an ideal scheme and will have the trust of his coaches, which can often be enough for weekly Flex consideration.

Gus Edwards scored 13 TDs last season:

7 yards
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) March 13, 2024

Caleb Williams (QB – USC)

The presumed future Chicago Bears quarterback has had a fantastic week without lifting a finger. The Bears came to terms with pass-catching running back D’Andre Swift as soon as the legal tampering window opened. They then followed that by adding Gerald Everett, who worked with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron for four seasons with the Rams. The icing on the cake was trading for 2023’s WR3 in points per game, Keenan Allen, who worked with wide receivers coach Chris Beatty in L.A. for the last three years. Allen will be an ideal safety blanket for Williams, who has a far better chance of success than Justin Fields ever did in Chicago.

Marquise Brown (WR – KC)

The wide receiver market was slow to pick up with the cream of the crop being retained by their teams and a strong rookie class quelling the interest in paying up for the position right now. Marquise Brown was looking for his third team on the expiration of his rookie contract after a lackluster couple of years in Arizona. Brown has spent his NFL career in offenses that preferred to run the ball. Passing was rarely a priority under Kliff Kingsbury as the Cardinals ranked 16th in pass rate during his tenure. It was even worse in Baltimore where Greg Roman’s offense passed at the fourth-lowest rate. Meanwhile, the Chiefs have ranked first in that category for the last five seasons. Even as the third option for Patrick Mahomes, Brown can shine in this offense.