Every offseason we see players change teams via trade or free agency, and the 2024 offseason was no different. We saw several surprising moves and signings, especially from players leaving the AFC and going to the NFC.
Below, I’ll examine the players who left the AFC and went to the NFC via trade or signing and examine their fantasy football outlook as we approach preseason games.
Let’s dive in.
- 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
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- 2024 Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft Kit
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Fantasy Football Outlook: AFC to NFC
Quarterback
There weren’t any notable quarterbacks that left the AFC and landed in the NFC that have fantasy value.
Running Back
Coming to the Packers after signing a massive four-year, $48 million deal, Josh Jacobs’ signing spelled the end of Aaron Jones‘ time with the Packers. The Packers did retain AJ Dillon, but Jacobs will be used early and often this offseason based on this contract.
Per FantasyPros’ average draft position (ADP) data, Jacobs is the RB12 in PPR leagues. He’ll get plenty of volume, providing him with weekly RB1 upside. His ADP is on par with where I’d recommend taking him, but his volume could get him closer to that top-10 range at the running back position.
Last season with the Raiders, Jacobs had 233 carries for 805 yards and six touchdowns and caught 37 passes on 53 targets for 296 yards. He didn’t play after Week 14, and while he was wildly inefficient, he’s just one season removed from rushing for 1,653 yards.
The Raiders had quarterback and offensive line issues, limiting Jacobs’ productivity. Jacobs should volume his way into being a consistent RB1 behind the Packers’ offensive line and playing with Jordan Love, who is beginning his ascent to being a top quarterback in the league
Austin Ekeler was drafted as the RB2 last season. He was a massive disappointment. He rushed 179 times for 632 yards and five rushing touchdowns and added 51 catches for 436 yards and one touchdown.
In coming to the Commanders, he’ll be a valuable safety valve for rookie Jayden Daniels. With Brian Robinson on the roster, however, Ekeler will likely be even less effective in the running game, leaving his value primarily in the passing game, which he’s proven to be among the best.
Robinson was effective when he did play, so expect Ekeler to be more of an RB3 and a Zero RB strategy kind of running back.
His days of RB1 status are long gone.
The Cowboys said goodbye to Tony Pollard as he left for the Titans, and while they retained Rico Dowdle, they brought Ezekiel Elliott back on a cheap deal.
Elliott is similar to Ekeler in that he will likely end up as a back-end RB3 or atop the RB4 range. He’s the RB40 in PPR leagues right now, per ADP, but his projected volume, coupled with his receiving production, could make for another Zero RB target, but the consistency could become quite frustrating.
He caught 51 passes for 313 yards and two scores with the New England Patriots last season and added 184 carries for 643 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Expect Elliott to exceed 200 carries and be involved in the passing game as the Cowboys only have CeeDee Lamb, who will command about 200 targets, Brandin Cooks and Jake Ferguson.
Wide Receiver
Coming over in a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers, Keenan Allen lands on a team with high-profile rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who could become the first-ever Bears quarterback to exceed 4,000 passing yards in a season. However, he has to compete with DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, D’Andre Swift, Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett for targets.
Based on the current lineup, he’ll likely be the No. 2 or “1B” option in the offense.
In 13 games last season, Allen saw 145 targets. He caught 108 passes for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns. He was wildly productive, with a mix of Justin Herbert and someone named Easton Stick throwing him passes.
Allen is currently going as the WR32 in PPR leagues, and due to the number of receiving weapons and a rookie quarterback, it makes sense. If I had to bank on anyone proving to be the most reliable target for Williams, it would be Allen, who seemingly makes any quarterback situation work.
He’s going 54th overall compared to Moore’s 27 overall ADP. I prefer Allen’s value.
Going as the WR43 in PPR leagues, Diontae Johnson is, unfortunately, entering a scenario where he’s on a team that looked incredibly destitute a season ago.
They’ve brought in Dave Canales as head coach who should help get quarterback Bryce Young on track after completing less than 60% of his passes for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions a season ago.
Looking at the Panthers’ depth chart, there’s no real argument against Johnson being the No. 1 receiver, but Young did seem to have quite a rapport with the aging Adam Thielen a season ago, and they drafted Xavier Legette at the top of the second round.
There are more mouths to feed here, but Johnson should see the bulk of the targets. He could exceed his ADP from WR43 to around WR36 as a WR3 in a hopefully improving offense.
Tight End
With Cole Kmet ahead of him on the depth chart coming off of a massive deal, Gerald Everett is unlikely to be much of a factor. He posted 51 catches for 411 yards and three touchdowns a season ago with the Chargers but earning $6 million a year, Everett will likely see a bit more time pass-blocking while Kmet handles the bulk of the receiving duty.
Everett will be waiver wire fodder for perhaps all of the 2024 season.
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