At long last, rookies are officially reporting for training camp. That means that the start of the fantasy football season is that much closer. Multiple teams made a splash in free agency this offseason, while others looked to the draft to solidify their future. It’s important to know which teams made the most impactful moves, and that’s what our latest draft guide preview has to offer.
Our 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Guide is packed with industry expert analysis, positional tiers, mock drafts, player profiles, rankings for multiple scoring formats, and so much more. The array of tools at your disposal will surely help you dominate your fantasy drafts this year, and our experts will continue to provide insight on crucial topics ahead of the season. If you’re looking for that additional edge on draft day, you’ve come to the right place.
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In today’s preview, will be taking a look back at some of the most notable signings, trades and more from this offseason. Patrick Daugherty has ranked the top 25 while providing analysis on the fantasy implications for the teams and players involved. Let’s have a look at the top 10:
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1. Jets finally seal the deal, make Aaron Rodgers latest savior
In the staredown nobody wanted or asked for, we got the only possible outcome. It required a bit of an overpay on the Jets’ behalf, but then again, there was no price they wouldn’t pay after last season’s Zach Wilson fiasco. The Jets believed they were a quarterback away and made it their singular mission to land one. The signal caller they ended up with is an inner-ring Hall-of-Famer who just happens to be 39 and coming off his worst season. There is real risk here. There is also more instant upside potential than there has been with any Jets quarterback since Brett Favre. Even if the results break bad, the process was justifiable.
2. Panthers make the move all the way up to No. 1 overall for Bryce Young
It took five years, but Panthers owner David Tepper finally has his quarterback. Although a rookie QB is never a panacea, this isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme like Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield. This is the Panthers getting serious about the only thing that really matters. It is true that Young is inheriting a less-than-stellar 2023 skill corps, but head coach Frank Reich is a quarterback whisperer who hasn’t had an able pupil since Andrew Luck. This figures to be slow going. Young is unlikely to sniff 2023 QB1 re-draft value, for instance. It was still a no-brainer move for this quarterback-starved franchise, one that could pay in a decade-plus of stability under center.
3. Bears land D.J. Moore as part of deal for No. 1 pick
It was the question everyone wanted answered this spring — would the Bears use the No. 1 overall pick on a quarterback or build around Justin Fields? They double stamped their answer. GM Ryan Poles didn’t just trade down, he traded down and landed a No. 1 receiver in the process. After two years of noncommittal nonsense, the Bears are fully committed to their first promising quarterback since Jay Cutler. Exciting for Bears fans, if something of a mixed bag for Moore. Deprived of capable quarterback play for his entire career, Moore is now aligned with a signal caller who has yet to prove it through the air. Frustrating, but Fields has something none of Moore’s post-Newton Panthers quarterbacks had: potential. “Stefon Diggs or A.J. Brown season” is within Moore’s range of potential 2023 outcomes.
4. Saints try to solve Drew Brees blues with Derek Carr
When Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton don’t work, there are … lots and lots and lots of quarterbacks you could call? Like, lots? Alas, the Saints only wanted one man. Carr is not the man to return the Saints to their Brees-backed glory years, but he is at least better than Dalton. We think. Really, it depends. Maxed out by Jon Gruden, Carr took a step back with Josh McDaniels. Now he will be working with Pete Carmichael, the same offensive coordinator who had plenty of trouble elevating Dalton and Winston. It is unclear what the Saints think the potential upside is here, but we suppose Carr provides a 9-10 win ceiling where it was probably only 7-8 under Dalton. Fantasy managers can continue to ignore Carr in single-QB re-draft leagues.
5. Raiders overhaul offense with ex-Pats Jimmy Garoppolo and Jakobi Meyers
Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels tried nothing and is all out of ideas. Time to start signing future Patriots. Garoppolo is only an upgrade on Derek Carr in the sense that he knows McDaniels’ system. In 2022, it seemed unclear if McDaniels’ system was worth knowing away from Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Completely maxed out by the league’s best play-caller in Kyle Shanahan, Garoppolo has nowhere to go but down in Vegas. That is, unless you count the injury report. 31-year-old Jimmy G has missed 18 games over the past three years. Like Carr in New Orleans, this move is more about rearranging furniture than actually changing a franchise’s fortunes. As for Meyers, he goes from volume-based WR3 in New England to distant WR4 status as he hopes Davante Adams saves some targets for the rest of the receiver corps.
6. Ravens sign Odell Beckham and draft Zay Flowers to replenish receiver corps
By the time the Ravens ended an injury-plagued and ineffective 2022 for their offense, Demarcus Robinson was the No. 1 receiver. That was bad enough under run-minded OC Greg Roman. It would have been untenable under his pass-happy replacement Todd Monken. Not content to simply bet on Rashod Bateman’s improved health, the Ravens overpaid Beckham and made an aggressive bet on Flowers’ modest college numbers. Risky business, but entirely necessary for an offense looking to change its identity. Each of Bateman, Beckham and Flowers enters 2023 with top-36 re-draft potential.
7. Lions remake backfield with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs
Unwilling to bet on D’Andre Swift staying healthy or Jamaal Williams repeating his 17-touchdown season, the “knocking on the door” Lions invested major resources in a position where we know it’s best not to do that. They at least made their backfield better. Like Williams, Montgomery is a jack of all trades, master of none, only better and younger. Like Swift, Gibbs is a dangerous change-of-pace back for an offense that wants to get its playmakers into space, only without the injury baggage. It could create a confusing situation in fantasy — summer best ball drafters treating Gibbs as a high-end RB2 are betting on a best-case scenario — but we know the points are coming.
8. Cowboys add Brandin Cooks to thin receiver room
CeeDee Lamb had 804 more yards than any other Cowboys wideout in 2022. Impressive, but also bad. With Amari Cooper in Cleveland, Michael Gallup struggled as he returned from a torn ACL and Noah Brown was … Noah Brown. Enter Cooks, who has produced six 1,000-yard campaigns across four different organizations since 2016. 2022 was not one of those seasons in Houston, though Cooks had alibis, No. 1 of which was … he didn’t want to be there. Having finally forced his way out, Cooks is a strong bet to return to high-end WR3 status as a 1,000-yard No. 2 for Dak Prescott.
9. Eagles renovate backfield with D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny
Miles Sanders rushed for 1,269 yards and scored 11 touchdowns for the 2022 NFC champion Eagles — and it was clear they would not be bringing him back. After predictably making no effort to re-sign Sanders in free agency, the Eagles countered by adding two high-reward but high-risk committee members. Penny is one of the league’s most dynamic early-down backs … when healthy. Swift is one of the most dangerous third-down options … when healthy. Even if they stay on the field, both will have to contend with a returning Kenneth Gainwell. Penny’s two-down skill-set in an offense that includes goal-line machine Jalen Hurts caps his value as a mid-range FLEX. Swift is the upside fantasy option, but his variables are almost too numerous to count. He begins his Eagles career as a borderline RB2.
10. Panthers overhaul skill corps with Adam Thielen, D.J. Chark and Hayden Hurst
It’s not much, but you gotta start somewhere. With D.J. Moore part of the lavish price for landing Bryce Young, the Panthers had to go bargain hunting to populate their new quarterback’s skill corps. What they ended up with was a deep threat in Chark, a tight end-esque red zone threat in Thielen and a one-trick-pony seam stretcher in Hurst. All important roles in and of themselves, but that’s what these guys are at this stage of their careers: Role players. Combined with fellow depth options Laviska Shenault and Terrace Marshall, it should be enough to at least keep Young’s development on track if not necessarily make him a rookie star.
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