This article is part of our Payne's Perspective series.
Tyreek Hill is No Longer a Chief
Just a week ago I wrote up JuJu Smith-Schuster as a good target this season after he signed with the Chiefs. Here's an excerpt:
"JuJu is only 25 and will have every motivation to have a big season playing on a one-year deal. It's easy to forget how much upside JuJu has — at age 21 he posted a 166-111-1,426-7 line for the Steelers. If anything were to happen to Tyreek Hill, look out."
Well something did happen to Hill, who was traded to the Dolphins and became the highest paid receiver in the league. There was no indication the Chiefs were looking to move Tyreek, but the offer and money saved apparently were enough for them to pull the trigger. Tua Tagovailoa is now surrounded by an outstanding supporting cast and set up to succeed in Miami. I like him for a backup spot in standard 12-team formats given the upside for the Miami offense heading into this season.
In what was essentially a move in response to dealing Hill, the Chiefs signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a three-year deal, adding some depth to the receiving corps. While you're not going to replace Hill (4 years, $120 million) and his speed, adding both JuJu (1 year, $10 million) and MVS (3 years, $36 million) and saving a considerable amount of money makes sense. I don't think MVS is even a weekly fringe flex play, but I do think he's a great GPP
Tyreek Hill is No Longer a Chief
Just a week ago I wrote up JuJu Smith-Schuster as a good target this season after he signed with the Chiefs. Here's an excerpt:
"JuJu is only 25 and will have every motivation to have a big season playing on a one-year deal. It's easy to forget how much upside JuJu has — at age 21 he posted a 166-111-1,426-7 line for the Steelers. If anything were to happen to Tyreek Hill, look out."
Well something did happen to Hill, who was traded to the Dolphins and became the highest paid receiver in the league. There was no indication the Chiefs were looking to move Tyreek, but the offer and money saved apparently were enough for them to pull the trigger. Tua Tagovailoa is now surrounded by an outstanding supporting cast and set up to succeed in Miami. I like him for a backup spot in standard 12-team formats given the upside for the Miami offense heading into this season.
In what was essentially a move in response to dealing Hill, the Chiefs signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a three-year deal, adding some depth to the receiving corps. While you're not going to replace Hill (4 years, $120 million) and his speed, adding both JuJu (1 year, $10 million) and MVS (3 years, $36 million) and saving a considerable amount of money makes sense. I don't think MVS is even a weekly fringe flex play, but I do think he's a great GPP play for DFS. Look for the Chiefs to add another wide receiver to provide more depth.
Ronald Jones is a Chief
The Chiefs signed free agent Ronald Jones and plan to pair him with Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the Kansas City backfield. Jones saw a big drop in receiving targets last season, which the emergence of Leonard Fournette had something to do with, while CEH only saw the field in 10 regular-season games. The presence of both hinders the upside for both, but there's a good chance one could shine if given the lion's share of the touches. I slightly prefer Jones over CEH; he is only a season removed from nearly 1,000 rushing yards (14 games, averaging 5.2 yards per game and scoring seven times. Ke'Shawn Vaughn is clearly the top backup to Fournette and showed some flashes of fantasy relevance over the final part of the season, including in Tampa Bay's wild-card win.
What is Seattle doing?
If the Seahawks wants to finish last in their division again, they're doing an awfully good job of ensuring that happens. I get that the relationship with Russell Wilson had come to its end and that, as a result, trading him made sense. However, now Drew Lock sits atop their depth chart and the draft has little to offer in the way of quarterback prospects. They inexplicably gave Will Dissly a 3-year, $24 million contract, and I'm pretty sure that's not the going rate for a blocking tight end. They're also rumored to be in talks about trading Tyler Lockett or DK Metcalf, which would obviously be a huge blow to the receiving corps. The only fantasy player to get even slightly excited about is Rashaad Penny, who averaged 6.3 yards per carry last season. Of course, a healthy Chris Carson (if he's not cut, which is probably 50/50) would have a negative impact on Penny's value.
Taysom Hill is a Tight End
Jameis Winston's arrow continues to point upward for a variety of reasons. Taysom Hill appears set to play a tight end with the new coaching staff, but that doesn't necessarily mean he won't be involved in a trick play or two occasionally. Winston's recovery from a torn ACL is ahead of schedule. The Saints also re-signed Tre'Quan Smith, keeping a piece of the offense with which Winston is familiar, and Mike Thomas is expected back. It's easy to forget the early season success Winston had before getting hurt Week 8. He had a five-TD game and a four-TD game, leading to fantasy games of 31.1 and 32.6 fantasy points. What remains to be seen is if the Saints let him run the ball this season; he had 32 carries for 166 yards and a score in seven games last season.
Travis Etienne Expected Ready for OTAs
It's tough to determine where Travis Etienne will fall to in drafts, but I think he'll likely be a value wherever he's taken. He should be completely healthy after last preseason's injury, and there's no real competition in the Jaguars backfield at this point. James Robinson is still on the mend from his Achilles' injury and is unlikely to take a significant number of snaps to start the season. The opportunity is there for Robinson to take the job and run with it (so to speak).
Kyle Shanahan Not Ready to Name Starting QB
This seems a bit normal as it is (checks calendar) only March. If Trey Lance tears his ACL tomorrow, Jimmy Garoppolo would likely be the starter, so it does no good to name Lance the starter now. Unless Lance falls completely on his face in preseason, expect him to be under center Week 1. In other words, don't change where you have Lance ranked based upon this "news."
