In this edition of the preseason fantasy football Top 150 PPR rankings, we discuss players who were impacted by free agents who left their teams this off-season. For example, we will cover the impact a player like Calvin Ridley leaving Jacksonville could have on the rest of the Jaguars’ skill position players heading into 2024.
After this week, we will begin to look at the NFL draft to see which players could have the most to gain or lose from their team’s picks. For now, let’s dive into some players who got a boost in value by other players leaving their teams in free agency.
Baby Don’t Come Back!
- Player: Josh Palmer
- Team: Los Angeles Chargers
- Overall Ranking: 81 (ECR 129)
The Chargers are vacating a league-high 395 targets after watching Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Gerald Everett leave the team this off-season. These departures should immediately vault Josh Palmer into a nearly every-down role.
In his career, Palmer has played over 80% of the snaps in just 14 games. In those contests, Palmer has averaged 8.4 targets and 14.7 PPR PPG. That production would have made Palmer the WR18 in 2023. Jim Harbaugh did show a tendency to lean on veteran players from his time in San Francisco so Palmer could be in for a big role next season.
- Player: Michael Wilson
- Team: Arizona Cardinals
- Overall Ranking: 131 (ECR 163)
We could have easily made Michael Wilson a player in our next article, but no matter what Wilson should be on our fantasy radars in 2024 with the departure of Marquise Brown. First, Kyler Murray has supported two top 48 wide receivers in three of his first four seasons as a starter.
Next, Offensive Coordinator Drew Petzing coached in Minnesota (Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen) and Cleveland (Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham) where they featured two dominant wide receivers. Even if the Cardinals select a wide receiver in round 1, Wilson should return value at his current ADP.
- Player: Zay Jones
- Team Jacksonville Jaguars
- Overall Ranking: 132 (ECR 144)
Replacing target hog Calvin Ridley with Gabe Davis should immediately float targets to the other key pieces in the Jaguars offense. Players like Evan Engram and Christian Kirk should be the logical boost, but we shouldn’t forget about Zay Jones.
Jones finished as the WR26 in 2022, and even in an injury riddled 2023 campaign, Jones still averaged 12 PPR PPG in the four games he played over 75% of the snaps. That production would still put him inside the top 40 for wide receivers last season.
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| Note: Filters and sorting in the table below apply to the output | |||
| # | Name | Team | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian McCaffrey | SF | RB | |
| Tyreek Hill | MIA | WR | |
| CeeDee Lamb | DAL | WR | |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET | WR | |
| Breece Hall | NYJ | RB | |
| Kyren Williams | LAR | RB | |
| Bijan Robinson | ATL | RB | |
| Ja’Marr Chase | CIN | WR | |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | DET | RB | |
| Justin Jefferson | MIN | WR | |
| A.J. Brown | PHI | WR | |
| Jonathan Taylor | IND | RB | |
| De’Von Achane | MIA | RB | |
| Alvin Kamara | NO | RB | |
| Rachaad White | TB | RB | |
| Puka Nacua | LAR | WR | |
| Garrett Wilson | NYJ | WR | |
| Saquon Barkley | PHI | RB | |
| Travis Etienne | JAC | RB | |
| Isiah Pacheco | KC | RB | |
| Josh Jacobs | GB | RB | |
| Sam LaPorta | DET | TE | |
| Travis Kelce | KC | TE | |
| Mike Evans | TB | WR | |
| Davante Adams | LV | WR | |
| Deebo Samuel | SF | WR | |
| Brandon Aiyuk | SF | WR | |
| Mark Andrews | BAL | TE | |
| Joe Mixon | HOU | RB | |
| Rashee Rice | KC | WR | |
| D.J. Moore | CHI | WR | |
| James Cook | BUF | RB | |
| Aaron Jones | MIN | RB | |
| James Conner | ARI | RB | |
| Kenneth Walker | SEA | RB | |
| Josh Allen | BUF | QB | |
| Jalen Hurts | PHI | QB | |
| Patrick Mahomes | KC | QB | |
| Lamar Jackson | BAL | QB | |
| Raheem Mostert | MIA | RB | |
| Chris Olave | NO | WR | |
| Cooper Kupp | LAR | WR | |
| Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI | WR | |
| Zay Flowers | BAL | WR | |
| Stefon Diggs | HOU | WR | |
| Tee Higgins | CIN | WR | |
| David Montgomery | DET | RB | |
| Michael Pittman | IND | WR | |
| Drake London | ATL | WR | |
| Amari Cooper | CLE | WR | |
| Nico Collins | HOU | WR | |
| Dalton Kincaid | BUF | TE | |
| Joe Burrow | CIN | QB | |
| Dak Prescott | DAL | QB | |
| Derrick Henry | BAL | RB | |
| Zamir White | LV | RB | |
| D.K. Metcalf | SEA | WR | |
| Keenan Allen | CHI | WR | |
| Trey McBride | ARI | TE | |
| DeVonta Smith | PHI | WR | |
| Jaylen Waddle | MIA | WR | |
| Tank Dell | HOU | WR | |
| Tony Pollard | TEN | RB | |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | NE | RB | |
| C.J. Stroud | HOU | QB | |
| Kyler Murray | ARI | QB | |
| Anthony Richardson | IND | QB | |
| Brock Purdy | SF | QB | |
| Jordan Love | GB | QB | |
| Devin Singletary | NYG | RB | |
| George Pickens | PIT | WR | |
| Zack Moss | CIN | RB | |
| Evan Engram | JAC | TE | |
| Christian Kirk | JAC | WR | |
| David Njoku | CLE | TE | |
| George Kittle | SF | TE | |
| D’Andre Swift | CHI | RB | |
| Jonathon Brooks | CAR | RB | |
| Austin Ekeler | WAS | RB | |
| Aaron Rodgers | NYJ | QB | |
| Courtland Sutton | DEN | WR | |
| Brian Robinson | WAS | RB | |
| Chris Godwin | TB | WR | |
| Dallas Goedert | PHI | TE | |
| Jake Ferguson | DAL | TE | |
| Josh Palmer | LAC | WR | |
| Javonte Williams | DEN | RB | |
| Jerome Ford | CLE | RB | |
| Malik Nabers | NYG | WR | |
| Marquise Brown | KC | WR | |
| Jayden Reed | GB | WR | |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA | WR | |
| Calvin Ridley | TEN | WR | |
| Brian Thomas Jr. | JAC | WR | |
| T.J. Hockenson | MIN | TE | |
| Mike Williams | NYJ | WR | |
| Justin Herbert | LAC | QB | |
| Jordan Addison | MIN | WR | |
| DeAndre Hopkins | TEN | WR | |
| Najee Harris | PIT | RB | |
| Jaylen Warren | PIT | RB | |
| Jakobi Meyers | LV | WR | |
| Rico Dowdle | DAL | RB | |
| Nick Chubb | CLE | RB | |
| Trevor Lawrence | JAC | QB | |
| Tua Tagovailoa | MIA | QB | |
| Cole Kmet | CHI | TE | |
| Jared Goff | DET | QB | |
| Tyjae Spears | TEN | RB | |
| Terry McLaurin | WAS | WR | |
| Gus Edwards | LAC | RB | |
| J.K. Dobbins | LAC | RB | |
| Chase Brown | CIN | RB | |
| Tyler Lockett | SEA | WR | |
| Christian Watson | GB | WR | |
| Jayden Daniels | WAS | QB | |
| Brandin Cooks | DAL | WR | |
| Pat Freiermuth | PIT | TE | |
| Matthew Stafford | LAR | QB | |
| Keaton Mitchell | BAL | RB | |
| Curtis Samuel | BUF | WR | |
| Khalil Shakir | BUF | WR | |
| Jameson Williams | DET | WR | |
| Diontae Johnson | CAR | WR | |
| Adam Thielen | CAR | WR | |
| Justin Fields | PIT | QB | |
| Kyle Pitts | ATL | TE | |
| Romeo Doubs | GB | WR | |
| Rashid Shaheed | NO | WR | |
| Cade Otton | TB | TE | |
| Roschon Johnson | CHI | RB | |
| Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN | RB | |
| Zach Charbonnet | SEA | RB | |
| Caleb Williams | CHI | QB | |
| Kirk Cousins | ATL | QB | |
| Keon Coleman | BUF | WR | |
| Xavier Worthy | KC | WR | |
| Ladd McConkey | LAC | WR | |
| Geno Smith | SEA | QB | |
| Rome Odunze | CHI | WR | |
| Daniel Jones | NYG | QB | |
| Will Levis | TEN | QB | |
| Dalton Schultz | HOU | TE | |
| Baker Mayfield | TB | QB | |
| Darnell Mooney | ATL | WR | |
| Zach Ertz | WAS | TE | |
| Marvin Mims | DEN | WR | |
| Wan’Dale Robinson | NYG | WR | |
| Josh Downs | IND | WR | |
| Michael Wilson | ARI | WR |
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For more from Bobby and his Razzball content, find him on Twitter @bobbylamarco.
Sources: Razzball.com, PFF.com, FantasyPros, FFToday, Pro Football Reference and Football Outsiders
