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 | |
| CeeDee Lamb | DAL | WR | |
| Tyreek Hill | MIA | WR | |
| Breece Hall | NYJ | RB | |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET | WR | |
| Bijan Robinson | ATL | RB | |
| Ja’Marr Chase | CIN | WR | |
| Garrett Wilson | NYJ | WR | |
| Justin Jefferson | MIN | WR | |
| A.J. Brown | PHI | WR | |
| Jonathan Taylor | IND | RB | |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | DET | RB | |
| Isiah Pacheco | KC | RB | |
| Saquon Barkley | PHI | RB | |
| Kyren Williams | LAR | RB | |
| Cooper Kupp | LAR | WR | |
| Deebo Samuel | SF | WR | |
| Nico Collins | HOU | WR | |
| Davante Adams | LV | WR | |
| Chris Olave | NO | WR | |
| Marvin Harrison | ARI | WR | |
| De’Von Achane | MIA | RB | |
| Derrick Henry | BAL | RB | |
| Drake London | ATL | WR | |
| Travis Etienne | JAC | RB | |
| Alvin Kamara | NO | RB | |
| Puka Nacua | LAR | WR | |
| Brandon Aiyuk | SF | WR | |
| James Cook | BUF | RB | |
| Josh Jacobs | GB | RB | |
| Rachaad White | TB | RB | |
| Mike Evans | TB | WR | |
| Sam LaPorta | DET | TE | |
| Kenneth Walker | SEA | RB | |
| Rashee Rice | KC | WR | |
| Amari Cooper | CLE | WR | |
| Tee Higgins | CIN | WR | |
| DeVonta Smith | PHI | WR | |
| Patrick Mahomes | KC | QB | |
| Josh Allen | BUF | QB | |
| Jalen Hurts | PHI | QB | |
| Lamar Jackson | BAL | QB | |
| C.J. Stroud | HOU | QB | |
| Joe Mixon | HOU | RB | |
| Travis Kelce | KC | TE | |
| Dalton Kincaid | BUF | TE | |
| Jaylen Waddle | MIA | WR | |
| D.K. Metcalf | SEA | WR | |
| Stefon Diggs | HOU | WR | |
| D.J. Moore | CHI | WR | |
| Mark Andrews | BAL | TE | |
| Michael Pittman | IND | WR | |
| Trey McBride | ARI | TE | |
| Zay Flowers | BAL | WR | |
| Raheem Mostert | MIA | RB | |
| James Conner | ARI | RB | |
| Aaron Jones | MIN | RB | |
| David Montgomery | DET | RB | |
| Jordan Love | GB | QB | |
| Kyler Murray | ARI | QB | |
| Malik Nabers | NYG | WR | |
| George Pickens | PIT | WR | |
| Anthony Richardson | IND | QB | |
| Dak Prescott | DAL | QB | |
| Joe Burrow | CIN | QB | |
| Zamir White | LV | RB | |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | NE | RB | |
| George Kittle | SF | TE | |
| Javonte Williams | DEN | RB | |
| Kyle Pitts | ATL | TE | |
| Evan Engram | JAC | TE | |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA | WR | |
| Christian Kirk | JAC | WR | |
| Chris Godwin | TB | WR | |
| Marquise Brown | KC | WR | |
| Tank Dell | HOU | WR | |
| Jake Ferguson | DAL | TE | |
| Brock Purdy | SF | QB | |
| Diontae Johnson | CAR | WR | |
| Devin Singletary | NYG | RB | |
| Terry McLaurin | WAS | WR | |
| Calvin Ridley | TEN | WR | |
| Ladd McConkey | LAC | WR | |
| Keenan Allen | CHI | WR | |
| Tony Pollard | TEN | RB | |
| Romeo Doubs | GB | WR | |
| Brian Robinson | WAS | RB | |
| Jayden Daniels | WAS | QB | |
| Christian Watson | GB | WR | |
| D’Andre Swift | CHI | RB | |
| Chase Brown | CIN | RB | |
| Najee Harris | PIT | RB | |
| Jerome Ford | CLE | RB | |
| Joshua Palmer | LAC | WR | |
| Brian Thomas | JAC | WR | |
| Jayden Reed | GB | WR | |
| Austin Ekeler | WAS | RB | |
| Jaylen Warren | PIT | RB | |
| Aaron Rodgers | NYJ | QB | |
| Courtland Sutton | DEN | WR | |
| Dallas Goedert | PHI | TE | |
| Jonathon Brooks | CAR | RB | |
| Jameson Williams | DET | WR | |
| Zack Moss | CIN | RB | |
| Khalil Shakir | BUF | WR | |
| Keon Coleman | BUF | WR | |
| Pat Freiermuth | PIT | TE | |
| DeAndre Hopkins | TEN | WR | |
| Brandin Cooks | DAL | WR | |
| David Njoku | CLE | TE | |
| Darnell Mooney | ATL | WR | |
| Rome Odunze | CHI | WR | |
| Chuba Hubbard | CAR | RB | |
| Jordan Addison | MIN | WR | |
| Adam Thielen | CAR | WR | |
| Tyjae Spears | TEN | RB | |
| Rico Dowdle | DAL | RB | |
| Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | RB | |
| Gus Edwards | LAC | RB | |
| Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN | RB | |
| Xavier Worthy | KC | WR | |
| Blake Corum | LAR | RB | |
| J.K. Dobbins | LAC | RB | |
| Jakobi Meyers | LV | WR | |
| Trevor Lawrence | JAC | QB | |
| Justin Herbert | LAC | QB | |
| Tua Tagovailoa | MIA | QB | |
| Jared Goff | DET | QB | |
| Matthew Stafford | LAR | QB | |
| Caleb Williams | CHI | QB | |
| Tyler Lockett | SEA | WR | |
| Hunter Henry | NE | TE | |
| Deshaun Watson | CLE | QB | |
| Dalton Schultz | HOU | TE | |
| Rashid Shaheed | NO | WR | |
| Ja’Lynn Polk | NE | WR | |
| Josh Downs | IND | WR | |
| Geno Smith | SEA | QB | |
| Tyler Conklin | NYJ | TE | |
| Rashod Bateman | BAL | WR | |
| Michael Wilson | ARI | WR | |
| Demario Douglas | NE | WR | |
| Demarcus Robinson | LAR | WR | |
| Gabe Davis | JAC | WR | |
| Allen Lazard | NYJ | WR | |
| Zach Ertz | WAS | TE | |
| Mike Gesicki | CIN | TE | |
| Jerry Jeudy | CLE | WR | |
| Nick Chubb | CLE | RB | |
| T.J. Hockenson | MIN | TE |
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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
