Sun Mar 15th 2026

Top 10 Free Agency Risers

• Murray is the new starting quarterback in Minnesota, giving his stagnant dynasty value a nice rise after a big dip last season. J.J. McCarthy brought the entire Vikings offense down last season. It’s hard to make Justin Jefferson look bad, but McCarthy did. Murray will make the offense much more productive, even though I question how his style of play will mesh with coach O’Connell’s. I thought Geno Smith would be a better fit in Minnesota than Murray, but the Vikings chose Murray for a reason.  I’m sure O’Connell will make the most of his talent and build his offense around his skill sets. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson will all benefit from Murray’s presence on the team. My only concern is that the Vikings’ defense is so good that they may be too conservative on offense for the liking of dynasty managers. Murray is on a one-year deal, so he’ll have a lot to prove, and he’ll hope to force the Vikings to sign him to a long-term contract, something they failed to do two years ago with the successful one-year contract of Sam Darnold. If Murray still has it and plays as well as he has in the past, I doubt the Vikings will allow another quarterback they have rehabbed to leave their building. Murray was buried on dynasty rosters last season, but now he’s back as an every-week starter.

Malik Willis

• Willis was the player I added to my roster the most at the end of last season. Now he is one of my rostered players. I have him on five of my seven traditional dynasty leagues. I was sure that he would get a starting role this season, and I was proven right. He followed the coach who knew him best, Jeff Hafley, to Miami, where he will become an instant starter. Quinn Ewers will be his backup. Miami appears to be in full rebuild mode, so the Dolphins offense will not be as productive as dynasty managers would like, but they will at least be playing from behind a lot. My biggest fear for Willis is that the Dolphins play so poorly that they earn a high draft pick and select a quarterback next year. There’s a reason, after all, that he only signed a two-year deal. Still, I’m pleased to have him on my rosters while he gets his first real chance to be an NFL starter. Willis’s is most exciting as a fantasy player because of his running ability. He’ll find a way to score cheap fantasy points each week. As for his fellow Dolphins, however, I fear that they will be less productive with a running quarterback. De’Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle’s dynasty stock takes a small hit, even while Willis’s rises because they will not get nearly as many touches as they did for the years that Tua Tagovailoa was their quarterback. At least it will be a fun season to see what Willis can do this year.

Kenneth Walker

• I wouldn't say Walker's dynasty value moved up much after signing with the Chiefs, but it got a little bump given that he will have less of a split backfield than he did in Seattle. Walker is terrible in pass protection, so he will never become a bellcow back, but hopefully, he will earn a goal-line role in Kansas City, something he also lost in Seattle. The Chiefs have had one of the worst running games in the league the last few seasons. I believe this Walker signing indicates a commitment to improve their running game and make running the ball a higher priority next season. Walker will certainly benefit from that. While his running style is frustrating to me, since he always tries to make a big play, there’s no doubt that he’s a big play waiting to happen, and the Chiefs have lacked explosive plays in the running game for years. Walker turned his Super Bowl success into a nice free agent contract and will get more touches in Kansas City than he ever did in his four seasons in Seattle. That’s a big win for his dynasty managers.

Zach Charbonnet and Emanuel Wilson

• Walker’s absence gives Charbonnet managers what they’ve been wanting for two years – a chance at a starting role. Were it not for his terrible ACL injury at the end of the season, Charbonnet would no doubt be given the starting role in Seattle next season. His recovery timeline and the addition of Emanuel Wilson to Seattle last week make that more questionable. Still, Charbonnet and Wilson’s dynasty stock rose significantly last week after Walker left. The Seahawks will likely draft a running back, too, but this year’s class lacks depth, so no one they draft will replace Charbonnet and Wilson as the new one-two punch in Seattle. Wilson may get more carries to start the season as Charbonnet builds up to full health, but Charbonnet will take over by midseason and finally lead the team in touches. Wilson’s signing with Seattle was great for me because I have Wilson on two of my rosters with Charbonnet, so I can let the season play out and have Wilson as a strong handcuff to Charbonnet. Wilson was on the waiver wire in two of my dynasty leagues, too. I’ve since added him in both. They will do well together in Seattle next season.

Travis Etienne

• I really wanted Etienne to stay in Jacksonville, but the New Orleans landing spot is about as good as it could get. Like Walker, I would not say his dynasty stock rose a lot after signing with the Saints, but he’s likely to get more touches this season with the Saints than he would have with the Jaguars, especially if the rumors of Alvin Kamara retiring are true. The Saints have one of the better offensive minds in Kellen Moore, who will get the most out of Etienne’s talents. He signed the biggest contract by a running back in free agency, earning even more than Walker did with the Chiefs. Money is not everything, but it shows intent, and coaches and GMs want to make the most of their money. Plus, it was a four-year deal. As of this article, the fine print of the contract has not yet been released, but the contract indicates that Etienne will be the Saints' leading running back for at least a couple more years. In Jacksonville, that was less certain. Etienne could get one more major boost to his dynasty value if Kamara retires. At which time, Kendre Miller and Devin Neal would get a small boost to their dynasty stock as well, with Miller ahead of Neal.

Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez

• Etienne’s absence led to an immediate boost to Tuten’s dynasty values, but then the Jaguars signed Rodriguez, who put a damp (not wet) blanket on the hopes of Tuten’s dynasty managers. If you followed me last year, you know that I have never been a believer in Tuten, but by the end of last season, I was willing to be proven wrong. I even traded for Tuten at the end of the season in a league where I am rebuilding. My skepticism still persists, especially after Rodiguez, who played for Liam Coen at the University of Kentucky, was signed by his former coach. Coen raved about Rodriguez when he was the coach at Kentucky, saying he loved having a back that he knew could get him four yards per carry. I know that was a long time ago, but it was enough to make me think that this will be more of a split backfield than Tuten’s managers would like. At the very worst, Rodriguez could be the primary running-downs back or even the goal-line back. Dynasty managers will have to take sides on this one, and I know most will continue to believe in Tuten, but I remain more skeptical. Even so, both are risers from a dynasty standpoint, even if they split the work next season, especially Rodriguez, who, if he signed with any other team, may have been droppable from dynasty rosters.

Romeo Doubs

• I could not have been happier with the landing spot for Doubs, a player I roster in three of my nine leagues. He will step immediately into the role Stefon Diggs had last season and do an even better job with it. Plus, he’s a better blocker than Diggs and is younger, so his snap count will not be limited as Diggs was last season. For now, I see Doubs as Drake Maye’s WR-1in an up-and-coming offense. The Patriots are reportedly still in discussions with the Eagles about acquiring AJ Brown. Should that trade happen, Doub’s dynasty value will dip again, but for now, it is the biggest riser among the wide receivers changing teams last week.

Wan'Dale Robinson

• Robinson landed where everyone predicted he would, with his former coach in Tennessee. As a manager with two shares of Robinson, I hoped he would have stayed in New York, but it was pretty clear early on that would not happen. In Tennessee, with a second-year quarterback and two second-year wide receivers on the depth chart, Robinson is sure to earn a significant role in the passing game. Much of his dynasty value will depend on Cam Ward’s improvement as a quarterback in year two, with his new coaching staff. If Ward improves, Robinson’s dynasty stock can rise even more than it has after signing with the Titans last week. He’s a great possession receiver, and last year he added big plays downfield to his resume, which is why his former coach was so eager to add him to his new team. He got paid the second-highest amount of money among free agent receivers this year, so the Titans clearly believe in him and want to see their money put to work. Robinson has the rare opportunity with his second team to move from being a perpetual WR-2 or WR-3 on his team to a true WR-1. If he does, I’ll be even more glad that I traded for him twice at the end of last season during my playoff runs.  

Mike Evans

• It’s too easy a comparison, but could Evans be this year’s Davante Adams? It’s not hard at all to imagine Mike Evans becoming the top red-zone target of Brock Purdy in San Francisco. He can do that and  so much more if he is able to stay healthy, which has been his biggest concern in recent years and for everyone who plays in San Francisco, for that matter. I doubt that Evans will play out his three-year contract with the 49ers, but he could have one heck of a season this year, giving dynasty managers one last hurrah with him in their lineups each week that he’s healthy. I think the 49ers are a great fit for Evans to end his career. Purdy is already one of the most efficient passers and touchdown throwers in the league. He and Evans will be a great pairing this season, and hopefully one or two more to come.

Chig Okonkwo

• For some reason, Okonkwo was on the waiver wire in two of my dynasty leagues. I added him to those two rosters immediately after he signed with Washington, where he will become an instant starter and have a chance to breakout on his second NFL team. The Commanders have attacked pass catchers in free agency this season, signing Dyami Brown, Van Jefferson, and Rachaad White. They know they need more weapons in the passing game to help Jayden Daniels get back to the way he played in his rookie season two years ago. Okonkwo was given the second-largest amount of money among the tight ends in free agency. He’s the kind of weapon they need in the passing game with his size and speed. He’ll be a very different kind of weapon than Zach Ertz was over the last two seasons with Daniels. Still, the fact that Daniels targeted his tight end so much gives Okonkwo’s managers even more hope that he will break out in Washington and become a reliable tight end in dynasty lineups. I am very confident that he will and can’t wait to see how all these new players gel together in the Commanders’ offense next season.

Leave your comment using the form below

Name
Comment
Enter the code