The NFL Draft is done, and teams are celebrating their new team additions.
For those fans who already are planning for their next fantasy football draft, we hear you: now is as good a time as any to analyze which players are becoming prime draft targets.
Today, we're looking at five quarterbacks whose situations have improved since the NFL Draft took place, either due to newly drafted team members, or due to additions made through trades or free agency.
It's always a good time to start planning for your next #FantasyFootball draft!#WhatOffseason— FantasyFootballFFF (@Football_FFF) May 13, 2017
Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers)
1. Christian McCaffrey (RB)
2. Curtis Samuel (RB/WR)
3. Taylor Moton (G)
SuperCam's stock should be as high as it'll ever be right now, and it's no surprise why.
Both McCaffrey and Samuel are functional running backs and wide receivers at the same time, and when the power running of Jonathan Stewart is added to that backfield, the possibilities are endless.
Based on the personnel alone, misdirection has suddenly become an integral part of the Panthers' game plan: the opposing linebackers and safeties will have no idea who to watch.
Why does that improve Newton's situation?
Simple: there are enough other threats on the field to significantly reduce the defensive pressure on him when throwing the ball, and he should have much more room to run when he decides to keep it.
Additionally, he's always been a goal-line touchdown vulture, continually ruining poor Stewart's fantasy ceiling due to QB keepers near the end zone.
Finally, the addition of Moton in the second round is a boon to an offensive line that struggled at times last season to keep Cam safe for any length of time.
Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals)
Key Team Additions:
1. John Ross (WR)
2. Joe Mixon (RB)
3. Josh Malone (WR)
The Red Rifle now has more tools in his toolbox than most NFL quarterbacks have in their careers.
The team already features standout #1 wide receiver A.J. Green, talented tight end Tyler Eifert, and a couple more functional wide receivers in Tyler Boyd and Brandon LaFell.
That receiving corps adds to its arsenal first-round selection John Ross, a burner who ran a record 4.22 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.
A superstar kickoff returner from UW, Ross will also likely become the team's top deep-threat option opposite Green, freeing up Eifert, Boyd, and LaFell to be positioned in all sorts of fun formations.
Additionally, Mixon is a first-round talent who fell in the NFL Draft due to off-field issues: he joins duo Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill in the backfield to create a multi-headed threat meant to take pressure off Dalton and to provide a plethora of dump-off and screen options.
These options on the offense, alongside the addition of Malone (a huge wideout at 6'3 and 208 pounds), mean the Bengals are another multi-faceted offense ready to function under the command of captain Dalton.
Blake Bortles (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Key Team Additions:
1. Leonard Fournette (RB)
2. Cam Robinson (OT)
3. Dede Westbrook (WR)
What is one way a team can pressure off a mistake-prone NFL quarterback?
Add a game-changing running back, of course.
At six feet and 228 pounds, and with an impressive college football resume, Fournette was ranked by many draft pundits as one of the top two players in this year's entire NFL Draft.
He joins a backfield that already has Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon, so it will be crowded, but there's no doubt that he will be the lead 'back soon, and Ivory is a great mentor to help him into that role.
That kind of stable means opposing defensive coordinators will feel extra pressure to stop the run, and will likely focus less of their efforts on disrupting Bortles.
Over the course of the season, that kind of change in gameplan will mean good things for the 4th-year signal caller.
Additionally, the selection of one of the draft's top offensive linemen means better protection for Bortles and better running lanes for Fournette; if that isn't a recipe for success, I don't know what is.
Adding Westbrook to the roster, a troubled but talented wide receiver, means the Allen duo (Hurns and Robinson) will no longer be the sole focus of opposing teams: the speedster has great double-moves and reliable hands, which make him an instant impact addition.
Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Key Team Additions:
1. O.J. Howard (TE)
2. Chris Godwin (WR)
3. DeSean Jackson (WR)
If anyone is about to have a breakthrough statistical year, it should be Jameis Winston: just look at this plethora of talent.
Camerone Brate (the Bucs' leading tight end) tied for the most touchdown receptions by a TE last year, and yet they added Howard, who is commonly recognized as the best all-around tight end in this year's draft (and that's saying something, considering this was the best tight end draft class in years).
Brate is 6'5, Mike Evans (the Bucs' leading wide receiver) is 6'5, and Howard is 6'6: all of them will likely be on the field at the same time, which should give defensive coordinators a reason to shudder.
What will truly give those coordinators nightmares, though, is a free-agent addition this offseason named DeSean Jackson, one of the league's best speedsters and deep-threats.
Now, Evans, Brate, and Howard will out-jump all the short and middle routes while Jackson streaks down the sideline: talk about matchup issues.
Oh, and that's not all: Chris Godwin has already performed on big stages multiple times, putting up monster numbers in three different college bowl games.
Also, he catches everything, which is perfect when he's paired up with Winston (who can throw anywhere in the field): put it in his radius, and he'll get it.
Marcus Mariota (Tennessee Titans)
Key Team Additions:
1. Corey Davis (WR)
2. Taywan Taylor (WR)
3. Jonnu Smith (TE)
Given Mariota's injury last season, it's relatively easy to predict that he will have a much better fantasy season this year as compared to last.
On the other hand, it's less simple to predict that he will have a monster season, but that's what we're seeing, based on a few factors, mostly including personnel.
The Titans love their tight ends: with Delanie Walker and Jace Amaro already on their team, they signed Phillip Supernaw to a long-term contract, and then drafted Jonnu Smith.
This provides extra bodies to block for Murray and Henry, but also huge targets for Mariota to throw to in the short-to-intermediate sections of the field, places where his accuracy excels.
Also, the Titans added two talented wide receivers in the draft to a stable that suddenly looks threatening: Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor.
Everyone has heard about Davis and how he is the all-time leader in receiving yards in major college football: that kind of production is extremely rare, and he has the route-running talent and size to back it up (6'3, 209 lbs).
But Taylor is another outstanding addition, bringing production, toughness, and more route-running talent.
Combine these two with veterans such as Harry Douglas, Rishard Matthews, and Tajae Sharpe, and suddenly, Mariota has weapons to work with.
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