Which free agent did the most damage to his fantasy value by changing teams?
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- Michael Fabiano NFL.com Fantasy Editor
It's not easy being Greene
I would have preferred that Mike Wallace stayed in Pittsburgh and Wes Welker remained with New England, as both wideouts will lose some value with their new teams. With that being said, both will remain viable fantasy starters -- it's just about tempering expectations. The player who will see the biggest decline in production with his new team has to be Shonn Greene. He finished as a low-end No. 2 fantasy running back last season, rushing for 1,000-plus yards for the second consecutive year. Now in Tennessee, he's second behind Chris Johnson and will see an enormous decline in touches. That means Greene won't even be a legitimate flex starter in most standard formats. In fact, he'll be more of a handcuff for owners who land CJ2K in the earlier rounds. Considering Johnson hasn't missed a start in the last four years, Greene isn't likely to see enough opportunities to produce.
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- Marcas Grant NFL.com Fantasy Editor
Welker's stock on the decline
Without a doubt it's Wes Welker. He may have just traded one future Hall of Fame quarterback for another, but he also went from being a borderline No. 1 receiving option in New England to being a No. 2 or 3 option in Denver. Similarly, his value will fall from being a low-end No. 1 or a high-end No. 2 fantasy receiver to being a potential No. 2 or 3 wideout in most fantasy formats next season. It's a classic case of "a guy helping a team while hurting his own fantasy value in the process." Wait ... is that a thing? If not, it should be. And Welker can be the poster child for it.
I would imagine Wes Welker will do better than most expect in Denver. He might not have 100 receptions, but he's going to be all right in the Broncos offense. But I really wonder how much of an impact Greg Jennings can have in Minnesota. If he's motivated, that's a good start. But even fighting for balls in Green Bay seems better than playing in Minnesota when you talk about a step down from Aaron Rodgers to Christian Ponder. (Or even to Matt Cassel.)
While I understand the move for Wes Welker, at least from a personal standpoint, I highly doubt his fantasy value will increase. In fact, if anything, it should probably go down slightly. Welker put together some fantastic seasons in New England, catching 118 passes last year and 122 the year before. I doubt he'll catch 240 passes in two seasons in Denver and wonder if he'll average much more than 10, 11 yards per catch with Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker on the outside. My sense is Welker will catch 95-100 balls for 1,100 yards or so. Solid numbers, but less productive.
