The first week of Free Agency has wrapped up - and a lot of faces have changed places. We’ll detail the changes around our first Keepers Ranking article - set for late May. For now though - let’s take a look at our top-performing players in the AJFFL last year - starting with our reigning MVP.
1. Jalen Hurts - QB Philadelphia Eagles
Hurts was a force to be reckoned with this season - and a lot of people expected a much lower floor. You could point at his previous production, but in all honesty… the Eagles had their chance to win this season and they ran into the Kansas City Chiefs. Still - Hurts had a phenomenal year. He posted >25pts nine times in his 14 game season - never scoring below 15.5pts on the season. A regular starter who can make a big impact! Despite losing some key players on the defensive side - along with Miles Sanders - Hurts has a great chance to continue producing at a high level next season. Rachaad Penny should take over Sanders’ role, while Boston Scott looks to get more touches too. The WR core is still strong, and Dallas Goedert is under contract for two more seasons with a potential buyout in 2025 - so Hurts will have support as he continues to solidify himself as a top tier QB.
2. Patrick Mahomes - QB Kansas City Chiefs
“King” Mahomes put together another storybook ending to his second Super Bowl winning season. Projected as the #3 QB, Mahomes finished in second for the MVP race and did not show any signs of slowing down this season. He had six games with >30pts scored, and only three games with <20pts. He’s consistent, and he has all kinds of weapons around him… He will have no issues moving the ball around the field - whether by air or by ground, Mahomes will continue to perform at a high level for years to come.
3. Josh Allen - QB Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen was having a season for the record books - until he took an untimely injury in his Week 9 matchup against the Jets. After the injury designation, Allen’s numbers went from 29.17ppg to 22.92ppg. Not great for an MVP candidate - but his trajectory turned around the time he injured his elbow. Despite that - the Bills haven’t seen too much turnover so far in Free Agency. 15 players are still unsigned from last year’s squad - with names like Jamison Crowder and Devin SIngletary still in the FA pool. Allen’s Field General skillset and discipline will keep the Bills in contention - and had he not gone down with limited play in those three games, I would put money on Allen to be the MVP favorite next season.
4. Joe Burrow - QB Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow’s season ended right where most people thought it would - by the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. The juggernaut that runs the AFC West will still have to worry about the AFC North - but maybe for different reasons. Burrow has lost Hayden Hurst and Samaje Perine, but he added Orlando Brown (LT) for some added protection. Keeping Burrow upright will help their passing game (and your fantasy football team) - but there are a few names still on their FA list that they need to address if they want to be one of the best in the AFC again. If you can say anything about Joe’s future - it’s safe to say he’s on the upward trend.
5. Justin Jefferson - WR Minnesota Vikings
Justin Jefferson was hands down the best WR in the league last year - and he’s only getting better. Unfortunately, he still has Kirk Cousins throwing to him. Not that Kirk is bad - but he’s not exactly the gunslinging QB you want if you have the talent that JJettas has. Jefferson’s 283.56pts in the regular season bested Tyreek for the #1WR spot by 13pts - and by 30pts to #3 on the list (Davante Adams). With only 4 games performing below double digits, Jefferson should continue to be a lock in your lineup week after week. The WR core will need an update, as rumors say Adam Thielen has played his last down of football as a Viking. Is Osbourne ready to compliment Jefferson? Or will Reagor get a look? Either way - the Dalvin Cook/Alexander Mattison duo won’t be changing, and with Big Hock filling the TE role - Minnesota will have a lot of familiarity when it comes to moving the football downfield.
6. Justin Fields - QB Chicago Bears
The Justin Fields experiment continues this offseason - and the Bears are looking to add all kinds of support to the mobile quarterback’s ensemble. Chicago looks to follow the KC mold - find your QB, add a few playmakers to the outside, and then go fill out the defense. Tremaine Edmunds, DeMarcus Walker, and T.J. Edwards all hopped on board the pain train, while David Montgomery left the platform for Detroit. But then you look at their FA class… and realize the Bears are losing a LOT of players. Not necessarily key players, but at the start of FA - the Bears had 28 players without agreements (all of which were under contract last year). Let’s not forget about the 1st Overall trade to Carolina - moving back eight spots (to pick 1.09) plus three additional picks (2024 First, 2025 Second, along with Pick 2.29) - AND DJ Moore. The Bears are cooking for sure - but whether they can put all the ingredients together is the question. Don’t expect Fields to have similar output this upcoming season, despite the fact they loaded up.
7. Josh Jacobs - RB Las Vegas Raiders
Josh Jacobs won the RB title this year with his fantastic individual performance all year long. The Raiders struggled in many different ways this season - but at least their backfield stayed consistent with the 4th year back from Alabama. Much to his disappointment, Jacobs was franchise-tagged at the beginning of the offseason, keeping him from pursuing the FA market (that went berserk this year). Jacobs edged out Ekeler and Henry for the RB Crown this year by 14 points - and it had a lot to do with his monstrous Week 12 line (229RuYds, 2RuTDs, 74RecYds for 45.3pts). With Garoppolo under center and Jakobi Meyers complimenting Hunter Renfrow, this Raiders team should look a lot stronger than last year’s group. Jacobs has another chance at the RB Title this upcoming season, but he could easily fall back into the RB2 category.
8. Geno Smith - QB Seattle Seahawks
Geno Smith set a new standard for the Seahawks after they traded away franchise QB Russell Wilson to the Broncos in return for a haul plus Drew Lock. It made things interesting to start the year… Lock and Smith were set to duke it out and see who earned the starting role. Geno Smith had quite the Training Camp and Preseason, earning the nod to start the season. And then… he found his stride. Geno cruised as the MVP Darkhorse until late in the season, finishing as QB6 with 271pts on the year. 1 game of single digits, and 5 games above 20pts earned him the spot - and a nice payday this offseason. Smith looks to lead the Seahawks for another 3 years with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett on his side.
9. Tyreek Hill - WR Miami Dolphins
Tyreek Hill proved he doesn’t need Patrick Mahomes throwing him the football. He doesn’t even need Tua Tagovailoa tossing him the pigskin, either. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t need anyone throwing him the ball… the dude can flat-out RUN!. Hill came in as WR2 this year behind Jefferson - logging 270.5pts on the year. He only posted a single-digit score twice this year - in Week’s 3 and 5 - but he bounced back with 23pt performances both times. Miami is building something special down on South Beach - but can their franchise quarterback stay healthy? The Hill/Waddle combo is one of the best in the league - and fantasy points are agreeing with me. It wouldn’t surprise many people if Hill found himself in the top-5 conversation for WR’s again next year.
10. Trevor Lawrence - QB Jacksonville Jaguars
TLaw’s second season in the AFC South showed his skill and his growth - and a lot of it could have to do with new head coach Doug Pederson. That being said - Lawrence certainly exceeded expectations after the team struggled to put things together during his rookie campaign. Having Marvin Jones definitely helped - but the two big names that were NOT on anyone's radar were WR Christian Kirk and TE Evan Engram. Engram finished TE5, while Kirk climbed up to WR10 after changing locations from Arizona to Jacksonville last offseason. With only Marvin Jones unsigned, Jacksonville should be another dangerous team next year - especially now that Lawrence has found a rhythm under Pederson.
Other notable players:
RB: Austin Ekeler, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley
WR: Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs, AJ Brown
TE: Travis Kelce, TJ Hockenson, Mark Andrews, George Kittle, Evan Engram
K: Daniel Carlson, Tyler Bass, Nick Folk, Brett Maher, Justin Tucker
Now let’s focus on our Rookie of the Year! A few names to highlight - and a few who showed flashes of brilliance in their limited times on the field… Without further adieu… our Rookie countdown!
1. Garrett Wilson - WR New York Jets
Garrett Wilson torched the defenses all year long with Zach Wilson under center. He clearly struggled with his connection to Flacco - but that seems to have passed now that the Jets are tuning into the Aaron Rodgers hype (or so it seems). Besting 10pts in 7 of his 16 games this Fantasy season, Wilson will continue to produce at a high rate next season… although that may be more difficult with Allen Lazard moving into town.
2. Chris Olave - WR New Orleans Saints
The other OSU standout, Chris Olave had an up-and-down season in New Orleans. He started hot - with four of his first five games scoring over 10pts. But by week 12, he was dealing with some lingering issues and it hurt his play - and caused him to miss two games. Had he performed at the same pace at the beginning of the season, Olave would have been in the MVP conversations. Now, Olave is opposite Michael Thomas with Derek Carr under center and Jamaal Williams in the backfield. We’ll see if Olave has earned the trust of his coaches, or if they are looking to add more depth come the NFL Draft.
3. Dameon Pierce - RB Houston Texans
Had Dameon Pierce played in his final three games, he would have been the clear Rookie of the Year winner. On a bad Texans team with no QB or throwing options, Pierce was the workhorse in most games for Houston. He put up >10pts in nine of his 13 games, wrapping up with 151.4 Fantasy Points on the year. Despite the horrendous year, the Houston Front Office is trying to make something of nothing. They’ve added Robert Woods, Dalton Schultz, backup QB Case Keenum, Devin Singletary, Noah Brown, and OJ Howard to the offense - and that’s ignoring their defensive improvements. Pierce could be in for another big role this upcoming season - unless the Texans draft competition.
4. Kenneth Walker III - RB Seattle Seahawks
Kenneth Walker III blew a lot of people away with his hard running style. He didn’t really get a chance until after a few major injuries in the RB room (Alex Collins, Rashaad Penny, Tony Jones)... But once he got the ball in his hands, he showed Pete Carroll what he was missing. Walker took over the backfield in Week 5 and scored 166.2pts of his 176.6pts in the final 11 games of the season. He surged into the RotY race, and showed that he is the Seahawks’ RB1. Don’t sleep on Kenny.
5. Christian Watson - WR Green Bay Packers
Watson started slow, along with the rest of the Packers… but he found a connection with Rodgers before the season started slipping away. He ended up missing three games due to injury throughout the season. Don't get me wrong - Watson has the tools to put it together and be a key piece of the Packers WR room - but the majority of Christian’s production came in a four week span (Week 10-13: 95.7 Fantasy Pts, 71% of his season’s production). Explosive? Absolutely. Worth investing in? To be determined.
6. Kenny Pickett - QB Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steel City rookie QB had a lot of work to do in order to get up to speed. So did the rest of the Pittsburgh offense. Najee Harris struggled most of the season, and the only real asset that produced outside of Pickett was his rookie WR George Pickens (we’ll see him at #8). He started the year behind Mitchell Trubisky, and was handed the game plan by Week 5. Still - the Steelers went 9-8 and kept their heads above water. With Pittsburgh signing Guards Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig, Pickett will look to spend more time in the pocket to make decisions - and less time on his back.
7. Tyler Allgeier - RB Atlanta Falcons
Another carousel of players in and out of Atlanta’s lineup, but Tyler Allgeier was able to come through once Corderrelle Patterson stepped away due to injury. Allgeier took over the role after Patterson’s knee injury in Week 4 and put together a respectable run of 81.3pts in 10 games… then the AJFFL Postseason arrived and Allgeier was on another level. Averaging 17.37ppg, Allgeier will look to continue his success with Taylor Heinicke under center this upcoming season.
8. George Pickens - WR Pittsburgh Steelers
George showed some flashes of brilliance this past season, with some eye-opening grabs and impressive individual efforts to extend plays. He’s got the vision of a true playmaker, and he’s shown he’s got the hands to back it up. If Pickett can routinely get the ball into Pickens hands, it will open up the running game for Najee - who struggled last season. Open the field up, and this team has the potential to be dangerous. I’d look for a big BOOM year from Pickens in 2023.
9. Drake London - WR Atlanta Falcons
Like Allgeier, Drake London was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The inconsistency of the Falcons offense made London a hit-or-miss player most of the season. Like Pickens, he showed he’s got what it takes to be their #1 guy on the outside. They just have to trust him enough and get him the ball.
10. Cade York - K Cleveland Browns
Cade York rounds out our Rookie of the Year bids - and yes, a Kicker earned the right to join the club. Not often do we get to brag about kickers - but Cade was electric for the Browns. Posting 109pts as a rookie kicker, Cleveland really showed they trusted York from anywhere inside the 50. It’s hard to rate kickers… but there are a few gold-mines. York may be making his case for a regular roster spot.
Honorable Mentions: Breece Hall, Isaiah Pacheco, Brian Robinson Jr., Rachaad White, James Cook, Jahan Dotson
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