The official start to the 2023 NFL season is quickly approaching with the league year and free agency opening at 4 p.m. on March 15. Teams will begin signing free agents and any trades agreed to prior to the new league year will become official starting on that date.
There are a couple of other key dates to remember before the league year officially kicks off. Teams have to designate franchise players by March 7. The NFL also has a legal negotiating window from March 13-15 when teams can start contacting and negotiating with the agents of unrestricted free agents. We’ll hear of some deals breaking during that window even though they can’t become official.
With that said, it’s time to start breaking down the 2023 free agency class, which includes Jakobi Meyers, Odell Beckham, and JuJu Smith-Schuster at the WR position. Be sure to follow Fantasy Points throughout free agency for in-depth breakdowns of every major (and minor) move. We’ll be tracking every off-season transaction from a fantasy perspective through our “Off-season Tracker” articles and Graham Barfield’s “Fantasy Fallout” pieces.
We’ll also be constantly updating our Best Ball rankings if you’re looking to get an early start to draft season with our friends over at Underdog Fantasy (Promo code: FANTASYPTS). New signups to Underdog get both a deposit match of up to $100 and a Fantasy Points Standard subscription for just $5.
NOTE: Players are loosely ranked based on talent, age, plus previous and expected future fantasy relevance.
Available via Trade
Fantasy Starters
DeAndre Hopkins (Ari, 31) — The Cardinals had high hopes for their offense in 2022 but the season got off on the wrong foot with Hopkins suspended for the first six games for PED use. The Cardinals’ season never got on track even after Nuk returned to the lineup, and owner Michael Bidwell elected to tear things down after the season. Hopkins is a major candidate to be traded this off-season as one of the many moves to reset the franchise for new GM Monti Ossenfort. Hopkins posted 64/717/3 receiving (11.2 YPR) on 96 targets (31.1% share) to finish as the WR9 with 17.0 FPG. He played on 88% of the snaps and ran 362 routes (40.2 per game) in nine contests, missing time for his suspension and a late-season knee issue. Nuk is still one of the NFL’s biggest ball hogs after averaging 10.7 targets per game last season, and he’s remarkably averaging 9.9 targets per game over the last nine seasons. The concern is that he could be losing a step as he enters his 11th season at 31 years old. He matched a career-worst mark in YPR (11.2) and had his second-worst average in yards per target (7.5). Hopkins still averaged a solid 1.98 yards per route run, and it’s notable that Colt McCoy threw the majority of passes in four of his nine games in 2022. This year’s free agency class is lacking #1 WRs, and it’s even thin on #2 options, which makes Hopkins even more appealing as a potential for a team searching for an alpha receiver in their passing game.
Unrestricted Free Agents
Note: An unrestricted free agent is a player with four or more accrued seasons and an expired contract who is free to negotiate and sign with any team.
Aging Contributors
Jarvis Landry (NO, 30) — Landry is coming off back-to-back career-worst seasons with age and injuries catching up to him. He’s missed 13 games the last two seasons because of ankle and knee injuries after never missing a game in each of his first six years in 2014-2019. Landry posted 25/272/1 receiving (10.9 YPR) on 39 targets (15% share) for 6.7 FPG while playing on 57% of the snaps and running 207 routes (23.0 per game) in nine contests. Landry’s days of 100+ targets and 72+ catches as he accomplished in his first seven seasons are long gone. He can still be a useful #3 WR out of the slot if he can manage to avoid the injuries that have sidetracked his last two campaigns.
T.Y. Hilton (Dal, 33) — Hilton didn’t find a home in 2022 until the Cowboys called off their pursuit of Odell Beckham and settled on the veteran speedster in mid-December. He posted 7/121/0 receiving (17.3 YPR) on 10 targets (8.9% share) for 6.4 FPG while playing on 27% of the snaps and running 35 routes (11.7 per game) in three contests. Hilton added 3/38 receiving in two postseason games and registered at least one first-down reception every game. He also averaged 2.01 yards per route run in his limited five-game sample, and he averaged fewer than 1.74 YPRR just once in his career in 2021 when he dealt with a major neck injury. He even caught a pass with a 51-yard aDOT from Dak Prescott in his return to NFL action, showing that he can still be a situational deep threat entering his 12th season.
Jamison Crowder (Buf, 30) — The Bills signed Crowder to replace Cole Beasley and to challenge Isaiah McKenzie for slot WR snaps, but his time in Buffalo never got off of the ground because of a fractured ankle after 93 snaps. Crowder posted 6/60/0 receiving (10.0 YPR) on 10 targets (9.2% share) for 3.0 FPG while playing on 33% of the snaps and running 71 routes (17.8 per game) in four contests. He’s missed four or more games in four of his last five seasons, and he’s a slot-only receiver, having run 72% of his routes or more from inside in his first eight seasons. Crowder will have to settle for another one-year deal to compete for slot snaps.
Julio Jones (TB, 34) — Tom Brady recruited Julio late last summer for a title run that never came close to materializing for a dysfunctional 2022 Buccaneers squad. Jones played in 10 or fewer games for the third straight season with his third different team — he previously played for the Titans (2021) and Falcons (2020) — with knee and hamstring issues limiting him to career-worst numbers across the board. He posted 24/299/2 receiving (12.5 YPR) on 43 targets (9.8% share) for 7.0 FPG while playing 48% of the snaps and running 245 routes (24.5 per game) in 10 contests. Julio didn’t have much of a market last off-season, and he can’t be counted on to stay healthy for long at this stage of his career.
Other UFAs
Olamide Zaccheaus (Atl, 26)
Byron Pringle (Chi, 29)
DeAndre Carter (LAC, 30)
Chris Moore (Hou, 30)
Kenny Golladay (NYG, 29)
Robbie Anderson (Ari, 30)
Demarcus Robinson (Bal, 28)
N’Keal Harry (Chi, 25)
Randall Cobb (GB, 32)
Dante Pettis (Chi, 27)
Sammy Watkins (Bal, 30)
Justin Watson (KC, 28)
Damiere Byrd (Atl, 30)
Khaderel Hodge (Atl, 28)
Scotty Miller (TB, 26)
Breshad Perriman (TB, 29)
Marcus Johnson (NYG, 29)
River Cracraft (Mia, 28)
Jake Kumerow (Buf, 31)
Miles Boykin (Pit, 26)
Rashard Higgins (Car, 28)
Kristian Wilkerson (Ind, 26)
Olabisi Johnson (Min, 26)
Restricted Free Agents
Note: A restricted free agent is a player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. RFAs are free to negotiate and sign with any team, but their original team can offer them one of various qualifying offers ("tenders") that come with the right of first refusal and/or draft-pick compensation. If the tender is withdrawn by a team, the RFA becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Jalen Guyton (LAC, 26)
