I'm not sure what was more exciting --
Christmas Day when I was a young lad, or the
late-night frenzy of reporting on where the 2011
undrafted NFL Free Agents signed yesterday/last
night....
A couple of our key Free Agent RBs landed in
great situations, and our top undrafted Free
Agent WR did not fair so well. A quick look at
what opening day of undrafted Free Agent
signings brought us:
Mario
Fannin, now with the Denver
Broncos -- the highest rated undrafted Free
Agent we had on our board, lands in quite
possibly the perfect spot (for the moment). The
Broncos have only Knowshon Moreno as a
major RB weapon, and that has been called into
question quite a bit this off-season. Correll
Buckhalter was just released, and even if
brought back due to age and injuries -- he is no
real RB weapon any longer. We're not that high
on backup RB Lance Ball either.
The Broncos need RBs, and they do not have a
ton of room with the salary cap to land a top
RB. I don't think there is any need for them to
do stretch for a frontline RB right now...it's
not like they are a serious playoff contender
currently, so why risk what precious little
payroll they have on a RB when they seemingly
need defense? Fannin lands in a spot in Denver
that appears to have minor head-winds toward
playing time, and that's all you can ask for as
an undrafted Free Agent -- and opportunity.
Fannin, it appears for now, has that in Denver.
For more in-depth on Fannin -- see
Part 4 of 5: 2011 Dynasty Fantasy Football
League Rookie Draft, RB Mock Draft Ranking
Nic
Grigsby, now with the Miami
Dolphins -- Grigsby is rated right up there with
Fannin, and also landed in a pretty good spot as
well. I look at the Miami situation and project
the following:
-
I think Ronnie Brown is gone
-
Maybe Ricky Williams is back, but is
fighting age
-
We think Daniel Thomas is wildly
overrated, and is a completely different
type of RB compared to Grigsby
-
Lex Hilliard is a not a threat
The X-factor in Miami is, that we think they
will land one of the big Free Agent RBs --
either DeAngelo Williams or Ahmad
Bradshaw. If that were to happen, Grigsby
has a major barrier. If for whatever reason the
Dolphins do not land top Free Agent RB and just
go with Brown or Williams and D. Thomas -- then
there is a huge void for a speed RB like
Grigsby. If the Dolphins don't land a major Free
Agent RB, I would not be shocked if Grigsby was
playing opening day as a compliment to the
bigger/pounding RBs in Brown/Williams/Thomas.
For more in-depth on Grigsby --
Part 4 of 5: 2011 Dynasty Fantasy Football
League Rookie Draft, RB Mock Draft Ranking
Terrance
Toliver, now with the Houston
Texans -- not a good draw for Toliver. Andre
Johnson on the roster is obvious, but Dorin
Dickerson is a possible star WR in the
making as well. The Texans also grabbed another
of our WRs of interest in
Jeffrey
Maehl. The Texans are loaded with WR
and TE talent, and if they find room to hold
Toliver or Maehl...it could be 2+ years before
anything positive happens from a Fantasy
Football front. My hope for Toliver would be
that he is released from the Texans early, and
gets a chance with a different team. The Texans
typically draft with "character" in mind, so
assumingly Toliver was not limited by off-field
issues for opportunities of where to sign. To
me, not a good job by his agent if Toliver had
other options.
Maehl could have a better chance at sticking
with Houston, he is a smaller possession type
WR. He could push past David Anderson and
Kevin Walter at a certain point much
faster than Toliver could push past Andre
Johnson or Dorin Dickerson.
For more in-depth on Toliver and Maehl --
2011 Dynasty League Rookie Draft, WR Mock Draft
Rankings (Part 2 of 3) - Fantasy Football Draft
2011
Derrick
Locke, now with the St. Louis
Rams -- Locke could be the 3rd down RB, change
of pace RB the Rams have been so rumored looking
for this off-season. This isn't a bad spot for
Locke at this point, but potentially the Rams
will take a look at a cheaper Free Agent/trade
alternative like a Steve Slaton or
Jerome Harrison. If they aren't able to
bring in a better veteran option, Locke may
become the Steven Jackson handcuff for
Fantasy Football as soon as this season.
For more in-depth on Locke --
2011 Dynasty Fantasy Football League Rookie
Draft, RB Mock Draft Rankings (Part 1 of 5) -
Fantasy Football Draft 2011
Noel Devine, now with Atlanta Falcons
-- we're not ultra-high on Devine, but we like
him a lot better than Jacquizz Rodgers to
fill that change-of-pace RB role that people
seem to be clamoring for in Atlanta. If Devine
was going to get a serious shot at NFL time,
this may be the perfect chance...but we're not
overly excited about Devine or Rodgers.
Other notable signings:
-
Brandon Saine, Green Bay Packers
-
Graig Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles
-
Pat Devlin, Miami Dolphins
-
DeAndre Brown, New Orleans Saints
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