Fantasy Football Beneficiaries From Departures
A common phrase in the fantasy football draft world is "face in a new place." That is when we write about the impact of a typically highly-sought-out contributor to his new employer.
However, what about the team that loses that player? It is impacted just as much. Maybe you have a No. 2 receiver who now becomes the main target. Or, a third-down back is now the bell cow. In rarer cases, the clipboard-holding quarterback is now the one in the huddle on gameday.
Here are the biggest beneficiaries of departures in 2016...
Jeremy Langford, RB, CHI
The Bears made it very clear that Langford is the guy. When Matt Forte's contract expired, Chicago made little effort to extend his stay in the Windy City. Langford scored more rushing touchdowns than Forte last year (6-4), including a stretch in which Langford scored six total TDs in six games. Langford's impact on the passing game could be the piece that puts him over the top. Forte averaged 88 receptions between the 2013-2014 seasons. If that transfers to Langford, you're looking at a top-10 running back. Ka'Deem Carey is also in the competition for carries. Carey rushed for over 1,800 yards in each of his last two seasons in college, yet has tallied only 317 rushing yards in the NFL in his first two years.
Jay Ajayi, RB, MIA
Lamar Miller's dissatisfaction with the Miami offense has been well documented. He left for Houston, and now Ajayi becomes the No. 1 back for the Dolphins. After losing one RB, I could see Miami learning from its mistakes, making a change and feeding Ajayi the ball. In 2014, at Boise State, Ajayi rushed for 1,823 yards and scored 28 TDs. If you attest by saying that Miami is a passing offense, Ajayi also caught 50 passes in that junior season with the Broncos.
8/7 UPDATE: Arian Foster has since joined the Dolphins and could severely hinder Ajayi's playing time in Miami. Foster is a great pass catcher and Miami had the fourth-highest pass-to-run ratio in the NFL last year (passing 64.79 percent of the time).
Trevor Siemian, QB, DEN
"Who?" That's generally the answer I receive when people ask me what I think about the Broncos signing Mark Sanchez in the offseason and I bring up Siemian. He'll have a solid offense, with C.J. Anderson as his RB and both Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders as wide receivers. The term "game manager" has a negative connotation, but that's exactly what Siemian needs to be. Don't turn the ball over and just get the ball to the playmakers.
Corey Coleman, WR, CLE
This is a special circumstance relative to this article. While Coleman is a newly-drafted Cleveland Brown, he could jump to the front of the line in regard to the wide receiver depth chart. Travis Benjamin is now in San Diego, and who knows if/when Josh Gordon will be able to play in the NFL again. In his last two seasons at Baylor, Coleman caught 138 passes for 2,482 yards (18 yards per catch) and scored 31 touchdowns.
Ryan Mathews, RB, PHI
DeMarco Murray was supposed to be the star, but Mathews stole some attention in Philly. In his final five games with the Eagles, Murray averaged 31 rushing yards on 7.6 attempts per game. With Murray completely out of the picture (now with the Titans), Mathews' role can grow. I projected new career highs for Mathews on both yardage (1,255 in 2013) and touchdowns (seven in 2010) this season.
8/7 UPDATE: Mathews is practicing with the first-team offense in Philly and offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, is thoroughly impressed by him.
Other notable upgraded situations:
QB - Kirk Cousins, WAS: There is no doubt about it, Cousins is the man in D.C. and RG3 has moved on to Cleveland.
RB - Matt Jones, WAS: Alfred Morris signed with Dallas.
WR - DeVante Parker, MIA: His role will grow now that Rishard Matthews is in Tennessee.
TE - Dwayne Allen, IND: Andrew Luck's college and NFL teammate, Coby Fleener, is in New Orleans now.
