Fantasy Impact: Derek Carr

By Nick Young

Quarterback Derek Carr signed ealier today with the New Orleans Saints for 4 years $150 million. This comes after being released by the Las Vegas Raiders last month. I'm here to give you my thoughts on how this will impact the Saints' position players and their fantasy production.

Credit: McManusDesign

This is, by and large a major boost to the Saints offense as they struggled with Andy Dalton at the helm. In Davante Adams first year with the Raiders and Carr, he eclipsed 1500 receiving yards and hauled in 14 touchdowns and a WR1 in all fantasy formats, the Saints offense should see an increase in fantasy relevancy. Let's take a look at a few players, and how I see this impacting their fantasy production moving forward:

Alvin Kamara

Running back Alvin Kamara’s status with the Saints remains up in the air as his criminal case is still in flux. With that in mind I don’t expect much to change for Kamara on the offense. While Kamara is known for his receiving ability, Derek Carr doesn’t have a reputation for his running backs to have a big part in the receiving game. This past season while Josh Jacobs had 1600 rushing yards, he only had 400 receiving yards which was his career highest. Since Drew Brees has retired, Kamara hasn’t seen more than 450 receiving yards. Kamara was RB16 this past season and I don’t expect that to change unless the Saints also address their offensive line issues.

Chris Olave

Saints’ rookie sensation Chris Olave showed why he was a first-round draft pick this past year by breaking the 1,000-yard mark in his first season with shaky play overall from the offense. Olave had an average depth of target of 14 yards this past season and while Carr is not known for throwing the ball deep (11 yards per target average), it can still be expected that Olave will show a consistency of 1,000-yard seasons. Olave was the WR25 this past season according to player profiler, and I expect him to break the WR20 barrier with the increase in quarterback play.

Michael Thomas

Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries continue to plague Michael Thomas as he played in only 3 games this past season and a total of 10 in the past three seasons. It remains to be seen if he still has the playmaking ability that he showed in the beginning of his career. If he does stay with the Saints and is cleared, he will be nothing more than a low end WR2 at best.

Juwan Johnson

The 2022 TE15 Juwan Johnson showed flashes of playmaking ability with Andy Dalton at the helm, and I expect him to see the biggest improvement with Derek Carr coming in. Derek had a major connection with his previous tight end in Darren Waller which resulted in Waller being a TE1 consistently and a top 5 tight end in fantasy for the past few years. If Johnson builds this connection with Carr, I can see him rising a few spots in fantasy to the TE11-13 range with a ceiling of TE10.

Overall, the Saints offense see a huge upgrade with Derek Carr at the helm and if they use their draft pricks on shoring the offensive line and bringing in another wide receiver. The majority of the players should be more fantasy relevant.

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Nick Young

Top Free Agents Part I: Quarterback

With the 22-23 NFL season at a close, it is almost time to turn to free agency and where we see the big names to land. Here I list my top 3 at each significant position and my top three landing spots for each.

Quarterback

Lamar Jackson

Possible landing spots: BAL, ATL, NYJ, LV

Lamar Jackson is easily the best QB on this list, and honestly, it’s hard to imagine him going elsewhere than Baltimore. There is speculation that Jackson could move on from Baltimore because they haven’t signed him to a long-term contract. However, the Ravens are in a better position to pursue him and will have a healthy squad to chase a playoff run in 23’. When free agency rolls around, Jackson will be Baltimore’s QB1 under the Franchise Tag or a long-term contract. With Jackson being the best quarterback on the market and consistently being a tier-1 quarterback when healthy, expect him to attempt a market resetting contract higher than Deshaun Watson.

Derek Carr

Possible landing spots: NO, CAR, TENN, NYJ

The Derek Carr and Raiders saga is coming to a close as Carr won't waive his no-trade clause and force the Raiders to release him, which will incur a $40,000,000 cap hit. Carr won’t see a shortage of suitors, as he has already met with the Saints while exploring his trade options. The Saints will be my first choice for Carr, as there will be many weapons for him in the form of Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, and a surprising weapon Juwan Johnson. However, Carolina and Tennessee are coming in hot as potential suitors and could be in the mix. Tennessee needs a veteran mentor for Malik Willis as it appears this is Ryan Tannehill’s last season with the Titans, and Carolina will be looking to start over under new HC Frank Reich. Carr will be looking for a market resetting contract, and his suitors will do anything to reach him. Expect him to get a shorter length in the range of 3-4 years, but with an average of $45 million.

Jimmy Garoppolo

Possible landing spots: TENN, NO, CAR, NYJ, LV

Oh, Jimmy G, oh Jimmy G, my heart belongs to Jimmy G. Easily my favorite quarterback on this list. San Francisco will be moving on from the and moving forward with Brock Purdy and Trey Lance. The quarterback market won't be as strong this year as not many teams will be looking for a QB1. However, a squad that isn’t far from a playoff stint like the Tennessee Titans could pursue Garoppolo on a team-friendly deal and give Malik Willis the mentorship he needs after being benched for third-string quarterback Josh Dobbs. I expect Garoppolo will get a middle-of-the-road deal similar to Matt Ryan’s deal with the Colts at an average of $30,000,000/year.