The Franchise Tag Deadline Aftershock

RBs Get the Shaft and a Jacked Michael Clemmons Wields a Bat

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Deep Dive Fantasy Newsletter, a now twice-weekly fantasy football publication coming to your inbox all summer long.

When the franchise tag deadline hit at 4:00 PM on July 17th, there was no breaking news regarding the trio of running backs looking for new contracts. Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, and Tony Pollard all did not receive the compensation they were seeking, but I’ll have more on that in the Around the League segment below.

However, there were some winners from Monday’s deadline.

Evan Engram, TE - Jaguars

Engram inked a three-year deal worth $41.3M with $24M guaranteed, making him the sixth-highest-paid TE in the league. The Jacksonville TE is 4for4’s TE8 heading into the season and is being drafted as the TE6 according to our multi-site ADP tool.

Matt Breida & Eric Gray, RBs - Giants 

With Barkley and the Giants reportedly not close to any sort of deal, the next two guys on the RB depth chart will get to showcase their skills at training camp with the first team. Breida has bounced around the league with four different teams in six NFL seasons and if given more playing time, could secure a multi-year contract after this one-year deal is up with New York.

Gray was selected in the fifth round of this year’s NFL Draft and this could be an excellent opportunity to carve out a role for himself as a rookie on the Giants’ squad.

Zamir White & Ameer Abdullah, RBs - Raiders 

Similar to the players above, both White and Abdullah may have a shot at the starting gig if Josh Jacobs holds out for any significant period of time. White would likely be used as the workhorse, with Abdullah assuming his historical third-down role. Getting first-team reps for either one would be advantageous in advancing their NFL careers.

This jacked hype photo of the week is actually a video this time and it’s not necessarily a fantasy-relevant player but it’s still note-worthy. New York Jets defensive end Michael Clemmons showed up shirtless with a spiked baseball bat similar to the one Negan carried in The Walking Dead. Whether it was playing to the Hard Knocks cameras or sending a message to the league, it was certainly something.

While we’re at it let’s add a bonus jacked video this week, one of RB Nick Chubb squatting an insane amount of weight. Chubb is currently the fifth RB off Yahoo draft boards and is ranked as 4for4’s RB3 in half-PPR formats.

  • The franchise tag deadline came and went on Monday afternoon and the three star running backs who were hoping to secure new meatier contracts were left with nothing. Dallas RB Tony Pollard had already signed his franchise tag back in March and agreed to play on it for $10.1M, but was hoping for a long-term deal.

  • Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs did not come to new terms or agree to play on the franchise tag which could cause either or both to hold out and not report to any team training camps or beyond if it goes that far.

Jacobs himself did not react publicly but Barkley did send this tweet:

Several top running backs around the league joined in to support their fellow rushers, letting folks know how they feel about the devaluation of the position in recent years.

🚀 Kyler Murray, QB (ARI) Was: 161.8, Now: 152.5 Jump: 9.3

The Arizona QB is still on the road back to full health after ACL surgery but things are starting to look up for Kyler Murray. His return date is still to be determined, but the 25-year-old’s rehab and future plans are highlighted in a YouTube series entitled Flight Plan: Load1ing that aired July 13th.

The question marks surrounding Murray’s return - particularly if the team starts out winless without him - make him a tough pick in redraft leagues, but as a QB2 in best ball or Superflex there’s value in the selection. He’s also a great bench stash as a backup if you have the room to roster an extra signal caller.

🚀 Ryan Tannehill, QB (TEN) Was: 214.2, Now: 24.9, Jump: 9.3

A QB at the end of his career gets a lift in ADP when his team signs the alpha WR they’ve been missing since trading away A.J. Brown before the 2022 season. DeAndre Hopkins agreed to a deal with Tennessee on July 17th which provides a two-pronged bump in Tanny's draft stock. First Hopkins is a step up from any pass-catcher on their roster and secondly, it assures fantasy managers that they are actually playing to win meaning Tannehill should be the starter for a decent amount of games in 2023.

🚀 Zamir White, RB (LV) Was: 210.6, Now: 203.4 Jump: 7.2

With Josh Jacobs not getting a long-term deal at the franchise tag deadline, White could emerge as the Raiders RB1 if there is a legitimate holdout on the side of Jacobs. As a result. drafters are clicking the button over half of a round earlier for the former Georgia Bulldog, a trend that should continue the longer this drags on.

🪂 Treylon Burks, WR (TEN) Was: 67.6 Now: 76.8. Slide: 9.2

The signing of DeAndre Hopkins to the Titans this week caused drafters to let Burks fall close to a full round in ADP. While he won’t be the target monster we were anticipating prior to Hopkins arrival, Burks should still be considered a WR3 for fantasy purposes and could benefit from secondaries focusing in on the former Cardinal.

🪂 Jordan Love, QB (GBP) Was: 156.6, Now: 162.2, Slide: 6

I couldn't find a tangible reason for Jordan Love’s recent dip, but he has been winning over his teammates this offseason. We haven’t seen enough from Love to assign true fantasy value as his career line of 50-606-3 is such a small sample, but he learned from one of the best in Aaron Rodgers over the last two years and has a talented receiving corps to throw to in 2023.

Love is 4for4’s QB20 right now and is being selected as the QB22 on both Underdog and in redraft leagues according to our multi-site ADP tool, so there is still some value in the pick as a fantasy QB2.

YouTube Video of the Week: Players to Avoid in Every Round

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