2021 Fantasy Free Agency Preview
The NFL's free agency period begins on March 17, though teams can legally negotiate with players' agents beginning on March 15. In the table below, I've compiled the "key" free agents at the four primary fantasy positions (QB, RB, WR and TE), sorted by their 2020 per game average (half-PPR). Their status indicates whether the player is unrestricted, restricted, or an exclusive rights free agent. I've also included the Average Annual Value (AAV) of their contract in 2020, which I found at the wonderful site Spotrac.com.
Here's a quick refresher on the NFL's (oftentimes-convoluted) free agency rules.
- An unrestricted free agent (UFA) can sign with whomever he wants with no compensation going to his old team.
- A restricted free agent (RFA) has three years of service in the NFL and an expired contract. He's free to negotiate with other teams, but once he signs an offer sheet, his old team has seven days to match the deal and retain the player. If his old team declines to match, his new team may have to send a draft pick as compensation, depending on what type of RFA tender the old team offered the player.
- A team can apply a franchise tag on a player in order to guarantee that the team retains the player's rights for another season in the hopes that the two sides can work out a long-term deal. The price is steep -- it's a formula based on a certain percentage of the salary cap and the salaries of the top five players at the position.
- Under the franchise tag, a player can be labeled an exclusive or non-exclusive franchise player. Exclusive franchise players cannot negotiate with other teams. Like restricted free agents, a non-exclusive franchise player can sign an offer sheet from another team. If his old team declines to match, they'll receive two first-round picks as compensation.
- If a team doesn't apply a franchise tag, it can elect to apply a transition tag instead. The tender is cheaper because it uses the top 10 salaries at the position, but if another team negotiates a deal and his old team elects not to match, they won't get any draft picks as compensation. In previous years, teams could use both the franchise and transition tags, but under the new CBA, a team can use one or the other, but not both. The transition tag is rarely used in the NFL.
As is my approach with the Draft, I don't spend a lot of time speculating about landing spots for the top players because it's a waste of time since things will typically be solidified in a few weeks. Just tell me where everyone lands and let me start my 2021 projections!
| PLAYER | POS | AGE | TEAM | G | 2020 AAV | Status | 2020 PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dak Prescott | QB | 28 | DAL | 5 | $ 31,409,000 | UFA | 24.7 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | QB | 39 | MIA | 9 | $ 5,500,000 | UFA | 15.9 |
| Cam Newton | QB | 32 | NE | 15 | $ 1,750,000 | UFA | 15.8 |
| Mitch Trubisky | QB | 27 | CHI | 10 | $ 7,258,106 | UFA | 14.4 |
| Andy Dalton | QB | 34 | DAL | 11 | $ 3,000,000 | UFA | 12.2 |
| Aaron Jones | RB | 27 | GB | 14 | $ 650,484 | UFA | 16.5 |
| Chris Carson | RB | 27 | SEA | 12 | $ 616,282 | UFA | 13.9 |
| Mike Davis | RB | 28 | CAR | 15 | $ 3,000,000 | UFA | 11.8 |
| Kenyan Drake | RB | 27 | ARI | 15 | $ 8,483,000 | UFA | 11.7 |
| James Conner | RB | 26 | PIT | 13 | $ 790,381 | UFA | 11.0 |
| Todd Gurley | RB | 27 | ATL | 15 | $ 5,500,000 | UFA | 9.8 |
| Rex Burkhead | RB | 31 | NE | 10 | $ 3,000,000 | UFA | 9.5 |
| Leonard Fournette | RB | 26 | TB | 13 | $ 2,000,000 | UFA | 8.8 |
| Wayne Gallman | RB | 27 | NYG | 15 | $ 704,912 | UFA | 8.3 |
| Gus Edwards | RB | 26 | BAL | 16 | $ 750,000 | RFA | 7.7 |
| Jamaal Williams | RB | 26 | GB | 14 | $ 741,498 | UFA | 7.7 |
| Carlos Hyde | RB | 31 | SEA | 10 | $ 2,750,000 | UFA | 7.5 |
| Marlon Mack | RB | 25 | IND | 1 | $ 704,912 | UFA | - |
| Adrian Peterson | RB | 36 | DET | 16 | $ 1,050,000 | UFA | 7.4 |
| Kalen Ballage | RB | 26 | LAC | 11 | $ 825,000 | UFA | 7.0 |
| Jerick McKinnon | RB | 29 | SF | 16 | $ 1,160,000 | UFA | 6.9 |
| James White | RB | 29 | NE | 14 | $ 4,000,000 | UFA | 6.4 |
| Duke Johnson | RB | 28 | HOU | 11 | $ 5,203,333 | UFA | 6.2 |
| Frank Gore | RB | 38 | NYJ | 15 | $ 1,050,000 | UFA | 6.1 |
| Malcolm Brown | RB | 28 | LAR | 16 | $ 1,650,000 | UFA | 6.1 |
| Le'Veon Bell | RB | 29 | KC | 11 | $ 1,000,000 | UFA | 5.9 |
| Phillip Lindsay | RB | 27 | DEN | 11 | $ 575,000 | RFA | 5.7 |
| Brian Hill | RB | 26 | ATL | 16 | $ 2,133,000 | UFA | 5.1 |
| Devontae Booker | RB | 29 | LV | 16 | $ 1,047,500 | UFA | 4.7 |
| Mark Ingram | RB | 32 | BAL | 11 | $ 5,000,000 | UFA | 4.5 |
| Josh Adams | RB | 25 | NYJ | 8 | $ 750,000 | RFA | 4.2 |
| Will Fuller | WR | 27 | HOU | 11 | $ 2,541,078 | UFA | 14.8 |
| Allen Robinson | WR | 28 | CHI | 16 | $ 14,000,000 | UFA | 13.3 |
| Chris Godwin | WR | 25 | TB | 12 | $ 821,041 | UFA | 13.0 |
| Marvin Jones | WR | 31 | DET | 16 | $ 8,000,000 | UFA | 11.9 |
| Antonio Brown | WR | 33 | TB | 8 | $ 1,666,667 | UFA | 11.9 |
| Corey Davis | WR | 26 | TEN | 14 | $ 6,348,672 | UFA | 11.4 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | WR | 25 | PIT | 16 | $ 1,048,945 | UFA | 11.2 |
| Kenny Golladay | WR | 28 | DET | 5 | $ 799,081 | UFA | 11.2 |
| Nelson Agholor | WR | 28 | LV | 16 | $ 1,047,500 | UFA | 10.1 |
| Curtis Samuel | WR | 25 | CAR | 15 | $ 1,613,421 | UFA | 9.3 |
| Tim Patrick | WR | 28 | DEN | 15 | $ 750,000 | RFA | 9.0 |
| T.Y. Hilton | WR | 32 | IND | 15 | $ 13,000,000 | UFA | 8.9 |
| Allen Lazard | WR | 26 | GB | 10 | $ 675,000 | ERFA | 8.0 |
| Keelan Cole | WR | 28 | JAX | 16 | $ 3,259,000 | UFA | 7.6 |
| Rashard Higgins | WR | 27 | CLE | 13 | $ 910,000 | UFA | 7.4 |
| DeSean Jackson | WR | 35 | PHI | 5 | $ 9,300,000 | UFA | 7.3 |
| Zach Pascal | WR | 27 | IND | 16 | $ 525,000 | RFA | 7.2 |
| Sammy Watkins | WR | 28 | KC | 10 | $ 9,000,000 | UFA | 7.1 |
| Breshad Perriman | WR | 28 | NYJ | 12 | $ 6,500,000 | UFA | 7.0 |
| Kendrick Bourne | WR | 26 | SF | 15 | $ 3,259,000 | UFA | 6.9 |
| Adam Humphries | WR | 28 | TEN | 7 | $ 9,000,000 | UFA | 6.6 |
| Josh Reynolds | WR | 26 | LAR | 16 | $ 762,005 | UFA | 6.0 |
| Danny Amendola | WR | 36 | DET | 14 | $ 5,000,000 | UFA | 5.9 |
| David Moore | WR | 26 | SEA | 16 | $ 825,000 | UFA | 5.8 |
| Willie Snead | WR | 29 | BAL | 13 | $ 6,000,000 | UFA | 5.8 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | WR | 38 | ARI | 13 | $ 11,500,000 | UFA | 5.7 |
| A.J. Green | WR | 33 | CIN | 16 | $ 18,171,000 | UFA | 5.5 |
| Damiere Byrd | WR | 28 | NE | 16 | $ 1,600,000 | UFA | 5.2 |
| Demarcus Robinson | WR | 27 | KC | 16 | $ 2,297,500 | UFA | 5.2 |
| Chris Conley | WR | 29 | JAX | 15 | $ 2,297,500 | UFA | 5.1 |
| Robert Tonyan | TE | 27 | GB | 16 | $ 660,000 | RFA | 9.4 |
| Hunter Henry | TE | 27 | LAC | 14 | $ 10,607,000 | UFA | 8.2 |
| Rob Gronkowski | TE | 32 | TB | 16 | $ 9,000,000 | UFA | 7.8 |
| Jonnu Smith | TE | 26 | TEN | 15 | $ 776,572 | UFA | 7.6 |
| Jared Cook | TE | 34 | NO | 15 | $ 7,500,000 | UFA | 7.3 |
| Jordan Reed | TE | 31 | SF | 10 | $ 1,050,000 | UFA | 6.0 |
| Dan Arnold | TE | 26 | ARI | 16 | $ 615,000 | UFA | 5.0 |
| Trey Burton | TE | 30 | IND | 13 | $ 910,000 | UFA | 4.4 |
| Tyler Eifert | TE | 31 | JAX | 15 | $ 4,750,000 | UFA | 4.3 |
| Mo Alie-Cox | TE | 28 | IND | 15 | $ 525,000 | ERFA | 4.3 |
| Richard Rodgers | TE | 29 | PHI | 14 | $ 910,000 | RFA | 4.2 |
| Gerald Everett | TE | 27 | LAR | 16 | $ 1,511,117 | UFA | 4.1 |
| Tyler Kroft | TE | 29 | BUF | 10 | $ 6,250,000 | UFA | 3.6 |
| Jacob Hollister | TE | 28 | SEA | 16 | $ 3,259,000 | UFA | 3.2 |
