By: Jake Rajala

The Las Vegas Raiders made the playoffs last season, but they had a tough (and cringy) loss against the AFC Champions Cincinnati Bengals in the wildcard matchup. Derek Carr and Hunter Renfrow were outmuscled by Joe Burrow and the 2021 Offensive Rookie of The Year Ja’Marr Chase, but the Raiders should hold their heads high this offseason.

The Raiders have plenty of room to improve on offense and their ceiling is sky-high. Derek Carr has been phenomenal with Josh Jacobs, Darren Waller, and Hunter Renfrow, but the offense can really lift off with a big addition at wideout. The Desean Jackson experiment won’t last forever, as the Eagles legend is 34 years old. With that said, here are a few free agents that Josh McDaniels should strongly consider signing.

Michael Gallup

The buzz surrounding JuJu Smith-Schuster and Las Vegas has been hot and cold. Furthermore, JuJu seems in love with the Dallas Cowboys in numerous ways and there’s also a strong possibility he reunites with the Steelers. I foresee JuJu taking a prove-it deal with Dak and replacing Michael Gallup, while Gallup looks for a new home.

I honestly believe that the shiny and overly popular free agent wide receiver Michael Gallup is the perfect fit for the Las Vegas Raiders. Josh McDaniels ought to be the most aggressive buyer for Michael Gallup in free agency.

Gallup had a single-season career-high receiving yards mark in 2019 (1,107) and 11 touchdowns in 2019 and 2020 combined. He can be a consistent, big catch WR on the outside, while Renfrow mows down defenses from the inside.

The Raiders have the 16th most cap space in the NFL, but they should really prioritize Gallup to ensure that they give him the best offer among any interested teams in his services. I believe they are simply the best combination of fit, riches, and ascending culture to attract him.

Cordarralle Patterson

If Gallup re-signs with Dallas or heads elsewhere (potentially a Top 5 team on a prove-it deal), the Las Vegas Raiders could really get creative with Cordarrelle Patterson in their offensive attack. The combination of Josh Jacobs, Kenyan Drake, and Patterson at RB would be entertaining, but quick screens and deep shots to Patterson at WR across from Darren Waller would be more thrilling. The methodical scheme with play-action shots deep down the field by McDaniels would be firing off all cylinders with Patterson in the offense.

Patterson is a much younger version of Desean Jackson and he can be a more versatile athlete. Patterson was named second-team All-Pro by Pro Football Focus at the flex position.

Tre’Quan Smith

The Saints young wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith had to suffer from a brutal passing attack in New Orleans with a half injured Taysom Hill (and Ian Book) for a large chunk of 2021. I believe he would be the perfect value signing for Vegas this offseason.

I don’t expect him to join the Saints and their mysterious QB situation long-term, especially with Michael Thomas returning and Deonte Harris possessing a unique role as the reliable deep threat WR. He would provide excellent depth at the Raiders WR position and he would surely help the Raiders passing game late in the season.

The post Top free agent wide receivers the Raiders should target appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The Los Angeles Rams bravely defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI. Cooper Kupp shined in the Rams victory with two touchdowns and 92 yards. Kupp clearly deserved the MVP award as he nicely received it on the podium following the big win.

Sean McVay has finally won a Super Bowl and he proved to be the youngest coach ever to win a SB (36 years old). McVay, Kupp, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and Odell Beckham Jr. notably boosted their legacy with their victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Rams will enter the offseason with euphoria and goals to win more championships. With that said, they will face serious obstacles to repeat similar heights of success. The Rams are 28th in cap space with roughly -14 million, according to “Over The Cap”. Nonetheless, trust in Les Snead and McVay to get creative to acquire some players on a cheaper contract. Here are three free agents that the Rams should take a close look at this offseason.

Tre’Quan Smith

The New Orleans Saints third-string WR took a step back in 2021, but it didn’t help that he was playing on the 32nd ranked passing offense. It feels like yesterday Taysom Hill missed Smith for a wide-open touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys. Tre’Quan Smith will likely seek more sound opportunities in 2022. The 26-year-old who recorded 377 yards and 3 touchdowns in 11 games last season could look to go to LA on a one-year prove-it deal. Smith could be seen as the great value version of OBJ, but he is still an ascending wideout looking for his best season.

Jared Cook

The Rams will most likely not retain Odell Beckham Jr. this offseason. The Pro Bowl WR isn’t only on a team getting Robert Woods back, but he also unfortunately suffered a torn ACL in the Super Bowl. So, the “cap-strapped Rams would be making a high-risk deal” with OBJ. I’d like to see the Rams bring in a cheaper weapon and a big body target for Matthew Stafford. They could have their guy with Jared Cook, who reeled in 564 yards and four touchdowns. Cook would be a nice complement to Tyler Higbee and McVay would be able to dream up matchups with the tight ends in the play-action game.

Cordarrelle Patterson

The Atlanta Falcons WR/RB ousted a career year in receiving yards (548), rushing touchdowns (6), receiving touchdowns (5), and rushing yards (618). Patterson, who is also a two-time All-Pro returner, is the ultimate swiss army knife-free agent target. It would only be fitting if the most versatile free agent joined the most creative offensive coach in the NFL. Patterson would cost more than Tre’Quan Smith and less than OBJ. His money figure is worth 6-7 million per season, which would be about half of Odell’s contract number per season. Nonetheless, everybody should expect McVay to get more out of Patterson than any other team with his unique presence.

The post 3 free agent targets for the LA Rams appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The dynasty fantasy football season is heating up as the early August Hall of Fame game nears. Dynasty gurus are starting to be bolder with their push for a more competitive starting lineup. 

It’s important to be up to date with the players that may be under the radar, yet possess the ability to propel your team to championship royalty. It’s factual that the running back position is prioritized and it carries the most weight on one’s team. Although, it’s important to master the understanding of the talent at other positions like QB, or WR. 

In this debacle, the wideout spot will be dissected. We’re going to go through WR profiles that are slowly rising through the cracks and yield the ability to rise up in big moments of the fantasy season. Let’s begin. 

• Tee Higgins

Everybody in the football world is talking about the high draft pick Ja’Marr Chase replacing the franchise legend AJ Green. Of course, the LSU connection will come to life with Chase and Burrow. Nonetheless, the hype surrounding the LSU rookie is shadowing the ability that the Bengals second-year player Tee Higgins carries. 

Even though Joe Burrow missed six games, Higgins still vastly outperformed the likes of Michael Pittman Jr, Henry Ruggs, and Jalen Reagor (67-908-6).

• Pittman: 40-503-3
• Reagor: 31-396-1
• Ruggs: 26-452-2

Expect a healthy Burrow, who was “second in passing attempts” prior to his injury, to unleash an improved Higgins in many shootout contests next season. The 22-year-old flat out has lots of skill and a freakish ceiling.

• John Brown

The new Raiders deep threat is still going strong at this stage in his career. Brown just recorded a career 1,000+ yard receiving season in 2019. Everybody loves to talk about the “first round” WR Henry Ruggs taking the next step without Gregg Williams giving a boost, but I fully expect another veteran wideout wearing #15 (Nelson Agholor being the former) in LV to outperform Ruggs. 

Carr threw the most 20+ yard passes since 2017 last season and I expect the well-established wideout that Carr already loves to be the reliable number one wideout throughout the 2021 season. Brown may be 31 years old, but speed demon Ted Ginn Jr. just retired at the age of 36 and Desean Jackson appears to be strong (when healthy) at age 34. 

• Tre’Quan Smith

Tre’Quan Smith was seriously underrated even before Michael Thomas’s injury. The Saints All Pro punt returner Deonte Harris seemed to be nearly in the same conversation as the former UCF wideout. 

I loved Smith to follow in the footsteps of UDFA Lance Moore, who recorded a 1,000-yard season in New Orleans, to step up in the absence of former Saints number two WR Emmanual Sanders. Now that MT is on the sideline for at least the beginning of the 2021 season, there is no reason to not fully expect Smith to be a go-to target and big body red zone threat. 

The comparison of Lance Moore can step aside, while Smith can now be seen as the next “Marques Colston”.  Expect the Saints wideout that often had 10+ pt showcases in PPR to be a very reliable weapon going into his fourth season.

The post Dynasty: 3 WRs to trade for appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Adam Martin

The New Orleans Saints are in a transition period after the loss of multiple players this offseason. There is uncertainty over who will play QB and they are no longer the obvious winner in their own division. With that in mind they need guys to step up and Tre’Quan Smith could be that guy. He has shown glimpses over the last three years in New Orleans but now he has the chance to really breakout. Here we look at why Tre’Quan Smith could be a household name in 2021.

Given that TreQuan Smith has played in the NFL for three years it does seem weird to be expecting a breakout. However, there are plenty of reasons why this could happen. Smith has shown in the last few years that he is capable of making an impact. There has been plenty of change in New Orleans but Sean Payton is still the head coach. If you have a head coach that believes in you then that makes a huge difference to a player.

Why the stats can lie.

In his three years in the NFL Smith has never been amazing but has been a solid option for his QB. In 2018 he played in 15 games making 427 yards and five touchdowns with a 63.3% pass completion rate. It was hoped he would push on in 2019 but he only played 11 games due to injuries. He only managed to gain 234 yards and five touchdowns that year but had a career-high 72% pass completion rate. He then bounced back to 448 yards and four touchdowns in 2020 over 14 games played.

The stats can lie and make it look like he is not as good as he actually is but there are some averages that need to be taken into account. His pass completion rate works out to around 68% over his three years. This is a decent rate and shows that when he gets the ball he is likely to hold it. On top of that he has also shown that he is a touchdown target. Normally he will hit five touchdowns a season and with a potential increase in targets likely to come, that should go up.

Does he have the opportunity?

Now is the time that Smith has the opportunity to really kick on. When you look at the depth chart Michael Thomas is the clear number one wide receiver on the team. However, there is no one else thanks to the end of Emmanuel Sanders contract. Smith is the next man up with only the likes of Marquez Callaway and Deonte Harris having seen any significant snaps. On top of that, they did draft a seventh-round wide receiver but there is nothing to stop Smith from excelling.

With Emmanuel Sanders now gone it has released up 82 targets and Smith has to be considered a prime candidate for them. He won’t get them all because there are other candidates but if he can get 35 of them then you could see a huge increase. Chris Godwin had 84 targets last year and amassed 840 yards and seven touchdowns finishing at the number 30 wide receiver. Smith had 50 targets last year so could easily pick up the 34 targets and amass similar figures. If Smith was to hit these figures then he would be a player on more people’s lips by the end of 2021.

What about the loss of Brees?

The loss of Drew Brees will undoubtedly have a knock-on affect to the success of the Saints this year. However, he had been struggling over the last few years with injuries and arm strength. Over the last three years, there had been a noticeable drop-off when it came to pass attempts. The reason you have to look at the last three years is that is the time the Tre’Quan Smith has been with the Saints. In 2018 Brees had 489 pass attempts and that only got lower over the next two years after.

Currently, it feels like there is a genuine battle for the starting QB gig in New Orleans. It could be Taysom Hill or it could be Jameis Winston. This decision by head coach Sean Payton will have the biggest impact on Tre’Quan Smith and if he can vastly improve. If Payton decides to go with Taysom Hill then it will be tough for Smith to reach the numbers previously mentioned. If he starts Jameis Winston and sticks with him then the numbers will be reached.

Jameis Winston loves to throw the ball and wont shy away from any accuracy problems. The last time he started in 2019 with Tampa Bay he throw 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. Not only did he show the strength of character to keep going he also had 626 pass attempts. That is a crazy amount of pass attempts and he probably wouldn’t reach them numbers again. However, he showed in his first two seasons in the NFL that he will throw much more than many QB’s.

He threw over 500 pass attempts in his rookie year and then his second year. Had he played a full season in his next two seasons he probably would of done the same again. With Brees only throwing 390 attempts last year the certain increase of pass attempts from Winston would mean that Smith would receive much more work.

Verdict

Given the lack of depth at wide receiver for the Saints this year you have to think that Smith can leap forward. He has the hands to make the vast majority of his catches count and has always been a touchdown threat. However, a lot of this will depend on who is starting QB will be. If its Taysom Hill he will improve but not significantly. If its Jameis Winston then the sky is the limit. The ability is there, the targets are there and hopefully for Smith, Winston will be there.

The post Why Tre’Quan Smith is one of the most slept on WRs appeared first on Pro Football Mania.