The bulk of NFL free agency is long over with for all intents and purposes, but a few notable names continue to filter through the wire. A quartet of veterans found new homes in the past week, but none of them individually move the needle enough to get anyone excited. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re all entirely without fantasy value.
We’ll run through their pros and cons with a ranking of expected value for upcoming fantasy football drafts.
4
WR Michael Gallup, Las Vegas Raiders
Gallup signed with Vegas as a veteran presence to battle for a top-three role with Tre Tucker, a third-round pick from 2023, who mustered a respectable 331 yards and two TDs on just 19 catches (17.4 per grab).
The winner should primarily man the third spot in the receiving corps behind Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers, all while catching passes from the likes of Aidan O’Connell and/or Gardner Minshew. Furthermore, 2023 second-round selection Michael Mayer and ’24 first-rounder Brock Bowers are both more than capable as receiving tight ends.
This one boils strictly down to opportunities. Just how many targets can one reasonably expect from a guy who likely will be no better than No. 3 in the pecking order on any given play? Adams is a ball hog, and Meyers holds his own. Gallup — presuming he makes the roster — is, however, an alluring flier in best-ball leagues as insurance for an Adams injury.
3
WR Odell Beckham Jr., Miami Dolphins
Turning 32 years old this season, Beckham signed on May 3 to become the third wheel to arguably the best receiving duo in the league, Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. Miami gets a proven veteran receiver who is coming off the highest yards-per-reception average of his career (16.1 over his 35 catches on 64 targets) last season with the Baltimore Ravens. It’s a serious win for the real-world Dolphins that totally misses the mark in fantasy football.
Tua Tagovailoa has so many places to unload the football that expecting a dramatic turnaround for Beckham is borderline laughable. That doesn’t mean he can’t be a clutch receiver for Miami when they dial his number, but we’re probably talking about another 50-70 targets as his likely range. If he rarely mattered during 2023 in a receiving corps that desperately needed him, just what can OBJ produce in a similar role with a team that has far more prolific weapons? And none of that has even touched on a three-deep backfield that will get their share of touches.
Beckham is not worthy of drafting in most 16-player, 12-team leagues, but he has a hint of utility if something were to take Hill and/or Waddle off the field for extended action. Don’t be that person who picks OBJ based on name value alone.
2
WR Chase Claypool, Buffalo Bills
How comfortable are you with gambling on raw upside of a talented playmaker who has fallen on tough times? A one-time fantasy darling with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Claypool has played for Miami and Chicago since being cast aside. In the last two years, he has a total of 54 receptions over three teams after nabbing 62 as a rookie and 59 in 2021. In Buffalo, there’s a clear opportunity to be seized, but it will require Claypool to rededicate himself to the game.
The Bills have a rookie in Keon Coleman, gadget guy Curtis Samuel, largely unproven Khalil Shakir, and a pair of reliable tight ends as the presumed top targets. That means Claypool will have to outshine one of those three to garner a primary role, and it’s not out of the question since he has exactly the same degree of chemistry with Josh Allen as Samuel and Coleman. Claypool also brings more from a physicality perspective than Samuel.
We have to suppose Buffalo is comfy with tolerating all that is Claypool in relation to giving him an earnest shot, though the contract won’t prevent the Bills from cutting their losses if he doesn’t pan out this summer. This valuation is based on the notion he actually brings his successful former self to the field: There’s No. 3 fantasy potential here, but he’s merely a player to watch until we get something to work with coming from camp reports.
1
WR DJ Chark Jr., Los Angeles Chargers
A journeyman at this stage of his career, the oft-injured Chark still has the deep speed to make something happen over the top. His 2023 team, the Carolina Panthers, struggled mightily, and Chark still managed to score five times over a measly 35 receptions, averaging 15 yards per reception.
He heads to the Chargers as the elder statesman of this young receiving corps, checking in with an age-28 season for a team that has just one guy older than 25 over the expected top seven wideouts. A veteran presence will be helpful to teach the youngsters how to be pros, but that doesn’t automatically translate to being a fantasy producer, of course. Chark has a chance to crack the team’s top receiver threshold, and he’s probably no worse than the No. 4 option. The problem even in the former scenario is this will be a run-heavy system.
We’ll watch how this shapes up over the summer, but Chark has one of the finest opportunities to generate weekly fantasy points from a pecking order that is wide open at the moment.
