Free agency is underway with a lot of interesting names changing teams in the offseason. A couple of moves, in particular, will certainly have impact on your fantasy season and we will be breaking them down for you as we work our way towards the summer. Let’s start at the top with a couple of speedy wideouts and a veteran running back who looks poised for a strong fantasy season.
Percy Harvin traded to Seattle Seahawks
After an ankle injury ruined Percy’s season last year, his frustration with the Minnesota organization bubbled to the surface. While healthy, Harvin was one of the most dynamic players in the NFL last season, putting up close to 900 total yards(62 receptions, 22 carries) and five total touchdowns in just nine games. We certainly enjoy that Harvin will now get to play with the exciting Russell Wilson over a painfully mediocre Christian Ponder and with Leon Washington out of town, it appears Percy will continue to see special teams duty as well, giving him a slight boost in standard leagues and making the former Viking a top-3 receiver in return yardage formats.
Mike Wallace signed with Miami Dolphins
Wallace joins the recently resigned Brian Hartline to form Ryan Tannehill‘s one-two punch at wideout. It’s no secret that Wallace was not long for Pittsburgh after his issues last offseason we followed up with the slap-in-the-face that was an extension to fellow WR Antonio Brown. The burner will certainly miss Big Ben’s strong arm this season, but Tannehill is no slouch in that area and was regarded as the QB with the biggest arm in the 2012 draft class. It’s notable that Wallace’s yard-per-reception has dipped in each of the past three season (21.0 in 2010, 16.6 in 2011, 13.1 in 2012), but some of last season’s struggle can be attributes to Todd Haley’s dink and dunk style of offense. Wallace may slip to the bottom end of the top-20 at his position on draft day, but the home run skills remain and he’ll likely be a solid value coming off of a down year.
Reggie Bush signed with Detroit Lions
Bush was one of the most frustrating fantasy backs to own last season after he came roaring out of the gates in 2012, piling up 312 total yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first two games. Of course, the results were not so strong for the next several weeks and Reggie twisted the dagger just a bit with late-season duds against the porous Tennessee and Buffalo defenses. Still, Bush finished the year with almost 1,300 total yards, 8 scores and a nice 4.3 yards-per-carry. His receiving skills perennially underused in Miami, Bush will no longer have that issue with a Detroit Lions team that had their top two running backs combine for 86 receptions on 116 targets in 2012. Bush is sill be a top-15 running back in 2013 and is pushing for top-10 status in PPR formats.