Hide and seek: Some fantasy football targets have changed teams, situations

The NFL’s leading active rusher (Frank Gore) and leading active receiver (Andre Johnson) have moved to Indianapolis. DeMarco Murray is in Philadelphia. And star tight ends Jimmy Graham (Seattle) and Julius Thomas (Jacksonville) have changed teams.

But a different team means a different fantasy football situation, so what do those changes, and others around the league, mean?

Gore and Johnson will be attractive mid-round fantasy selections for the Colts, where Andrew Luck could throw for 5,000 yards.

But Murray, who was the NFL’s leading rusher a season ago in Dallas, almost certainly will see his workload reduced after a 390-carry season for the Cowboys. Eleven times in NFL history a running back finished with 390 or more carries in a regular season. The next year their fantasy stats are down, on average, 49.8 percent. Proceed with caution.

Graham (New Orleans to Seattle) and Julius Thomas (Denver to Jacksonville)? They move from ideal quarterback situations (Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, respectively) to far less attractive ones.

In the Russell Wilson era, Seattle has averaged 106 yards fewer passing yards per game and 14 fewer passing touchdowns per season than New Orleans. And Thomas goes from a Broncos offense that averaged 324 passing yards and 48 touchdowns over the past two years to a Jacksonville offense that had 3,001 passing yards and 15 touchdowns last year.

Both should be fine, but only at the right price (Graham in the late third, Thomas if he slips to the seventh round).

Breaking down some of the other intriguing situations:

CJ Spiller (Buffalo to New Orleans): Spiller is set to be a massive fantasy sleeper. With Graham gone, the Saints are likely to lean heavily on Spiller in the passing the game. And under head coach Sean Payton, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles have all had 70-plus reception seasons.

Nick Foles (St. Louis) and Sam Bradford (Philadelphia): In a rare one-for-one quarterback trade, Foles and Bradford swapped places. Bradford is worth some premium as a backup fantasy quarterback, going from St. Louis (which has ranked 23rd in the NFL in passing attempts per game under Jeff Fisher) to Philadelphia (281 passing yards per game and 59 passing touchdowns in two years under Chip Kelly).

Torrey Smith (Baltimore to San Francisco): Smith rejoins Anquan Boldin in a starting wide receiver tandem (they started together in Baltimore in 2011 and 2012). Smith won’t be expensive (10th round) but he provides quarterback Colin Kaepernick speed at receiver that he’s never had. Smith, in the past five seasons, has 30 touchdowns on 213 receptions, the second-highest rate in the league behind Dez Bryant. He should outperform expectations.

DeAngelo Williams (Carolina to Pittsburgh): Williams lands in a great spot, on a team that could challenge the 1999-2001 St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” this season. Williams will be a strong start in Weeks 1 and 2, but then it will be the Le’Veon Bell show. Bell, along with Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson should be the top two picks in 2015, followed by Antonio Brown, who could challenge Marvin Harrison’s all-time single-season reception record (143).

Stevie Johnson (San Francisco to San Diego): With Antonio Gates suspended for four games in San Diego, Johnson is even better positioned to have a strong rebound season as a Charger. Johnson was a 1,000-yard receiver from 2010-12 before two down seasons, including last year as a bad fit with the 49ers.

Eddie Royal (San Diego to Chicago): Nab Royal in the final rounds. He is reunited with Jay Cutler and will have a healthy role in the Bears’ offense. Royal has 15 touchdowns over the past two seasons and is playing at a higher level – 26 catches of 20-plus yards after just 22 in the previous five years combined.

This story was originally published August 15, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Hide and seek: Some fantasy football targets have changed teams, situations."