Free agency is not quite over yet, but nearly all of the fantasy relevant players have signed which gives us a much clearer picture of what we will be looking at this fall when fantasy drafts take place. As you might imagine, this influenced major changes in my rankings. Today, I’ll tell you about five of the biggest movers from free agency news. While you are reading this, keep in mind that the NFL draft will shake things up every bit as much, as will the inevitable preseason injuries. What you see today could look vastly different in the coming months. With all that said, let’s dive into the big movers.

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Kirk Cousins (QB – MIN): QB #9 to QB #5

This one likely seems a bit contraversiol considering Cousins is QB #8 according to the expert consensus, but keep in mind that he has been QB #8, QB #5 and QB #7 in the three years he has started. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if he finishes in the top 5, especially with Andrew Luck’s questionable shoulder and the Saints’ transition to being a run-heavy offense. The biggest part of this, though, is that Cousins goes from having one of the worst receiver cores in the NFL to the very best. Not only that, but he’ll have one of the top receiving running backs and tight ends in football to further pad his stats. In 2016, Cousins threw for over 4,900 yards. Don’t be surprised if he goes beyond 5,000 with 30+ touchdowns in 2018.

Derrick Henry (RB – TEN): RB #10 to RB #18

I was as high as anyone on Henry, whose ECR is #14 among running backs, and why not? He was spectacular to close the season, including 240 yards over two playoff games. He seemed destined to become that rare bellcow running back for the Titans in 2018, but then they went out and signed Dion Lewis to starting running back money. Now, perhaps Lewis will be second fiddle here despite all the cash they threw around. Even if that is the case, Henry’s value takes a significant hit moving from a bellcow to a 60-40 split running back.

Jerick McKinnon (RB – SF): RB #39 to RB #22

My previous ranking was exactly even with the expert consensus and you can expect it to quickly climb much closer to the RB2 I project him as now. Not only did the 49ers give him a starter’s contract, but McKinnon just happened to land in one of the best situations in football for a running back. Kyle Shanahan could potentially turn him into a star with this offense and Jimmy Garappolo doesn’t hurt either. McKinnon is every bit the athlete Saquon Barkley is, if you can believe it, but so is Joe Williams, who is now healthy and could push McKinnon for snaps. If that weren’t the case, I’d have McKinnon another 5 or 6 spots higher.

Tyreek Hill (WR – KC): WR #11 to WR #19

Some experts including our own, Mike Tagliere, had an even more severe reaction to the Chiefs signing Sammy Watkins. Tags has Hill outside of his top 25, stating that Watkins is a true #1 wideout while Hill will be able to fall into a lower key role that fits his skill set better. While I agree to that in concept, it is difficult for me to project a young wide receiver to drop from the fifth best fantasy receiver in football all the way out of the top 20 because of the presence of an injury-prone wideout who struggled last season. Don’t hear me wrong, there will certainly be a big drop off, and losing Alex Smith is rough too, but I’m not seeing it being 15+ spots.

Randall Cobb (WR – GB): WR #70 to WR #37

Of all players listed, this is the most likely to change. The Packers attempted to acquire either Allen Robinson or Sammy Watkins via free agency earlier this week and had to settle for Jimmy Graham instead. Now, Graham should limit Cobb’s touchdown upside, but what this is really about is that the Jordy Nelson abscence from the team opens up a significant void for Cobb to fill. Any time you can be the #2 receiver for the Packers, you are a start-worthy fantasy wideout. The reason I suggest this may change is that the Packers seem likely to scoop up another reciever in the first two rounds who would cut into Cobb’s target share.

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