The Seahawks put a bow on the 2025 NFL season by winning Super Bowl LX, and everyone is back to 0-0. Teams will have the opportunity use Franchise and Transition tags on players beginning on February 17. Those tags will take some players out of the free-agent pool. George Pickens will reportedly receive the Franchise tag. I also believe the Colts will tag or sign Alec Pierce to an extension, so he’s not featured below. Kyle Pitts is another candidate to receive the Franchise tag, and he’s not included in this piece on ideal free agent landing spots for fantasy football purposes.
Teams will be permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with agents for players who will become unrestricted free agents on March 9. Teams can’t officially sign those players until 4:00 p.m. ET on March 11, but expected signings and contract terms will be leaked before official signings take place. The player movement is fun, and guessing where players will end up with a dash of wishcasting to ideal locations is enjoyable, too. I’ve paired the following free agents with realistic ideal landing spots. Finally, a few other players weren’t included below, namely Kenneth Walker III and Breece Hall, because I expect the Seahawks and Jets to retain them.
- Fantasy Football Research & Advice
- Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- 2026 NFL Mock Drafts
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Ideal Free Agent Landing Spots (Fantasy Football)
Malik Willis (QB – FA): Landing Spot – Atlanta Falcons
Sadly, Michael Penix Jr. underwent ACL surgery on his left knee in early November. It was his first on that knee after undergoing ACL surgery twice on the other knee. Penix’s injury history is alarming and he hasn’t lit the world on fire to this point in his young NFL career. Additionally, the general manager, Terry Fontenot, who drafted Penix, was fired.
The organization is also expected to release Kirk Cousins before the new year, ripping off one band-aid at their failed attempt to solve their starting quarterback gig. The NFC South is up for grabs after the Panthers, Buccaneers, and Falcons finished with an identical 8-9 record in 2025. It shouldn’t be dismissed that they could bring in a fresh face at quarterback, and Malik Willis would be fun.
His running ability would be a force multiplier for Bijan Robinson and the team’s rushing attack. The landing spot would also be a plus for Willis, as Drake London is a quality No. 1 wide receiver, and the organization could retain Pitts as an explosive play-making tight end.
Travis Etienne Jr. (RB – FA): Landing Spot – Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have leaned into reclamation projects and cheap options at running back, having gotten fantasy football-friendly results in the previous two years. What if Brian Schottenheimer wants more straight-line speed in the backfield and Jerry Jones ponies up for Travis Etienne Jr?
Etienne has missed only two games in the last four years, logged over 250 touches three times, amassed double-digit touchdowns twice (12 in 2023 and 13 in 2025), and had at least 1,399 scrimmage yards in three of those four years. The 2021 first-round pick in the NFL Draft was the RB13 in half-point per reception (half-PPR) points per game (13.9) in 2025, and he could kick it up a notch in Dallas.
Offensive coordinator Klayton Adams dialed up an effective running game for the Cowboys last year after serving as Arizona’s offensive line coach and helping design their running game in 2023-24. The Cowboys could also be a landing spot for James Conner if the Cardinals cut the veteran running back and Dallas opts for another veteran bounce-back option.
Javonte Williams (RB – FA): Landing Spot – Houston Texans
Players don’t return to pre-surgery form after significant injuries at the same rate, and some never do. Javonte Williams might not have fully returned to his pre-surgery form, but he got his career back on track with the Cowboys in 2025.
Williams was a legitimate RB1, finishing as the RB12 in half-PPR points per game (14.1). Among 55 running backs with at least 75 rush attempts in the regular season, Williams was 10th in rush attempts (252), seventh in rushing yards per game (75.1), tied for 12th in yards per carry (4.77), tied for 38th in yards before contact per attempt (1.85), third in yards after contact per attempt (2.91), tied for 15th in explosive run rate (5.2%), tied for eighth in team run rate inside the 5-yard line (66.7%), seventh in rushing touchdowns (11), 11th in stuff rate (40.5%), and tied for ninth in success rate (56.0%).
He isn’t just a two-down banger, either. Instead, among 67 running backs with at least 75 routes in the regular season, Williams was 13th in route participation rate (46.4%), 31st in target share (7.8%), tied for 20th in receptions (35), 51st in receiving yards per game (8.6), and tied for 14th in receiving touchdowns (two). In addition, among 41 running backs and fullbacks with at least 75 pass-blocking snaps in the regular season and playoffs, Williams was 10th in Pro Football Focus’s (PFF’s) pass-blocking grade. Williams was an inefficient receiver in 2025, but he was trusted, including in pass protection. Woody Marks was dreadful as a runner, and he was only a fourth-round selection. The Texans could stand to upgrade at running back, and Williams’ ability to generate yards after contact at a high rate should appeal to Houston, as they were just 19th in PFF’s run-blocking grade last season.
Kenneth Gainwell (RB – FA): Landing Spot – Kansas City Chiefs
According to the Fantasy Points data suite, through the 14 games Patrick Mahomes started in 2025, the Chiefs were second in pass rate over expectations (7.8% PROE). Kansas City was second in PROE (6.9%) in 2024, first in PROE (10.0%) in 2023, first in PROE (13.3%) in 2022, and second in PROE (10.8%) in 2021.
Kenneth Gainwell would be a sweet addition to a pass-heavy offense, as his receiving chops are his greatest asset. Among 67 running backs with at least 75 routes in the regular season last year, Gainwell was eighth in route participation rate (51.2%), fifth in target share (14.9%), tied for fourth in targets per route run (0.27 TPRR), fourth in receptions (73; 4.3 per game), fifth in receiving yards per game (28.6), 11th in yards per route run (1.60 Y/RR), and tied for ninth in receiving touchdowns (three).
Gainwell also had a career year on the ground. According to Pro Football Reference, he set new highs for rush attempts per game (6.7) and rushing yards per game (31.6), while tying his career high with five rushing touchdowns. Gainwell’s 1,023 scrimmage yards and 187 touches were also career highs. The Chiefs have been a popular team to project Hall to in free agency or Jeremiyah Love in the NFL Draft. However, according to Over the Cap, the Chiefs are dead last in effective cap space (-$62.3 million). The Chiefs have bigger fish to fry than a luxury expenditure at running back, but Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt are free agents, so they need to add some players at the position. Gainwell should fetch a contract in a range that makes sense for the Chiefs, where he could thrive in a souped-up Jerick McKinnon role.
Tyler Allgeier (RB – FA): Landing Spot – Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers used a third-round pick, 83rd overall, in the 2025 NFL Draft on Kaleb Johnson. He rewarded their investment with 28 carries, 69 rushing yards, 2.5 yards per carry, two targets, one reception, and nine receiving yards. It was a dreadful rookie season, and the list of running backs drafted in the fourth round or later since 2015 who rushed for 100 yards or fewer and averaged 3.0 yards per carry or fewer is wretched.
Thus, the Steelers should be in the market for a bruiser to complement Jaylen Warren and Tyler Allgeier fits the bill. He could split the rush attempts or have a slight majority of the team’s rushing attempts, freeing up Warren to handle a larger share of the passing-game work without Gainwell. Warren is an excellent receiving back. Allgeier landing in Pittsburgh would be a stellar outcome for him and Warren, as both could have defined roles — Allgeier serving as the hammer and bulldozer at the goal line, and Warren as the passing down and two-minute offense back, with some occasional goal-line work — and excel in them.
Deebo Samuel (WR – FA): Landing Spot – San Francisco 49ers
Deebo Samuel played the first six seasons of his career with the 49ers. He requested a trade after the 2024 season, and the team honored that request, sending him to the Commanders. It wasn’t an ugly divorce, but the same cannot be said for what appears to be an impending breakup with Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk didn’t play for the 49ers in 2025, and San Francisco was able to void his 2026 guaranteed money. Jauan Jennings is also a free agent, and George Kittle tore his Achilles on January 11 in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. Kittle is optimistic he can return “well before November,” but that remains to be seen.
Ricky Pearsall is the most electrifying incumbent player in San Francisco’s receiving corps. Sadly, he’s played only 21-of-36 possible games in his two-year career. Even if Jennings re-signs with the 49ers, which would probably be his optimal landing spot, cutting Aiyuk would leave them thin at wideout. Samuel would need no time to reacclimate to Kyle Shanahan’s offense, and he’d already have rapport with Brock Purdy. Samuel would even be a stylistic fit as a yards-after-the-catch (YAC) option with Pearsall stretching the field.
Mike Evans (WR – FA): Landing Spot – Buffalo Bills
Mike Evans has spent his entire 12-year career with the Buccaneers after they made him the seventh pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He’s won a Super Bowl, so Evans has nothing to prove, and he might prefer to finish his career playing for only one franchise.
However, if Evans isn’t ready to retire yet, and he’s unwilling to offer the Buccaneers a discount, receiver shouldn’t be a pressing need for Tampa Bay. Chris Godwin signed a lucrative deal last offseason and isn’t going anywhere. The team also spent the 19th pick in last year’s NFL Draft on Emeka Egbuka after a rock-solid rookie season from Jalen McMillan, the 92nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Admittedly, I’m a Bills fan and might be slightly wishcasting this landing spot. Still, Evans is precisely what the Bills need. A field-stretching perimeter receiver would be a boon for Buffalo’s offense, and Evans could provide them a short-term answer without dissuading them from adding another wide receiver early in the 2026 NFL Draft. Evans could also provide the Bills with the opportunity to use a mid-round pick on a developmental wideout who needs a bit more seasoning. If Evans left the Bucs for the Bills, he’d go from a crowded wide receiver room with quality target competition to one where he could be a target hog.
Rashid Shaheed (WR – FA): Landing Spot – Las Vegas Raiders
Klint Kubiak is the head coach of the Raiders after serving as the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champion Seahawks. He can’t bring Jaxon Smith-Njigba with him, but Rashid Shaheed is a familiar face who could join him in a receiving corps that’s largely bereft of talent.
Shaheed played six games for Kubiak in 2024, when he was the offensive coordinator for the Saints. Shaheed played 12 more games for him with the Seahawks in 2025, after they acquired the speedy wideout and elite returner in a trade. Shaheed didn’t make a huge impact in Seattle’s passing attack. He was dynamic with Kubiak in 2024, though. Shaheed had the following numbers in six games for the Saints in 2024.
- 83.0% route participation rate
- 17.7-yard average depth of target (aDOT)
- 48.2% air yards share
- 708 air yards
- 22.7% target share
- 0.25 TPRR
- 29.8% first-read rate
- 40 targets (6.7 per game)
- 20 receptions (3.3 per game)
- 349 receiving yards (58.2 per game)
- 2.17 Y/RR
- 3 receiving touchdowns
- 10.8 half-PPR points per game
- 13.2 expected half-PPR points per game
Shaheed would provide a jolt to Las Vegas’s receiving group, and his field stretching would open the underneath and intermediate areas for Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty, the team’s most critical offensive weapons. He could be the club’s top wide receiver and the second-best target earner behind Bowers. Moreover, the addition of Kubiak and the likely use of the first pick in the draft on Fernando Mendoza could provide an instant facelift to the team’s offense, making the No. 2 passing-game option a valuable fantasy football role for Shaheed.
Wan’Dale Robinson (WR – FA): Landing Spot – Washington Commanders
Wan’Dale Robinson was basically a gadget wide receiver for the first three years of his career. According to StatHead, he had a 5.1-yard aDOT through the first 38 games of his career. Per the Fantasy Points data suite, Robinson’s aDOT was a more legitimate wideout-like 8.7 yards downfield in 2025. Robinson logged the following stats in 16 games in his walk year for the Giants.
- 89.4% route participation rate
- 28.7% air yards share
- 26.8% target share
- 0.25 TPRR
- 32.9% first-read rate
- 132 targets (8.3 per game)
- 92 receptions (5.8 per game)
- 1,014 receiving yards (63.4 per game)
- 1.94 Y/RR
- 4 receiving touchdowns
- 7 end-zone targets
- 3 receiving touchdowns on end-zone targets
Per PFF, Robinson had 22 targets and 11 receptions for 351 yards and two touchdowns on throws 20-plus yards downfield. He also snagged 15 receptions for 254 yards and two touchdowns on 26 targets from 10-19 yards downfield in 2025.
Despite Robinson’s diminutive stature and previously being pigeonholed as a shallow-target option, he proved he can do more. Robinson can even dabble outside, aligning wide 31.4% of the time in 2025. However, he’s an ideal slot option for Big Blue’s division rival Commanders. Deebo Samuel is a free agent and Terry McLaurin is a fantastic field-stretching wideout on the perimeter, but Robinson could provide Jayden Daniels with a valuable safety valve in the short and intermediate area, who can also beat teams deep, as evidenced by last year’s success.
Romeo Doubs (WR – FA): Landing Spot – Pittsburgh Steelers
Aaron Rodgers has spoken with Mike McCarthy several times about playing for the Steelers again, and Tom Pelissero reported “the odds are increasing.” McCarthy was Green Bay’s head coach from 2006 to 2018, and Rodgers was the starting quarterback from 2008 through 2018. Romeo Doubs didn’t play for McCarthy, but he was Rodgers’ teammate in his rookie season in 2022.
The Steelers desperately need wide receivers behind DK Metcalf, and Doubs already has a rapport with Rodgers from their 2022 time together. Doubs was the second wide receiver the Packers drafted that year, landing with Green Bay in the fourth round (pick 132) after they selected Christian Watson in the second round (pick 34). Despite the gap in picks, Doubs had a 54.6% route participation rate versus 49.6% for Watson in their rookie campaigns.
Doubs didn’t take the NFL by storm as a rookie. Nevertheless, his 0.25 TPRR was stellar and unsurprisingly, he’s also improved since his rookie campaign. According to PFF, Doubs had a career-high 1.86 Y/RR in 2025, and his 94 targets, 63 receptions, 848 receiving yards, and seven touchdown receptions were the second-highest marks of his career compared to 105, 69, 908, and nine in 2023. Doubs would instantly provide an upgrade to Pittsburgh’s wide receiving corps, and he’d have a chance to set new career highs across the board in a less talented pass-catching group.
Dallas Goedert (TE – FA): Landing Spot – Washington Commanders
Dallas Goedert was rumored to be on the trade block last offseason, but he remained on the Eagles for his walk season on a reworked deal. After playing eight years for the Eagles, it could be time for Goedert to find a new employer after the Eagles entertained offers to move on from him last year.
The bugaboo with Goedert is his propensity to miss games. He played 16 games in his rookie season in 2018, which was his only year of playing every regular-season contest. Goedert’s 15 regular-season games last year were the most he’d played in since 2021. Philadelphia has opted to rest critical starters in Week 18, and Goedert was among that group in 2025. Still, he often misses a few games a year.
Nevertheless, Goedert remains a quality tight end. Among 59 tight ends who ran at least 125 routes last season, including the playoffs, Goedert was fourth in route participation rate (82.3%), 17th in average depth of target (7.6-yard aDOT), 11th in air yards share (16.8%), tied for 25th in targets per route run (0.20 TPRR), eighth in first-read rate (20.7%), tied for 13th in targets per game (5.4), tied for 11th in receptions (64), 17th in receiving yards per game (39), tied for 32nd in yards per route run (1.40 Y/RR), and first in receiving touchdowns (12).
Goedert and the Commanders would be an intriguing pairing. He could skip some steps on the Zach Ertz career path and serve as his former teammate’s replacement next season. Ertz tore his ACL on December 7, 2025, and he’s a free agent.
Ertz was a crucial part of Washington’s passing attack in 2024 and 2025, and the Commanders don’t have an apparent in-house replacement. The organization used the 53rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to make Ben Sinnott a second-round selection, but he has 16 career receptions. Sinnott played in 16 games in 2025, and he ran only 99 routes, fewer than John Bates‘ 123 routes. Adding Goedert, Robinson or both would serve as a double-whammy for the Commanders, providing Daniels and the passing attack with upgraded weaponry while poaching talent from NFC East rivals.
David Njoku (TE – FA): Landing Spot – Philadelphia Eagles
The Browns struck gold with Harold Fannin Jr. last year, and David Njoku will be seeking a new home. Njoku’s production dried up behind Fannin, and his efficiency has been underwhelming in back-to-back years. According to Pro Football Reference, Njoku had just 7.9 yards per reception and 5.2 yards per target in 11 games in 2024 and 8.9 yards per reception and 6.1 yards per target in 12 games in 2025. Those were his lowest marks in each category besides a four-game, injury-shortened 2019 campaign.
The environment in Cleveland was dreadful. Nevertheless, Njoku is best viewed as an ancillary piece in a passing attack, and he could be just that for the Eagles. A.J. Brown — if the Eagles don’t trade him — and DeVonta Smith are target hogs. Njoku would presumably enjoy joining a contender after playing in only three playoff games during his tenure with the Browns. Njoku has scored at least four receiving touchdowns in five straight years and seven of nine professional seasons, and joining the Eagles would keep him in the touchdown-dependent fringe starter/streamer range.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
