Ideal Landing Spots in Free Agency: Wide Receivers

With NFL free agency less than a week away, some of the dominoes are already starting to fall, changing the fantasy football landscape. After taking a preview of the running back position Tuesday, today our attention shifts toward the wide receivers.

Let’s take a look at the free agency class and see which teams make the most sense as landing spots.

Allen Robinson (Age at Week 1: 29)

Ideal landing spot: Indianapolis Colts

Allen Robinson is coming off a brutal season, hauling in only 38 passes for 410 yards and one score in 12 games. He put together one of the most disappointing fantasy seasons of all time and appears likely to be headed elsewhere during the free agency period. Throughout his career (before 2021), Robinson has played on poor offenses but has still been a very good fantasy wide receiver due to talent and volume. Since his debut in 2014, Robinson has recorded four seasons of 150-plus targets, though he admittedly hasn’t always been the most efficient wideout. Having said that, Robinson’s best bet is to land on a team where he has a clear path to see targets. The Colts, especially if T.Y. Hilton doesn’t return, fit that mold, and I think he’d mesh well with Michael Pittman.

Amari Cooper (28)

Ideal landing spots: Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots

Amari Cooper isn’t technically a free agent quite yet, but he is expected to be released (or traded) by the Cowboys any day, which adds to this class of available wide receivers. With CeeDee Lamb in town, Cooper was a lot more inconsistent in 2021. He went off in Week 1, hauling in 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. However, he only recorded one more 100-yard game after that, while failing to reach the 60-yard mark in nine contests. Still, Cooper can play at a high level and will help an offense in a huge way. Two teams that stand out are the Falcons and Patriots. Atlanta suddenly needs receiver help, as Calvin Ridley has been suspended, while Russell Gage is a free agent. Cooper would immediately slide in as the top receiver in Atlanta and since the 2019 season, he is averaging 14.6 more receiving yards and 2.3 PPR points per game when playing indoors.

The Patriots, meanwhile, make a lot of sense. They were reportedly interested in Ridley and now should be trying to add Cooper. New England has been looking for a WR1 for a while now and although the offense isn’t the most exciting, Cooper should be able to see a 25% target share alongside a promising young quarterback.

JuJu Smith-Schuster (25)

Ideal landing spot: Kansas City Chiefs

After a breakout sophomore season in 2018 (111-1,426-7), JuJu Smith-Schuster has taken a step back the last couple years. In Pittsburgh’s conservative offense, Smith-Schuster has essentially been used like a tight end, sporting the league’s 14th-lowest (4.73 yards) and second-lowest (4.27) average depths of target over the last two seasons, and he only played five games last year. Between his low-upside usage and question marks at quarterback, Pittsburgh is not a desired return destination. Instead, how about the Chiefs, who had interest in Smith-Schuster a season ago and have been looking for a more consistent third option in the passing game behind Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill? And with so many teams playing two-high shell against this offense, JuJu could soak up targets in the short/intermediate range. Kansas City saw at least two-high safety looks on over 80% of pass plays during the first half of last season. JuJu would fit really well alongside Hill and Kelce.

Christian Kirk (25)

Ideal landing spot: Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills

There is going to be a hot market for Kirk, who will be just 25 years old when the season starts. His 2021 numbers were solid and when Arizona was without DeAndre Hopkins, Kirk was more than capable of filling that role, averaging nearly eight targets, 63 receiving yards and 12.8 PPR points per game. A.J. Green is also a free agent, along with both James Conner and Chase Edmonds, so it is possible the Cardinals bring Kirk back. I’d like him to either stay or go to Buffalo, who need to replace Emmanuel Sanders, Cole Beasley and possibly Isaiah McKenzie. Both the Cardinals and Bills run three-wide sets as much as any teams in the NFL.

D.J. Chark (26)

Ideal landing spot: Philadelphia Eagles

D.J. Chark suffered a fractured ankle back in Week 4 last season, ending his season. He remains an immensely talented player, and I’d love to see him go to Philadelphia and play opposite DeVonta Smith, giving Jalen Hurts a more consistent deep threat. It wouldn’t be the best landing spot for consistent target totals, especially in a run-first offense, but Chark doesn’t need 8-10 targets per game to be fantasy relevant.

Michael Gallup (26)

Ideal landing spot: Dallas Cowboys

Michael Gallup suffered a torn ACL to end the 2021 season, but with the news the Cowboys will be moving on from Amari Cooper, they are in the process of working on a deal with Gallup. The best spot for him is to remain in Dallas and operate as the No. 2 receiver behind CeeDee Lamb. He only played nine games last year, but in two games with Gallup active and Cooper out of the lineup, Gallup averaged nine targets, 75 receiving yards and 12.5 PPR points per game.

Will Fuller (28)

Ideal landing spot: Green Bay Packers

Will Fuller only played two games with the Dolphins last year after signing a one-year deal, so the 27-year-old will once again hit free agency. And while the Packers certainly don’t have a ton of cap space, I would love to see Fuller play alongside Davante Adams, especially with Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard entering free agency (Lazard is a restricted free agent). Fuller has been linked to the Packers for about two years now, and if they can work things around, he’d be a perfect fit.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling (27)

Ideal landing spot: Chicago Bears

Marquez Valdes-Scantling isn’t going to be insanely fantasy relevant, but he could find a good fit with the Chicago Bears. Quarterback Justin Fields has already proven to be a very good deep passer and during his rookie season, 15.9% of his pass attempts went for 20 yards or more, the third-highest rate in the league.