Vacated targets are an important thing to look at year over year in fantasy football. This is the sixth in a series of articles reviewing each team’s vacated targets and the general narrative around what that might mean for 2019 fantasy football production.
Some teams lost a lot. Some teams lost a little. But no matter what, there’s something to learn from looking at the numbers. In this edition, we’ll take a look at the vacated targets in the NFC North.
2019 Fantasy Football NFC North
Chicago Bears – Vacated Targets: 66 / 13%
The Chicago Bears finished first in the NFC North and had an unforgettable end to their season against the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs (DOINK). Other than that, the Bears didn’t lose much. Running back Jordan Howard had the majority of the vacated targets and he was shipped off to those same Eagles for a sixth-round pick in the off-season. Other than Howard, the Bears also lost wide receivers Josh Bellamy and Kevin White, both of whom have disappointed since entering the league. Overall, they didn’t lose much on the offensive side of the ball, at least in terms of targets.
While they didn’t lose much, they definitely gained a lot. Adding rookie RB David Montgomery in the third round and RB Mike Davis in free agency should help bolster their ground game. Both are great complements to work with Tarik Cohen, who mainly catches the ball out of the backfield. They also drafted WR Riley Ridley, Calvin’s little brother, in the fourth round, who could make an impact as well.
Look for the players who stayed to see the bulk of the benefit here. Wide receivers Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, and Taylor Gabriel, should all see an uptick in usage to go along with their added rapport with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. All signs point to the Bears repeating and winning the division again, meaning there could be plenty of offense to feed on in fantasy football.
Minnesota Vikings – Vacated Targets: 61 / 10%
The Minnesota Vikings finished just behind the Bears last year but missed the playoffs. The only real shift we’ve heard or seen thus far is that they plan to run the ball more this year. Not a bad plan, especially since they didn’t lose many targets at all. The two Vikings players that vacated targets are WR Aldrick Robinson and RB Latavius Murray. That’s it. Murray could be considered a loss, but Robinson likely won’t be missed. Look for this team to look very similar to what they did last year, in terms of passing targets.
Similar to the division winner, the Vikings also gained more than they lost. They added tight end Irv Smith Jr and RB Alexander Mattison in the draft to backup and compete with stalwarts TE Kyle Rudolph and RB Dalvin Cook. Rookie tight ends rarely make an impact in their first year, but Mattison could see some playing time if Cook were to miss time, which he has a history of doing.
A deeper sleeper to keep an eye on is WR Chad Beebe who came on later in the year behind both Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. Try to add all of these receivers where you can but don’t overpay, at least not until we see how the threats of running the ball more pan out.
Green Bay Packers – Vacated Targets: 114 / 19%
QB Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers had a bad year last year, at least in the eyes of their fans. The team decided to part ways with long-time WR Randall Cobb, who later signed with the Dallas Cowboys, as well as RB Ty Montgomery and TE Lance Kendricks. Cobb has been declining in talent over the last few years, and Montgomery and Kendricks were barely on the field themselves. Barring another injury to their stud QB, they should be on track for a much better 2019 in terms of fantasy football.
The only real addition the Packers made this off-season was drafting TE Jace Sternberger to play behind veteran Jimmy Graham. He could see the field, but the big difference will come from the young receivers who should all take a big step forward in both their offensive knowledge and raw talent. Look for receivers Geronimo Allison, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Equanimeous St. Brown to all see a bump in targets over last year, both in the slot and down the field.
Detroit Lions – Vacated Targets: 212 / 38%
Now we come to the bottom of the division: the Detroit Lions. The Lions lost a lot of pieces, but it appears to be an “addition by subtraction” type of situation. They lost part-time players like RB LeGarrette Bount, WR Bruce Ellington, TE Levine Toilolo, and WR TJ Jones in the off-season, as well as full-time slot receiver WR Golden Tate who went to the Eagles in a mid-season trade.
So what all did they add? Not as much as the rest of the division, at least on paper. They drafted TE T.J. Hockenson and added veteran free-agents RB C.J. Anderson and WR Danny Amendola, but that’s about it. Kerryon Johnson should be more involved in the passing game as well as he continues to get up to speed with the playbook.
Adding less than they lost should give QB Matthew Stafford fewer options but giving him more quality ones could help his efficiency in the end. Look for Johnson and WR Kenny Golladay to make their cases for top 12 at their position in fantasy football by season’s end and for Marvin Jones to solidify his WR2 status. We’ll have to wait and see, but I see good things for the Lions this year even though they easily had the most turnover from last year.
Click here to view some of the other divisions in relation to vacated targets for the 2019 fantasy football season: NFC East | AFC West | AFC South | AFC North | AFC East
Hit us up on twitter @PFN365 with your thoughts on who will get the lions share of vacated targets for each team in the 2019 fantasy football season. Also, continue to visit the Pro Football Network for NFL news and in-depth analysis while also visiting our new Fantasy Football section.
Andrew Hall is a writer for PFN covering Fantasy Football. You can follow him @AndrewHallFF on Twitter.