Vacated targets are an important thing to look at year over year in fantasy football. This is the fifth 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.
2019 Fantasy Football NFC East
Dallas Cowboys – Vacated Targets: 154 / 30%
The Dallas Cowboys finished first in the NFC East behind more than 300 carries and 77 catches on 95 targets from running back Ezekiel Elliott, the most total touches of his young career. They also added stud wide receiver Amari Cooper to their lineup during the season, who made an immediate impact on boosting quarterback Dak Prescott‘s fantasy football value.
That new trio is returning, but they did lose some targets in WR Cole Beasley, TE Geoff Swaim, and RB Rod Smith. None of these are going to make a difference on their own, but they do open the door for others to take their production this year.
The two biggest additions for the Cowboys in 2019 is the return of former Monday Night Football commentator, TE Jason Witten, and veteran WR Randall Cobb. Witten is better than the departing Swaim and Cobb is about equal to Beasley in terms of slot-WR talent. So expect each to slide in nicely to the same targets their counterparts recently vacated.
At the draft, the Cowboys drafted running backs Mike Weber and Tony Pollard to replace Smith, and to help keep Zeke healthy down the stretch. Look for them to get some work eventually, but barring an injury, neither is a real threat to Zeke’s role as the clear cut RB1, potentially in all of fantasy football.
Philadelphia Eagles – Vacated Targets: 86 / 15%
The Philadelphia Eagles finished a game behind the Cowboys in the division and made it to the playoffs behind a solid effort from backup QB Nick Foles. After the season, Foles decided to move on and play for the Jacksonville Jaguars. So now the entire team rests on the back of Carson Wentz; literally. Along with Foles, the Eagles also lost WR Golden Tate to in-division rival, the New York Giants, and WR Jordan Matthews to the San Francisco 49ers, both of whom were good for short yardage gains.
All hope is not lost. The Eagles had a great offseason in terms of acquisitions. They traded for veteran, and former Eagle, WR DeSean Jackson. Even at 32 years old, Jackson should be able to stretch the field well and help Wentz downfield. Look for him to absorb the majority of the targets left behind from the departure of Tate and Matthews and become a solid WR2/3 option in fantasy football.
As the season goes on, however, look for newly drafted players WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside and RB Miles Sanders to start playing a larger role in the offense. Sanders will play alongside another newly acquired player in RB Jordan Howard, but given Howard’s lack of receiving talent, Sanders could be in for a heavy workload on third down right out of the gate. It’s also very likely that Arcega-Whiteside is the starting slot receiver by the end of the season, so definitely keep him on your radar as a stash player as well.
Washington Redskins – Vacated Targets: 138 / 28%
The Washington Redskins did not have the year they expected in 2018. It started badly with the season-ending injury to RB Derrius Guice in the first preseason game, which forced them to sign the veteran Adrian Peterson to take over starting RB duties. Both RBs are back this year, as are most of their receivers. The only real losses the Redskins have to replace are in WR Maurice Harris, who is now on the New England Patriots, and WR Jamison Crowder, who signed with the New York Jets.
Along with Guice, the Redskins get some other players back from IR to start 2019, namely TE Jordan Reed, WR Paul Richardson, and WR Trey Quinn. These three pass catchers only saw a combined 23 games last year, so look for them to pick up the majority of the targets. On top of that, the Redskins drafted two talented weapons in Terry McLaurin and Kelvin Harmon, both of whom could be starters if they pick up the playbook.
New York Giants – Vacated Targets: 132 / 23%
The New York Giants lost their biggest offensive weapon this offseason when GM Dave Gettleman decided to trade stud WR Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns. This blockbuster trade, combined with the “early” drafting of QB Daniel Jones has given the New York media plenty to write about since February. Beckham accounted for 124 targets in 12 games, so replacing those could prove to be a huge task for QB Eli Manning and the team.
With Beckham gone, the Giants went out and signed WR Golden Tate from the in-division Eagles. Tate tends to play the slot, which is where incumbent WR Sterling Shepard usually plays. Add to that the talents of TE Evan Engram and RB Saquon Barkley out of the backfield, and it’s starting to look like the Giants have the quick dump-off passes handled.
But who will stretch the field as Beckham did? Who will step up to be the deep target for either Manning or Jones? It’s too soon to tell for sure, but look for drafted WR Darius Slayton to slide into that role. He has the speed and the route running abilities to do it, but can he pick up the playbook to make an impact right away? That’s the question. He’s definitely worth an add in deeper dynasty formats or in leagues where receivers get bonuses for milestones.
Click here to view some of the other divisions in relation to vacated targets for the 2019 fantasy football season: 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.