Thursday, March 15, 2018

Oakland Raiders Sign WR Jordy Nelson, Cut Crabtree

Posted by Doc Fantasy
Thursday, March 15, 2018 | 0 comments

Wide Receiver Shuffle 2018

One of the more interesting storylines from the NFL Agency period has to be the Green Bay Packers and their decision to release wide receiver Jordy Nelson. The move cleared $10.2 million in cap space and left behind a modest $2.3 million in dead money. On paper, releasing the longtime Packer makes perfect sense, Jordy is 32-years old, and in a league heavily driven by money, his contract needed to be restructured or torn up. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst never led on to any of the finer details of the decision, and wouldn’t confirm whether or not the Packers tried to restructure Jordy’s contract. However, the veteran WR didn’t last long on the open market.

The Oakland Raiders signed Jordy Nelson to a two-year, $15 million deal. As a result, the Raiders cut Michael Crabtree and his $7.5 million in salary and bonuses to free up cash to give to Jordy. The deal includes $13 million guaranteed.

The Oakland Raiders aren’t moving to Las Vegas for at least one more year, but having betting odds on Jordy Nelson wearing black and silver last month would have been an excellent long shot bet. When free agents are deciding on where they should sign, I wonder how much thought goes into the fact the Raiders will be moving soon. The warm weather and great choice of slot games is definitely a change of pace for a player who has played the last nine years in frigid Wisconsin.

Fantasy Value

Despite playing very sluggish for backup quarterback Brent Hundley, Jordy Nelson had six touchdowns in the first four games of the 2017 season with Aaron Rodgers. The Packers lost Aaron Rodgers to injury week 6, where he missed all but one late-season game in 2017. Davonta Adams, however, was still able to make the best of things churning out 885 yards and 10 Touchdowns. The team tried their best to make a playoff rally, but it was clear that once Rodgers was gone, Jordy wasn’t the same.

A lot of fantasy gurus are moving Jordy Nelson down their Fantasy Rankings board now that he is a member of the Oakland Raiders, and I don’t blame them. Derek Carr has yet to throw for 4,000 yards in the four seasons he’s been the starter for the Raiders, and the hiring of Jon Gruden is a huge question mark. The Raiders are committed to Gruden after handing him a ridiculous ten year 100 million dollar contract; however, the man has been out of coaching since 2008.

Gruden is a smart mind and should adapt quickly but he is very much an old-school coach. In a new era of football analytics, Gruden may find himself a fish out of water. If Gruden needs a season to get caught up to how the game has adjusted, fantasy owners could be stuck with underperforming talent.

Final Thoughts: Jordy Out, Jimmy In

The Packers are giving 31-year old Jimmy Graham $30 million over three years but passed on Jordy Nelson who was making $10.2 million a year. I really don’t understand this decision at all. You already know there is an excellent rapport with Jordy and Aaron Rodgers, so I’m not sure why you should shove a proven player out the door for Jimmy Graham who hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season since 2013. Graham was also tied for 2nd in the NFL for drops in 2017. Despite having ten touchdowns in his last year with the Seahawks, Graham put the ball on the ground seven times last year.

Most Packer fans I’ve talked to said while they do love the fact the team addressed the tight end position, they felt they could have easily just drafted a player to fill this void.

As a reference point, I pulled the top 30 highest paid wide receivers from Over The Cap. What seems too expensive to some may seem reasonable to others. There are a lot of players on this list that getting paid generously.

Highest Paid Wide Receivers in 2018
Rank	Player	Team	Avg./Year
1	Antonio Brown	Steelers	17,000,000
2	DeAndre Hopkins	Texans	16,200,000
3	Sammy Watkins	Chiefs	16,000,000
4	Jarvis Landry	Browns	15,982,000
5	A.J. Green	Bengals	15,000,000
6	Davante Adams	Packers	14,500,000
7	Julio Jones	Falcons	14,250,000
8	Demaryius Thomas	Broncos	14,000,000
9	Dez Bryant	Cowboys	14,000,000
10	Allen Robinson	Bears	14,000,000
11	TY Hilton	Colts	13,000,000
12	Alshon Jeffery	Eagles	13,000,000
13	Doug Baldwin	Seahawks	11,500,000
14	Keenan Allen	Chargers	11,250,000
15	DeSean Jackson	Buccaneers	11,166,667
16	Emmanuel Sanders	Broncos	11,000,000
17	Larry Fitzgerald	Cardinals	11,000,000
18	Tavon Austin	Rams	10,555,501
19	Allen Hurns	Jaguars	10,012,500
20	Randall Cobb	Packers	10,000,000
21	Pierre Garcon	49ers	9,500,000
22	Michael Crabtree	Raiders	8,500,000
23	Marqise Lee	Jaguars	8,500,000
24	Kenny Stills	Dolphins	8,000,000
25	Albert Wilson	Dolphins	8,000,000
26	Paul Richardson	Redskins	8,000,000
27	Marvin Jones	Lions	8,000,000
28	Ryan Grant	Ravens	7,375,000
29	Donte Moncrief	Jaguars	7,000,000
30	Robert Woods	Rams	6,800,000