3 Coaching Changes That'll Impact Fantasy Football
While it’s easy to get excited about the fantasy impact of a player signing a big deal with a new team, often the most significant changes of a player’s fantasy output comes with a coaching change. That being said, here are the 3 coaching changes this offseason that will have the biggest fantasy impact for 2018.
Pat Shurmur (Head Coach, New York Giants):
This time last year, many people were predicting the Giants to have one of the best passing attacks with a premiere trio of receivers with OBJ, Brandon Marshall, and Sterling Shepard in addition to first round tight end Evan Engram. The Giants fell way short of this lofty goal, mostly thanks to the ineptitude of Ben McAdoo. Enter Pat Shurmur, who in 2017 created and led an offense that featured two top 20 WRs, a top 6 TE, and most impressively a QB in Case Keenum who produced as a top 5 QB for the second half of the season despite being previously considered not worthy of a roster spot.
If Shurmur got this kind of production out of Keenum, it’s not absurd to think he can get similar type production from Eli Manning, who could possibly finish as a top 10 QB if OBJ stays healthy. While OBJ and Evan Engram should be considered near locks for the top 5 at their positions with the addition of Shurmur, the biggest fantasy impact amongst the receiving group will be seen in Sterling Shepard. In 2017, in Shurmur’s offense, Adam Thielen saw a breakout year as a slot WR for the Vikings, so don’t be surprised if Shepard also puts up top 20 numbers this year operating out of the slot.
Matt Nagy (Head Coach, Chicago Bears):
While the Bears offense has a lot more talent this year than it did last year, Nagy’s presence as head coach will almost certainly elevate the fantasy production of all the players in that offense. Nagy experienced a lot of success in Kansas City with both the rushing and passing attack, where 3rd round pick Kareem Hunt produced at a Pro Bowl level in his first year and Alex Smith finished as a top 5 QB despite being considered a “game-manager” by many.
With the hiring of Nagy and signings of Allen Robinson and Trey Burton, the Bears organization has made it clear that their focus is giving Mitchell Trubisky everything he needs to succeed. Trubisky is in a much better position to succeed this year could reasonably finish as a high-end QB2 who could be streamed on a match up basis. Allen Robinson and Trey Burton both have the chance to finish as startable players at their positions, but the biggest wild card in this offense is Tarik Cohen.
Under Matt Nagy in Kansas City, Tyreek Hill (5’10”, 185 lbs) jumped from being irrelevant in fantasy to a top 10 WR, and Tarik Cohen (5’7”, 179 lbs) is the same super-fast, super-elusive type player that Hill is. With Nagy’s success taking advantage of Hill’s talents, you can expect Nagy to know how to use Tarik Cohen in this offense. Cohen could very well be a startable flex play this season.
Todd Haley (Offensive Coordinator, Cleveland Browns):
Todd Haley is the perfect hire for the Browns OC position. He has had sustained success in this league coaching the Steelers’ dangerous offense for the past 5 years following success with a 2008 Arizona Cardinals offense that nearly won them their first super bowl. While the Steelers have extraordinary talent, Haley is certainly part of the reason guys like Leveon Bell, Antonio Brown, Juju Smith-Schuster, and Ben Roethlisberger have been such fantasy studs in recent years.
Last year it became clear that Hue Jackson was not the right person to lead an offense that actually has a surprising amount of talent. Under Todd Haley, players with exceptional physical traits like Josh Gordon and David Njoku should excel. Njoku showed flashes last year and could easily finish as a TE1 while Gordon has shown he has the talent to finish as a top 5 WR even with subpar quarterback play.
The rushing game has a lot of talent with Carlos Hyde, Nick Chubb, and Duke Johnson, and while this group may cause fantasy headaches, it will certainly make the passing game more potent, helping the production of Jarvis Landry and whichever QB starts for the Browns. Whether it be Tyrod Taylor or Baker Mayfield at QB, either should produce enough with all of the talent around them and a competent OC to be considered a good fantasy play on a match up basis.