Happy NFL New Year! With Day 3 of free agency, we’re really getting into the slim pickings of who’s left unsigned. But as always, there were some winners and a loser.
This list is not in numerical order but in alphabetical order. Now, let’s see who won and lost on the third day of 2025 NFL free agency!
NFL 2025 Free Agency Fantasy Football Winners & Losers (Day 3)
Fantasy Football Winners (Day 3)
Evan Engram (TE, Denver Broncos)
Ever since trading Noah Fant to the Seahawks, the Broncos have struggled to find or develop a tight end. Many of us remember the hyped-up names of Albert Okwuegbunam, Adam Trautman and Greg Dulcich, who all fell short and only put up occasional big numbers. The Broncos’ TE group never finished higher than 20th for team tight ends in the last three seasons, so they needed an upgrade.
While on the Jaguars, Evan Engram found a second wind paired with a younger quarterback in Trevor Lawrence. In the last three seasons in Jacksonville, he has not scored fewer than 9.9 Points Per Reception (PPR) fantasy points per game.
After he was released to free agency from the Jaguars, the dream landing spot was the Broncos. Similar to the Jaguars, a young quarterback named Bo Nix was badly in need of another player to target, especially at the tight end position, and he now has one for the season ahead. Specifically, the Broncos now have a tight end that finished in the top five in two of the last three seasons. If it wasn’t for an injury-shortened season, Engram definitely had a chance to do it for three straight years. Now on a different team, he’ll still look to make it in the top five in 2025 and bump that up to three of the last four seasons.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WR, Seattle Seahawks)
Just like a hyphen pairs two last names together, the Seahawks paired their star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba with another hyphenated last name receiver, Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Hyphen jokes aside, I like this as a possible sneaky option out there.
Former Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak needed a receiver to step up when Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed went down for the Saints last year. Valdes-Scantling did just that for him. From Weeks 10-15 last year, “MVS” averaged 2.6 receptions for 69.4 yards, 0.8 touchdowns and 14.4 PPR fantasy points per game. That made him the WR26 in that span.
Things are a little different now, but the end result could be similar. The Seahawks’ new offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, needed someone to join their depleted receiver room. Once again, he will be looking for Valdes-Scantling to step up to the challenge with Sam Darnold at the helm. I declared Smith-Njigba a winner after day one of free agency but despite the receiver room getting more crowded with MVS, it still bodes well for both.
Mike Williams (WR, Los Angeles Chargers)
We need the neuralyzer from “Men In Black” to forget the 2024 season for Mike Williams. If that is successful, he’s been a Charger all these years! Never mind those brief stints with the Jets and the Steelers.
It was well-noted that the Chargers needed a WR2 behind their young star Ladd McConkey. It just made too much sense for Williams to come back and reunite with Justin Herbert. From 2020-2023 with the Chargers, Williams averaged at least 3.2 receptions on 5.6 targets for 50.4 receiving yards behind Keenan Allen. He will be behind a different WR1 and have a different coaching staff, but we can expect about the same from him. Williams is the same wide receiver who finished as WR12 in 2021 and WR32 in 2022, so he should return to form after we forget 2024.
Fantasy Football Loser (Day 3)
Rico Dowdle (RB, Carolina Panthers)
This was one of those free agency signings where the Panthers got an upgrade, but for fantasy football purposes, the player did not. I understand there weren’t too many big options left for Rico Dowdle. He surprised most of us by beating the “veteran RBBC” in Dallas and was one of 16 running backs to achieve the 1,000 rushing yard mark last season.
He will plug in as the RB2 to replace Miles Sanders, who was released earlier. Now he is stuck behind Chuba Hubbard in Carolina, which is good for Hubbard but less so for Dowdle. The issue is that the ball never left Hubbard’s hand, as he averaged 16.7 carries last season, which was the eighth-most. Another consideration is the timetable of Jonathon Brooks coming back from his torn ACL that he suffered late last season. When Brooks does come back, how many carries will Dowdle get?
Check out all of our articles on the Fantasy Football Impacts of 2025 NFL Free Agency & Trades:
- NFL 2025 Free Agency Fantasy Football Winners & Losers (Day 3)
- NFL 2025 Free Agency Fantasy Football Winners & Losers (Day 2)
- NFL 2025 Free Agency Fantasy Football Winners & Losers (Day 1)
- The Fantasy Football Impact of D.K. Metcalf Traded to the Steelers
- The Fantasy Football Impact of Geno Smith Traded to the Raiders
- The Fantasy Football Impact of Christian Kirk Traded to the Texans
- The Fantasy Football Impact of Deebo Samuel Traded to the Commanders
Thanks for reading “NFL 2025 Free Agency Fantasy Football Winners and Losers (Day 3).” If you’re looking for more fantasy content like this or need help with the last-minute fantasy football start/sit decisions for your roster, you can find me on Facebook at “Fantasy Sports Start or Sit’Em Questions,” Twitter/X @FSSOSEQ or on BlueSky!
*Photo Credit: Eric Hartline – USA TODAY Sports*
