The NFL offseason news keeps popping up on our timelines, yet it was possible to miss a few under-the-radar signings by James Washington, Boston Scott, and Ameer Abdullah. Washington joins the Cowboys, while Scott re-joined the Eagles. Meanwhile, the once elite prospect in Abdullah joins his sixth team — the Las Vegas Raiders — entering his fifth season. We’ll dive into the advanced metrics and potential fit with their given teams as we examine the positives and negatives. 

James Washington (WR – DAL)

It’s fair to say Washington hasn’t lived up to expectations, with a peak season in Year 2. Unfortunately, Washington’s best season came when Ben Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury in 2019. When Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges are leading the passing offense, that’s not ideal. In recent seasons, Washington also competed with Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster. 

Adam Schefter has reported that Washington agreed to a one-year deal in Dallas. Even with Amari Cooper on the Browns, Washington still serves as the Cowboys WR3 behind CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, who just signed a five-year contract extension. 

While Washington’s career thus far has not been what many expected, it’s important to remember that Roethlisberger has also struggled with efficiency over the past five seasons. In 2017 and 2018, Roethlisberger averaged a middling 7.5 adjusted yards per attempt. That dipped to 6.3 in 2020 and 6.2 in 2021.

Fortunately, Washington lands in a Cowboys’ offense led by Dak Prescott, who has been much more efficient than Roethlisberger in recent years.

However, the Cowboys do like to spread out the targets. Lamb’s 21% target share led the team but ranked at No. 30 among all WRs in 2021. Cooper saw 19% of the targets (No. 41) and Gallup, 17% (No. 52). In Washington’s Year 2 season, he peaked with a 17% target share (No. 58). If Washington garners a 15-20% target share, he could be a volatile WR3 or WR4. 

With James Washington in Dallas, target quality & efficiency📈

In 2021, amongst QB w/ 100 PA:
🔥Prescott
-2nd➡️83% Catchable%
-5th➡️75% OnTarget%
-9th➡️53% AYConv%
-7th➡️8.0 AY/A

🥶Roethlisberger
-11th➡️80% Catchable%
-13th➡️72% OnTarget%
-36th➡️44% AYConv%
-27th➡️6.2 AY/A pic.twitter.com/KmBxipVjfL

— Corbin (@corbin_young21) March 21, 2022

Thankfully, the target quality for Washington improves with Prescott. In 2021, Prescott ranked second with an 83% catchable rate versus Roethlisberger’s 80% (No. 11) amongst quarterbacks with 100 pass attempts. Prescott also ranked fifth in on-target percentage at 75% compared to Roethlisberger at 72%, which ranked 13th. In air yards conversion rate, Prescott ranked ninth at 53%, versus Roethlisberger’s 44% (No. 36). 

Washington’s Early 2022 Outlook

Although James Washington isn’t a featured receiver, the quality of targets and efficiency jumps in Dallas. Unfortunately, Washington likely won’t garner the high target volume. Could we have a Year 5 breakout for Washington? The RotoViz Screener throws a little cold water on our most optimistic hopes.

Receivers like Chester Rogers, Justin Hunter, and Josh Morgan don’t pop off the page, so it’s logical to be skeptical. Fortunately, Washington’s redraft ADP likely won’t jump too much given the lack of production, but he’s worth a dart throw late in drafts. 

Boston Scott (RB – PHI)

The Eagles re-signed Scott to a one-year deal to bring the backfield committee back together. In the second half of the season, the Eagles emphasized the run as the offense completely shifted.

Note that even though the total passing opportunities dipped, DeVonta Smith’s opportunity shares remained identical. He was able to improve his efficiency over the second half of the season to avoid a truly disastrous finish to his rookie campaign. But the lack of overall offensive opportunity is a concern for Smith heading into Year 2. It does mean plenty of opportunity for Eagles’ RBs, however.

The advanced stats pointed towards an increased workload for all their backs as the season went on, with Scott and Jordan Howard filling in nicely when Miles Sanders missed time. Amongst backs with 75 carries, Scott ranked 10th with 2.3 YBC, 52nd with 2.0 YAC, and 44th with a 10% evasion rate. While that’s not eye-popping, it’s a well-balanced profile that’s more than servicable.

Scott was used mainly in the rushing game, with minimal receiving opportunities outside of Week 17. That said, in the second half of the season, Scott led all Eagles’ backs in both rushing and receiving EP, and in PPR per game. Kenneth Gainwell started the season looking like he was going to be the receiving option, but waned over the second half.

There simply aren’t a lot of receiving opportunities to go around in this offense, especially if Gainwell starts to get involved again in a significant way.

Scott’s Early 2022 Outlook

While Scott re-signing with the Eagles provides us with some confidence in his expected role, the messy backfield causes headaches from a fantasy standpoint. Add in the lack of receiving opportunity with a mobile quarterback in Jalen Hurts, and Scott’s upside is capped. Overall, Scott remains an RB3 at best if he garners double-digit carries, yet he’ll need touchdowns (and likely some injuries on the depth chart ahead of him) to boost him into RB2-type fantasy production. 

Ameer Abdullah (RB – LV)

When I researched Michael Carter’s Year 2 comparisons, Abdullah’s name popped up. We forget how wild of a prospect profile Abdullah possessed, evidenced by the 75% and 80% Backfield Dominator Ratings during his junior and senior seasons. Abdullah also put up elite workout metrics with the 99th-percentile Explosion Score.

Abdullah spent 2021 with the Vikings and Panthers, but barely produced outside of Week 18, where he reeled in nine of 11 targets for 56 receiving yards. Now Abdullah has signed with the Raiders. 

Kenyan Drake suffered a broken ankle to end 2021, and recently restructured his contract. Regardless of Drake’s health, Abdullah remains a backup on the Raiders. In theory, this shouldn’t impact Josh Jacobs, who showed the increased receiving production that we longed for in Year 3. In the running back advanced stats article, I mentioned that Jacobs consistently garnered a heavy workload. 

Jacob’s rushing EP dipped in 2021, yet his receiving EP made up for it. Assuming the rushing and receiving volume remains high in 2022, the ceiling for Jacobs remains. That’s notable because Abdullah or Drake’s role will be minimal if Jacobs maintains his role. 

Abullah’s Early 2022 Outlook

Outside of the deepest leagues, folks might overlook the Abdullah signing. However, if Drake suffers a setback or other unforeseen circumstances, Abdullah’s stock slightly increases. From a team context standpoint, the Raiders should be an upgrade over the Panthers. 

From Week 8 to 17, Abdullah averaged 6.0 receiving EP/G (No. 15) with three RB1 weeks.

If we add in Week 18, Abdullah ranked seventh with 6.9 receiving EP/G. If these receiving totals give us any indication of how the Raiders want to use him, Abdullah could land as a Zero-RB target depending on how this situation shakes out.