Franchise Tag Season Begins! Three Players On “Tag Watch”

The window for NFL teams to apply the franchise tag to players eligible to hit the open market is now open. There are plenty of players that could find big money outside of their teams. Conversely, there are plenty of teams that could be looking to drop big bank on a talented player this offseason. While the offseason might not be a big draw for fantasy managers, it can be a leg up for savvy managers ahead of the start of the draft season.

A player getting the franchise tag can impact on how the season could be for a player for fantasy. I can’t say how a franchise tag will effect a player on the field but it would certainly be an interesting debate. For now its best to focus on the fantasy football implications of what could a tagged player could represent come draft season especially if both sides are stalled when it comes to coming together to make a deal happen and the word “holdout” starts getting thrown around. We saw last season how that impacted running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor’s draft stock was in the first round before draft season got underway and the plummeted to RB17, per FantasyData’s ADP metrics.

But there are five players that I have on my radar heading into the “franchise tag season” that I think could end up getting tagged by their team. Keep in mind that some big names like Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs aren’t likely to get tagged. Jacobs was already tagged last season by the Raiders and by all reports, it looks like Barkley won’t be getting tagged by the Giants this offseason either.

To Tag Or Not To Tag

Tee Higgins, CIN

Reports have already surfaced ahead of free agency that Bengals wife receiver Tee Higgins could be tagged by the club. The Bengals have some decisions to make at the wide receiver position this offseason as Ja’Marr Chase is eligible for a new deal, though the team may be planning to exercise his fifth-year option before May. That leaves Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd as potential pieces the team will have to decide as to which will be kept.

Tee Higgins is only 25 and is one of the better talents at wide receiver for the Bengals. It would make sense that the Bengals try to keep him over Tyler Boyd should it ultimately come down to deciding on who to keep. Higgins has been one of Joe Burrows favorite targets in the Bengals offense as he’s amassed over 100 targets in three of his four seasons. Higgins is estimated to see a new deal around the $18.6M/Yr mark, per Spotrac.com so the Bengals might want to get on that sooner rather than later.

Michael Pittman, IND

The Colts franchise tagging Michael Pittman should be a no-brainer especially when you consider the other options the Colts have on the roster. Pittman has been the most consistent pass catcher for the team despite the inconsistent play from the quarterback position over the last few seasons. Just in case you need a refresher Pittman has caught passes from Phillip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan (we don’t speak about this season), Anthony Richardson (before the season-ending shoulder injury), and Gardner Minshew. Pittman has seen 426 targets over his last three seasons and has broken over 1k receiving yards in two of those.

Pittman is THE major cog in the passing-catching game for the Indianapolis Colts. It would behoove (yes, I wanted to throw that word in there) the Colts front office to get a deal done for Pittman to remain a central piece in that Colts offense. Anthony Richardson would also benefit from not losing one of his most trusted targets either. If a deal can’t be made outright between both sides, expect the Colts to tag Pittman until a deal is finalized. According to Spotrac.com, Pittman’s market value is around $23 million per year! They might not want to wait too long as other contracts are coming down the pipeline that can change the scope of the wide receiver landscape.

Marquise Brown, AZ

The Cardinals moved on from DeAndre Hopkins last offseason and stuck with Marquise Brown in 2023. The problem though, is that they had nothing else around Hollywood Brown to make the offense go. No Kyler Murray to begin the season and rookie wide receiver Michael Wilson (the only wide receiver on the roster over 6’0″) just wasn’t enough to spark the middling Cardinals offense for an entire season. So why bring Hollywood back to Arizona? For starters, Murray and Brown have a solid connection on the field. During the 2022 season, Brown led the Cardinals receivers in targets with 107 (17% target share).

The Cardinals still need to address the rest of the wide receiver position as the spot could use a bigger guy or two unless the team adds more to Michael Wilson’s plate next season. Keeping Brown and adding another player to the mix to bring life back to the league’s 26th-ranked passing attack would keep a familiar option for Kyler Murray to work with in the offseason. Spotrac.com has Browns’ market value at $14.8 million per year.

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