Category: Fantasy football trade analysis

Trade alert: Stefon Diggs dealt to Houston Texans

A long time in the making, Diggs finally has been traded.

After swirling traded rumors for the past year and news reports to the contrary in the last few weeks, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been sent to the Houston Texans. The deal includes Buffalo shipping a sixth-round selection this year and a 2025 fifth-rounder in exchange for a 2025 second-round choice that, funnily enough, also once belonged to the Minnesota Vikings.

In short, Buffalo gets cheaper but has a glaring talent void to fill. The pool of remaining free agents has some familiar names but no one remotely as dangerous for defenses as Diggs, highlighted by the likes of Tyler Boyd, Michael Thomas, Michael Gallup, Odell Beckham Jr., Hunter Renfrow, Chase Claypool, and DJ Chark Jr.

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Internally, the Bills aren’t looking any prettier with just Curtis Samuel — a newcomer to the team — as the only established veteran on the roster. Khalil Shakir has flashed some talent, and Mack Hollins has done the same, but no one on the globe is expecting major contributions for either one, or both combined for that matter. Andy Isabella and KJ Hamler are the only other rostered names of note. Buffalo has two capable tight ends in Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid, plus running back James Cook is a plus receiver.

Expect at least one veteran to be signed, but this is a deep draft class for wideouts, and Buffalo could invest multiple early picks in the position. This team’s championship window seemingly has closed, and the regime may feel pressure to win now, which suggests a possible draft-day trade to acquire one of the top players. Don’t rule out a deal for another veteran … Brandon Aiyuk, Tee Higgins or Justin Jefferson, anyone?

Fantasy football takeaway

Diggs, who turns 31 in late November, is coming off his worst fantasy season since leaving the Vikings in 2019, and he still managed to catch 107 passes for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns! In the first half of last year, all looked like business as usual for the veteran, but the wheels came off down the stretch, and he failed to score 20-plus PPR points even once in the final 10 appearances (including playoffs) after doing so five times through the first nine contests.

Diggs will be the focal point of a blossoming offense in Houston with second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud coming off a marvelous rookie campaign. The move dampens the outlook of WR Nico Collins, who broke out in 2023, though he’ll remain relevant in fake football given the attention Diggs demands. Promising 2023 rookie Tank Dell is coming off a fractured fibula but will be 100% well ahead of Week 1. The retooled offense, which added veteran Joe Mixon to the backfield, is poised to be lethal.

Gamers shouldn’t automatically expect Diggs to top 100 catches, but there’s no reason he won’t cross the 85 mark through 17 appearances. Given his advancing age in WR years and the loaded weaponry around him, Diggs is a fringe No. 1 PPR receiver in the upcoming fantasy draft season.

Philadelphia Eagles trade for A.J. Brown

Eagles upgrade their receivers with A.J. Brown

The Philadelphia Eagles traded their No. 18 overall and a third-round pick (No. 101) in exchange for wide receiver A.J. Brown who was entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Eagles are reported to be offering Brown a four-year, $100 million  with $57 million guaranteed. His departure left the Titans with Robert Woods who is recovering from an ACL injury last November and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as starting wideouts.

The Titans immediately used their No. 18 pick to draft Arkansas wideout Treylon Burks as the “new A.J. Brown.” At 6-3 and 225 pounds, Burks is a near-clone to Brown and will come at a cost far less than the $100 million that Brown is due to get from the Eagles.

A.J. Brown’s Career Stats

More importantly for fantasy purposes, Brown is a major upgrade to the Eagles’ receiving corps. They spent their 1.10 pick last year to acquire DeVonta Smith (64-916-5) who led the team. Quez Watkins was a second-year former sixth-round pick that showed some promise last season. The addition of Brown reshuffles the depth chart and keeps Smith and Brown as the starters.

This is also a major benefit for third-year quarterback Jalen Hurts who already passed for 3,928 yards and 26 touchdowns last year with a far less talented set of receivers. The move sets up the Eagles’ offense to take another step up in the NFC East.

Hollywood Brown traded to the Cardinals

Marquise Brown gets an upgrade in quarterback with Kyler Murray

The Baltimore Ravens sent Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for the No. 23 pick in the NFL draft. The former first-round pick still has two years left on his contract (fifth-year option) and has improved in each  of his three seasons.

His 91 receptions in 2021 ranked No. 12 among NFL wideouts  and his departure from The Ravens leaves them with only Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay as veteran starters. They combined for only 79 yards so the trade leaves a big hole to fill for Baltimore on a team that doesn’t pass much.

Marquise Brown’s Career Stats

The Cardinals upgrade their wideouts that consist of aging AJ Green, second-year Rondale Moore and DeAndre Hopkins who is returning from knee surgery. The Cardinals lost Christian Kirk to the Jaguars, and Brown can fill his spot.

With Hopkins already an elite possession receiver, the addition of the speedy Brown gives Kyler Murray a field stretcher that runs a 4.32 40-time. This should be a benefit to Brown as well, trading the run-heavy Ravens for the Cardinals passing attack.

Fantasy football reaction: Washington acquires Carson Wentz from Colts

The good and the bad of Washington acquiring Carson Wentz.

The Washington Commanders attempted to pry Russell Wilson away from the Seattle Seahawks last week but had to settle on acquiring Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz in a deal that is believed to include a pair of third-round picks. One of the selections can become a second-round choice in 2023 through incentives.

Wentz will play for his third team in as many seasons and has lost virtually all of the luster he acquired from an impressive sophomore season way back in 2017. The 29-year-old quarterback returns to the NFC East to battle his former team, Philadelphia, twice in the upcoming campaign. He leaves what was close to an ideal situation in Indianapolis after flopping down the stretch when the team needed him most, ultimately costing the team a playoff berth.

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While Wentz certainly is capable of turning things around, it’s imprudent to expect this to happen. He fizzled out in Philly before heading to Indy in what was billed as a perfect reunion with head coach Frank Reich. It wasn’t all bad — Wentz threw 27 touchdowns to just seven interceptions — but many mistakes won’t appear in a stats sheet as a turnover and came at the worst time.

As for the Colts being a team in search of a new quarterback, we’ll dive into that one as more is known. They’ve already been linked to Jimmy Garoppolo. The free-agent crop is uninspiring, and this is a weak class of incoming rookies. Reich and Co. may quickly find the grass wasn’t any greener on the other side.

Fantasy football takeaway

One has to question, if the couldn’t get the job done under Reich, who is to say Washington will be any better?

Personnel will be key here as he takes a drastic step in the wrong direction when it comes to the weapons at his disposal. Everything in a one-to-one comparison with the Colts is a step backward for Wentz. In fairness, Washington has cap space to burn and can address the offensive side of the ball in free agency as well as the upcoming NFL Draft.

Pros

  • A veteran coaching staff that has its act together is a sound foundation with which to begin
  • Familiarity with the division
  • Washington has the eighth-most cap space, which can be used to lure veteran receivers

Cons

  • Wentz doesn’t necessarily have a legitimate WR1 in Terry McLaurin — the jury is still out on whether he can take his game to the next level and become more than an inconsistent deep threat
  • Major regression along the offensive line vs. what he had protecting him with the Colts
  • Offensive system that doesn’t emphasize passing volume — Indy generated the fifth-lowest run-to-pass ratio last year. Washington was ninth from the bottom.
  • While Antonio Gibson is no slouch, he’s also a far cry from being Jonathan Taylor
  • Inconsistent, durability concerns, lack of playmakers around him
  • Dedication to the ground game (9th-highest rushing ratio in 2021) helps alleviate some pressure

Rock-solid defense can lead to short fields — great in real-life football but not necessarily a plus in fantasy. It also isn’t an automatic negative, either, as we’ve seen with his extreme efficiency when Wentz is at his best. In 2017, for example, the 33 touchdown strikes and 25.1 fantasy points per game (both career bests) came on only 440 passing attempts. Typically speaking, low-volume passers are backed into a corner and must be highly effective each and every throw to truly make a splash in fantasy lineups on a weekly basis.

Between personnel concerns, an extensive injury history, and a lack of being consistently relevant in fantasy football four years running, there’s no clear path to Wentz regaining his 2017 form without something short of a miracle transpiring.

He can safely be avoided in all conventional league formats. At best, Wentz is a deep-league backup with the occasional matchup utility, but it’s tough to imagine there not being better QB2 choices available with proper drafting.