Ladies and Gentlemen … Our First Blockbuster

by Joe Hoffmann

I’ve been playing fantasy football since the early part of the decade.  I’ve seen trades go down minutes after the draft and some teams not trade for an entire season.  Trading tells a lot about a person’s personality.  There are certain archetypes of traders and trades that take place every year:

The guy who trades early and often: This is the friend that you’re usually getting out of trouble.  He’s loud, drunk and has a quick temper.  Patience is not his best virtue.  If he’s not making 3 moves a week on the waiver wire, he’s working to trade for a tight end who just blew up for 25 points the week before.

The guy who always talks about trades, but never completes one: This friend is usually shy and quiet.  He’s the classic risk vs. reward thinker who is actually too afraid to take a risk.  He’s frustrating because you’re giving up a WR that would start on his team for his bench RB, but he balks in the 11^th hour.

The guy who waits for one trade a season: This sneaky bastard has ripped off everyone in the league when they’re at their most vulnerable.  He helps you with a quick fix, but walks off with a good keeper or a player who’s on the verge of breaking out in November/December. 

Then sometimes, there are just trades that need to be made to help both teams.  Sometimes it’s giving up a QB2 for a RB3 and no one bats an eyelash.  But then there are trades like this afternoon’s.  Trades that don’t fall under a certain archetype, but change the landscape of the entire league.  We finally had our first big trade in the quest for the Kumbardi Trophy.

Frank gets: Arian Foster, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Larry Fitzgerald
Dan gets: Michael Vick, Andre Johnson, Reggie Bush

Without a full offseason as a result of the lockout, injuries were expected and have come in bunches during the first two weeks.  This has hurt actual NFL teams and, obviously, fantasy teams.  One team that has been seriously hurt in the early going is Frank.  Injury problems are nothing new to his Jordy oz. to Freedom, who finished 5th last season after a number of crippling quarterback injuries.  Frank already had to sweat out each week fearing for Michael Vick’s life, and now his RB1 and second round keeper, Jamaal Charles, is out for the year after tearing his ACL Sunday against the Lions.

Enter, blog creator, Dan.  Dan has had his own injury problems at running back, wondering when round eight keeper, Arian Foster, will return to form.  While both have question marks at running back thanks to the injuries, Dan is set up better with a deeper bench, making him an ideal trading partner.  Dan drafted Steven Jackson, Mike Tolbert and picked up Tim Hightower, which makes Foster expendable.  Tolbert and Hightower are currently ranked 20^th and 47^th respectively in Yahoo.  He also picks up Reggie Bush, who tallied 15 points in week one. 

What Dan has in running backs, he lacks in quarterbacks.  After two weeks his starters were Fitzpatrick and Kyle Orton with Andy Dalton and Peyton Manning on the bench.  Fitzpatrick has been a steal for Dan, but it’s asking a lot of him to keep this pace up, especially facing three good defenses in the AFC East six times and playing in frigid Buffalo.  If Michael Vick can stay healthy, which is already an issue two weeks into the regular season, he could put Dan over the top even if Orton or Dalton is his QB2. 

The plus side for Frank in addition to getting a RB1 (if he’s healthy this year) is that he’s set up for the future with keeper picks Foster and Fitzpatrick.  Yes, he loses Vick as a keeper, but he’s getting two back to help build his team while also giving him a chance to compete this year. 

The wide receivers in this deal are basically a non-factor given their continued success.  Barring injury, they should both finish in the top five in fantasy for receivers, but I’d give a slight nod to Dan picking up Johnson who has a more established quarterback to work with in Matt Schaub.  Frank does get the advantage of pairing Fitzgerald with quarterback Kevin Kolb, something that I’m sure played a part in getting this deal done.

I like this deal for both sides, but Frank is risking his season on the hamstring of Arian Foster.  He certainly got back top talent for Vick, but if Foster is hampered by this anymore, it could be a long season for Jordy oz. to Freedom.