It may have initially flown under the radar, but the NFL voted to push back the trade deadline this season to one day after the final game of Week 9. Teams have until 4pm on Tuesday November 5th to finalize any potential deals as clubs look to load up for an extended playoff run.
Apparently no one informed the GMs, as Tuesday October 15th had one of the most intriguing trade days in the NFL in recent memory. Just hours after the Buffalo Bills defeated the New York Jets on Monday night, both teams decided that they needed to add a spark to their offenses, and each swung deals to acquire Amari Cooper and Davante Adams, respectively. The Houston Texans and the Minnesota Vikings completed a lesser deal, with the Vikings acquiring a depth running back in Cam Akers for draft compensation.
While we can discuss the reasons behind what the Jets are trying to do after firing Robert Saleh, naming a new play caller and pushing all in for Adams, or why the Bills felt they needed to go punch for punch with their divisional rival, we’ll focus on the fantasy angle. Here are the knee jerk reactions of who are the biggest winners and losers from Tuesday’s Trio of trades.
Note that we will bypass the quarterbacks in these winner and losers sections – it ‘s fairly obvious that Aaron Rodgers and Josh Allen are winners by adding an elite receiver, while Aiden O’Connell and Deshaun Watson (who both aren’t fantasy relevant anyway) are losers.
Adams Trade Details
Winner – Davante Adams
The Las Vegas Raiders are taking on water quickly, and Adams clearly wasn’t looking to go down with the ship. He made his desire to be traded public, and suddenly was unavailable over the past couple weeks due to a hamstring injury. With Derek Carr going down with a week to week injury in New Orleans, it seemed like the Jets were the only viable option where Adams would accept a trade to. And the Jets were more than happy to oblige.
Adams of course will be joining his old quarterback Aaron Rodgers in New York, and it shouldn’t take long for the duo to rekindle their chemistry and start beating defenders on those back shoulder throws that Rodgers loves so much. Adams also doesn’t have to face double coverage every night, as defenses not only have to respect Garrett Wilson across the field, but also need to pay close attention to Breece Hall in the backfield.
Rodgers isn’t the same quarterback he was four years ago, especially coming off of a torn achilles at 40 years old. But he’s showing signs of getting more and more comfortable in the Jets offence over the past couple of weeks. Adams will likely become his go to target when the Jets need a play, and it’s indisputable that even a lessened version of Rodgers is a massive upgrade over the quarterback play Adams was dealing with in Vegas.
(Slight) Loser – Garrett Wilson
Wilson looked like he was finally getting on the same page with Rodgers on Monday night, so this trade is a slap in the face to fantasy managers who were waiting for his breakout season. Wilson separates at a high level, so it’s not like he can’t get open, but Rodgers relies heavily on timing routes, and after a slow start, it really seemed like Wilson and Rodgers were developing that connection.
Wilson is definitely still a fantasy starter, so don’t rush out in a panic to trade him for peanuts. Rodgers was already supporting two receivers in fantasy, with Wilson and Lazard averaging 12.8 (WR16) and 13.1 (WR14) over the first six games of the season. This isn’t a death blow to Wilson’s value, but it does drop him from a player with the potential to be a WR1 for the rest of the year to a mid to low end WR2 going forward.
Winner – Brock Bowers
While Jakobi Meyers becomes the top wideout on the Raiders roster, it’s more likely that Brock Bowers will become the teams leading pass catcher going forward. Bowers has been the second best tight end in fantasy over the first six weeks and his targets will only be going up without Adams on the field. Bowers has already racked up 37 receptions for 384 yards and a touchdown in the young season, and with the dearth of production at the tight end position so far, Bowers might end up being the steal of the draft.
Loser – Allen Lazard
While Lazard is also good buddies with Rodgers, he’ll be pushed out of the offense with the Adams trade. Lazard has been putting up unexpected fantasy numbers this season, but a lot of his big plays are unsustainable. He scored two garbage time touchdowns in week 1, and would have had a disappointing week 6 performance if not for coming down with an end of half hail mary from Rogers. Lazard will still get on the field in three receiver sets, but with the Jets aging offensive line starting to get banged up, the team might be forced to play in more two tight end sets. Lazard could still have a blow up game here and there, but he moves from a must start WR2 to a bye week/injury flex play at best.
Winner – Mike Williams
Williams hasn’t looked good after coming back from his torn ACL, and after the final play of the Monday nighter, Rodgers made it clear that he isn’t happy with the veteran receiver. Considering the Jets are taking on the entirety of Adams contract, it was pretty obvious that Williams would be put on the trade block to free up space. Williams and the Jets were not gelling, and now he has a chance to go to a team that has a more clear path to earn playing time. Williams shouldn’t be rostered just yet in most leagues, but his situation is definitely something to monitor.
Cooper Trade Details
Winner – Amari Cooper
If the Raiders are a sinking ship, then the Browns are a leaky submarine. They’re deep underwater and signs of an implosion aren’t far off. Cooper has had some drops this season, but he had one of the worst catchable target rates in the NFL following week 6. Cooper also immediately becomes the most talented receiver on the Bills roster. Khalil Shakir has played well enough (when healthy), and Keon Coleman has shown some flashes in his rookie year, but the Bills were missing that elite receiver on big downs. Cooper is a smart veteran pass catcher, and should be able to acclimate to the Bills relatively quickly. Allen isn’t afraid to sling the ball and extend plays, and Cooper has no problem creating separation late and making contested catches. This is a great marriage that could rocket Cooper up from his current WR50 standing.
Loser – Dalton Kincaid
Despite leading the Bills through six games with 21 catches for 217 yards, Kincaid has been slightly disappointing so far this season. The addition of Cooper doesn’t bode well for Kincaid to have a breakout sophomore campaign. The Bills offense has already been using him as a blocker in the run game more than it ever did last season, and despite receiving five plus targets in each of his last four games, there just aren’t enough targets in this offense to go around. With Cooper lining up on the outside, the Bills will likely be moving either Shakir or Coleman to the slot, where I think they’ll both excel. Defenses might be focussing on Kincaid less, but the opportunities will be lower as well.
Winner – David Njoku (sort of?)
This feels like an obligation to put Njoku as a winner. Cooper is a target vacuum, and without him, Njoku is clearly the lead option in the receiving game. The problem is that the Browns are reportedly sticking with Deshaun Watson at quarterback despite ranking last in the league in pass yards per attempt (5.1), is in the top five in uncatchable target rate and is leading the league with 31 sacks across 6 games. Njoku does run a decent amount of his routes from the outside, so he isn’t just an in-line tight end that’s forced to try and help out the Browns injured offensive line. Kevin Stefanski has schemed creative ways to get Njoku the ball in space in the past. The 28 year old should still be an every week starter and the increased target share should raise his floor. But until the Browns move on from Watson, there are no real winners in Cleveland.
Loser – Keon Coleman
Shakir is likely to stay on the field as the Bills WR2, so while he takes a slight dip in value, he’s still a usable fantasy asset. Coleman, on the other hand, is the one who is more likely to see a significant drop in opportunities, and, barring injury, isn’t likely to be a starting option for fantasy managers going forward.
Akers Trade Details
Loser – Aaron Jones
This trade is being brushed under the rug as a depth move, but there has to be concerns regarding Jones’ health as the Vikings are coming off of their bye week. Jones suffered a hip injury in week 5, and has a lengthy injury history. The Vikings are off to a roaring 5-0 start, so despite the NFC North looking like the best division in the league, they might already be considering lightening Jones’ workload a little bit, at least until the games get colder in December. With Akers joining Ty Chandler in the backfield, Minnesota gives them two depth pieces that can do different things and spell Jones more often in the backfield.
Winner – Dameon Pierce
When Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce were both out with injury, Akers stepped in and had a fairly good fantasy output. Pierce came back in week 6 and quickly relegated Akers back to the bench and formed an impressive running tandem with Joe Mixon. Head coach Demeco Ryans spoke glowingly about Pierce all offseason, but a week one injury kept him out for the past five games. Now that he’s back and healthy, Pierce is a sneaky bench stash with a high upside if Joe Mixon suffers another injury.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.