Fantasy Football: 2017 NFL Trade Deadline fallout

The NFL trade deadline was surprisingly active this year and a few big name players are on the move. How do these trades impact owners in fantasy football?

Typically the NFL trade deadline comes and goes without so much as a whisper of popular player changing cities. That was not the case this season. Not only were there several trades over the last few days but some of these trades have a direct impact in fantasy football land.

How should owners feel about these players moving forward?

Duane Brown traded from Texans to Seahawks

Seattle’s side of the trade: The offensive line has been a big issue for the Seahawks all season long so landing a three-time Pro Bowl left tackle upgrades the entire offense. Russell Wilson should have more time in the pocket and will be able to go through his progressions instead of running for his life every time on every pass. Even though this trade does help the Seahawks offense, I can’t see it making a big enough impact to change the way we already view their running game.

Seattle is only averaging 97.6 rushing yards per game and their current leading rusher, Chris Carson, went down in Week 4 with a season-ending injury. Yes, you read that correctly. Chris Carson has not touched the ball since Week 4, but still leads the team with 208 rushing yards. The Seahawks second-leading rusher? Wilson, the quarterback. So do yourself a favor and don’t rush out to the waiver wire to grab any of the Seahawks running backs due to this trade.

Houston’s side of the trade: The team played without Brown in six out of the team’s seven games this season because the 32-year old was holding out for a new contract. Even though Brown would improve the Texans offense, the team can’t miss what they basically never had the entire season.

Jimmy Garoppolo traded from Patriots to 49ers

Garoppolo and San Francisco’s side of the trade: The 0-8 49ers could use an upgrade in quite a few spots but they did well in possibly landing their quarterback of the future in Jimmy Garoppolo. The former second-round pick has shown well with his limited playing time and has a career 106.2 quarterback rating on 94 passing attempts. So when exactly should Garoppolo see the field?

Matt Barrows from The Sacramento Bee speculates Jimmy-G won’t see the field until about Week 12. If that’s the case, here are the teams he would start against: Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams. Four of those six teams rank in the top-12 in passing defense. That’s the bad news.

Jay Ajayi traded from Dolphins to Eagles

Ajayi and Philadelphia’s side of the trade: Despite being the fifth-ranked rushing offense in the NFL, the Eagles do not have any running backs who are standouts in fantasy football. As it stands right now, their most productive fantasy running back is LeGarrette Blount and he ranks as the 27th running back in PPR leagues. The obvious reason for this is because the Eagles use a running back by committee.

Even though Ajayi might be the team’s most talented running back, he is not expected to be a workhorse. He might only see 12-15 touches per game while the other running backs chip in here-and-there. With that said, Ajayi’s speculated 12-15 touches a game behind the Eagles offensive line is something I much rather have than 20+ touches behind the Dolphins offensive line.

What’s tough for owners is he’ll make his Eagles debut against the No. 2 rushing defense in the NFL, the Denver Broncos. Personally, I wouldn’t trust him in starting lineups for Week 9. After that, the Eagles are on their bye week. Ajayi owners will have to be patient because it appears he won’t be ready to make a serious impact until Week 11. Ajayi’s arrival is an obvious downgrade to all of the other running backs on the Eagles roster.

Miami’s side of the trade: With Ajayi now gone, the Dolphins top-two running backs are Kenyan Drake and Damien Williams. So far this season, the two have combined for 57 rushing yards and 57 receiving yards on 33 total touches. These two should create some sort of committee to fill the void left by Ajayi but it’s hard to get too excited considering the Dolphins are second-to-last in the NFL in rushing yards per game (76.4).

Drake is the player I would rather own simply because I believe he’s more talented and he’s a player the organization spent a third-round pick on last season. Either way, expectations should be tempered and both running backs should be treated as low-to-mid RB3s.

Kelvin Benjamin traded from Panthers to Bills

Benjamin and Bills side of the trade: Benjamin goes to the Bills ranked as the 24th PPR wide receiver and I’m not sure if I see much of a drop-off with him now in Buffalo. He was only averaging 4 receptions and 59 yards per game in eight games with the Panthers this season and I can’t see any reason why he can’t do the same, if not more, in the Bills offense.

He will be the team’s unquestioned No.1 WR and should be viewed as a WR2/3 moving forward. Keep in mind the Bills do play on Thursday Night Football this week and due to the quick turnaround, Benjamin might not be activated for the game. If he is activated, look for his snaps to be limited.

Next: Fantasy Football 2017: Waiver Wire Targets for Week 9

Panthers side of the trade: With Benjamin now gone, Devin Funchess is the main beneficiary of the group. He is locked in as the team’s new No.1 wide receiver and should finish better than his current ranking as the No. 30 PPR wide receiver. He should be viewed more as a WR2/3 with upside than a mid-tier WR3. Running back Christian McCaffrey should also see a view extra targets coming his way.

Home/Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football 2017: NFL Trade Deadline fallout

By Dan Thomas | Nov 1, 2017

The NFL trade deadline was surprisingly active this year and a few big name players are on the move. How do these trades impact owners in fantasy football?

Duane Brown traded from Texans to Seahawks

Jimmy Garoppolo traded from Patriots to 49ers

Jay Ajayi traded from Dolphins to Eagles

Kelvin Benjamin traded from Panthers to Bills