The Dynasty Trading Post

Ryan McDowell

tradingpost

At this time of the NFL and fantasy season, you’ll find fewer and fewer trades in dynasty leagues with so many leagues using a trade deadline. The merits and necessity of a trade deadline in dynasty leagues can be debated, but that’s another topic.

As I studied some of the most recent dynasty deals, I found some trends. There were several players I noticed being swapped with regularity. On to the trades…

I have to admit, the value new Eagles’ starting quarterback Mark Sanchez is carrying blows me away. After years of struggles in New York, Sanchez became the punch line for many football fans and fantasy players. Not only was he sent packing from New York, but he was rarely viable as a fantasy quarterback, outside of his fluky streak of goal line carries. Since taking over for the injured Nick Foles, Sanchez is QB6 over the past two and a half games. While that carries some weight and he could surely have some value down the stretch in the Chip Kelly offense, Sanchez is far from a sure thing. Not only does he need to continue to show improvement in his play, but at some point, he will have to fight off Foles. With the parity at the quarterback position and the new trend of “late round quarterback,” few signal callers are worth a first round rookie pick, and Sanchez is not one of them.

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Here are a quartet of deals in which Cardinals’ running back Andre Ellington is being shipped off. While these come under different circumstances and situations, in each trade, I prefer the side dealing Ellington away. The former Clemson back had a couple of knocks last year- his injury history and lack of usage in the Arizona offense. Neither of those have been issues this year as Ellington has played in every game so far this year and is averaging over 22 touches per game, more than doubling the ten per game in his rookie season. Despite being the RB6 in PPR leagues currently, and the eighth running back drafted in our recent dynasty mock draft held earlier this month, I still don’t view Ellington as a special talent. The Cardinals were hesitant to give Ellington touches last season, despite some impressive play in spurts. This gives me cause for concern the team could look to replace him, or at least bring in a talented second back, sooner rather than later.

Each of these deals represents the type I would be seeking out as an Ellington owner, acquiring a young high upside wide receiver. Speaking of young, Ellington is not as young as you might expect a second year back would be. By the start of the 2015 season, Ellington will already be 26 years old. In fact, Ellington is less than a year younger than LeSean McCoy, who is finishing up his sixth NFL season.

One of the biggest surprises of the season came last week on Sunday Night Football, when Patriots’ running back Jonas Gray exploded for nearly 200 rushing yards and four touchdowns in what was the single best fantasy game by a running back all season. This, from a player who began the season on the practice squad and has bounced around the league for the past three years without a single appearance in a regular season game. When he finally got his shot thanks to an injury to Stevan Ridley, Gray took advantage. In Week Eight, Gray led the team in carries and totaled 86 rushing yards, but failing to find the end zone and playing no role in the passing game, Gray’s fantasy scoring was capped. That was not the case in Week Eleven though as he looked dominant against a porous Colts’ defense. Can we expect Gray, a journeyman back, to suddenly become the man in one of the best offenses in the league? I have my doubts. In fact, we can’t even trust Gray week-to-week considering the games Bill Belichick plays with the running back position. I’m not sure acquiring a second round pick is the ultimate sell high, but I’d take what I could get for Gray.

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ryan mcdowell