Booted Eagle: Titans ship Dorial Green-Beckham to Philadelphia

In our little dynasty world, Dorial Green-Beckham has been something of a divisive player. He’s our 30th-ranked receiver, but our individual rankings on him are all over the place. Green-Beckham is slotted inside the top 20 wideouts by two rankers while three others have him outside the top 35, including one ranking of WR48.

One group of people who have definitely made up their minds about Green-Beckham is the Tennessee Titans’ front office, who dealt their 2015 second-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for offensive lineman Dennis Kelly, a backup lineman.

TRADE: #Eagles acquire WR Dorial Green-Beckham from Tennessee in exchange for G/T Dennis Kelly. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/XHDdcZ7PoO

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 16, 2016

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It’s a shocking move and one that makes it look like the Titans totally gave up on Green-Beckham. It’s actually reminiscent of another deal between these two teams, except in that one it was the Eagles who appeared desperate to get a player — DeMarco Murray — off their roster. Maybe Green-Beckham was secretly a baseball-style player to be named later in that deal?! I digress.

It’s unique for there to be anything resembling a significant trade in the middle of August, and it’s also rare for a team to bail on a second-round pick prior to his second year in the NFL. But nothing about Green-Beckham’s career trajectory has been normal, so this move fits right in.

Tennessee didn’t say many nice things about Green-Beckham this off-season, but no one saw this coming. Let’s take a look at the ripple effects in dynasty, starting with Green Beckham’s new squad.

Philadelphia Eagles

First things first, Jordan Matthews’ status as the Eagles’ top dog in the passing game is unaffected by this. He’s still the main man.

Ostensibly, this has a much bigger impact on Rueben Randle and Nelson Agholor. Just when it seemed like Agholor’s value had bottomed out, this happens. His price tag just keeps getting cheaper.

Agholor is a cautionary tale about not overvaluing landing spots. He really climbed rookie rankings at this time a year ago thanks to what seemed like a great situation with Chip Kelly and the Eagles. Agholor had a quiet rookie season, and now he may be the third-most talented wideout on the depth chart, depending on what you think of Randle.

While there aren’t many positives here for Agholor, the one thing this should do is further cheapen his price tag, which could make now the ideal time to pounce. “Buy at funerals and sell at birthdays” is my trading motto, and this is approaching funeral territory for Agholor. He may never amount to squat, but if it hardly costs you anything to acquire him, it’s worth gambling on a receiver who was the 20th overall player taken in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Randle is an enigma. With that said, he’s younger than Kelvin Benjamin, and he will probably have some useable weeks in 2016. His price has got to be dirt cheap, and the acquisition of Green-Beckham only drives down his value even more. The Eagles figure to be in quite a few negative game scripts this season, and Randle may be a nice little buy-low option right now.

Sam Bradford, Chase Daniel and Carson Wentz don’t have much value in one-quarterback leagues, but adding an athlete of Green-Beckham’s caliber to their receiver corps certainly doesn’t hurt anything.

For Green-Beckham, the depth chart in Philly is pretty similar to what he left behind in Tennessee, which is to say it’s not all that intimidating. The Titans don’t have a top weapon like Matthews, but Green-Beckham doesn’t face stiff competition to get into the Eagles’ starting lineup. Matthews in the slot with Green-Beckham on the outside and either Randle or Agholor on the other side of the field could look pretty good someday, if the mercurial Green-Beckham pans out.

Of course, that is the big question here.

I have no problem telling you I have no idea if Green-Beckham will develop into a star. The physical gifts are there, but the fact Tennessee dumped him for very little is absolutely terrifying. Looking at it through that lens, this deal probably cheapens Green-Beckham’s already depleting stock, so if you’re a believer, it’s a good time to invest.

The trade reminds me of when the Minnesota Vikings dealt Percy Harvin — who, at the time, was still pretty good — to the Seattle Seahawks for three draft picks, and most people thought they were nuts. As it turns out, they knew Harvin better than anyone, and their intel wound up being right.

Still, this isn’t a death sentence for Green-Beckham, and maybe the coaches in Philadelphia will be able to impact him in ways the Titans’ staff couldn’t. Maybe we’ll look back in five years and think Tennessee was wise to cut ties when they did, or maybe Green-Beckham will figure it out and the Eagles will look really smart. All we know for right now is where Tennessee stands on the matter.

Tennessee Titans

Well, those Tajae Sharpe shares just gained some value.

Without Green-Beckham on the roster, all of the team’s receivers see a boost in stature. Sure, the Titans had already said Sharpe was in front of Green-Beckham on the depth chart, but I think most people assumed it was Tennessee’s way of trying to light a fire under Green-Beckham. Now, Sharpe is going to have a great chance to start right away.

If there are any leagues which have yet to hold their rookie drafts, I would imagine Sharpe, who is currently an early third-round pick, is going to move up into the middle part of the second round — maybe earlier — now that he’s basically guaranteed a meaningful role in his first campaign. No offense to Kendall Wright and Rishard Matthews — both of whom I think are decent players — but there isn’t a ton standing between Sharpe and the Titans’ top receiver role. If he comes out and plays well, his dynasty value is going to skyrocket.

Speaking of Matthews and Wright, shipping off Green-Beckham ensures each will see plenty of snaps in 2016 for a team which figures to be throwing quite a bit. Matthews was a nice buy-low target this off-season after a quietly solid year with the Miami Dolphins, but he just got more expensive.

Delanie Walker was probably always going to be Marcus Mariota’s top target this season, and this trade only solidifies Walker’s standing. It also adds even more credence to Tennessee Head Coach Mike Mularkey saying the team wants to be an “exotic smashmouth” running offense, so the values of Murray and Derrick Henry see a minor boost.

As for Mariota, if this impacts him at all, it’s probably a negative. Regardless of where you stand on Green-Beckham, there was always a chance — albeit maybe a poor one — he developed into a star receiver. Now, unless Sharpe really bursts onto the scene, Mariota doesn’t have a wideout on the roster who profiles as a game-breaking playmaker.

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