Welcome to the trade deadline, NFL. In a league in which the calendar threshold for making deals rarely, if ever, is as exciting as its counterparts in baseball, basketball or hockey, the NFL stepped up its game this year.
Following the Jimmy Garoppolo-to-49ers deal reported Monday, and the Duane Brown-to-Seahawks swap that gets Russell Wilson some added protection, Tuesday we got a couple even more significant trades: Jay Ajayi to the Eagles and Kelvin Benjamin to the Bills.
The motivations of the teams involved and rating the returns of each side is not what the Madman is here to debate. Instead, we are just concerned with the fantasy impact. And for Ajayi owners, it couldn’t get worse, right? He was likely drafted in the second round of your league, yet ranks 30th among fantasy running backs in points-per-reception leagues. He has just two 100-yard games and with zero touchdowns.
The one thing he did get with the Dolphins was volume. As long as Miami didn’t fall way behind early (which it sometimes does), Ajayi was a cinch for around 25 carries. He won’t get that with the Eagles. LeGarrette Blount is not going to get phased out. In fact, GM Howie Roseman told Philadelphia reporters Tuesday that Blount “continues to be our starter.” And Wendell Smallwood is still going to get passing-down work.
The smells a little too Cincinnati for our taste – the Bengals have a three-headed committee with Joe Mixon, Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill. And we don’t even expect Ajayi to get a Mixon-type share of the workload.
If you have him, put him on the block. Spin it as Ajayi getting away from the terrible Dolphins and onto a good team that can block. Don’t mention the playing time conundrum.
And if you’re looking for a replacement or are now curious about the Dolphins’ backfield situation, steer clear. Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake are not quality running backs, and they play in a terrible offense, and they likely will split duties. Think: the 2016 Jaguars backfield. The best choice between Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon was neither. Same here.
The Benjamin deal is as interesting as it was surprising. First, it probably won’t do much to Benjamin’s value. He goes from one not-incredibly-accurate QB to another. He still will be the top option, still by default more than talent. It does likely crush any hopes for a second-half Jordan Matthews surge. It will help Tyrod Taylor.
It also will help Devin Funchess, who becomes the Panthers top WR. Executing the deal likely shows the team is gaining confidence in rookie Curtis Samuel. So in deep leagues, he isn’t a bad speculative add. It won’t help Cam Newton, but at this point you likely weren’t using him anyway.
With the Ezekiel Elliott suspension news, six teams on byes, and now a flurry of trades that add or subtract value from a collection of players, this is not the week to sleepwalk through the waiver-claim period. So pay attention, get a dialogue started with league-mates to fix any newfound roster problems. Just because the NFL’s trade deadline has past doesn’t mean your fantasy league’s has.