Trade rundown (8/25/16)

Written by: Brett Davis

This week has been an interesting, trade-filled one for the CBFFL. One week littered with preseason trades with no one having knowledge of how players will compare from their performances last season. This is a rundown of every trade in the league this week and why I believe it is good or bad and who I believe received the better or worse end of the trade.

Let’s start off with the first trade of the year. Jacob Abney traded Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart to Evan Crowder for San Francisco 49ers Carlos Hyde. Jonathan Stewart is getting older, but he is still the go-to RB1 for the Panthers on early downs although he may lose some goal line carries to Mike Tolbert or Carolina may choose to throw in goal line situations with their array of big targets at WR and TE with Benjamin, Funchess, and Olsen. Carlos Hyde is also an outright RB1 for the 49ers although his last season was riddled with injuries if he can stay healthy he has a lot of upside especially with San Francisco’s QB problems. I think that this was a good trade on both ends.

Shortly after that trade, Evan traded away Jonathan Stewart and Chiefs WR Jeremy Maclin to Ben Asher to acquire Buccaneers RB Doug Martin. This was a bold move on Evan’s part in my opinion. As I said earlier Jonathan Stewart is getting older, he is 29 which is old for an NFL running back so I could see the desire to get a more able running back especially after a comeback year for Doug Martin. Is the the upgrade at running back really worth giving up Jeremy Maclin though? I don’t think so. Maclin turned around Kansas City’s by easily becoming Alex Smith’s favorite target. Ben got the better end of this trade with upgrade at RB and a strong WR2 in his lineup with Dez Bryant in his WR1 spot.

First year owner Stone Parks has been active this preseason as far as trades go. He has been involved in half of the trades already made this year. First one he made was with commissioner Cole Bennett, where Cole traded Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders to Stone for Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry. Personally I don’t like the trade for Stone because he is getting a WR2 with Mark Sanchez as his QB while Jarvis Landry is a WR1 in Miami but both players have upside. Stone then traded TE Benjamin Watson to Nick Asher to receive Redskins WR DeSean Jackson. With Benjamin Watson nearing the end of his career with a new team in Baltimore I don’t see him having the year he did last year. DeSean Jackson hasn’t had great production since his tenure with the Eagles but with breakout QB Kirk Cousins calling the signals I see potential upside for Jackson. Stone has the edge on this trade. More recently Stone traded Redskins QB Kirk Cousins to Colin Donnelly for Lions QB Matthew Stafford I think this trade is equal both have upside and downside although Stafford no longer has Calvin Johnson he still has offensive weapons to utilize. Fair trade all around in my opinion.

Last and certainly not least is a trade made between Nick Asher and Andrew Gold. Nick is notorious for making questionable preseason trades after trading away Todd Gurley for Pierre Garçon last season. This trade is also very questionable in my opinion. After receiving Ravens TE Benjamin Watson, Nick traded Watson, Chargers RB Melvin Gordon, and Bills WR Sammy Watkins to Andy for Panthers TE Greg Olsen, Browns RB Isaiah Crowell, and Lions WR Marvin Jones. I love this trade for Andy and hate it for Nick. Nick is upgrading at TE although Carolina also has Kelvin Benjamin back who is a popular goal line target so you could see a decrease In production there for Olsen. Nick is downgrading at WR trading Tyrod Taylors’s favorite wideout in a pass heavy Bills offense and starting WR in his fantasy lineup for Marvin Jones who assumes a WR2 position in Detroit with Golden Tate ahead of him. Even missing 4 games last season and having less receptions than Jones, Watkins managed to produce 200 more yards and 5 more touchdowns so edge to Andy on the WR pickup. RB is where I feel the trade would either even or just completely push it over the top in favor for Andy. Isaiah Crowell has never shown the production that he is capable of and that may be because he plays for the Browns and splits carries with Duke Johnson but I don’t like Crowell and would never even consider him as a starting RB or even Flex on my fantasy team. Melvin Gordon has not shown that production either, but I believe this year is the year. He struggled rookie season with his subpar offense line and QB with exceptional ability to throw the ball. Danny Woodhead soon took over the role at RB last season with his versatility in the pass game as well as the run game. I have been very impressed with Gordon’s performance this preseason and think he is in position for a solid year as San Diego has upgraded their offensive line and Gordon has some experience under his belt. Overall, Andy gets the better end of this trade hands down. although the downgrade he faced at TE, I believe he now possesses the upper hand at the RB and WR positions by a landslide especially gaining Watkins. Nick remains #1 in preseason trades that could change the course of his regular season.