Trade Alert 2 — 6/19/19
Mini-blockbuster alert
The Deal
Anton receives:
2019 Pick 1.04
2019 Pick 1.10
Mark Ingram, RB (BAL)
Lando receives:
Chris Godwin, WR (TB)
Dante Pettis, WR (SF)
Kalen Ballage, RB (MIA)
The Rundown
The start of the trade window continues with a bang with one of the largest trades in league history in terms of total assets and dynasty value moving teams.
Orlando, deep at RB and thin at WR, makes a bold move to acquire two young receivers capable of 2019 production as well as preparing for the future of a post-Antonio Brown era on his team.
Godwin looks primed to take another big step forward after a promising sophomore season in which he totaled 842 yards and 7 TDs. With 179 targets up for grab after the departure of DeSean Jackson and Adam Humphries, and the big slot role available in Bruce Arians’ offense, there’s already talk by Arians himself that Godwin could hit 100 receptions this season.
Pettis is more unproven and is still a year away from the cliche 3rd-year breakout development curve. His rookie season was hampered by injury but he closed the year strong and like Godwin, has been getting love non-stop from the coaching staff this offseason.
Lastly, Orlando was able to squeeze Ballage into the deal at the last second and the extremely athletic RB will be valuable to Lando as a handcuff for Kenyan Drake on his roster.
On the other end of the spectrum, Anton was swimming in WR depth but RB was much more of a question mark. Mark Ingram gives him a consistent RB2 in 2019 before the veteran hits the dreaded RB age of 30 this December. That should be enough time for either Montgomery or Sanders to develop, as one of them will likely be his 1.04 selection with Josh Jacobs and N’Keal Harry locked in as the top two draft prospects.
Landing Pick 1.10 also puts Anton’s earlier trade away of 1.08 into clearer focus, as he’s now right back in the same area of the 1st Round to grab his target there instead of hoping for a fall to 1.15.
Ultimately, this trade will rest on the development of Godwin and Pettis vs the players that Anton ends up drafting. Between this trade and the earlier one, grabbing so many draft picks in a weak draft is clearly evidence of Anton trying to zig while others zag. Will Anton’s confidence in his draft scouting come back to bite him? Only time will tell.
