Just days after the Browns announced they planned to release Josh Gordon on the Monday following their Sunday afternoon tilt against the New Orleans Saints, they have instead agreed to trade the supremely talented but troubled wideout to the New England Patriots of all places according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
At first this seems like a head scratching move for the Cleveland Browns who Bill Belichick famously refused to trade ‘love child’ Jimmy Garoppolo to despite significantly better offers than what he ended up accepting from the 49ers, but perhaps this was simply the best offer they got for a player with such a high risk who as a vested veteran would have not been subject to waivers leaving the Browns to pick up the remainder of his 2017 salary regardless of where he chose to sign.
For the Pats this is an outstanding move. The Patriots offense has not looked as solid as it did with Danny Amendola and Brandin Cooks in the lineup in 2017 and now with Josh Gordon in town with Julian Edelman off of suspension after two more games the Pats may once again, arguably, be considered the top team in the AFC over the Jaguars, who just handed them a 31-20 loss in a game that was much more lopsided then even that line suggests.
For the Browns, I don’t know where to begin, after giving him so many chances organizationally and with another potential risk player on their team in rookie Antonio Callaway perhaps this move was made to help mitigate some of the risk Gordon posed to Callaway and his development as Todd Haley and Hue Jackson wanted Callaway to learn from the hard working Jarvis Landry and not to gravitate towards ‘his brother in smoke’ Josh Gordon.
Fantasy Context:
Josh Gordon – From the fantasy scrapheap to landing with the GOAT. Gordon has had quite the week. Dropped by over 60,000 yahoo teams over the weekend Gordon is ready to light the NFL back on fire as soon as this Sunday night versus the Detroit Lions. Gordon should have a limited route tree to start but as the Patriots most talented receiver since a player whose last name turned into a verb the expectations and hype are deservedly high. Gordon should slot right in as an upside WR2 week to week though his value is likely to be higher for those in standard leagues until he builds a rapport with Tom Brady and we can see what kind of target share he will have once Julian Edelman returns from suspension.
Julian Edelman – This news slightly affects Edelman’s stock as a fringe WR1 for PPR purposes as he now looks more like a volume dependent WR2, volume that simply may not be there week to week with Gordon now in the fold and the emergence of Phillip Dorsett as a legitimate NFL talent. With that said however the addition of Gordon should open things up for the entire offense leading to higher efficiency catch rates and more open lanes for Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead in the run game. Don’t fret if you draft and stashed Edelman, he will remain Brady’s top target most weeks.
Chris Hogan – Sorry folks, the Chris Hogan WR2 hopes everyone had have been permanently dashed. Always a poor bet to love up to the expectations some fanalysts heaped upon him in the offseason Hogan is now no more than the WR4/5 we rated him as to begin with. Try to package Hogan as soon as possible as two touchdown games tend to linger in rival owners memories. Go make the offers; now.
Tom Brady – Brady gets a value bump with this news as any time you add a hall of fame talent (not player) to the GOAT and a living legend in the ageless Tom Brady it represents a positive move. This addition adds another tool for Brady to work with and he should have a lot of fun doing so with a receiver that can operate on all three levels and also have success out of the slot. The addition of Gordon will indeed be reflected week to week in our rankings.
Rob Gronkowski – This move does not adversely affect Gronkowski who may actually benefit from this move as opposing defenses now have a outside receiver they must respect. Gronk remains an elite tight end who could see an increase in his catch rate.
Phillip Dorsett – Another one of the big losers of this trade is Phillip Dorsett, and of course, the fantasy owners who blew some of their FAAB wad on him after his coming out party in week one. Dorsett should now be relegated to number three duties in the receiver room until Edelman returns at which point we will likely rotate snaps with both Gordon and Hogan until Gordon is up to speed. At that point common sense dictates that if Dorsett is still playing well that he is the far superior option to line up on the outside due to his vertical threat ability which allows him to stretch the field, something Hogan would be unable to do for the Pats especially if Gordon is acclimated to the whole playobook by then and isn’t just used as a deep threat or go route decoy.
Antonio Callaway – One the big winners of this trade is talented rookie Antonio Callaway. Callaway now looks like an upside flex option who could quickly ascend to a WR3 in Todd Haley’s attack, in fact, he would be ranked as a WR3 if it was Baker Mayfield and not the more conservative Tyrod Taylor under center. Callaway went off for 81 yards and a touchdown with Josh Gordon inactive and should have plenty of room to operate with defenses keying in on Jarvis Landry. With that said on the snaps Landry is in the slot Callaway may draw tough assignments especially with teams that shadow outside receivers exclusively. Callaway needs to be added in the 93 percent of yahoo leagues he is still available in.
Tyrod Taylor/Baker Mayfield – This trade represents a significant downgrade to the fantasy prospects of both quarterbacks. Early this summer the Browns boasted the deepest and arguably most talented receiver room in the entire NFL and while they still have talent in Landry and Callaway the rest of that room is barren and full of journeymen. Expect Taylor and perhaps Mayfield if he sees the field this year to now turn to Duke Johnson and David Njoku to pick up the receiving slack that has been left by the departures of Josh Gordon and Corey Coleman.
