Trent Richardson to the Colts: Fantasy Analysis
The Cleveland Browns shocked the football world when they traded away Trent Richardson to the the Indianapolis Colts for a 1st round pick. Richardson was viewed by many in NFL circles as a franchise running back including by the old Browns regime who drafted him third overall but apparently the Lombardi regime does not agree. Richardson was rotating out on third downs this season which were the first signs that the Browns did not have as much faith in him as others may have had within the football community.
Trade Analysis:
Browns: The Browns now potentially have the ammunition to land any prospect they want in next years draft in a trade up or the ability to draft a quarterback as well as a positional need in the first round while tackling running back on day two or three. Brandon Weeden was an old rookie to begin with and has not developed fast enough even though he is already in his prime. It is time for the Browns to move on and this move will help facilitate that possibility.
Colts: This is a magnificent move for the Colts who had question marks at the running back position beyond this year and some would even say this year. Bradshaw is not an elite level talent and Vick Ballard while serviceable should not be an NFL starter in todays NFL where multiple teams have two running backs more talented than him.
Fantasy Analysis:
Trent Richardson: Trent Richardson gets a solid upgrade in fantasy although it does not change his ranking much as we already had Richardson ranked as a top five running back option this year. This move buoys Richardson’s fantasy value as he moves to a much better team with solid receiving weapons all across the board from former All-Pro veteran Reggie Wayne, former 1st rounder Darrius Heyward-Bey, last years rookie standout T.Y Hilton and sophomore tight end duo Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener and a potential future Hall of Fame QB in Andrew Luck. T-Rich is nothing more than an RB2 option this week but should find himself vying for top five status every week once he gets acclimated to his new offense. T-Rich remains a strong buy low candidate where panicked owners may be worried about Ahmad Bradshaw and his bust level yards per carry last season and so far this season. Richardson’s dynasty value is unaffected as he remains a top three dynasty back for the time being.
Willis McGahee: Willis McGahee will take a physical for the Browns on Thursday and is expected to be signed if he passes. McGahee is a perfect fit for the Browns and should flirt with RB2 value once he gets his game legs under him. Add him if he was not already snapped up in your league.
Ahmad Bradshaw: Bradshaw’s value takes a serious hit with this news and he is now nothing more than a bye week filler/handcuff after week three. Bradshaw is a high upside handcuff as Richardson has been banged up for most of his tenure as a Brown.
Andrew Luck: Andrew Luck gets a nice boost with this news as opposing teams will have to worry about the talented T-Rich coming out of the backfield as a runner or a receiving weapon. Lucks dynasty value gets a serious boost even though his ranking remains unchanged, he remains a top three dynasty quarterback behind only Aaron Rodgers and possibly Cam Newton and/or Matthew Stafford. We had Andrew Luck as a top ten option this season and this news further solidified his spot among the top ten fantasy QB’s.
T.Y Hilton/Reggie Wayne: This news affects both players redraft values as opposing defense will now have to respect the run and gives a nice boost to Hilton’s dynasty value as he projects to still be around during Richardson’s prime and benefit from the play action opportunities a potential double digiti touchdown, 1,000 yard rusher presents for his team. Wayne remains a WR2 in redraft while Hilton remains an upside yet borderline WR3.
Coby Fleener/Dwayne Allen: As mentioned with Hilton this is a good news for the Colts young receiving weapons and their dynasty league value as they potentially have running back that will man the backfield for the next five to six years opening up passing lanes. Both of these tight ends have TE1 upside with Andrew Luck but will likely continue to minimize the others fantasy value when both are healthy.
Other Browns RBs: Chris and Bobby are replacement level talents hence the Browns already looking at street free agent Willis McGahee to shoulder the load. We would not be surprised if the Browns sign a second street free agent in the coming weeks.
Brandon Weeden: This can be viewed as the end of the road for Weeden’s dynasty value and we wouldn’t be surprised if Lombardi let Hoyer start multiple games this season in order to discern what he really has in the young signal caller he is reportedly so high on. This move hurts the Browns passing game somewhat but the effect should be minimal once McGahee gets up to speed.
Josh Gordon/Jordan Cameron: This move hurts both players redraft values as the running game may suffer with the potential downgrade at the running back position, which in turn will allow for opposing defenses to key on the Browns two playmakers.. McGahee will take some time to learn the playbook but should steady these players values once he gets going. Gordon drops to high upside WR3 territory while Jordan Cameron will hover around 8-12 for most of the season.
