The NFL Trade Deadline came and went Tuesday afternoon, and while there were plenty of big names moved, the list of supposed trade targets that didn’t end up moving was probably a bit more impressive. No exchange with Kareem Hunt. No exchange with Brandin Cooks. The Jaguars did not move passing thrower Josh Allen, and trade requests for Cam Akers and Elijah Moore went unfulfilled.
The Packers and Cowboys held their ground in their quest for wide receiver help, and they could have the Bears to blame for it — Chase Claypool was the only active wide receiver moved at the deadline, and he went for a pick second-round pick, an awfully high price to pay for a guy who was a second-round pick in 2020 and has seemingly stalled in his development since. For Claypool, the move to the Bears is likely sideways for his fantasy value — he might be the Bears No. 1 WR, but he already had more targets as a No. 3 for the Steelers than current Bears Darnell Mooney. . No. 1. This attack as a whole points up – more on that shortly – but Claypool’s best-case scenario is probably fighting for a big slide from a pretty unappetizing pie.
The Dolphins continued to be aggressive, acquiring passing thrower Bradley Chubb from the Broncos in exchange for a badly needed first-round pick. The 6-1 Vikings were also aggressive in coming out to get TJ Hockenson after losing Irv Smith to an ankle injury that will likely cost him the rest of the regular season, while surprise contenders like the Seahawks, Jets and Giants chose not to do it all. -in. It’s hard to blame them.
All in all, it was a pretty active deadline, but not necessarily the most impactful for Fantasy. The biggest name moved was probably Calvin Ridley, who isn’t even eligible to play until 2023, at the earliest. Still, there’s a lot you need to know about Tuesday’s Deadline, so let’s cover as many key storylines as possible by looking at the biggest winners and losers of Deadline.
Winners
Justin Fields
Fields was playing with one of the worst wide receiver groups in the NFL, and Claypool gives them a mammoth (6-foot-4, 238-pound) athletic (4.42 40-yard) wide receiver to pair with Mooney. This attack will probably never throw the ball much, but when they do throw the ball, they will focus on winning the field in play action, and Claypool gives them another guy who can do that, at least in theory. He struggled with consistency at the NFL level, but showed the ability to make plays on the field and as a gimmick player in the running game from time to time. The Bears have probably given up too much for what Claypool has done in the NFL, but there’s no doubt he’s an improvement in talent over Equanimeous St. Brown. Fields is an elite runner, so he has to be good enough as a passer to be worthy of starting in Fantasy. It definitely gives him more advantages in this regard.
TJ Hockenson
I mostly think Hockenson’s move to the Vikings is sideways for his fantasy appeal, but it’s possible there’s room for Hockenson to step up. He was poorly chosen as the main option for the Lions, but it won’t be a problem to line up next to Justin Jefferson at Minnesota. I think he’ll probably be there with Adam Thielen as the team’s No. 2 option in the passing game, and with Jefferson getting so much defensive attention, that could lead to career-best efficiency for Hockenson. He’s probably my TE6 for the rest of the way.
Chase Edmonds, Jeff Wilson, Deon Jackson
Already you can see that we are scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for winners here. None of these guys are likely to be a starter for Fantasy anytime soon – Edmonds is probably the only one who could be a starter for his own team injury-free, and even that isn’t for sure. But Jackson becomes the clear No. 2 for the Colts, and he looked like a go-to potential guy when Jonathan Taylor was out. Wilson joins a Dolphins team that runs a system he has experience with, and he’s now behind the historically injury-prone Raheem Mostert, a better spot than being behind Christian McCaffrey (and, soon, Elijah Mitchell ). Edmonds could have a chance to usurp the decidedly uninspiring combo of Melvin Gordon and Latavius Murray, and Russell Wilson has thrown the ball to his running backs 27.2% of the time this season, so it might not be. not be a terrible landing spot for him. Or, he could be part of a three-headed backfield where no one is worth using.
losers
brandin cooks
The Cooks thrived on that same offense last season, but the Texans couldn’t figure out how to get it going, and it’s looking more and more like the most desperate offense in the league. Davis Mills is clearly not the long-term answer, but Cooks is now stuck with him. Perhaps missing the deadline can crystallize his role, but Cooks’ cryptic tweet immediately after the deadline – “Don’t take a man’s kindness for granted.” play with my career” – doesn’t mean he’s going to be happy here in the future. There’s still a bright side here, but Mills needs to play a lot better than he has been, and I don’t have not much hope for that.
hunt kareem
It’s a similar situation for Hunt, who’s been trying to get a new Browns contract or trade since the offseason. He got neither, and now he’s stuck behind Nick Chubb. That role keeps him in the RB2/3 discussion, but obviously there was an upside beyond that if he was moved. Now? He’ll get his 10-13 carries and 2-4 targets a week, and if he finds the end zone, you’ll be glad you threw him. Otherwise, it will probably be quite disappointing. It is a disappointing result.
Single diviner
The Bills were traded to Nyheim Hines just before the deadline, which probably isn’t good news for Singletary’s value. It’s more obviously bad news for the path James Cook was supposed to have to relevance, but even as a clear lead for the Bills, Singletary doesn’t have a ton of appeal – he only has only one game with more than 15 PPR points this season, and that’s when the Bills threw the ball to him 11 times to counter the Dolphins’ lightning approach. Hines is a pass-catching specialist, one of the best in the league, so there is that little potential for improvement. Singletary only really has Fantasy appeal when he’s the only Buffalo back that matters. With Hines there, he probably isn’t. He’s probably just a fringe RB3 at this point.
The Valor of Christian Kirk’s Dynasty
The Jaguars traded for Calvin Ridley, presumably with the intention of turning him into Trevor Lawrence’s NO. 1 option next season. Kirk should still stay on top of the heap for the rest of this season, but the Jaguars needed a taller receiver, and Ridley definitely is. Kirk is expected to remain in the WR2/3 fringe discussion for the rest of this season, but it will be much harder for him to have Fantasy significance next season with Ridley.
