Trade Grade 7

Barnard receives Ezekiel Elliott, DJ Moore, and Michael Thomas
Zacherman receives Justice Hill, Justin Jefferson, and Pat Freiermuth

You can't fault Barnard for trying. The team he drafted was absurdly bad, and it only got worse with the Jefferson injury and pretty much every move Barnard made. But he keeps trying and we respect that.

This move I actually like on the surface for both teams. For Z, it's easy to understand. He downgrades at WR in the short term, while giving himself championship upside once JJ returns. He even got Justice Hill out of the deal, giving him some additional flex depth. With a two-game lead for the best record, this is the type of move that gets you a chef coat.

For Barnard, he basically gave up Hill (who was scarily his RB2) for three starters. This says a lot about the quality of his roster, but it's the type of move he needed to make to keep his hopes alive (or at least stay out of the shot spot). I have always loved DJM, and the inclusions of both Zeke and Thomas is undeniably hilarious, no notes. My biggest beef with the move for Barnard is that he definitely could have gotten more for JJ. Z made the most sense as a trading partner, but Bennett, Ajay, and obviously Marco would probably have made solid offers. Hell, I would have probably made a better offer and I'm only in a slightly better position than Barnard. From a value perspective, Barnard should get a low A, from an opportunity cost perspective, we're in the C- range that I know so well.

Barnard Grade: B-
Zacherman Grade: A

Trade Grades 5-6

When it rains it pours this season, with trades flying in all at once and somehow always involving Kyren Williams of all people. I wouldn't say that we've had a true blockbuster yet, but other than Z, Levine (shockingly), and Barnard (not shockingly), pretty much everyone is in a similar spot in the playoff race. A 3-game winning or losing streak should probably change that before we hit the trade deadline.

Trade 5
Gutman receives Jahmyr Gibbs and Pierre Strong Jr.
Marco receives Trevor Lawrence and De'Von Achane

We're just about at the point in the season where trade grades can focus on individual players instead of simply on team composition. The one massive exception to that rule this year is Achane. He's clearly a speed demon, but there are quite a few things working against him:
1. The Miami backfield is extremely crowded now that Jeff Wilson is back from injury. Given Wilson and Mostert's history, this health probably won't last long, but it still limits Achane's potential touches.
2. Miami's schedule has been incredibly easy so far, and gets incredibly difficult for the rest of the season. We saw how that played out in Philly on Sunday, and it also limits potential touches.
3. He's hurt! There are 7 more weeks in the fantasy regular season, and Achane will be playable in 4 of those weeks MAX. His specific injury doesn't seem like a huge risk for reoccurrence, but humans are not supposed to move as fast as he does, so I wouldn't be shocked to see him go down again.

Obviously there are other players in the deal, but Achane likely swings it in one direction or the other. Marco's team is deep enough that even if he just upgraded at QB, that's enough for it to be a solid trade for him, with Achane as a potential cherry on top. But it's not a home run.

For Gutman, he had no choice but to trade one of his QBs, and Achane probably made sense to ditch as well now that Ford went down. Picking up Strong was a nice benefit, and Gibbs should hold down the fort for a few weeks, so I see the logic here too. I can safely call this a win-win, with Achane looming as a league winner for Marco if everything breaks right.

Gutman Grade: B-
Marco Grade: B

Trade 6
Ajay receives Kyren Williams
Barnard receives Jerry Jeudy and Dalton Schultz

These two again? What a weird season these two teams have had, and the fact that Kyren has played such a big role is beyond bizarre. For this specific trade, it reeks of desperation (and potential comedy) on the Barnard side, while it sets Ajay's roster up for a playoff run.

Ajay's logic is easy to follow here. Schultz would never start over Hock, and Jeudy was expendable with Addison looking legit, so he didn't really give up much beyond WR depth. That should be easy enough to fill by flipping Spears, Wilson, or Latavius if needed. Mike Williams would make this team look a hell of a lot better, but cornering the Rams RB rotation is good business.

As usual, I don't really understand Barnard's logic unless he's going full comedy. Adding the two most Jewish sounding players in the league fits his team name and is a nice tribute to the situation in Israel, so if that was the goal, I rescind any criticism. If he's trying to make a playoff run, this is nonsensical. Jeudy is a poor man's Ridley, who is frustrating enough to own, and he is heavily rumored to get traded, which will limit his performance for at least a few weeks. And Schultz is the definition of a streaming TE, exemplified by the fact that I've added and dropped him multiple times (that goes for basically a third of the league, but still). Kyren being injured doesn't help Barnard's short term success, but he was scoring enough TDs that I have to imagine someone would have given up a legit starter for him. On top of all that, Ajay has Addison, making him a prime candidate for a Jefferson deal. I'm sure it was discussed, but that should have been a mandatory aspect of this trade. If Ajay wasn't in my division I would be reveling in this insanity, but because it negatively affects my miniscule playoff odds, I'm more disappointed that Barnard seems to have learned nothing in nearly 15 years.

Ajay Grade: A-
Barnard Grade: D-