Trade Grades 2-4

 I know I'm late on this, but on the plus side we've had more than 1 trade per week of the season, which is a great pace. 

Trade Grade 2
Kumpf receives TreyVeon Henderson, Garrett Wilson, and Travis Kelce
Zacherman receives Bucky Irving

(Editor's Note: I removed Esco's CoPilot analysis and just left the real thing. Keep the Big Pharma AI out of the blog please.)

Good to know that CoPilot won't be winning any fantasy drafts anytime soon. Based strictly on draft capital, Zball gave up a lot for Bucky. At first, I hated this for Z but looking at rosters again, I like this trade more and more for him. Roster clarity is critical and having 2-3 good flex plays means you are just going to pick the wrong one 50% of the time. Zacherman's starting lineup is likely one of the best in the league and he just needs to figure out a plan for week 12 when Jayden, Deebo and Keenan are all on bye. The one major ding here is not getting Rachaad White as a throw-in from Kumpf. When you only have 2 RBs on your roster you have to prioritize their handcuffs. 

Kumpf is buying low on Henderson, getting a fresh start at TE with Kelce and getting the Jets QB/WR connection (hooray?), but I'm worried the rest of his team is not strong enough to carry him until a likely Henderson emergence mid-season. Justin Fields being injured might actually improve Garrett Wilson's near term value but likely limits Kumpf's overall upside. Also with Henderson, Jauan Jennings, Calvin Ridley, Courtland Sutton and Rachaad White all trying to squeeze into an RB2 and Flex starting spot, you are going to be guessing wrong almost every week. Hell, even Mark Andrews might outscore Kelce 30-40% of the time. Maybe you can flip 5 of these misfit toys to AGD for Allen? But grading the trade as is - I don't like it 

Grades:
Kumpf: C+ primarily due to roster make-up post-trade, not necessarily trade return value
Zacherman: B+ (docked for not getting the handcuff and making the trade the week I play Kumpf)

Trade Grade 3
BMO receives James Conner, Jordan Mason, and Chris Olave
Esco receives Kenneth Gainwell, Ja'Marr Chase, and Ricky Pearsall

I honestly don't remember this one going through. I was in my own post-trade haze and I guess the names here seem bigger than the impact? The obvious wild card here is Chase. He's succeeded without Burrow in the past, and even if he's not a top 2 WR, he's still definitely top 10. Esco gave up all his depth to get Chase, which is the kind of move you need to make when your roster has one good player on it. CD and Chase is a hell of a combo, and while the RB situation is a disaster, I actually like the Gainwell throw-in. I think he becomes a legit flex option by the end of the season.

Speaking of disaster RB situations! Bennett made the rare move of trading for starters while already owning handcuffs. I believe during the draft Bennett was pleased with himself for sniping Esco's handcuffs, and now he had to trade Chase to get them from Esco. Well played. Kaleb Johnson for $14 is looking like a contender for worst pick of the year, and luckily for BMO they realized it soon enough to salvage the season. This roster is paper thin right now but if they can tread water until Aaron Jones and Aiyuk get healthy and turn the clock back a couple of years, they may still have hope.

Grades:
BMO: C
Esco: B+

Trade Grade 4
AGD receives David Montgomery, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Tyreek Hill, Emeka Egbuka, and David Njoku
Levine receives Josh Allen, Josh Jacobs, AJ Brown, and Cedric Tillman

Wow. I don't think we've ever had a 9-player trade before, and based on this I doubt we will again. Levine got the no-doubt top 3 players in the deal, and it's not out of the question that he gets the top 4 if the Browns passing game becomes effective, the Fins keep sucking, and Godwin eats into Egbuka's production. 

I want to see a Behind the Music on the negotiations here, because I just don't understand the following:
1) How did AGD not get rid of Hurts instead of Josh?
2) How was George Kittle (a legit asset that does not hurt AGD to lose) not included?
3) How was Josh Jacobs turned into two backup RBs?

AJB and Tillman for Tyreek and Egbuka is rational, and if AGD needed to throw in Kittle to get the deal done, I would say that's a fair trade. That still leaves AGD with Josh/Jalen to flip for a low-level RB starter like Chubb. Obviously easier said than done with the number of Je...annoying negotiators in this league, but my god. You guys asked me if I was interested in making a trade, and I outright declined because I respected you enough to assume you wouldn't voluntarily sign up for rape. How wrong I was.

As mentioned in the chat, the real question is whether Levine shows up to get his chef's hat in person.

Grades:
Levine: A
AGD: F