Trade Analysis I

Gentlemen,

With the first game of the season starting tonight, it is only fitting that we also have our first trade to analyze.  Let's get started.

Bennett Gets:
A.J. Green WR CIN ESPN Position Rank 16
Jared Cook TE TEN ESPN Position Rank 15

Gutman Gets:
Percy Harvin WR MIN ESPN Position Rank 8
Michael Vick QB ESPN Position Rank 11

ESPN Winner: With no fantasy points so far we will have to rely on positional rank and Gutman wins in a landslide.

Best Player Involved: It is very likely Vick scores the most points out of any the players involved here but that doesn't necessarily make him the best player.  I would say the over/under on games played for him this year is 13, and I may be a bit generous there. He certainly is an upgrade for Gutman but you have to be crazy if he doesn't scare you as a QB1.  So moving on to the wide receiver dilemma.  I'm really torn on this.  I was attempting to rebid on A.J. Green during the draft but accidentally hit the Pass button which allowed Auto-Draft Gutman to get him so I really believe in his value as a breakout star this year.  However, Percy Harvin might excite me even more. In the last 9 games of the regular season last year he scored 8 TDs, averaged about 80 yds receiving and another 20 rushing.  Do you know what else happened in the last 9 games of last year for the Minnesota Vikings? Christian Ponder started at quarterback.  I think you see where I am going with this.  This could be a monster year for Harvin and especially with AP getting off to a slow start the Vikings might actually be airing it out this year.

Potential Starters Received:
Green and Harvin are both very legitimate starting WRs in our league and both should be in the lineup every week. Gutman also gets a QB that he can actually trust to break double digits every week except the 3-6 games Vick will be injured this year. I assume Bennett will be starting Cook over Miller or trying to platoon based on matchups but until we see more of Locker during real regular season games the jury is still out on how much he can actually throw the ball in the NFL.  However, I am willing to give Bennett the benefit of the doubt here and say both teams get 2 starting players from this transaction.

Conclusion:
As soon as Bennett threw down 30 dollars for Vick and everyone in Dave & Busters collectively burst into laughter we all knew this would happen eventually.  You just can't have 100 dollars worth of quarterback on your team in our league.  However, not even waiting until the regular season to troll for trades puts the rest of the league in a position of significant strength.  If I were in the same position I would have waited several weeks, hoped both Brees and Vick were playing well and then flipped Brees to Gutman for a much bigger haul such as Gronk, Helu and Dalton.  This completely eliminates your TE need, allows you to alternate Britt and Helu in the Flex spot and gives you a modest backup QB for when Vick gets banged up.  But hey, we have to deal with reality, and the trade that happened, is the trade that happened.

I know Bennett is banking on Green having a breakout year, but there are just as many people expecting the same thing from Harvin this season.  So essentially trading Vick for Jared Cook doesn't exactly excite me.  However, if Vick goes down week 2 and Harvin's  migraine issues reemerge then this trade actually works out for you.  So for that, I'll generously give Bennett a C-

As for Gutman, this is a home run.  You significantly upgrade at QB with a potential upgrade at WR as well. And somehow you were able to do it without giving up Gronk or any of your minuscule RB depth. Your team still doesn't do much to inspire fear but I like it overall now.  This trade is a solid A.