Well that was a pretty boring Super Bowl, so I guess I'll have to provide the excitement by providing my opinions about things I provided my opinion about months ago. All the caveats are listed in Part 1, so let's get on with the last 8 trades made in 2023.
Trade Re-Grade 9
AGD Receives Deebo Samuel (Before Trade: WR34; After Trade: WR1) and Jamison Crowder (Before Trade: WR109; After Trade: WR190)
Nick Receives C.J. Stroud (Before Trade: QB6; After Trade: QB17) and Najee Harris (Before Trade: RB41; After Trade: RB33)
Some big caveats here, especially as it relates to Deebo. First, I am SHOCKED that he averaged over 20ppg after he returned Week 10. That flew under the radar. Probably because AGD were not relevant at all this season, but still. Deebo's performance automatically bumps up AGDs grade, but they still had to bench one of Deebo/Kupp/Puka/Amari, and had to start either Kareem Hunt or A.J. Dillon. Spending for 2 startable QBs is a double edged sword, because if you can't find a trade partner you have to sell low. Nick may have bought high on Stroud and sold low on Deebo, but he needed QB and RB and had a WR to spare, so the general grade theme sticks.
Original Grade: Nick: B, AGD: D+
Re-Grade: Nick: B, AGD: B-
Trade Re-Grade 10
Barnard receives Tyler Boyd (Before Trade: WR49; After Trade: WR95)
Marco receives Calvin Ridley (Before Trade: WR47; After Trade: WR6)
It takes a big man to admit when they are wrong, but it's better not to be wrong in the first place. I'll admit I was surprised to see Boyd and Ridley so close before the trade, but this would be the worst trade in FALAFEL history if it didn't become the best trade in FALAFEL history a couple weeks later.
Original Grade: Marco: A; Barnard: D+
Re-Grade: Marco: A+; Barnard: F
Trade Re-Grade 11
Gutman receives Zay Flowers (Before Trade: WR47; After Trade: WR6)
Marco receives Zach Charbonnet (Before Trade: RB65; After Trade: RB33)
I called this a win-win in the moment and it remains that way. Both teams traded backups for starters (Charbs covered for an injured KW3 for a few weeks). Gut got the better performance, but Marco's addition was arguably more important because it was an RB and he was in the playoff race.
Original Grade: Marco A-; Gutman: B+
Re-Grade: Gutman: A-; Marco: B+
Trade Re-Grade 12
Marco receives Bijan Robinson (Before Trade: RB22; After Trade: RB3) and Tank Dell (Before Trade: WR17; After Trade: WR14)
Weissbard receives De'Von Achane (Before Trade: RB1; After Trade: RB22) and Garrett Wilson (Before Trade: WR25; After Trade: WR20)
Some small sample size theater here with Achane, but the real impact of this trade was felt in Week 15, where Marco needed Bijan to step up and he most certainly did not. Achane wouldn't have changed the outcome either, so there's no real penalty for that, but this trade will be remembered for Marco's first round fizzle, even if he ended up ahead overall. (Reminder that Tank's injury is not factored into the grade.)
Original Grade: Weissbard: C+; Marco: C-
Re-Grade: Marco: B; Weissbard: B-
Trade Re-Grade 13
Ajay receives Tee Higgins (Before Trade: WR49; After Trade: WR64) and Chargers D/ST (Before Trade: DST15; After Trade: DST 20)
Barnard receives Darrell Henderson Jr. (Before Trade: RB37; After Trade: RB26, Tyjae Spears (Before Trade: RB47; After Trade: RB42), and Browns D/ST (Before Trade: DST1; After Trade: DST28)
Typically I wouldn't even consider the DST part of this trade, but the Browns were legitimately studs last year, so I have to assume that factored into what Barnard was getting (as opposed to the Chargers, who Ajay started twice). The Browns promptly dropped to almost the bottom of the league, as the ultimate example of buying high. Context matters here too, as Ajay was already in the playoffs at this point, so he could wait for Higgins to presumably return healthy. Barnard needed RB help desperately and after this trade he...still needed RB help desperately, as Henderson played one game before Kyren Williams (lol) returned and Hendo was cut (double lol).
Original Grade: Ajay: B+; Barnard: C+
Re-Grade: Ajay: B; Barnard: D+
Trade Re-Grade 14
Esco receives Trevor Lawrence (Before Trade: QB28; After Trade: QB1), Gus Edwards (Before Trade: RB22; After Trade: RB40), and Calvin Ridley (Before Trade: WR47; After Trade: WR6)
Marco receives Tua Tagovailoa (Before Trade: QB12; After Trade: QB29), Antonio Gibson (Before Trade: RB48; After Trade: RB46), and Brandin Cooks (Before Trade: WR49; After Trade: WR36)
This of course was a trade taken directly from my Mock Trades post, forcing me to give A's to both teams. Upon further review, it's pretty one sided. Esco's moves led to his miracle run to the Stevens Bowl, and Marco's moves led to his first round exit. I understand the logic from both sides (obviously), but things panned out far better for Esco, especially given the playoff performances from Gus and Tua.
Original Grade: Esco: A; Marco: A
Re-Grade: Esco: A; Marco: C
Trade Re-Grade 15
Barnard receives Calvin Ridley (Before Trade: WR47; After Trade: WR10) and David Njoku (Before Trade: TE14; After Trade: TE4)
Esco receives Tyler Boyd (Before Trade: WR49; After Trade: WR95) and Dalton Schultz (Before Trade: TE8; After Trade: TE24)
Ahhh...Ridley/Boyd II. What a weirdly and potentially impactful trade. From what I can tell, Barnard made this trade due to the criticism he received for the first Ridley/Boyd trade, and also to get Njoku teamed up with Jeudy. Esco did this purely for the lols, but that came back to bite him as he made his surprising run to the Stevens Bowl and could have really used Ridley and Njoku's scoring in the finals. It wouldn't have changed the outcome, but it would have made for a better Stevens Bowl.
Original Grade: Barnard: B-; Esco: B-
Re-Grade: Barnard: A; Esco: D
Trade Re-Grade 16
Ajay receives Amon-Ra St. Brown (Before Trade: WR4; After Trade: WR38)
Nick receives James Conner (Before Trade: RB32; After Trade: RB21) and DK Metcalf (Before Trade: WR24; After Trade: WR4)
For Ajay, this trade was entirely about the playoffs (where ARSB put up WR1 numbers), and not the 3-game cameo in the regular season. I want to take a second to point out that in 16 regular season games, ARSB only scored less than 11.2 points once. That consistent greatness was overlooked this year. Anyway, Nick needed a miracle three-week stretch, and while he didn't get it, Conner and DK kept him in play for his namesake playoff spot til the very end. Good trade all around.
Original Grade: Ajay: A-; Nick: B
Re-Grade: Nick: A-; Ajay: B+
Re-Grade GPA Shifts
Ajay (6 trades): Original GPA: 2.83; New GPA: 2.6; Change: -.23
Barnard (6 trades): Original GPA: 1.78; New GPA: 2.28; Change: +0.5
Marco (5 trades): Original GPA: 3.28; New GPA: 3.12; Change: -0.16
Esco (3 trades): Original GPA: 3.23; New GPA: 2.67; Change: -0.56
Nick (3 trades): Original GPA: 2.77; New GPA: 2.47; Change: -0.3
Weissbard (3 trades): Original GPA: 2.77; New GPA: 2.9; Change: +0.13
AGD (2 trades): Original GPA: 2.5; New GPA: 3.0; Change: +0.5
Gutman (2 trades): Original GPA: 3.0; New GPA: 3.5; Change: +0.5
Bennett (1 trade): Original GPA: 2.7; New GPA: 3.3; Change: +0.6
Zacherman (1 trade): Original GPA: 4.0; New GPA: 3.0; Change: -1.0
No Trades: Alan, Billy, Kumpf, Levine
So I guess I was a little hard on Barnard the first go-round, but he still ends up with a GPA lower than what I got in undergrad, so I feel like the overall message was clear. I also want to point out that only one playoff team made no trades, and the average playoff team made 2.67 trades. Congrats to Marco as the most successful high volume trader, and boo to Barnard for being the worst trader independent of volume.
I have grand plans to re-grade the draft and look at FAAB bids, but we'll see if/when that happens.
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