Trade Grades 9 & 10

 This one was a little delayed because I falsely assumed some more dominos would fall following Esco's statement of intent. However the rest of the contenders stood pat, so I'm left with two trades that I will grade collectively as one.

Trade Grades 9 & 10
Esco receives Josh Allen, Isaiah Pacheco, and Mike Evans
Gutman receives Rico Dowdle and Courtland Sutton
Kumpf receives C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins

While not exactly a three team trade, Esco's two deals are related and would be weird to grade on their own. 

From Esco's perspective, the goal is clear: Win the Stevens Bowl. His roster was pretty set already, other than a hole at QB, and now he has the best starting lineup in the league. His only potential issue is injuries. Pacheco is no sure thing to return to form, Evans pulled a hamstring while I typed this sentence, and while Josh Allen seems to be superhuman, he takes a lot of hits. Add that to Kittle's issues and historical problems with Chase and Watson, and Esco is now one or two ankle turns away from collapse. It was a clear move to make on his part, but it's not without risk. Bonus points here from boxing Nick out of a three-way trade.

Gutman was in no man's land before this trade, and remains there afterwards. His best path to the playoffs is probably the NiJo Spot? So trading upside pieces in Evans and Pacheco for boring starters wasn't probably the best approach, but he went from very unlikely to make the playoffs to... very unlikely to make the playoffs. No harm no foul I guess?

My season has been lost for a few weeks now (I was 3-0! I miss September). Josh was really my only trade piece and I think I did well to get Nico with the upside potential of a Stroud connection. I doubt it makes much of a difference either way, and honestly scooping up Richardson was probably the more impactful move I made last week, but my roster is better than it was a week ago.

From a Power Rankings perspective, this trade moves Esco further into 1st place, drops Gutman from 12th to 14th, and keeps me at 10th.

Grades:
Esco: B+
Gutman: D
Kumpf: B