Wednesday, September 9, 2015

TRADE 02: Blockbusting

Yeah baby, that's what I'm talking about!

On the Kickoff's Eve we got a big time swap of elite assets, as Hill Valley and Deputy hooked up for a doozie: A lot to unpack here, so lets get started:

HILL VALLEY ACQUIRES:
WR DEMARYIUS THOMAS
WR SAMMY WATKINS

RB MATT JONES

DEPUTY ACQUIRES:
WR TY HILTON
WR JEREMY MACLIN
TE OWEN DANIELS

WR BRANDON COLEMAN


The first big break of the season came when Deputy lost third round pick WR Kelvin Benjamin to a torn ACL in training camp. Well, the other shoe finally dropped, as the Van Halens traded their first overall pick to improve their depth across the board. WR Demaryius Thomas is the top get in the trade, a premier talent that should earn his 10th overall draft placement. But there's a lot of players here that have the skill set and the opportunies to equal him: WR TY Hilton is a big play wizard who should see plenty of volume, and WR Jeremy Maclin is a coming off a monster year- albeit in a different offense. However, his huge preseason has converted much of the mainstream media into believing that he could repeat. WR Sammy Watkins had a very good rookie year, even if he ended up outshined by some of the other stars in his draft class (the aforementioned Benjamin, Big Mike Evans, and the uncanny Odell Beckham) in round one. If he can grow into his role as a primary target, he is every bit the matchup nightmare that Demaryius is. There are questions about context and game flow, but not about the caliber of his talent.

Matt Jones is a complimentary handcuff- Hill Valley might be able to get away with a short bench at RB by keeping handcuffs for Jamaal and Alfred Morris around. It's an underutilized strategy in Larkspur Bowl history, but one that could really help the McFly's roster flexibility- their achilles heel in 2014.

Assuming the big four WRs are all WR1s and WR2s, (as they project to be) this trade's value might be determined in the back end of the VH haul: TE Owen Daniels has a very high floor due to context; It's rare for a player to have a breakout on the verge of turning 33, but he's never been in an offense with quite this much firepower. If he can handle it, he is a very nice hedge against sophomore TE ASJ, who has not yet proven himself worthy of starting. The other upside project is WR Brandon Coleman. Absolutely monstrous at 6-6, his potential this year runs the gamut from zero to hero. If he ends up being start worthy by mid season, he can eschew the common logic of getting the best player to win a trade: Three WR2s and a TE2 can certainly outearn a WR1 and a WR2, in a best case scenario.

No kneejerks on this one- the rare blockbuster that helped both teams without either team taking on a surplus of risk. 

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