TRADE 13: Ward Island

An exchange of RBs with uncertain roles, and an IDP thrown in to make things interesting.

HILL VALLEY ACQUIRES:
RB Dion Lewis

REVIS ISLAND ACQUIRES:
RB Ahmad Bradshaw
SS TJ Ward

Through five weeks, Dion Lewis was a free agent gem for the Islanders, posting double digit point totals in each of his four games. He didn't do it with a ton of carries, (getting double digits only once, in his debut) but as a pass catching asset out of the backfield, he showed shades of Shane Vereen. In the fifth game of the season his usage was way down, and he is questionable with a lingering abdominal issue. Teammate LaGarette Blount had siphoned away the majority of his carries, and the Islanders RB hierarchy clearly features Marshawn Lynch and Chris Ivory at the top, so Lewis was voted off the Island. In Hill Valley, he will find himself far more welcome: he is the obvious top scorer at a position bereft of production. The McFlys will hope that when healthy, so too will be his appetite for targets.

RB Ahmad Bradshaw evolved his game last year, becoming a pass catching dynamo with a penchant for the end zone. The furiously hard runner has a long listing of health ailments (the guy runs on two chronically broken feet) but when he plays, he is playing full tilt. Healthy, off suspension, and back in the same offense that made him a versatile weapon last year, Bradshaw would profile similarly to Lewis this year if he can prove he still has some gas left in the tank.

SS TJ Ward is a tackler and a playmaker, exactly the sort of player that makes a difference in the LFL. With a high floor and a high ceiling, he's as low risk, high reward IDP as there is in the league. The Islanders get him during his bye week (the roster pinch in Hill Valley necessitating the move for value) but joining Donte Whitner and future hall of famer Charles Woodson in the secondary gives the team the sort of high level rotation that can optimize a roster with careful management.

It's a ballsy move for RI, but one that makes sense- Lewis may have already seen his value peak, and he was buried on the depth chart with everyone healthy. For Hill Valley it's about getting some quality 2015 numbers on the charts, a player that has done something worth touting this season.