Trade 12: On the Hop

Mark Ingram turned out to be a means to an end for Pawnee; Five days after acquiring the RB for Anquan Boldin and Terrance West, they've shipped him to Malibu for WR DeAndre Hopkins. The Deadbeats, reeling from the sudden retirement of Arian Foster and tired of Hopkins only catching a shade over half of his targets sent their 7th overall pick to Pawnee for the 27th overall pick nee Saskatoon.

MALIBU ACQUIRES:

• RB MARK INGRAM

PAWNEE ACQUIRES:

• WR DeANDRE HOPKINS

At 3-4, the Deadbeats are thinking progressively with this move: Hopkins is due for a bye in week nine, and their incumbent running backs (Lamar Miller and CJ Anderson) both have impending bye weeks as well. Each is also banged up, so having three premier backs gives them quality insurance. Losing Hopkins is obviously a blow to the WR corps, but their remaining collection of wideouts (Cameron Meredith, Terrelle Pryor, Allen Hurns, Michael Floyd, Travis Benjamin, and recent waiver claim Davante Adams) has the sort of enticing upside that could replace the under performing Hopkins. Malibu has set themselves up for a second half go of things: If Carson Palmer can do his part, this team will be a playoff contender. If all three backs are healthy and rolling at that point, look for CJ Anderson to be dangled on the trading block at the deadline.

Pawnee's sixth trade of the year makes them party to an even 50% of all completed deals. They were bound to make one of this sort eventually, as their surplus of running back depth was always going to be used to supplement the flex position. In Hopkins they add a bonafide WR1, with the caveat that his context is far from ideal, and his production has been far below expectations. As previously noted, he's only catching just over 50% of his targets, and has only gone over 75 receiving yards once in seven tries. The positive spin is that his skills haven't diminished and he does not appear to be hurt. The negative is that there is no clear indication that the team will figure out a better way to get the ball to him. Regardless, even in this lesser form he is an every week must start- grouped with Big Mike Evans, Brandon Marshall, and Doug Baldwin, this is likely a top three unit over the rest of the season.

At running back, even after shedding Spencer Ware, Terrance West, Tevin Coleman, and Mark Ingram over the past six weeks, they retain Melvin Gordon and Jay Ajayi as starters, with an upstart Jacquizz Rodgers and rehabilitating Jeremy Langford as competent replacements. Pawnee is conducting a college level course on roster optimization this year, Team Building 101.