Q: Fantasy Football: Standard scoring, but WRs get 1 point/reception; RBs get 1 point/3 receptions. TEs get 1 point/7.5 yards receiving, not 10 like everyone else; teams start standard eight, but can substitue the 2nd RB position for either a WR or TE - a flex position. 

Team A sent QB Tony Romo, RB Lawrence Maroney, WR Chris Henry, TE Jason Witten and Giants Defense to Team B for: QB Derek Anderson, RB Marion Barber, WR Reggie Wayne, TE Chris Cooley and Tampa Bay Defense.  Who wins?

Note: Roster notables for Team A before trade (other than those traded): RB LT, WRs TJ Houshmanzadeh, Braylon Edwards, and Greg Jennings; roster notables for Team B before trade: RB Brian Westbrook and Chester Taylor, WRs Roy Williams, Laverneous Coles, and Santana Moss.

A: First of all: Does your league have a trade deadline? haha Some leagues started the playoffs this past weekend, and other leagues start next weekend. But I digress…

I am not a huge fan of: a) huge trades like this involving 1/3 of your team, and b) a trade where both teams swap players position-by-position (QB, RB, WR, TE and D from each side, in this case). The reason for “b” being that the advantage you gain at a certain position will likely will be offset with a disadvanatge at another. These kind of trades seem to normally “even out” when all positions are taken into account. Which is why we look at the other players on the respective teams, that you included.

The key to any fantasy team is to have the strongest possible STARTING lineup this late in the season. Having huge depth on the bench at a position doesn’t do you much good in the playoffs, as you don’t get awarded bench points, clearly. I’d rather roll the dice and build stacked starting lineups, and hope the injury bug doesn’t hit me for 2 weeks - more risk, more reward, imo.

If you look at this deal position-by-position, here is the breakdown: QB- advantage Team B (Romo is better by about 6 pts a week); RB- Team A (Barber will have 1,000 yards and 10 TD’s; Maroney is lucky to play, and NE is a throwing team); WR- Team A (Wayne vs. Henry, need I explain?); TE- Team B (Witten has about 300 more receiving yards and 10+ more receptions); D- Team B, slightly (Giants can sack with the best). So while team B would win 3-2 in terms of player-by-player at each position, I think think the gap between Barber-Maroney & Wayne-Henry gives Team A an edge on this deal, on the surface.

Taking rest of team in accont, these would be the starting lineups for each squad next week:

Team A:
QB- D. Anderson
RB- L. Tomlinson
WR- Wayne (not really needed in trade)
WR- Edwards
Flex- Barber (not really neded in trade)
TE- Cooley
K- ?
D- Tampa Bay Bucs
Bench: Housh (waste), Jennings (waste)

Team B:
QB- Romo
RB- Westbrook
WR- R. Williams (assuming injury isn’t serious)
WR- S. Moss
Flex- Maroney/Taylor/Coles (depending on health of Maroney, Adrian Peterson for Chestor)
TE- Witten
K- ?
D- NY Giants

In closing, I think just looking at lineups, Team A is better, and has more depth. HOWEVER, the question here is which GM handed the other GM a FLEECE? In the players Team A got back, Barber and Wayne were their advantage. However, they already have players like T.J. Housh-your-mama and Greg Jennings, on the bench. Wayne and Housh could be considered a wash. And with a point-per-catch Jenings COULD be as good as Marion Barber (who shares carries) on any given week, obviously. I would take the RB if given the choice, however. Point is, it seems Team A gave up the better QB, TE and D in this deal, only to acquire a stud WR and good RB that weren’t really players of need (considering his current roster). Team B traded Barber from a position of relative depth too, and got back Maroney as security. And he got himself stronger at QB and TE in the process. I thought it kinda funny that both teams ended up with the QB-TE combo at the end of the day, as an aside.

Deep breath… so, while Team A would be the favorite (imo) in a head-to-head matchup post-trade, and I feel got the most value in the players traded, I feel that Team B made out a better starting lineup for himself, in the end. Team B would win the deal in that respect, and owe the GM of Team A a nice, brightly-colored fleece for the holidays. Happy trading everyone!

Filed under: _Fantasy Fleeces