The 2023 NFL trade deadline has come and gone. We’ve got a full rundown of all the transactions graded for you to check out here. And there is quite a bit to sort through.
But if you only care about the trade deadline as it relates to your fantasy football team(s), this is exactly where you want to be. With multiple big names and playmakers on the move Tuesday, let’s check out some of the biggest winners and losers for fantasy managers before Week 9 kicks off.
If you were one of the managers hoping the Minnesota Vikings would get a quarterback to save you from the season-ending injury to Kirk Cousins, this, uh, will not be a fun exercise.
Winners: Managers of Jared Goff and Donovan Peoples-Jones
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This is an obvious one right off the bat.
DPJ comes home to his native Detroit where he previously starred for the Michigan Wolverines.
The Lions get a proven wideout to help them capture the NFC North, Jared Goff gets a sure-handed veteran and Peoples-Jones escapes a Cleveland offense that found itself in a tailspin. The wideout is likely on waivers in most leagues, but don’t expect that to be the case much longer.
Losers: Minnesota wideouts and Kirk Cousins managers
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In eight games with the Cardinals, Joshua Dobbs completed just 62.8 percent of his passes for eight touchdowns and five interceptions. The good news for the new quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings is that Kirk Cousins also had five picks before his Achilles injury. The bad news is he also had 18 touchdowns.
This is probably not the savior anyone who rosters a Vikings wideout was hoping for, but he’s the one they’re stuck with.
Winner: Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne
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Allow FTW’s Christian D’Andrea to explain why the Jaguars’ acquisition of guard Ezra Cleveland was so important for anyone who holds Lawrence or Etienne in fantasy:
Trevor Lawrence’s 6.6 percent sack rate is a career high and his 2.0 seconds of pocket time per dropback are a career low. Travis Etienne’s 2.2 yards before contact per carry ranks 28th among 41 qualified runners and is down from 3.4 the year prior.
The Jaguars needed blocking help and get some here with Cleveland. He’s more polished in the zone run game than as a pocket protector, but he’s a capable starter who’ll bring relief for Jacksonville’s playoff run — and the price was right.
Loser: Justin Fields
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
This one goes out to all the dynasty managers still holding out hope that Fields has better days ahead in Chicago.
Instead of preserving draft picks to build around their franchise QB, the Chicago Bears traded a second-rounder to Washington for edge rusher Montez Sweat. Considering the Bears don’t have a full-time defensive coordinator or any leverage to re-sign Sweat, this already looked bad.
It looked worse hours later when the San Francisco 49ers traded a third-round pick for Chase Young. Which, by the way….
Winner: 49ers Defense
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Can a defense actually serve as a fantasy game-changing unit?
It can when it adds Chase Young opposite Nick Bosa. Expect the Niners 14th ranked D/ST to start soaring soon enough.
Loser: Davante Adams Managers
(AP Photo/John Locher, File)
The Raiders did absolutely nothing to help Adams. They refused to give him a lifeboat off their sinking ship or attempt to make life easier for Jimmy Garoppolo in the pocket so he doesn’t overthrow Adams by 15 yards again and again.
Times might’ve been worse for fantasy managers of the former Green Bay star, but it’s hard to remember when.
