Winners and losers from trade deadline

Winners:

Demaryius Thomas, WR, Houston Texans

The sun may shine again on veteran receiver Demaryius Thomas after he was traded from the Broncos to the Texans hours before the trade deadline Tuesday. Thomas is outside the top 30 of wide receivers in fantasy football, with just 402 yards and three scores on 36 catches this season. Thomas’ numbers figure to go up as he’ll be on a better offense with a much better quarterback with Deshaun Watson and the Texans. I don’t think DT still has that pep in his step where he can provide for Houston what Will Fuller (who was likely the catalyst for this trade as he tore his ACL against Miami last week) was giving in terms of being a deep threat player who stretches the field, but no doubt Thomas is in a much better position now than he was at the beginning of Tuesday.

Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos

When NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport broke the news that the Texans and Broncos were closing in on a trade that would send Thomas to Houston, he added “It’s Courtland Sutton’s time.” Moving Thomas, means that the Broncos are ready to see what they have in the rookie Sutton. Thomas had 56 targets over the course of eight games, second-most on the team. Sutton figures to see the majority of those targets. With the Broncos playing from behind often, Sutton will hold every-week value for many fantasy owners. He’s a top waiver add for this week.

Marvin Jones, WRs, Detroit Lions

Tuesday the Detroit Lions traded receiver Golden Tate to the Eagles. The move will give Lions receiver Marvin Jones some much-needed consistency. Tate was hauling in a team-high 69 targets and while I don’t see the Lions moving Jones into the slot (reports say Brandon Powell likely fills that role), he’s likely to see some more targets as the new top dog in Detroit’s offense.

Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

Ty Montgomery was traded to the Ravens following Sunday’s disastrous ending to the Packers, Rams showdown in which the running back allegedly defied coaches’ orders to take a knee in the endzone on a late kickoff. Instead, Montgomery ran the ball out the endzone, fumbled and in so doing, denied Aaron Rodgers any opportunity to work his magic and engineer another game-winning drive to hand Los Angeles its first loss. Montgomery is now in Baltimore and what was once a three-headed committee in Green Bay becomes a two-headed monster as Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams compete for snaps. It won’t be a huge bump for the talented Jones as Montgomery only played six snaps on offense against the Rams.

Losers:

Nelson Agholor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles trading for Tate bodes ill for Nelson Agholor who has struggled to gain yards after the catch this season. It’s been a strange year for Agholor who is racking up targets and receptions on a lot of short throws but not yards and scores. Last season, he had 62 total receptions for 768 yards and eight scores. Through eight games this year, Agholor currently has 41 receptions for 372 yards and one touchdown. So if we simply double those numbers given that he’s got exactly one half of the season left, Agholor is on pace to see his receptions increase by roughly a third but will have slightly fewer yards and a fourth of his touchdowns from 2017. Enter Tate who has been excellent at picking up yards after the catch. If Tate takes Agholor’s spot in the slot, Agholor would presumably be moved to a different position, perhaps catch more intermediate passes. Here’s where things get muddy. The Eagles have a lot of different weapons, especially Jordan Matthews who wasn’t there for for Agholor’s breakout year and has performed well in his return to Philly. I could go on and on but I’ve gone enough at this point, the bottom line is, this trade leaves more questions than answers in the case of Agholor.

Javorius Allen/Alex Collins, RBs, Baltimore Ravens

Ty Montgomery has a had a whirlwind of a week. After fumbling the ball on a late kickoff in Sunday’s showdown between the Packers and Rams, an act which allegedly defied coach Mike McCarthy’s directive to take a knee in the endzone for a touchback, the Packers traded Montgomery for a seventh round pick in…2020. If that’s not some major shade I don’t know what is. Anyway, Montgomery’s presence further complicates a crowded Baltimore backfield but his ability as a pass catcher should give him the nod on third downs over Javorius Allen. Also, given this trade and reports Jamaal Charles and four other backs worked out for the Ravens Friday, it seems that the Ravens are desperate to replace the anemic running attack they have now. Alex Collins, given his fumble troubles, is certainly in the hot seat.

Even:

Golden Tate, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

As I mentioned earlier, Tate figures to fill in as the Eagles’ slot receiver. Though, the veteran wideout changed jerseys, quarterbacks and moved nearly 600 miles away from Ford Field to Lincoln Financial Field, a lot of things will stay the same for Tate. He remains in a talented offense with a more than capable quarterback at the helm. If Agholor’s current targets are any indication, Tate will see a similar workload in Philadelphia. Tate had 69 targets on the year in Detroit, Agholor has 61. Tate is also surrounded by talented pass catchers all vying for receptions, just like in Detroit. In short, Tate should be right at home.

Waiver Targets

D.J. Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers

Keke Coutee, WR, Houston Texans

Peyton Barber, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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