And that’s another one for the books. We have entered the post-spooky era of 2023, only some of our teams surviving a close encounter with the Sunday scaries.
After all, those with shares in the Minnesota Vikings’ or the Los Angeles Rams’ offenses are still recovering from the Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford injuries. And with the Achilles tear, Cousins looks to have some serious question marks in the future as well.
But in the short term, the NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and that means there will be no quick answers for Jordan Addison owners. And even more questions in Atlanta, where Desmond Ridder looks to have finally dashed all hopes.
After such a long year though, we all deserve a nice treat. As a fun trick, let’s play a little “would you rather?”
I’ll present two players at the same position below, and I’ll explain why I’d rather have the less popular player.
Dynasty Football Would You Rather?
Deshaun Watson, QB, CLE, or Sam Howell, QB, WSH
The cries are getting louder. “He’s a head case.” “He doesn’t care about winning.” “The relationship between team and QB is broken.” Mind you, these are all common statements made about Lamar Jackson less than six months ago.
Obviously, Watson and Jackson are two very different players even if they were both recent offseason prizes. But Watson still has a track record of success that is hard to find in the NFL.
Recent outings have certainly eroded public trust and it’s possible his best days are behind him. But there’s still the potential that had multiple teams offering three first-round picks.
Would they offer as much for Sam Howell? Even after some gaudy numbers in Weeks 5 and 8, nearly throwing for 400 yards in both games, there’s still a lot lacking.
For one, he takes way too many sacks, converting a league-high 33.7% of pressures allowed by linemen. He can’t seem to escape, only recording 130 yards on the ground this year in spite of his college success.
DeVonta Smith, WR, PHL, or Drake London, WR, ATL
What DeVonta Smith accomplished as the first Heisman winner at the wide receiver position in thirty years is amazing.
Less amazing: his stat line and passing grades this year. By PFF grading, Smith ranks 63rd at the position. This falls behind the likes of Jerry Jeudy, Tutu Atwell, and even former Philadelphia Eagle Nelson Agholor.
It must be the memories of his award-winning season that puts him 4 spots higher than KeepTradeCut’s WR16 in Drake London.
While London hasn’t had the quarterback play necessary to put up the numbers, he’s still been proving himself.
Ranked 22nd by PFF, London will have the benefit of a potential passing upgrade in Taylor Heinecke this year, and whoever takes the position next year. After all, it can’t get worse than what Ridder has put on tape for Atlanta.
Saquon Barkley, RB, NYG, or Josh Jacobs, RB, LV
While I’ve given out my warnings on Saquon before, the time to heed them has become critical. While he has performed admirably in spite of Daniel Jones and the New York Giants offense, the cliff may be coming.
Barkley faces the 2nd hardest strength of schedule for running backs moving forward. Given how bad the Giants offense has been, any further resistance for Barkley could be a death sentence.
And with his impending free agency, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the Giants being less than keen to feed Barkley stats in a lost year.
The same could be said about Josh Jacobs with the Las Vegas Raiders, but the team identity is a little less tied to the back. Though Jacobs has been a disappointment thus far, he has also been hampered by bad QB play.
The difference here is that with Jimmy Garoppolo getting healthier, it’s possible the Raiders offense can get back on track. For the Giants? That’s a much larger question.
Also check out our Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Half-PPR by Position | Flex Rankings | Positional Ranks w/ K & DST | Dynasty | Superflex Dynasty