[12
team league, 25 man rosters, 5 taxi spots, start 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1TE,
2Flex, 1DST, 1K]

These
two teams made the decision to trade a big piece ahead of the season,
conceding they weren’t championship contenders, but have found
themselves in playoff contention. Both teams were in post season last
year, but even with trading star players now find themselves deciding
which way to go for the rest of 2020.

Sidearm
has finished 2^nd and 4^th in the previous two
years and a big part of that was the stack between Patrick Mahommes
and Travis Kelce. However, his running back position took a big hit
and he decided to load up on assets and come back in 2021 by trading
Kelece. Two 1^st round picks and Blake Jarwin is a solid
haul. The reason the trade hasn’t hurt him as much is because of the
emergence of Mike Gesicki and the long awaited revival of Mo
Alie-Cox.

Sidearm
has done a solid job building his team through the draft with
Mahommes, Devin Singletary, Antonio Gibson, Terry McLaurin, Gesicki,
Christin Kirk, Phillip Lindsay, Josh Reynolds, Hunter Renfrow and
Henry Ruggs. This his how the team went from picking in the top five
to a top playoff team in just a few seasons. However, the running
back position was why he leaned in to a retooling in 2020.

Marlon
Mack and Lindsay were a big part of his run to runner up two seasons
ago, but both got company in the backfield this past offseason.
That’s the case for Singletary though Zack Moss’ injury has allowed
him to flourish early. Gibson was a good pick and those two have
provided enough production to get him to 3-2 with a manageable game
this week. I still have my questions about those two being lead backs
for a championship team.

The
trade of Kelce gives Sidearm two 1^st in 2020 and 2021. He
also traded Josh Allen for Drew Lock and a 2^nd and 3^rd
which gives him two 2^nd round picks in 2020, a 2^nd
and two 3^rd round picks for 2021. He is absolutely loaded
in draft capital with T.Y. Hilton and Emmanuel Sanders on his bench
that could be moved for a few more mid round picks.

The
question is how do you go the rest of the way for this season?
Sidearm could move Hilton and Sanders to add even more draft pick
capital or could deal from his stash of picks to push his team in to
contention. Saquon Barkley, Leonard Founette, Kenyan Drake, James
Connor and Raheem Mostert have already been traded, leaving the RB
market a bit thin but the assets are there to entice a team to part
with a top RB.

A
lot of the core is in place and good ages so you could go either way.
It is supposed to be a loaded rookie draft which makes it all the
more tempting to get to the draft and see what you can add to a solid
team, but will you find a superstar? If someone like Christian
McCaffrey is available then you have to be tempted to make a deal,
especially with his draft pick and WR depth, but do you want to be
that aggressive?

I
think you go for it. Finding a superstar is easier said than done and
with four draft picks in the top two rounds for this draft and three
for the next one there’s plenty of capital to make a move and not
leave the cupboard bare. Plus, you can’t count future championships
without winning one first. The team has produced so go for it and
still have an incredibly young team. However, if the price is too
steep then you have to move Hilton and Sanders. Load up on picks and
put together one of the youngest teams in the league that can really
grow in to a title contender.

Nati’s
reason for trading was a little different. Despite being a playoff
team he was realistic about his team. The TE duo of Darren Waller and
Austin Hooper was a big factor in his success, but his best WR was
Jamison Crowder. Nati got an offer for Barkley he flet like he
couldn’t turn down and decided to retool his team knowing he couldn’t
get it with his WR. The trades was a 2020 1^st and 2021 1^st
round pick, Preston Williams and Calvin Ridley.

Now,
I’m still not sure it was the right trade to make but it does look
like a short term win with Barkley hurt for the season and Ridley
becoming a superstar. However, there are some other trades to go
over. A trade last year for A.J. Green cost him his 2^nd
and 3^rd round pick this past draft and he felt the need to
get a QB so he went with Joe Burrow instead of a WR. Nati has also
traded the 1^st he got for a 2^nd next year, John
Brown and a few other depth WR.

Nati
started off solid because David Montgomery was producing and Ridley
was a  big boost to the weak WR position but has fallen off and could
be 2-4 after this week. With Hooper falling off and Barkley gone this
roster is showing what it really is. Montgomery and Dalvin Cook are
the top running backs but after that isn’t really much. Besides
Waller and Hooper there isn’t much at TE either.

The
WR position has been remade with Ridley, Crowder, Brown, Williams and
Green, but it still needs help. Chris Hogan, Randall Cobb and Kenny
Stills are really the only vet WR worth mentioning. Nati’s team has
shown it still is very much a work in progress, though early on it
was in line with Sidearm to consider using the draft capital to push
towards more contention.

With
the trades Nati only has his 1^st round pick and 2^nd
rounders in 2020, but two 1^st and 2^nd round
picks for 2021 so this is a retooling team with not much draft
capital this season to add, so he needs to lean in to the retooling.
Crowder, Green (if he can produce), Matt Ryan, possibly Brown and any
other vets should be on the market to try and get some more draft
capital for a loaded rookie class.

Nati
could also hit the nuclear rebuild after trading Barkley already and
go after a haul for Cook. While there’s no argument for trying to
build around him, Cook could bring back a haul of players to build
around along with picks and would be a full rebuild to reset the
clock. This is where the questions are raised over trading Barkley.
It upgraded the WR position but also revealed more of the weaknesses
of this team, and with the lacking of capital this year would make it
tough to replace Barkley for 2021. Though Nati absolutely has to get
at least a RB in a Cook trade because that’s where the Barkley trade
really hurt him.

Sidearm
is really in the position to go all in or wait and see with his
roster and draft capital where Nati needs to rebuild at least
partially, but both have vets they definitely need to move in the
least. Theoretically, both could look up for a Dalvin Cook trade and
it would work out for both.