“We can exist on a different plane, we can make our own rules.” – Bodhi
Those who play in 2-QB fantasy football leagues are already playing by their own rules by forgoing competing in the more traditional fantasy football format where you start only one quarterback.
There’s a lot that can be learned from the Tao of Patrick Swayze and his film canon. Last year we used the cinematic masterpiece Road House to navigate our way through trading in 2-QB leagues.
This year we’ll ride the waves of Point Break to help us with trades in the world of 2-QB fantasy football leagues.
“Wars of religion always make me laugh because basically you’re fighting over who has the best imaginary friend.” – Johnny Utah
Before we get started a friendly reminder that in the end this is just a game. It says so in what we call it: fantasy (or fake) football. Sometimes this fake game can take a hold of us and make us act in ways that make us come off like jerks. Whether a fellow owner lowballs you in an offer or rescinds a trade after a friendly agreement was made, try not to let it bother you too much.
Enjoy your imaginary friend in the most positive way you can.
“Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true.” – Bodhi
Don’t be afraid to “lose a trade.” Many times you’re asked to judge a fantasy football trade by deeming a winner and a loser. “I just traded Jimmy Graham for Drew Brees. Did I win?” There doesn’t always have to be a winner. The best trades are ones that benefit both owners. Going in with a mentality of having to win a trade or rip off an owner is a sure bet of a trade being rejected.
Sure, making a trade offer of Ryan Mallett for Jeremy Hill and Jerick McKinnon will make your team better, but how will it benefit the other team? You need to ask that question first before hitting the send offer button.
If you’re desperate for QB2 help and have an overwhelming amount of good players at a different position don’t be afraid to overpay for a quarterback. You rostering four wide receivers with only three starting spots isn’t going to doing you any good when you have to bench one. Trade that depth for a quarterback, even if that quarterback isn’t close to as valuable as the wide receiver you’re trading away. Use that surplus and don’t be afraid to lose the trade if it makes your team better in the long run.
If owners were afraid of trading then there would be no option to trade in the first place.
“If you want the ultimate, you’ve got to be willing to pay the ultimate price. It’s not tragic to die doing what you love.” – Bodhi
If you want Andrew Luck to be your QB1, you better be willing to pay ultimate price for the current highest scoring quarterback in fantasy football. And in 2-QB leagues, you’ll come to find the price to acquire a Luck or Aaron Rodgers comes with a price tag you can’t always meet so try to keep your expectations in check.
When determining if trading for one of the top players is worth it you have to evaluate your roster and chances of winning.
Is losing RB1 and TE1 type of players worth it for a QB1? Does the trade help you achieve your ultimate goal of winning a fake football championship? You don’t want to trade just so you can own the shiniest toy in your 2-QB league. Your trade has to make your team better so you have a greater shot at winning.
Sending Andre Ellington and Jimmy Graham for Andrew Luck might get the other owner to bite, but if it means starting Jeremy Hill and Charles Clay it might not be worth it. Of course, you know your team better than anyone else, so always keep that in mind when trading.
“Little hand says it’s time to rock and roll.” – Bodhi
Go big or go home.
If there’s one move you think will put you over the top you have to at least give it a shot. Don’t be afraid to have a trade offer be rejected. There’s a good shot that your first offer will be rejected anyway, but if it’s close enough you should receive a counter-offer that will allow trade talks to continue.
Trade negotiations can be very delicate, but if you’re persistent enough and considerate (meaning you’re not sending only lowball offers) eventually an agreement can be made that’s beneficial to both parties.
“You know nothing. In fact, you know less than nothing. If you knew that you knew nothing, then that would be something, but you don’t.” – Ben Harp
The truth is, we don’t know anything.
Even if a trade seems too good to be true or looks really bad and worth vetoing anything can happen. The stud quarterback you traded for could go on a cold streak immediately upon inserting him into your starting lineup. The throw-in running back you added to make the trade seem fair could be the best player in the deal when the season is over with.
If you think a trade is over as soon as it’s been accepted, it hasn’t. There’s a whole season to play out. So don’t panic if your newly acquired trade assets starts out slow once you traded for him, and don’t gloat if the player you traded away becomes nothing more than bench fodder.
Before you start proposing, accepting, or rejecting offers in your 2-QB leagues take a look at some rest of season quarterback rankings I put together. As always, the strength of schedule chart accompanying the rankings are courtesy of our good friend Patrick Thorman of Pro Football Focus Fantasy.
Here’s a quick reminder on what the color coding means:
Red – Must Avoids
Orange – Avoidance Advisable
Yellow – Proceed with Caution
White – Neutral
Light/Neon Green – Favorable Foes
Dark Green – Surefire Shootouts
“I went to law school – I got a football scholarship!” – Johnny Utah
Good luck the rest of the season earning your fantasy football degree this year. Vaya con Dios, Brah! #Championship
