In the previous installments of ‘Trading Places’ we’ve established how trading is a major part of building a fantasy football contender.
In 2-QB fantasy football leagues, many trades revolve around the quarterback position, because of the scarcity of the position in such a format, and how many points quarterbacks tend to score in 2-QB leagues.
All of the trades featured in ‘Trading Places’ up to this point have centered around the quarterback position, and the next trade about to be analyzed is no different.
Today’s trade, upon first glance, is a simple 1-for-1, where both teams benefited from a change of scenery: Andy Dalton for Eddie Lacy.
If you’ve been following the weekly 2-QB Waiver Wire Future Planning series on XN Sports, you’ll remember Mike Glennon being the poster child of the series during the early part of the season. The warning signs were in place, and Josh Freeman was in danger of losing his job.
Having a free roster spot on my bench, I decided to use it on Glennon, in the hopes of trading him down the line. Many 2-QB owners think like that, and quarterbacks are always looked at as valuable trading commodities in 2-QB leagues.
Once the Glennon-Freeman switch became official, I targeted the Freeman owner in our league.
Freeman was his QB2, with no other options, and I thought I might be able to get something of use for my 2-QB team. It didn’t work out that way at first, as the
Freeman owners really had no desire to acquire an unknown Glennon, which was fair.
Trade feelers were sent back and forth, as at the time, my quarterback depth chart consisted of Glennon, Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick and EJ Manuel. Glennon was the one I wanted to trade away, but he was getting the least trade buzz.
I had set my sights high on his LeSean McCoy, in an attempt to boost my running back depth, and the initial trade offer was Glennon and CJ Spiller for McCoy. My thinking was he would be desperate enough to part with McCoy, based on his need for a quarterback, and losing McCoy would be softened by the number of running backs on his team.
Of course, that particular trade didn’t go anywhere, but instead of giving up, we continued sporadic trade talks.
Eddie Lacy was sitting on his team’s bench, and he was a player I wanted to acquire, because the running backs on my team were battling injury issues or ineffectiveness. Darren Sproles, Spiller, and David Wilson were supposed to lead my team, but they weren’t producing at the level I expected/hoped.
At the same time, I was also souring on Andy Dalton, and remember, this was before Dalton’s three game hot streak burst from Weeks 6-8, where he threw for 11 touchdowns, and over 300+ yards each game.
With the depth at quarterback, and my need for a running back, and his depth and running back, and need for a quarterback, we complemented each other in trade talks, and I figured early in the season would be the best time to strike for Lacy, as he had just returned from his concussion and posted an appealing Week 5 stat line.
Sometimes the hardest trades to make are the easiest looking ones on paper.
In 2-QB leagues owners tend to get blindsided by the quarterback position, thinking they need to get a bounty for whatever quarterback they trade, solely because quarterbacks score the most fantasy points.
However, a quarterback on your bench, or one that can be replaced by a bench QB3 isn’t worth much, and you need to remember that in trade negotiations. Just because a quarterback might be worthless to you, they could be worth a lot to somebody else.
Once that realization comes into place, trade talks can really kick up a gear, and be beneficial to both parties.
In the end, a simple Lacy for Dalton trade was worked out between both teams, and for each team, it was a trade both teams won. He wound up with an every week QB2, and could ditch the likes of Chad Henne and Brandon Weeden from his team, while I was able to acquire an every week running back, who was beginning his ascent to fantasy stardom.
Did I think Dalton would go on his hot streak where he would score 25, 27, and 32 fantasy points, respectively in our league? Nope. I doubt the other owner could have predicted that would either.
Did I also think Lacy would begin his own hot streak where he would scored 13.5, 18.5, and 18 fantasy points, respectively, in those same three weeks? Not really, but I was banking on him rejuvenating the running back portion of my line-up, and he did exactly that.
For my side of the trade, it wasn’t a simple 1-1 trade though, as it was really more a 2-1 for trade, because I was able to introduce two new starters: Lacy and Glennon. With an opening at QB2, Glennon went from being my team’s QB3 to its QB2, and he has also been able to stabilize the QB2 position for my 2-QB team.
The main reason 2-QB owners draft a third or, even fourth, quarterback, is to cover bye weeks, and trade them. My thinking was exactly that when looking to trade Glennon away, but my flexibility at the position also allowed me to realize I could trade Dalton, and move Glennon into the starting line-up.
Quarterback depth in 2-QB leagues is a major asset, and if you’re able to play the game correctly, you can turn a QB3 into an RB2, WR3, or an every week flex player.
The goal is to make your team better, and by trading a player your team can live without for a player it can use every week, then you’ve won. Even if the actual trade itself isn’t viewed as a “winner” for you.
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