Let me say at the outset that, as a Mahomes owner, I have no intention of trading him. But I was listening to the Harris Football podcast the other day, and his logic is that the position is so deep that you could get most of Mahomes' production from another QB, so why not use him to upgrade at a more scarce position? I don't think that's wrong in theory, but if I actually apply it to my situation, it doesn't really seem to make sense. So I started thinking about why that is, and what it says about fantasy value in general.
OK, first of all, there are the psychological factors, which should not be paramount, but I'd be lying if I said they didn't play a role. One, Mahomes is really fun to have on your team -- watching him take me from way behind to way ahead during that Pats SNF game last week was a joy, and isn't that ultimately why we play fantasy? Two, there's also loss aversion, which I recognize is not necessarily rational, but c'mon! Can you imagine trading this guy away and then having to face him in the championship?
But let's take emotion out of it for a second: Is there a haul you could get that would make the trade worth it? And is a trade like that remotely realistic?
In my case, I can't really think of one that would make sense, but that's mostly because my team is a freaking 7-0 juggernaut, with no obvious weaknesses (Barkley/Michel/Lindsay and Hill/Sanders/Boyd).** Although this actually has me thinking back to last year, when I had a similar situation with Wentz. In that case, my RBs were pretty bad -- I was trotting out Collins, DeMarco and Jamal Williams -- so even before he shredded his knee, it probably would have been smart to trade Wentz for a more reliable RB. I guess that's the situation where it makes the most sense: using a stud QB to address an obvious weakness.
Then the question becomes what you could actually get for him. No one's giving up a top RB for him. So maybe a tier down, like Mixon, CMC or (a healthy) Michel? What about a WR1, particularly one whose value might be a little depressed right now, like Julio? Or maybe a lower-end WR1 like Juju or Cooks?
I dunno. I can't imagine being genuinely happy with a trade unless I got a high-floor stud, and I think the odds of someone giving up a cornerstone of their team for Mahomes are pretty slim.
Has anyone seen actual Mahomes trades in their redraft leagues? What is he going for?
** If you're thinking that I only threw that in there to brag, all I can say to you is
OK, first of all, there are the psychological factors, which should not be paramount, but I'd be lying if I said they didn't play a role. One, Mahomes is really fun to have on your team -- watching him take me from way behind to way ahead during that Pats SNF game last week was a joy, and isn't that ultimately why we play fantasy? Two, there's also loss aversion, which I recognize is not necessarily rational, but c'mon! Can you imagine trading this guy away and then having to face him in the championship?
But let's take emotion out of it for a second: Is there a haul you could get that would make the trade worth it? And is a trade like that remotely realistic?
In my case, I can't really think of one that would make sense, but that's mostly because my team is a freaking 7-0 juggernaut, with no obvious weaknesses (Barkley/Michel/Lindsay and Hill/Sanders/Boyd).** Although this actually has me thinking back to last year, when I had a similar situation with Wentz. In that case, my RBs were pretty bad -- I was trotting out Collins, DeMarco and Jamal Williams -- so even before he shredded his knee, it probably would have been smart to trade Wentz for a more reliable RB. I guess that's the situation where it makes the most sense: using a stud QB to address an obvious weakness.
Then the question becomes what you could actually get for him. No one's giving up a top RB for him. So maybe a tier down, like Mixon, CMC or (a healthy) Michel? What about a WR1, particularly one whose value might be a little depressed right now, like Julio? Or maybe a lower-end WR1 like Juju or Cooks?
I dunno. I can't imagine being genuinely happy with a trade unless I got a high-floor stud, and I think the odds of someone giving up a cornerstone of their team for Mahomes are pretty slim.
Has anyone seen actual Mahomes trades in their redraft leagues? What is he going for?
** If you're thinking that I only threw that in there to brag, all I can say to you is