Dynasty Trades That Explain Week 3 of Training Camp

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Too often, dynasty GMs take wide receivers in rookie drafts or startup drafts where they are suboptimal picks. Selecting a lot of wide receivers to establish depth can be a bad strategy, where the wide receivers are unproven because there is a low success rate. A better strategy is to play with a narrower set of wide receivers and trade from depth to fix wide receivers. August is a great time to make these trades from depth at other positions, with the benefit of training camp news, to fix the wide receiver position.

Wide Receiver Fixes

Selecting good players and working out the fit later is a better play. Fixing wide receiver is best able to be done from depth.

Some recent trades are instructive.

• Elijah Mitchell, Chase Claypool, and Kadarius Toney for Cooper Kupp

This is a great example of spending depth to fix an issue at wide receiver. Mitchell, Claypool, and Toney are good depth options. Each week, they may fill one or two starting lineup spots. Yet, Kupp is an elite player. Assuming health, if Toney or Claypool does not play to a top 15 WR level, the Kupp side is an easy winner. The running back position that Mitchell fills or the flex positions that Claypool or Toney might fill can be streamed in-season, while there is no streaming that will recreate Kupp.

• Cam Akers, Brandon Aiyuk, and 2023 2nd for Melvin Gordon and Cooper Kupp

Another Kupp trade that shores up the high end of the wide receiver core. Akers and Aiyuk is a higher price to pay than the previous trade, but the combo does not possess the ceiling that Kupp does. Akers is nursing a soft tissue injury in training camp, one year after his torn Achilles. Akers could be a strong producer in 2022 or could plummet in dynasty valuation quickly with a disappointing season. Aiyuk is also a nice player but has a questionable ceiling. The add-on of Melvin Gordon is a great bench asset.

• James Conner for 2024 2nd and Brandin Cooks

This is a great two-way go. Cooks can fill a lineup need, while the pick can be a flexible asset to address any issues your team needs in the season. One thing to keep in mind for this type of trade is Cooks needs to be a lineup player for your team for this to make sense. If you trade Conner for a player you will not put in your lineup, you are reducing your team’s upside. If you are going to deal from depth to address wide receiver, make sure you are using the wide receiver production.

• Skyy Moore and Marquise Brown for Stefon Diggs

Another depth for star trade. When making a wide receiver trade, either move up and make a difference or arbitrage downwards by collecting more assets. The Conner for Cooks trade represents the latter. This is a classic example of the former.