The Dynasty Trading Post: Anthony Richardson, Travis Kelce

Photo: Dale Zanine, USA Today Sports

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Welcome to the dynasty trading post, where optimizing strategy, roster construction, format, and player value oscillations are examined weekly in example and completed dynasty trades.

This week, we will analyze Anthony Richardson with his career start plus recent injury, and Travis Kelce as the pinnacle of the tight end position.

*All trades are Superflex unless stated otherwise*

QB Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

Theme of the Week: Liquidity

Five weeks into his rookie season, Anthony Richardson is already drawing ire around the dynasty community with multiple injuries and is now being shelved for a stint. The injuries are not connected or fitting in the "injury prone" bucket, however, and one of my favorite phrases is, "Everyone is injury prone; they are playing football." The pro-Richardson argument is an easy one. Richardson has essentially played 10 quarters of football this year with two full games and two games of approximately one quarter each. He has scored 80 fantasy points over those 10 quarters to average eight points per quarter. If he had played 20 quarters (a full five games), that prorates to 160 points, which is 15 points more than Josh Allen, the current QB1 as a point of comparison. This is not to say Richardson should be valued as the QB1 in Dynasty (or redraft) or that he would be on his current pace if playing double the snaps, but to show the upside of what he has done. Even if scoring 125 points, that would be equal to Patrick Mahomes II at QB7. It is doubtful there are substantial discounts coming in the market if looking to buy Richardson at this "damaged asset" flexion point, but the main takeaway is to hold firm through low offers entering your inbox. The market has Richardson in the QB6-10 range.

Here are a few key Richardson trades with him as both a buy and sell recommendation:

• Richardson, 2024 1st for Justin Herbert
• Richardson, Jordan Addison for Justin Fields, Keenan Allen
• Richardson for Jordan Addison, 2024 1st, 2024 2nd

The first deal is a warranted trade to a more secure asset. Herbert has a quality sample size as one of the elite passers in the NFL and has a more stable value than Richardson. The future 1st is warranted to upgrade, especially if a contending team. The other two deals are cautionary tales. First, essentially flipping Richardson for Justin Fields is ripe with risk. Fields is on a team going nowhere and possessing one, if not two, high picks in next year's draft. Chicago already passed on a quarterback in 2022. Would they do it again if Fields led them to one of the worst records in the league for a second straight season? The final trade from this week is a rare deal, giving up a notable quarterback in Superflex without receiving one in return. These are tough to execute as one would need at least three solid quarterbacks to feel comfortable giving one up; plus, merely flipping Richardson for the shot to draft one early in the 2024 rookie draft is ripe with risk. Even if an early pick, what if a notable quarterback (or two) does not declare, gets hurt, or the class is not as stacked as currently projected? Food for thought.