Natty Bohs Fleeced by Gold Standard

Gold Standard GM Jonathan Wachter making a deal

An equal and successful trade should leave both sides feeling like they've won the deal. That being said, I have a hard time believing the Natty Bohs can feel confident in their most recent roster re-shuffling. Every owner is free to make whatever moves they wish, but I just find it puzzling to trade assets with value on the uptick for those who's value may have been inflated by their offensive system.

Ellington helps the Gold Standard backfield

The first move came on the day before NFL Free Agency began with Gold Standard GM Jonathan Wachter trading his 2013 Fantasy Super Bowl Champ QB Nick Foles to the Natty Bohs in exchange for RB Andre Ellington. Right off the bat, the trade looked one-sided as Ellington is at worst a low-end RB2 with tremendous flex potential any given week. Foles on the other hand, has failed to stay healthy and was unable to replicate the historic touchdown prowess last season at the helm of Chip Kelly's offense. With a roster of lottery tickets, Natty Bohs GM Mike Rhode obviously wanted to ensure one of the QBs on his roster delivered the goods and felt Ellington was equally a lottery ticket give his health and usage concerns.

Then, just one day after trade for Foles in fantasy, the former Philly quarterback packed his bags for St. Louis. This is a move you'd never expect to happen and can't really plan for, but in fantasy it's all about minimizing risk. So with that in mind, why make a big trade one day before free agency frenzy begins? One could argue that there was talks of Adrian Peterson landing in the desert (there's still a chance) making Ellington expendable, but as it stands today Wachter was able to improve his shaky backfield by dealing a shaky stock. But that's just the beginning... 

Again before the league year commenced, Rhode made another deal with Wachter to acquire the Peyton Manning-less and Jacksonville-bound Julius Thomas.

Can Julius thrive with the Jags?

This move makes more sense as it was a position of need for the Bohs, even if it means acquiring a player that will see a drop in production. However, Wachter gets back a tremendous asset in Allen Robinson and a second round pick in this year's talent loaded draft. We can sit and debate whether or not Robinson will live up to his hype and draft selection; but moving back fourteen spots this year means Rhode's pick now comes behind four of his other selections. Unless he maneuvers some more, he may not even use the pick.

The only win I can see for Rhode is the two picks in 2016 (A second and third round selection) but given the track record of Wachter's ball club, they are bound to be later in the rounds. I don't want to berate someone for trying to improve their squad, and I know I've pulled some questionable trades in the past, but in my opinion, on paper, Gold Standard wins this one easily.