Welp, desperate times call for desperate measures – and the Washington Commanders were clearly desperate as they have acquired Carson Wentz from the Indianapolis Colts after they reportedly spent time calling every single team in the league to inquire about their quarterback.

The Trade

 

 

 

Receives:

  • 2022 Commanders 2nd round pick (pick 42)
  • 2022 Commanders 3rd round pick
  • 2023 Commanders 3rd round pick (becomes 2nd round pick if Wentz plays more than 70% of snaps

 

 

 

Receives:

  • 2022 Colts 2nd round pick (pick 47, so five spots back)
  • QB Carson Wentz

As always, let’s take a look at this deal and lay out who we think the winners and losers are for fantasy football purposes.

Winner: 

 

 

How often does a guy get traded from one team, perform poorly on the second team, and then get traded to a third team to be its starter all within two years? The fact that Carson Wentz is even set to be a starting quarterback after two separate organizations decided he wasn’t, is a win in itself.

 

Loser: 

 

 

Perhaps an upgrade from Taylor Heinicke, but the quarterback names that were bandied about before this were the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson.  In fact, the Denver Broncos did land Russell Wilson in a trade that the Commanders were hypothetically capable of making. THAT would have made Terry McLaurin a huge winner. The big arm of Carson Wentz could make McLaurin a more interesting best-ball pick, but he still needs to get the ball to McLaurin consistently against top cover guys – and accuracy has not been Wentz's strong suit.   

 

 

Winner: 

 

 

The one thing Carson Wentz did consistently well with the Eagles was deliver the ball to Zach Ertz. These were Ertz’s PPR finishes among tight ends with Carson Wentz at quarterback:

  • 2016: 6
  • 2017: 3
  • 2018: 2
  • 2019: 4
  • 2020: Injured

That’s pretty impressive – four straight years finishing between second and sixth. Ertz also consistently lined up in the slot, which is exactly how Ron Rivera deploys Logan Thomas. In fact, no tight end ran more routes from the slot (476) or in general (655) than Logan Thomas in 2020.  Not even the great Travis Kelce. The only question is whether Thomas can recover from his ACL injury in time.


Loser: 

 

 

The Colts essentially traded a first-round and third-round pick for Wentz.  Now, at most, they are moving up five spots in the second-round of this year's draft with a possible second and a third too.  The Eagles, meanwhile, have the No. 16 pick in the NFL Draft from the Colts. It’s a consolation that the Colts got something back after failing that trade but, given what first-round picks are worth, it was a net loss of value for them.  Plus, now they don’t have a quarterback. Even if the Colts may have “won” this last battle, the Eagles won the war.


Winner: 

 

 

Wentz is still technically an upgrade from Taylor Heinicke and whatever else they had, and a rising tide lifts all ships to a certain degree.  For a running back, that’s especially true, as we saw with Joe Mixon before and after Joe Burrow got to Cincinnati.  If the offense overall is better, that means more scoring opportunities for Antonio Gibson.

 

Loser: 

 

 

Perhaps Logan Thomas won’t be ready to go, in which case Curtis Samuel could collect a good chunk of that share of the work. However, Wentz isn’t likely going to support three fantasy-relevant targets – and perhaps not even two.  If Logan Thomas is Wentz’s new Zach Ertz and Terry McLaurin is Terry McLaurin, that leaves Samuel on the outs. 

 

Winner: 

 


Probably only in best-ball leagues, but it’s undeniable that Carson Wentz has a big arm. Dyami Brown is the field-stretcher in Washington with a team-leading average depth of target of 15.5 yards.  The two could connect on some big plays if Brown gets the playing time. Incredibly risky in leagues where you set a lineup but in the deep rounds of best ball leagues, all you really need is one big play.

 

 

 

 

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