With the announcement earlier Wednesday morning that Braylon Edwards had been traded to the New York Jets, we figured we'd fire up a mini-version of the value machine. We'll take a look at the shift in value for all fantasy relevant players on both the Jets and Braylon's former team, the Cleveland Browns, who is effected. Braylon Edwards
- Tough choice here (please note sarcasm). It wasn't possible for his value to fall any further. I do think this trade really helps him, due to his attitude. He's a selfish player who wants to be in the spotlight and there's no bigger spotlight than New York. I believe he falls in line due to the fact that he's out of Cleveland, in New York and playing for a winning team. We'll place him in WR3 territory for now, with the chance to move up to WR2 by season's end.Mark Sanchez
- Assuming Edwards gets himself acclimated into the offense soon, this is great news for Sanchez. He's now in a situation where he's playing with a great defense, solid running game, has a studly tight end over the middle, and two really good outside receivers. As we witnessed last week in New Orleans, he's going to go through some growing pains this year, but Sanchez is definitely worth being owned in fantasy. When he has an easy matchup, the Raiders (Week 7) and the Bucs (Week 14) qualify as two good examples, he's definitely going to be worth a look in larger leagues. For now, he's a low-end QB2, but keep your eye on his growth. The next four weeks serve as a great time to grow and develop a rapport with his new weapon. Jerricho Cotchery
- For the next few weeks, Cotchery's value isn't affected at all. Eventually, though, Edwards will eat into Cotchery's targets and take away yardage. It's true Cotchery won't have as much attention on him with Edwards around, but it's not like Cotchery has been fighting double-teams all season. Dustin Keller
- On the other hand, more attention on the outside frees up Keller over the middle. He'll see a slight uptick once Edwards is ready. Thomas Jones, Leon Washington, Shonn Greene
- Again, this is eventual -- but once Edwards is in the mix for the Jets, opposing defenses won't be able to stack the box at all, due to the three receiving threats. Thus, there will be bigger running lanes. Derek Anderson
- Anderson spread the ball around last week, and never connected with Edwards. Still, Edwards' presence on the field draws attention away from other members of the offense. Plus, Braylon was busy being blanketed much of the day the Bengals' burgeoning star cornerbacks. Things will be much more difficult for Anderson without Edwards. Chansi Stuckey
- I actually think the Browns need him more. It will take some time to adjust, and he should only be targeted in the biggest of leagues, but he'll eventually adapt nicely. Mike Furrey
- This is short-term only, until Stuckey gets up to speed. Furrey will immediately become the Browns main possession receiver. In deep PPR leagues, he can be a bye-week fill-in for the next few weeks. After that, though, he's not worth owning. Mohamed Massaquoi
- His value won't be any higher at any point this season than today. He's coming off what's going to be the best performance of the season, and now owners needing receiver help for bye weeks may be pining for Massaquoi, thinking he'll get even more looks. Instead, he's getting the most attention from the opposition. Getting the best opposing corner as opposed to the second-best or a nickel back is quite a difference. We'll see that difference moving forward. Jerome Harrison
- This is only a slight drop, as we still like Harrison as the main back in Cleveland. Still, Edwards drew a lot of the opposition's attention, and that only helps running backs, especially receiving back like Harrison (he leads the Browns with 14 catches). Without No. 17 standing outside, more eyes will be fixated on Harrison.
