The Window to Trade Steve Smith Is Closing Pretty Fast

With most fantasy trade deadlines fast approaching you've got some tough decisions to make. Do you stand pat or do you let that deal go down? Let me be your voice of reason.

Remember a few weeks back when Steve Smith "North" was all the buzz? At the time, the joke was on Steve Smith "South" owners. The Steve Smith on the Giants went from waiver wire sensation to a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver option.

Well, that knock on the door you hear is reality ready to slap you in the face. The Steve Smith on the Giants is most certainly not an elite fantasy receiver. Sorry to break the news, but somebody had to do it.

Sure, he's a nice player, I'll give you that, but he ain't the every-week stud you fell for after he torched the Chiefs for 134 yards and a pair of TDs. That's not happening every single week and could quite possibly rarely happen, if it happens at all again this season.

You're upset because you just traded for Smith? My friend, my friend ... you've been had. The advice here is to trade Smith away right now, or, better yet, last week. Dig deep to get any last ounce of redeeming value you can find. Just hope the owner you're shopping him to still believes he's a No. 1 option.

Before I go any further, you're probably begging for some kind of explanation. Let me start with some statistics for you. Over the last three games, Smith has been in what some would call a mini-slump. He's nabbed a total of 11 passes for an average of 61 yards per game with no touchdowns. That's not all that bad and probably on par with any other elite fantasy receiver who hits a rough stretch.

However, what's missing in the equation is the targets. Smith has gone from the apple of Eli Manning's eye to just another option. Let's take the return of Hakeem Nicks into consideration as well. Over the course of the past three games Nicks has hauled in 13 grabs, 243 yards and 3 TDs. Mario Manningham has seen a steady increase of the looks as well and has pulled in 10 grabs, 123 yards and a pair of TDs over his last three games.

Again, a three-game sample size is quite a stretch to make such a jump-off-the-bandwagon appeal. However, Nicks is clearly the most gifted of this bunch and, now that he's healthy, he will certainly see more reps. Although he can beat coverage, Manningham isn't a great receiver, but nonetheless he garners a lot of looks in this offense. Smith has shown to be a great possession receiver, but that's not always a recipe for fantasy success.

It worked early in the season and Smith got the hot hand. Now, somebody else in the receiving core has the hot hand. And Eli Manning is not going to force-feed the ball to anyone just to make you or my fantasy team look good. It's a share-the-ball-and-spread-it-around kind of an offense. Against the Cardinals, Smith didn't catch his first pass until late in the second half. Raise your hand if you're a Smith owner that was a nervous situation.

I'm hardly saying Smith is a "cut the bait" kinda guy. What I am saying is the window is closing fast on his value as an elite fantasy option. Moving forward I see him producing steady, but not spectacular games. Think of him as a WR2/WR3 if you will. Sorry, I'm only warning you. If you wanna get something of value, make the move today and thank me later. His value is only gonna go down.

And here you thought I was talking about the "other" Steve Smith.