Zay Flowers for Drake London was one of the most debated dynasty trades on social media last year.
Welcome to Week 10 of the 2024 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- The Cowboys Without Prescott
- Midseason Grab Bag
- Would You Rather, Dynasty Edition (see below)
- Dump, Bench, and Start
Let's roll.
Would You Rather, the Dynasty Edition
Matt Waldman: In dynasty leagues, who would you rather have in each of these scenarios?
- Marvin Harrison Jr., Jr. or Rome Odunze
- Zay Flowers or Drake London
- James Cook or Ken Walker III
- Trey McBride or Cade Otton
Share your preference for each, and if you were to use one of these players to trade for the other, what else would be required to complete that deal?
For example, I'd give up Harrison for Odunze and a second-round pick in a dynasty league as of today. Go...
Andy Hicks: Marvin Harrison Jr. over Rome Odunze for me. If I had Odunze, I would try a straight swap for Harrison in a dynasty league. The Harrison manager would want more, but I would be content that Odunze can be just as good or better than Harrison. Odunze has the better passer. That wins any close call. If I had Harrison I wouldn’t trade unless the pot was sweetened significantly.
Zay Flowers is having a golden run of form. Four hundred-yard games in five, but give me Drake London. As usual, if it is close, go with the better passer. Kirk Cousins wins that battle. If I had Flowers and was trying to acquire London, now would be the time to strike. Again, a straight swap would be attempted, but I would be prepared to try a little bit harder to acquire London if Flowers was on my roster. Depending on my roster strengths and weaknesses, I would throw a second-round rookie pick in exchange for a third as part of the trade attempt.
I would take Ken Walker III 100 times out of 100 over James Cook. Cook is a back in a great location. He has a run-threat quarterback and a lack of depth on the receiver chart. Cook is very productive right now but undersized. If I were in a dynasty league, Cook would be almost a full year older than Walker too. Walker is an elite talent we haven’t seen elite numbers from. Three seasons of top-end RB2 numbers and a huge upside for the next few years means I would attempt to get a draft pick with the Walker manager if I had Cook on my roster.
Despite being a big fan of Cade Otton and having him consistently rated above my peers for a couple of seasons now, McBride is the better option for the long term. Otton is on a golden touchdown run in the absence of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. McBride gets more receptions and yards. The touchdowns hopefully follow. If I had Otton and were trying to attain McBride, I would move right now when Otton is at the peak of his value.
Jason Wood: While Harrison was the consensus higher-rated prospect, he and Odunze were regarded as generational talents alongside Malik Nabers. It’s too early to dismiss Harrison as a perennial All-Pro, but I haven’t liked what we’ve seen so far. Meanwhile, I can envision Odunze thriving with Caleb Williams for at least the next five seasons, if not longer. I agree with Matt’s assessment that you could likely acquire Odunze for less than Harrison, and since I have a slight preference for Odunze, I would happily offer Harrison to the Odunze manager and take whatever sweetener they’d be willing to add.
I agree with Andy: when receivers are closely matched, we should prioritize the better passer. However, I disagree with his take that Kirk Cousins is better than Lamar Jackson. Although Cousins has more passing volume, Jackson has been the NFL's top passer through the first half of the season.
Jackson currently leads the league in touchdown rate (7.8%), yards per attempt (9.3), adjusted yards per attempt (10.6), passer rating (120.7), and QBR (77.3), and he’s also nine years younger than Cousins. This makes Flowers the more appealing dynasty prospect to me; he has the better quarterback right now and a stronger chance for an elite partnership over the next five-plus years.
I’d trade Flowers for London straight up, but since London carries a higher consensus dynasty value, you could likely squeeze out an early second-round pick or an aging but effective veteran tailback like Najee Harris to balance the trade.
Walker-Cook is a close comparison, and preferences will vary. Running back is a volatile position in dynasty formats, so I wouldn’t give up too much to swap Cook for Walker. However, I would add a third-round rookie pick or a developmental receiver like Jalen Coker or Roman Wilson to sweeten the deal for Walker.
This comparison between Otton and McBride feels like a test of how much we overvalue recent hot streaks. Before this past month, almost no one (besides Mrs. Otton!) would have preferred Otton over McBride.
I still firmly prefer McBride and would aggressively try to acquire him if his manager overvalues Otton. In a fair deal, you’d likely need to add a first-round rookie pick or a proven starter like Terry McLaurin or Mike Evans to Otton to secure McBride. However, I wouldn’t make that trade at such a high cost; I’d only go for it if a second-round pick or a veteran running back ranked around 25th-30th could get it done.
Jeff Bell: I'll take Harrison ahead of Odunze and give up a mid-to-late first-round pick and Odunze to get Harrison. The value between London and Flowers is close enough that it's an even deal. I'd take London here.
If I could get Walker, I'd give up Cook and a third-round pick. I'd give up a second-round pick and Otton to get McBride.
Sam Wagman: I'd prefer Harrison to Odunze, but I'd take Odunze if I also got a second-round pick in exchange for Harrison.
I'd also take London ahead of Flowers. I have somewhat reversed my position on Flowers since last year's draft, but I still heavily lean to London's side. He is far and away in a more pass-happy offense that is finally getting strong attention.
He is essentially locked in as the WR1 option going forward. Trading London for Flowers would require the Flowers player to add a second, at least.
I prefer Walker to Cook. Both players are pretty equal, but Walker's running ability is superior. Trading Walker for Cook would require a second on top of Cook.
McBride over Otton and it's not close. Otton's role has been injury-dependent. It would require a high first-rounder on top of Otton to move McBride.
Justin Howe: Harrison and Odunze are on even footing right now, but Harrison’s draft pedigree commands roughly a third-round dynasty pick.
I prefer Flowers and his offense, which is both high-octane and hyper-efficient. I don’t dislike London’s situation, but they’ve already played the Buccaneers both times. Kirk Cousins has been good but not great for much of the rest of their games. Offer London for Flowers and ask for a “What if?” prospect like Jaylen Wright.
I prefer Cook to Walker. Cook earns more usage in the passing game by design and not just by necessity. I would propose Walker for Cook and ask for an immediate-impact Flex (Tee Higgins?) thrown in.
Waldman: Wow. Steep. Not sure you'll get takers, but you never know in dynasty leagues.
Howe: McBride is my choice ahead of Otton. He wins in draft pedigree, and his 24% target share looks more secure than Otton’s recent 25%, so I’d prefer that side by a hair. Otton’s current run feels unsustainable and can probably fetch a 2025 dynasty pick in return, too.
Gary Davenport: I’d take Harrison over Odunze fairly easily—I’m just a believer in Harrison’s immense talent and upside. Getting the former from me for the latter would take significant sweetening—another starter or relatively early draft pick.
Flowers and London are essentially a toss-up for me—but I lean toward London. The Ravens may be averaging more passing yards per game, but that’s still an offense with a foundation in the ground game. Still, this is six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Cook would be my pick over Walker on the ground—I just trust the Buffalo offense more in the long term. The gap isn’t especially wide, though, so a second-round rookie draft pick would be enough to get me to swap them.
McBride is the pick at tight end by a wide margin—he has top-five potential at the position long-term. Otton’s value lies as much in the circumstances in Tampa as in the player himself—unless I have another viable starter at tight end, I’m not swapping McBride for a player with an expiration date.
Waldman: I agree McBride is the better talent. I am wondering if Kyler Murray is consistently good enough to support both McBride and Harrison, so I wouldn't be surprised if, two years from now, we're regretting that choice.
Thanks again.
Check out the links below for all of this week's roundtable topics:
- The Cowboys Without Prescott
- Midseason Grab Bag
- Would You Rather, Dynasty Edition
- Dump, Bench, and Start
Good luck!