A.J. Brown, Marquise Brown Trades Have Major Impact on Fantasy Football

The Eagles and Cardinals may have stolen the spotlight during the NFL draft after trading for the Titans and Ravens wide receivers.

Fantasy Football Impact: Eagles Trade for A.J. Brown

It was a wild first-round of the 2022 NFL Draft, as teams made trades fast and furious. Two of the moves involved a pair of valuable fantasy wide receivers, A.J. Brown and Marquise Brown. A.J. Brown was dealt to the Eagles in exchange for the No. 18 overall pick (which became Arkansas wideout Treylon Burks) and a third-round choice.

The move seems like a lateral one from a fantasy perspective for the former Titans pass-catcher, as he’ll go from one run-heavy offense in Tennessee to another in Philadelphia. The move certainly hurts the ceiling of DeVonta Smith, however. Brown should emerge as the top wideout in the passing game for quarterback Jalen Hurts, so I wouldn’t expect Smith to see a major move upward in his 6.1 targets-per-game average during his rookie campaign. He’s now a less appealing No. 3 fantasy wideout. The move, of course, also makes Jalen Hurts a lot more attractive. The No. 9 quarterback in fantasy a season ago, Hurts will be a top-10 option once again.

Breaking: The Titans are trading AJ Brown to the Eagles for the 18th and 101st picks, per @AlbertBreer 🤯 pic.twitter.com/IecABVGUR3

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 29, 2022

The loss of Brown in Tennessee leaves Burks as the potential best option in the passing game. A big, physical wideout in the mold of his predecessor, the Arkansas product will be one of the more attractive rookie wideouts in seasonal and dynasty leagues. Robert Woods, coming off a torn ACL, also sees a slight bump in value depending on his health.

The stock of Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill takes an obvious hit. He’ll be an uninspiring No. 2 in the late rounds who won’t have much of a statistical ceiling.

Fantasy Impact: Cardinals Trade for 'Hollywood' Brown

In the other first-round draft trade, Marquise Brown was traded to the Cardinals in exchange for the No. 23 overall selection (traded to the Bills) and a third-round selection. The deal reunites him with his former college quarterback, Kyler Murray, but it’s not a positive one from a fantasy standpoint. He’ll go from being the top option in the passing game for the Ravens to second behind DeAndre Hopkins once he returns from a six-game suspension. In the interim, Brown could bring No. 2 wideout value.

Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

Once Hopkins returns, I see Hollywood as a far less exciting No. 3 fantasy wideout who might be better served for those managers in best-ball formats for 2022.

Brown's presence in the passing attack hurts the stock of A.J. Green in seasonal drafts and makes Rondale Moore a less attractive option until Hopkins is able to return. I do like the move for quarterback Kyler Murray long term, though, as he gets a familiar field-stretching playmaker to pair with Hopkins for the second half of the season. 

In Baltimore, Lamar Jackson sees his value take a slight hit without his top wideout. However, the seasonal and dynasty stock of Rashod Bateman is on the rise. Unless the Ravens make another move and acquire a veteran wideout (Deebo Samuel?), Bateman will be one of the top two options in the Ravens pass attack alongside Mark Andrews.

The deal also means Tylan Wallace and Devin Duvernay will compete for more targets, but Baltimore could grab another wideout or two in the final few rounds of the draft.

Stay tuned, folks…

---

Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for your late breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business!