On Wednesday morning, just eight days before the NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos have dumped another superstar that couldn't agree with coach Josh McDaniel.
Reports from a number of media outlets, including ESPN's Adam Schefter are that the Broncos will trade All Pro receiver Brandon Marshall to the Miami Dolphins for a pair of second round draft picks. Marshall, who had a number of issues with his new coach after the Broncos traded quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago.
This is the second superstar receiver to be dealt this week; the Pittsburgh Steelers dealt former Super Bowl hero Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a fifth round pick.
The fantasy impact of this move is enormous.
First, from the Denver perspective, it's going to get interesting. They traded for Brady Quinn... but then said Kyle Orton was still their top quarterback. They still hold the Bears' top pick in next week's draft, which now could be used on Oklahoma State wideout Dez Bryant. However, if the Broncos are looking for team-first guys that come without baggage Bryant's the last person on their draft board. He was suspended for the end of the 2009 season after having dinner with Deion Sanders (a no-no) and then lying to the NCAA about it.
So this move would figure to significantly diminish the fantasy value of whomever is playing quarterback in Denver.
Conversely, somewhere on South Beach Chad Henne is doing flips and buying Starbucks for strangers. This move gives him the legitimate outside threat that Ted Ginn, Jr had failed to be since the Dolphins wasted a high pick on him. Adding Marshall, however, could actually improve Ginn's fantasy value; he isn't a number one receiver, and now he won't have to play the position.
Miami is reportedly shopping running back Ronnie Brown before the draft, so how adding Marshall impacts the rest of the Miami offense should be marked TBD.
There is no question, though, that this move is a direct response to the prime time offseason the New York Jets have had already. The AFC East is turning into a bigger juggernaut than it already was, and the fantasy talent of the world appears to be collecting.
Finally, unless you own the Jets DEF (with perhaps the best secondary in the NFL), it's probably a good year to avoid the team defenses in the AFC East.
