The St. Louis Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are throwing around what could go down in history as the dumbest trade in NFL history according to the St. Petersburg Times.
It is being reported that both the Bucs and the Rams are exploring a mind boggling deal that would send QB Josh Johnson, the No.3 overall pick and a third overall pick to the Rams in return for the number one overall selection.
It is then speculated that the Bucs would draft highly touted Ndamukong Suh, and the Rams would continue to strive for anything but excellence.
OK, let’s draft an insanely talented defensive tackle and forget about upgrading the mediocre offensive weapons. Forget about the lack of depth in the receiver corp.—and lack of talent—forget about an aging ground game that was sub-par even as a committee, and while we’re at it let’s pay no attention to the quarterback problem going on that still has yet to be resolved.
After all, a defensive tackle will solve all of that for Tampa Bay, right?
But wait, about St. Louis’ willingness to even entertain such a dubious offer? What about the team that was dead set on taking Suh no less than a fort night ago?
The Rams think that Josh Johnson has Michael Vick like qualities in his athleticism. Well that’s great, if I can run a 4.0 in the 50 can I be the next starting wide out at 5’6”?
Johnson has some raw talent to make it in the NFL, but he was nearly incapable of playing comfortably out of the pocket last year, took all his quality snaps out of the gun, and has a lot of work to do before he should be compared to Mike Vick.
In addition, Johnson going from Tampa to St. Louis would be a downgrade in protection, so how is it this kid would ever get a shot to learn a totally new system, let alone better himself as a pro QB?
One can make an argument that the deal makes some sense for the Bucs, but that’s if the Bucs have a backup plan already installed for the quarterback dilemma that would rear its ugly head after the proposed exodus of Johnson.
One could also make an argument that the Rams would make out better, with two quality picks and another 50/50 QB to add to the mix, but that would be a curious argument at best.
In reality, the best argument is the more obvious ones: some deals are better left on the table.
The Fantasy Take:
The problem with all of this is simple: The Bucs and the Rams come basically limping to the barn in respect to their crop of receivers, and if it wasn’t for the Rams having Steven Jackson, neither team would have much to offer in the way of offensive fantasy players outside the normal bottom dwelling scrubs that occupy the waiver wire.
Josh Johnson showed flashes of brilliance last year—most memorable was his comeback against the heavily vaunted Packers defense for the win—but without quality reliable hands down the stretch, the kid will always be known as the little quarterback that could.
Moving forward, unless you are in an IDP league, there is little to get excited over when we think of the Bucs, the Rams, or even this trade.
Ndamukong Suh, the ironic piece to this puzzle, will be a immediate impact player in 2010 fantasy football no matter where he goes.
