The regular season is in full swing, so the Fantasy Doctor will be making house calls regularly, answering readers' fantasy questions Wednesday, Friday and Saturday each week. Send your questions to the Doc at fantasydoctor@pfwmedia.com.
I have been offered Jason Witten and Bernard Berrian in exchange for Santana Moss and Terrell Owens. I have Zach Miller as my other TE and Vincent Jackson, Marques Colston and Josh Morgan as my other WRs, of which I start three. Thanks.
— Dan, N.Y.
Well, Dan, I don't see much reason at all why you shouldn't pull the trigger on this trade right now.
All I need to look at are the numbers of the guys you'd be giving up in order to be convinced that this is a good deal for you. Owens, for one, has been one of the biggest fantasy busts of the season, averaging just 35 yards and catching one TD pass all season. He could improve in the second half, but it's clear that his days as an impact player are over. And it hasn't been much better with Moss, who ha had one big performance (Week Three at Detroit) and has done very little otherwise. The Redskins' offense is such a mess that it's hard to see him turning things around.
Meanwhile, you'd be getting one of the game's top tight ends in Witten and a very serviceable No. 3 WR in Berrian. I know Witten has been a fantasy disappointment thus far, but it wouldn't shock me if he came through with a very solid second half in 2009, as QB Tony Romo still loves throwing to him. With Berrian, it has been a matter of health; when he hasn't been injured, he has played well. Assuming he's healthy coming off the bye, he should be in line for a productive final two months. I say make this deal before it's too late.
I'm in a 12-team league with standard scoring. We start two RBs and three WRs. I have Ray Rice, Ryan Grant and Fred Jackson as my top three RBs. My WRs are Randy Moss, Greg Jennings, Chad Ochocinco, Hakeem Nicks, Antonio Bryant and Malcom Floyd. My question is: Would you deal Nicks straight up for Willis McGahee in order to back up Rice? Thanks.
— Rob
This is an interesting proposition, Rob. While it's always nice to have your top RBs handcuffed, I don't know if I'd want to part with a promising young talent like Nicks for McGahee.
Since starting off the season with six TDs in his first three games, McGahee has been virtually non-existent. In his past four games, he has rushed for exactly zero yards and zero scores on 10 carries. I know that he would have some value if Rice were to get hurt, but how effective would you expect him to be based on those recent results? Looking at the fairly tough schedule Baltimore has left, I wouldn't expect much out of McGahee even if he were starting, as Le'Ron McClain would certainly factor into the mix.
On the other hand, Nicks has shown signs that he could make a nice fantasy impact down the stretch. The rookie has four TDs in his last six games, and it's possibly that he could unseat Mario Manningham in the starting lineup before long. He's a perfect player to have on reserve in case any of your starters go down, so I'd hold on to Nicks for the remainder of the season.