UPDATE: DeAndre Hopkins has been suspended for the first six games of the 2022 season.
DFS Army’s Gthom breaks down the Marquise Brown trade between the Ravens and Cardinals for fantasy football.
- Follow Gthom on the cesspool they call twitter, @GarettThomas.
- Join the DFS Army today for best in the industry projections, Best Ball Rankings, Lineup Optimizer, Fantasy Football Draft Kit, Daily Fantasy Cheat Sheets, Research Station, Coaching, for ALL DFS sports!
Marquise Brown Trade Analysis
Last season was the first year that we saw Marquise Brown take the next-step for fantasy football. During the first nine weeks he was the WR5 overall, averaging 16-FPPG. But the pendulum swung the opposite direction for the remainder of the season. During weeks 10 – 18 he was the WR58 overall and dropped his average to 6.6-FPPG. This drop-off was largely attached to his quarterback being injured.
Arizona presents a sexy opportunity for Brown, though it does take away from his ceiling potential on a season long basis. Quarterback Kyler Murray — who played with Brown at Oklahoma — is a better passer than Brown’s old quarterback, Lamar Jackson. Additionally, Arizona does not want to live and die by the running attack.
How Should you View the A.J. Brown Trade for Fantasy Football?
While Hopkins will be alpha when he returns in Week 7, Brown has the ability to maintain a solid WR20 role during Hopkins’ absence. Brown and Hopkins are good enough to compliment one another on the field and their quarterback has the arm to feed them both.
The touchdown frequency will also be a key-piece to Brown’s fantasy finish in 2022. Brown has yet to reach double-digit touchdowns and that may be because he is not built as a true, red zone dominant, receiver. He also has never had a quarterback who can throw the ball consistently to him.
Around the goal line expect Zach Ertz and Hopkins to soak up the most targets, but if Brown gets 7 or more intermediate-to-deep touchdowns he could break the double-digit touchdown threshold. 10 touchdowns is likely Brown’s ceiling. The Cardinals do not produce a large volume of passing touchdowns because of Murray’s running ability in the red zone.
Fantasy Outlook
This move slightly boosts Marquise Brown because the Ravens were going to default to running the ball 54-percent of the time (last year it was 43.63-percent). In redraft and best ball Brown becomes a boom-or-bust, fringe, top-20 wide receiver with weekly upside (think Tyler Lockett). He would be more valuable in best ball than redraft at this time. His dynasty value remains largely intact due to being the WR2 in an offense with a running quarterback. During Hopkins’s suspension, Brown is a presumable top-15 option at receiver.
The Player Fallout:
The biggest winner of the Marquise Brown trade is the Ravens’ Rashod Bateman. He moves from the WR40 range to being a WR3/Flex option, with minor upside. Mark Andrews would presumably see a target bump as well. Any other of the Ravens’ pass catchers should be avoided in fantasy drafts.
For Arizona, this hurts Rondale Moore the most. Brown and Moore profile very similarly. Moore seemed the most likely player to take over the Kirk-role but he may relegate to being what he was last season. A.J. Green remains a desperation, dart-throw, flex option. Zach Ertz likely sees his floor drop a bit and that could prove to be detrimental given he scored a limited amount of touchdowns last season.
MORE FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYSIS FROM GTHOM:
Best Ball:
Early Redraft Rankings:
- QB rankings 1-12
- RB rankings 1-6 and RB rankings 7-12
- WR rankings 1-6 and WR rankings 7-12
- TE rankings 1-6 and TE rankings 7-12
Follow Gthom on the cesspool they call twitter, @GarettThomas.