After watching rookie Cam Newton go undrafted in most FFL leagues (not full of Panther fans anyway) I can't help but wonder what most diehard FFL players would trade for him now. I ask because I just executed a trade for Newton in my long-time ESPN fantasy league I'm been running since '96. You see, I just changed it to a Keeper league last year where you get to keep one player for next year's team. It certainly changed the dynamic of the draft as you had to decide whether you keep your best guy (RB Ray Rice for me) or gamble on a bigger name being available. If you use your keeper you essentially forfeit your first round pick.
But it was something BW said to me at dinner a couple weeks ago that led to my bold move and subsequent trade for Newton. BW said he drafted Newton in the 5th round and took some razzing for it but obviously the joke is on everyone else now. His reasoning? It's a Keeper League and so he was drafting for the future because if Newton is #2 in scoring now just wait until he actually gets comfortable with the speed of the game right? Good point I thought...
I'm 2-3 at the moment in this league and though I'm not necessarily saying I'm giving up on the season the thought of locking up the sure top 5 FFL points scorer for the next. So I noticed the current owner of Newton was 0-5 on the season (not sure how) and he still had Phillip Rivers and was devoid of a good RB and defense. Being 0-5 certainly means he's ready to make a risky move, so I offered this up:
I offered RB Ray Rice and the Ravens defense (#2) for QB Cam Newton.
He accepted it right away and I am happy as a lark. Since I also have the 49ers defense (#1) I didn't see giving up the Ravens D as a big loss. It's pretty much a Ray Rice for Newton deal. What do you think?