Derek Carr for RJ Barrett Trade
(6/3/22)
Cooper Troopers trade Derek Carr, (QB, Vikings), 3rd Round MLB Pick
to
MN Moose Knuckles for RJ Barrett (SG, Knicks), Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR, Lions) and the last of his three 1st Round MLB Picks
Cooper Troopers trade grade: D+
MN Moose Knuckles trade grade: A
Trade Summary:
MN Moose Knuckles FINALLY rectified the NFL draft mistake of shirking QBs. He gets Derek Carr, fresh off adding Davante Adams to his WR corps. The Cooper Troopers were in an envious spot: Derek Carr got Adams this offseason while one of his other two QBs, Tua Tagovailoa, got Tyreek Hill. The Troopers couldn’t start both Carr and Tua, so it made sense to ship one of them out, especially with a poor 6th NBA Keeper.
The problem with the Cooper Troopers’ side of this trade isn’t the players they got or the ideas behind making a deal – it’s just the return. In such a QB-driven league, Derek Carr has way more value than any other asset in this deal. The Cooper Troopers probably should have gotten more, especially considering that the MLB Pick he received, even though it’s a first rounder, probably is only a 15 or 20-pick difference compared to the 3rd rounder that he gave up. There isn’t a HUGE difference between those picks, so that part of the trade makes little sense.
What does make sense, however, is adding Amon-Ra St. Brown. Here’s a current list of Cooper Troopers players at 24-years-old or younger:
DeAndre Swift
Tua Tagovailoa
Rashod Bateman
Amon-Ra St. Brown
That’s an awesome young core, supported by the #1 ranked WR (Kupp) this season and the #1 ranked TE (Kelce) this season as well as Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper. That’s a truly great NFL team even if his RB2 is a little bit weak (but could improve after another trade).
Here’s Coop’s starting NFL lineup after the trade with CURRENT season rankings)
QB1: Dak Prescott (QB8)
QB2: Tua Tagovailoa (QB18)
RB1: DeAndre Swift (RB8)
RB2: Rashaad Penny (RB35)
WR1: Cooper Kupp (WR1)
WR2: Amari Cooper (WR18)
FLEX1: Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR30)
FLEX2: Rashod Bateman (WR31)
TE: Travis Kelce (TE1)
Other than RB2, that’s a perfectly built lineup and one that should contend for a title in NFL next season and in future seasons. Then adding 22-year old RJ Barrett to Cooper’s NBA keepers is a really solid add, giving him 9 strong keeper options at a variety of ages in NBA to try to turn his fortunes around.
Here’s his NBA Keepers with DYNASTY RANKINGS:
James Harden (16th)
Evan Mobley (20th)
Damian Lillard (44th)
Nikola Vucevic (55th)
Khris Middleton (58th)
Christian Wood (66th)
RJ Barrett (77th)
Alperen Sengun (88th)
Onyeka Okongwu (99th)
That’s not a bad team if everyone stays healthy. It’s a little older than you’d want, but that’s where RJ Barrett comes in to even things out a little bit. With the vets, however, the Cooper Troopers should be better in the short-term than the long-term. The Cooper Troopers are a legitimate contender next season.
There is little doubt the Cooper Troopers teams in all 3 sport next year are much better right now than it was this morning, but the Cooper Troopers still didn’t necessarily get optimal value in this trade.
For the MN Moose Knuckles, here’s his current NFL squad with CURRENT-season rankings:
QB1: Derek Carr (QB13)
QB2: Matt Ryan (QB20)
RB1: Derrick Henry (RB7)
RB2: Nick Chubb (RB12)
WR1: Allen Robinson (WR28)
WR2: Gabriel Davis (WR39)
FLEX1: Dalton Schultz (TE7)
FLEX2: Christian Kirk (WR42) or Robert Woods (WR43)
TE: Mark Andrews (TE2)
That WR position is one of the worst position groups in the entire league of leagues, but that’s where the MN Moose Knuckles will now be turning their attention to in the draft. With two NFL 1sts and two decent QBs, the MN Moose Knuckles can just take whoever the best players on their board are now without reaching for Kenny Pickett. That’s a huge boost. They can take a RB or go with two wideouts, all depending on where the Strauss Picks fall.
And crucially, Hall gets SOMETHING for his NBA excess. If he didn’t make an RJ trade now, there’s no guarantee it would have gotten done. Now, Hall needs to find a way to get himself out of the gutter in football and rebuild on the fly.