Fantasy Football Implications of the Rashid Shaheed and Sauce Gardner Trades: Cooper Kupp, Adonai Mitchell and More

The NFL trade deadline usually isn't super exciting, but there's been a flurry of moves in the past hour that have made this a notable deadline.

We already covered Jakobi Meyers being traded from the Raiders to the Jaguars. Another trade that has fantasy football impact is the Seahawks landing Rashid Shaheed from the Saints, so let's break that deal down. Before we close, we'll discuss the Sauce Gardner deal, which sent him to the Colts, and sent Adonai Mitchell to the Jets.

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Fantasy Football Impact for Shaheed and Other Seahawks

Shaheed is being sent from the Saints to the Seahawks for fourth- and fifth-round picks.

Instead of catching passes from Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough, Shaheed will now have Sam Darnold throwing to him. That already means Shaheed is in a better fantasy spot.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been the stud wideout for the Seahawks this season, and now he will have some attention taken off him with the presence of Shaheed.

JSN is still going to star for Seattle, so I don't anticipate this trade affecting his fantasy outlook all that much. Keep expecting him to be a top-end fantasy wideout the rest of the season.

One wideout this move could affect is Cooper Kupp, who is dealing with an injury again. 

He's been the No. 2 pass catcher for Seattle so far, and Shaheed's presence could definitely change that. Maybe the injury for Kupp is going to keep him out longer than expected, but the trade for Shaheed is something that should lead to Kupp being dropped in some standard fantasy leagues.

Kupp and Shaheed will battle for targets and production behind Smith-Njigba, and it might mean they cancel each other out a bit and are better flex-level options in standard leagues moving forward. I personally like Shaheed more, but we'll see how things shake out.

The addition of Shaheed likely will slow the progress of rookie wideout Tory Horton, who is coming off a two-TD game. I expect him to still play, but as the third or fourth wideout on this offense, it's going to be hard for him to repeatedly deliver.

Unless Kupp is out an extended period, I don't see Horton being worth anything near a standard league. Horton still could be used in deeper leagues, but I'd have to believe there's better options out there to try instead.

I think the addition of Shaheed could also lower the fantasy outlooks for AJ Barner and Elijah Arroyo. Both scored a touchdown in week 9, but now might struggle to consistently deliver with four capable wideouts on the team.

I've been a fan of Darnold so far this season, and this trade will only make him a more confident fantasy asset moving forward. If you needed another reason to believe in Darnold on a weekly basis, this trade should ease any concerns you have.

I think the addition of Shaheed will hurt the Seattle running back duo of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Them splitting the workload was already making them so-so fantasy assets, and adding another pass catcher to the offense won't help either of them.

Walker and Charbonnet are both probably better flex-level fantasy assets in standard leagues, but safer starting options in deeper leagues. Things could change as the season moves along, but I don't love the current situation with the two backs both pretty involved.

Saints Fantasy Outlook

Shaheed was right there with Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson as the top fantasy pass catchers for the Saints so far this season. With Shaheed no longer around, there's some more targets and production that needs to be picked up by others.

The fantasy outlooks for Olave and Johnson are improved a bit by this move for sure. Olave is a standard league option, and should be started in just about every league from here on out after this move.

Johnson has had an up-and-down season, but at a weak tight end spot, he's re-emerging after a couple decent fantasy outings. He should be added in more leagues, and started in more going forward now after this trade.

Brandin Cooks is a New Orleans receiver who could benefit from the Shaheed trade. Devaughn Vele is another option, while tight end Foster Moreau could maybe be more involved now too.

Cooks and Vele haven't done much so far this season, but the opportunities will be there for them going forward. They will be worth watching over the next few weeks to see if either of them steps up.

Moreau has barely done anything all season, but has factored in across previous seasons. The production has to go to someone, so I wouldn't count him out.

I could see a guy like Taysom Hill being more involved going forward now. He does a bit of everything for New Orleans, and now that he's back in the swing of things, he could be featured more moving forward. He's definitely a name to keep tabs on, especially in deeper leagues where he's eligible at a couple spots.

Alvin Kamara and Devin Neal are likely to lead the team's backfield. Kamara is on the trade block too, so Neal could be worth adding just in case Kamara is moved. 

New Orleans already doesn't have Kamara as the lead back, and if they keep losing, the Saints could give more opportunities to Neal, or Hill.

Shough is the starter for now, although Rattler could get the job back at some point. Neither are good fantasy assets, and this trade doesn't help either guy.

Jets, Colts Trade Breakdown

The Jets traded Gardner to the Colts for two first-round picks and Mitchell.

The move is obviously huge for the Colts, who add an elite corner to a defense that could use some help. Gardner's presence will certainly boost the team's pass defense, and likely improve the entire defense as a whole.

The trade is something to keep in mind when you want to start a top receiver against the Colts moving forward. Gardner is now the one who will be shadowing those top opposing wideouts, so tougher fantasy matchups will be in store.

As for Mitchell, he hasn't caught on in the NFL like most expected him to. With Michael Pittman, Josh Downs and Alec Pierce around and contributing, the Colts decided to bail on their young wideout.

The move will make it that much more likely that Downs and Pierce keep helping out offensively, and that Pittman remains the team's top wideout for several more years.

The move won't impact the fantasy outlooks for quarterback Daniel Jones, running back Jonathan Taylor or tight end Tyler Warren.

Mitchell has a chance to get his career rolling with the Jets now. They only have Garrett Wilson as a proven wideout, and rookie tight end Mason Taylor is the team's second-best pass-catching option right now probably.

This trade probably will help Wilson in time, because if Mitchell can step up even a bit and become the No. 2 wideout, it will take some defensive attention off of Wilson.

Taylor's fantasy stock takes a bit of a hit from the trade, and any other pass catchers for the Jets are now likely behind Mitchell as well. New York's passing game is already not the best to be a part of, and now with Wilson, Mitchell and Taylor, anyone else will probably be irrelevant.

Wilson will remain a weekly starting option, and a pretty good one at that. Taylor is a weekly option at a weak tight end spot. Mitchell has some deep-league appeal immediately, and could work up to a flex-level option if he excels with the Jets, so he's a name to track for sure.

The trade helps whichever quarterback (Justin Fields or Tyrod Taylor) the Jets start the rest of the season. It shouldn't impact running backs Breece Hall or Isaiah Davis much.