We already told you about the rumored Randy Moss trade to the Vikings that appears to be coming together. Jay Glazer, who was the first reporter to drop hints of the trade, says the sides are working on the deal. We’ll reserve our analysis of the trade and how it impacts each team until the deal is officially completed. But that doesn’t mean fantasy owners shouldn’t prepare themselves for the situation.
The biggest winner of a Randy Moss trade could be Patriots receiver Brandon Tate. The second-year man out of North Carolina has already shown his speed with two kickoffs returned for a touchdown. He’s fourth on the team in receiving, hauling in 11 of his 14 targets in four games for 135 yards. Tate has the potential, he just hasn’t been on the field often enough to make a big impact. He won’t approach Randy Moss numbers (not many players can), but he could become the deep threat they would be losing.
The Pats tight ends would get an even bigger boost than they already have seen. Aaron Hernandez has become a big part of the team’s offense and gives them another possession target similar to Wes Welker. They’ve even utilized some of the plays Hernandez used to run at Florida under Urban Meyer. On top of Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski has become a favorite red zone option for Tom Brady (he has two touchdown catches). You have to figure that the successful picks of Hernandez and Gronkowski in the 2010 draft have given the Pats enough receiving options to make them feel secure enough in the receiving game to explore this trade.
If Moss is traded to Minnesota, he will serve as an instant boost to Brett Favre’s fantasy value. Favre will finally have the toy he’s always hoped for, and it will give him a replacement for the injured Sidney Rice. Because Minnesota’s receivers have hardly been doing anything, their values wouldn’t be impacted much. The addition of Moss to the Vikings would boost everyone’s fantasy value on the team because it would make the offense that much more explosive.
Tom Brady’s value will take somewhat of a hit. We know Brady can be a successful spread-it-around quarterback who finds the open man, but the team may shift away from their pass-heavy offense to a balanced one (like we saw Monday night). Brady can still be an MVP candidate, but his numbers probably won’t be eye-popping without Randy.
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