TRADE GRADE: Pacheco for Golden

AND WE HAVE A TRADE! Week 4 is off to an earth shattering start as the balance of power of the middle of the pack might have shifted an inch or two based on this megadeal. Let’s break it down.

ANDY: C-

THE POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD!

I write up a few negative vibes towards Isiah Pacheco and Calvin Austin and suddenly Andy decides to pull the trigger on a deal! Except he doesn’t get a running back in return! Now he has to rely on the pu pu platter of backups and committee backs from his bench. What the hell?!

Matthew Golden probably has a higher ceiling than Pacheco; he’s barely missed three touchdowns this season and, at the start of the season, there was a lot of hype about him potentially working himself into the WR1 spot in Green Bay. The problem is that his floor is in the sub-basement. Jordan Love spreads the ball around and Christian Watson is due back soon to steal even more routes and targets from Golden, who has delivered games of 2.8, 1.5, and 8.1 this season (but he could be due for a big game against the Cowboys’ sieve of a secondary.) Golden probably doesn’t have the skillset to be a true WR1; he’s more of a deep threat at this point than an all-around receiver which means he is almost assuredly a boom or bust player, which Andy already has in Jameson Williams and Calvin Austin. At least we should get some solid podcast tirades from Andy trying to figure out which of these guys to play.

The Gentleman is assuming that there’s another trade on the horizon because relying on Chris Rodriguez, Ollie Gordon, RJ Harvey, Tyler Allgeier, and Will Shipley is a massive gamble unless our own Slim Shady has some inside intel about an injury. Pacheco was obviously a disappointment but to move on from his starting RB without securing an upgrade seems like a wild swing from a desperate manager. With the podcast promising a Stock Watch update this week, the OSM shareholders are going to want to hear some answers!

BRETT: C+
As someone who is still all-in on investing in the RB position over WR, trading a replacement level wide receiver for a starting running back is a great move. In theory. When the running back in question is Pacheco then it becomes a slightly above average move. Brett has now collected both Kansas City running backs which is kind of like collecting the autographs of Pearl Jam drummers. Like, cool, I get it, kind of, but… why exactly? Maybe things get better for KC when Worthy and Rice are back and healthy but I feel like it is still going to be a crap shoot about which back to start each week. Kareem Hunt seems to be the goal line back and he ate into Pacheco’s carries last week. Still, all he had to give up is Matthew Golden so the risk/reward seems fine. Just a month ago, Pacheco was an $18 investment while Golden cost $6 so the shareholder of K Kel Incorporated can’t complain.