Cutler Trade: Fantasy Implications

When a trade of this magnitude is made, I think it is rather obvious that the Bears instantly become a very scary opponent in the NFC North (another reason the Vikings should have pursued Cutler is to keep him off of a competitions roster....Bears win the North I think the Vikings will have alot of answering to do towards their fanbase).

However, let's look at the fantasy implications.

The Winners

The Bears Defense- Simply put this helps the Bears defense out tremendously. Now they have a workhorse running back and a very talented QB to help them win the field position battle and help them stay off the field and remain fresh. With Cutler at the helm this should really help an already talented fantasy defense.

Matt Forte- I think Forte is the biggest winner in this trade. He faces some tough defenses in the North and now with a talented QB like Cutler leading the offense, Forte will have the benefit of seeing less men in the box and defenses having to account for the passing game. Forte is a talent out of the backfield as a receiver also and this can only help his productivity in that sense also.

Devin Hester- Hester showed some flashes of brilliance last year with Orton throwing to him. Now with Cutler throwing to him, I can only imagine that those moments of brilliance with be more regular. Cutler has shown that he can get the ball to his playmakers doing it with both Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall last year in Denver. Devin Hester now becomes a serious offensive threat with the added bonus of returning punts. He moves up from a #3 fantasy WR to a solid #2 in my book.

Greg Olsen- If Greg Olsen stays healthy I think he is going to be a fantasy stud at TE. Scheffler was pretty good in Denver and I think that Olsen will see more opportunities now that he has a franchise QB throwing him the ball. I think outside of Matt Forte, Greg Olsen may be the biggest winner of this trade.

The Losers

Jay Cutler- Cutler is talented no doubt, but I doubt he is going to put up the fantasy numbers he put up last year with the Chicago offense. As much as Devin Hester showed flashes of brilliance last year, he doesn't compare to Marshall or Royal. Factor into this the fact that last year Denver's ground game was horrible and the team essentially went pass crazy and then put Cutler now on a talented running offense team and I think those numbers will drop a bit. However, I could be wrong on this because he does play marginal pass defenses in the Lions and Vikings (and possibly the Packers as they convert to their new D scheme). Basically, I think Cutler is a 20 TD QB at best with 3,500 yards max which makes him nothing more than an average QB in the fantasy world.

Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal- These two receivers had the wonderful experience of having a talented QB throw them the ball. They more than likely will still have success, but with Orton or Ramsay throwing them the ball they will see a marked dropoff. Marshall goes from a marginal #1 WR to a #2 WR and Royal goes from a marginal #2 WR to a #3 WR in the fantasy world.

The Denver RB- The days of the dominant running game of Denver in the fantasy world have been fading the last couple years and this officially will put an end to that era. With Shanahan gone and now no Cutler the running back who wins this job will face defenses keyed up on the running game.

The Denver D- The Denver D was never a great fantasy defense, but they would sometimes surprise. However, now they are going to be facing shorter breaks off the field and if they have the same injury problems they had last year they are really going to face some problems. They go from a possible late-round flyer and spot pick-up start to a definite "avoid" in my book. In fact I predict that the Broncos might become one of those teams that you want to start whoever is playing them on offense.