The NFL hot stove continues to heat up. On Thursday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs traded a conditional third-round pick and a sixth-round pick to the New York Giants in exchange for WR Kadarius Toney. Toney’s tenure with the Giants has been marred by injuries and inconsistency, and he now has a new home less than two years after being drafted with the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, November 1. There have already been six trades. In addition to Toney, edge rusher Robert Quinn was sent to the Eagles, the 49ers landed Christian McCaffrey, Robbie Anderson landed in Arizona, the Cowboys added Johnathan Hankins, and the Jets replaced the injured Breece Hall with James Robinson.
Let’s take a look at some of the fantasy football takeaways and implications for this deal.
- The Primer: Week 8
- Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Players to Buy & Sell
- Quarterback Streamers
- Tight End Streamers
- D/ST Streamers
- Early Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings
- Matt Ryan Benched for Sam Ehlinger: Fantasy Football Takeaways & Implications
- James Robinson Traded to New York Jets: Fantasy Football Takeaways & Implications
- Week 8 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups
Check out the rest of our weekly fantasy football advice 
Kadarius Toney will be WR__ rest of season? pic.twitter.com/lXFLqTDvhJ
— FantasyPros (@FantasyPros) October 27, 2022
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team, and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
Fantasy Football Takeaways & Implications
The Chiefs’ aggressive move to acquire second-year WR Kadarius Toney was an attention-getter, grabbing us by the lapels and reminding them that Toney is capable of being something more than a regular denizen of inactive lists.
A lot of fantasy managers became smitten with Toney in Weeks 4 and 5 of 2021, when he had 6-78-0 receiving vs. the Saints and 10-189-0 vs. the Cowboys, showing off springy, quick-twitch athleticism and after-the-catch explosion. Those qualities were evident in his final college season at the University of Florida, prompting the Giants to take him with the 20th overall pick in last year’s draft.
The question is whether Toney can turn his special athleticism into consistent NFL production. My fear is that he might be the second coming of Percy Harvin — another special athlete from Florida who dealt with myriad injuries. Harvin didn’t live up to expectations because his body wouldn’t cooperate. We’ll see if the same thing happens with Toney, who’s been sidelined all season with not one but two hamstring injuries.
Toney clearly didn’t see eye to eye with new Giants head coach Brian Daboll. We’ll see how he gets along with Andy Reid, a wildly imaginative playcaller who loves having speed at the skill positions.
How much is Toney going to play? JuJu Smith-Schuster is entrenched as the Chiefs’ primary slot receiver, and Toney probably isn’t going to take snaps from Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal in the offseason. Could Mecole Hardman be squeezed out as the No. 3 receiver? It’s possible, but Toney would probably have to cash in on opportunities as a No. 4 receiver before Reid took snaps away from Hardman.
It’s possible Toney becomes fantasy-viable in time for the stretch run of the fantasy season. It’s going to take a while. Toney will have to learn a new system and work his way up the depth chart. It seems unlikely we’ll be thinking about plugging him into our fantasy lineups at any time before Thanksgiving.
Some people don’t think the Toney acquisition significantly damages the longer-term fantasy value of rookie Skyy Moore. I beg to differ. It wasn’t a great sign that Moore struggled to overtake Justin Watson, a former fifth-round draft pick from the Ivy League, on the depth chart. It’s not a great sign that the Chiefs are giving up a third-round compensatory pick and a sixth-round pick to bring in another receiver. I have Moore on one of my dynasty teams. I’m not going to loudly proclaim that I’m trying to sell him, but I’ll quietly gauge interest in hopes of moving him for something of value.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Kadarius Toney arriving in KC: pic.twitter.com/HhdANizUBI
— Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) October 27, 2022
Let’s get this out of the way. The move for Kadarius Toney is not about this season for the Chiefs. With Juju Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman hitting the free agent market after this season, Kansas City absorbs a talented former first-round pick under contract, at least for 2023 and 2024. Toney flashed big-time upside in his rookie season, ranking seventh in targets per route run. Toney was also 11th in yards per route run and eighth in YAC per reception (minimum 50 targets, per PFF). Toney could possibly push for snaps this season, but I think his value lies more in the dynasty realm than 2022 redraft fantasy football. The Chiefs continue to play chess while the rest of the league’s front offices (outside of PHI) mutter around with their checkerboards.
– Derek Brown
For this trade to really matter, Kadarius Toney has to actually step onto a field and play football at some point. That has been his primary issue over the last two seasons with the Giants, though it seems like there may be more going on behind the scenes here. The new regime in New Jersey apparently isn’t willing to wait around for Toney anymore, while Andy Reid and the Chiefs are buying low on a WR who was drafted in the first round just last season. Through seven weeks in 2022, Toney has appeared in just two games, catching two passes for exactly zero yards.
While Toney is joining a better (and more pass-happy) offense, he’s also joining a crowded WR room that already includes JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore and Justin Watson, in addition to the best pass-catching TE in the league in Travis Kelce.
Toney is an easy buy right now in keeper and dynasty formats, and he’s an intriguing stash in redraft. The issues in redraft are that Toney has been injured all year, will be learning a new offense on the fly, is joining a crowded WR room, AND the Chiefs are on their bye this week. If you’re adding Toney, you probably have to do so knowing he is going to be on your bench for at least the next two weeks.
However, he has league-winning upside if things click in Kansas City. This all depends on your current record and your roster limitations. Can you afford to grab and stash, or do you need that roster spot to do everything you can to win the next two weeks?
On the Giants’ side of things, not much changes. Wan’Dale Robinson continues to look like the guy, and the offense has operated without Toney for much of the season anyway. Kenny Golladay looks like dust, and it’s possible this trade is a precursor to another move. Do the Giants use some of this draft capital to make a move for someone like Jerry Jeudy, perhaps?
– Mike Maher
Do the Giants make a move for another WR? Jerry Jeudy?
— Mike Maher (@mikeMaher) October 27, 2022
New York Giants Fantasy Football Impact
Wan’Dale Robinson to the moon. Robinson will be a PPR dynamo with Toney’s specter now shipped off. Robinson became a full-time player last week. He handled a 27.6% target share, 28% target per route run rate, and 80.6% route run rate. He finished with eight targets, six grabs, and 50 receiving yards as the WR35. The Giants are screaming for a wide receiver to step to the forefront. Robinson will grab his step ladder and rise above the crowd of Giants’ receivers as their number one option for the rest of the season. Consider him a WR3 with WR2 upside in PPR formats for the rest of the season.
– Derek Brown
On the Giants’ side of things, not much changes. Wan’Dale Robinson continues to look like the guy, and the offense has operated without Toney for much of the season anyway. Kenny Golladay looks like dust, and it’s possible this trade is a precursor to another move. Do the Giants use some of this draft capital to make a move for someone like Jerry Jeudy, perhaps?
– Mike Maher
The New York Giants are trading WR Kadarius Toney to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a conditional 3rd-round pick and a 6th-round pick, according to a report from NFL insider Jordan Schultz. (Source: Jordan Schultz on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Toney appeared in just two games this season, catching two of his three targets for no yardage. He ends his tenure with the Giants having played in just 12 out of a possible 24 games, catching 41 of his 60 targets for 420 yards and no receiving touchdowns. He flashed his ceiling in 2021, catching 10 passes for 189 yards in a game against the Cowboys, but he has had trouble staying on the field and has been inconsistent when he has played. The landing spot in Kansas City is ideal in that he ends up with Patrick Mahomes and one of the best offenses in football, but he’ll have plenty of competition for playing time and targets from the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore and Justin Watson. Toney is an easy buy in dynasty formats right now, but his rest-of-season production is difficult to predict.
Check out all of our weekly fantasy football content
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
