Next to the news that Michael Crabtree is set to be a 49er, the Jets acquiring Braylon ‘AH THE BALL SCARES ME’ Edwards for Wide Receiver Chansi Stuckey, Linebacker Jason Trusnik and two picks (thought to be a 3rd and 5th-round pick) was the most surprising news of the morning.

Braylon Edwards Hopes to Regain His Game in NY

Frankly, this is something GM Mike Tannenbaum and owner Woody Johnson have wanted for a long time. To me, this wasn’t necessary. Sure, the Jets could use a WR to pair with Jerricho Cotchery.

Right now though, the Jets have offensive line issues not wide receiver issues. Maybe Edwards will pull defenses off the offensive line. He wasn’t doing it in Cleveland, but maybe it will be different in the Big Apple.

While this is a ‘Win Now’ move for the Jets, I honestly think it was one that was far from critical. Add to it the fact that theoretically the Jets could lose him in 2010 and now you’re renting a cement-handed wide receiver with attitude.

How is that an improvement?

More than likely 2010 will be an uncapped year and the Jets will keep him for a relative song. You can expect Edwards to chirp all off season if that’s the case.

They can’t give Edwards any more money before they deal with Leon Washington’s requests. Washington has done everything they wanted – and quietly – without a new contract.

Edwards won’t care, but Jet management should.

Suffice to say, I am leery of this trade. The Jets may not have given up much but there is a lot more at stake than two players and a pair of draft picks.

What about the players themselves? What is the impact on them?  Let’s take a look.

Braylon Edwards

Well aside from having to be more careful in NYC picking fights than he was in Cleveland, Edwards has a chance at turning his faltering career around.

Edwards had one fantastic season in 2007, but has been unable to recapture his numbers (80 catches, 1,289 yards, 16 TDs). That’s partly on the offense but Edwards shares a huge chunk of that blame.

Sure Edwards has ability – but he’s dropped so many passes at this point, how much do you trust him?

Add to it that he is going to an offense that is supposed to run the ball early and often, despite struggling to do so of late. This is not a ‘bring it and fling it’ offense where he will log a ton of targets, especially not with Cotchery and tight end Dustin Keller there.

Edwards has a chance at redemption but limit your expectations. He has to learn a new offense, one that is not receiver focused and overcome his dropped pass issue.

I think Edwards  remains  a WR3 on a fantasy team, with the hope he can crawl up to WR2 status.

Jerricho Cotchery

The upside is, Cotchery has someone across from him who will attract some attention from defenses in a way nobody – save perhaps Keller – does right now. This could help free him up for some better opportunities down the line.

However, we are still talking about an offense which right now is throwing only 50% of the time (110 pass attempts vs 112 rushing attempts), a stat I expect will change to favor the run more as the season progresses.

Fact is, when the Jets get the run going, they will ride it. We just saw what happens when Sanchez needs to throw too often.

So Cotchery, while he may be open more, will be sharing targets with one more legitimate receiver.

I think the quality of his catches may go up (more yards after catch, better percentage of targets caught) but the quantity may suffer.

He should remain a solid WR2 – even as Edwards learns the offense Cotchery will remain a reliable choice for Sanchez.

Leon Washington and Thomas Jones

Add Shonn Greene in here if you’d like, but however you look at it the run game is a shambles.

Now the offensive line has struggled mightily, as I talked about in my Trendspotting Article last week, and part of that is just bad play on their part.

However with a rookie quarterback at the helm, they have been facing  many stacked fronts. A defense will sell out to stop the run and make the rookie beat them through the air.

Sanchez has looked very good at times, but he isn’t scaring defenses. So opposing defenses continue to stack the line.

And wouldn’t you know it, the run game struggles.

Both Jones and Washington (who is sent up the gut like he’s Jones way too often) are being met in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage often.

If Edwards can become a credible threat while helping Cotchery get open, then defenses will have to ease up on he stacked fronts.

Jones and Washington could find their running lanes a little less cluttered which will help them be more productive.

Cleveland

It’s hard to really have much of an effect on something that is already not worth most fantasy owners notice.

But there is some value here and taking Edwards away will affect it both negatively and positively.

Rookie wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi has emerged as a legitimate #1 in Cleveland. The big question here is, will he find himself open as much with Edwards gone?

Certainly his targets will go up. If you had him as a WR4, he will probably stay there though since the overall offense is lackluster at best and he has nobody to pull coverage off him.

Jerome Harrison played very well subbing for Jamal Lewis and will probably keep the majority of the carries. Without Edwards there, he may see some more stacked fronts but really, can it get worse?

No team is waltzing out to meet Cleveland, shuddering in fear of the awesomeness of their wide receivers anyway.

Harrison probably won’t suffer too much for Edwards’ absence though again, you’re talking about a player whose offense is not very good. Harrison is a great bye week filler in the right match-up and an OK RB3 at times.

That won’t change.

Something to watch might be what happens behind Mohamed Massaquoi. Someone may emerge to fill the void left by Edwards.

Will it be Josh Cribbs? Rookie Brian Robiskie? Journeyman Mike Furrey?

Looking at the overall stats, Furrey has been more – and more consistently – than any other Cleveland wide receiver.

Massaquoi may be the defacto WR1, but don’t be surprised if Furrey emerges as the WR2 in that offense.

It may not be worth more than a bench spot on your Fantasy Roster, but it’s something to track.

Even from the worst situations, sometimes value will emerge.

Tags: Braylon Edwards, cleveland browns, fantasy football, Jerricho Cotchery, Leon Washington, Mohamed Massaquoi, New York Jets, NFL, Thomas Jones, wide receiver