After a day of vague tweeting and rumors swirling, Marvin Harrison is traded from the Arizona Cardinals, along with a 2027 7th-round pick, to the Houston Texans for a 2027 2nd- and 6th-round pick. It’s hope for dynasty managers who have been holding Harrison hoping he finally returns to the draft value and the production we saw in his rookie season.
This trade ripples across dynasty. From two teams with shifting offensive philosophies to other potential league moves. Smart dynasty managers can take advantage in the wake of the trade and make their team better, no matter if they are a contender or rebuilder.
Arizona Cardinals offense
With the departure of Marvin Harrison, it is a clear sign that the Cardinals are looking towards the future. You have to imagine new head coach Mike LaFleur has some stability there after drafting running back Jeremiyah Love third overall and relying on career backup Jacoby Brissett to be the starter.
The Cardinals did not get a young wide receiver back in the deal but instead got a 2nd-round pick. It’s added future assets that don’t help much this year.
It’s a strong signal that running the ball is the identity LaFleur wants for this team. On top of the Love pick, they also signed Tyler Allgeier in free agency to a significant contract.
Who to Trust and Buy
Obviously Love is someone you would want to buy, but his value hasn’t dipped from what it was pre-draft. He hasn’t produced at that level, but dynasty managers aren’t going to sell yet.
For a contending team, Kendrick Bourne becomes a rotational piece that could provide some flex weeks to your lineup. We already saw it in Week 5, where he saw 8 targets.
Tight End Trey McBride will continue to be a target haul, and his value will jump slightly, which is hard to do since he is already considered a top 2 tight end in dynasty.
Starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett is an interesting player. He hasn’t been lighting up the scoreboard, but the past few weeks have taken advantage of good matchups. He is still turning the ball over at an alarming rate. He has 5 interceptions which is third most in the league. Brissett will have bust games like we saw in Week 2 and blow-up games like Weeks 3 and 5. He lives somewhere in between. Losing a good receiver in Harrison, even if he wasn’t super involved doesn’t help. I worry how long Brissett will be the starter. I’m selling while people are excited about his future.
I do see this as a time to buy quarterback Carson Beck . The Cardinals are clearly looking towards 2027 and added a draft pick to give them more ammunition to add a playmaker next offseason. Beck could get a shot late this year and be in the mix as the 2027 starter.
Jeremiyah Love, Trey McBride = Hold
Kendrick Bourne= Buy for contenders
Jacoby Brissett= Sell
Carson Beck= Stash
Michael Wilson conundrum
What should dynasty managers do with Michael Wilson now that Marvin Harrison is gone?
One theory is that this will make him even more the alpha in that passing offense. Harrison was only averaging 3 targets a game, so it’s not a ton of vacated targets to absorb. It does take a weapon off the field that was the squeaky wheel at times.
The other side of that theory is that it now lets the defenses focus on Wilson because there isn’t a strong receiver on the other side of the field. Even though Harrison hasn’t been dominant, defensive play callers know he has the skill, and that his lack of production seemed more of an attitude and commitment issue, not a skill issue.
I land on this side of it and that Wilson is a sell. I still don’t love the quarterback play from Brissett. He is average and needs volume to produce for fantasy. He has been getting the volume because the Cardinals have been playing from behind. That won’t change, but it doesn’t look like extra volume or production for Wilson is coming.
You can trade him at his peak right now. Go get a young game changer like Rome Odunze or a 1st-round pick for Wilson.
Michael Wilson = Sell
Houston Texans New Look
All Pass, No Breaks
The Texans haven’t been able to run the ball at all this year. David Montgomery , whom I was high on, has looked very old and ineffective. Youngster Woody Marks looks like a guy who a team needed to try to find a replacement for in the offseason. Leading to the signing of Montgomery. Marks is a cautionary buy right now.
This is the second year of offensive coordinator Nick Caley. Its clear that his focus has been on the passing game. They drafted two wide receivers in Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins last year. They traded for Kayshon Boutte this year after Higgins got hurt and now trade for Marvin Harrison.
All of this is to help quarterback C.J. Stroud the best weapons he has had since coming into the NFL. Moves made to hope he can return to his rookie season form. He seems on that track. In his rookie year Stroud only threw 5 interceptions. After five games this season, Stroud has yet to throw any.
This trade also reunites Stroud with Harrison who spent two years together at Ohio State. One of those years was Stroud’s last season. He finished with 41 passing touchdowns and was a Heisman finalist. Harrison caught 14 touchdowns that year on a team that also had Emeka Egbuka and Jaxon Smith-Njigba . Not to mention TreVeyon Henderson at running back.
That connection will help make Harrison feel engaged and valued in the offense. He has played with star receivers in college so being opposite Nico Collins won’t bother him. That has never been the issue.
I’m exploring options to acquire Stroud in all my dynasty leagues. If I’m holding Fernando Mendoza (LV) I will gladly swap him for Stroud and a 3rd round pick.
C.J. Stroud = Buy
Too much depth for dynasty
Dynasty managers are going to have to make some tough choices with the Houston pass catchers. Nico Collins is locked in this year as the teams alpha. He has one more year on his contract and carries a massive dead cap numbers so outside of a trade will be on the team in 2027.
Harrison is due for a contract and you have to believe the Texans have plans to sign him since they gave up a 2nd round pick for him. They still have Boutte, Noel, Higgins and a retuning Tank Dell.
When you look at wide receiver architype Collins, Harrison, Boutte and Higgins all play the outside receiver role. Whether that is tied to the line (X receiver) or in motion (Z receiver). With Higgins out for the year Xavier Hutchinson is filling one of those roles but isn’t a factor for dynasty. Boutte is the odd man out going forward. He will lose his already limited role to Harrison this year and he has the least amount of investment from the team. Higgins is an interesting stash right now incase the Texans can’t re-sign Harrison.
In the slot the Texans will have Noel and Dell. We have yet to see what the snap share will be with both active but that is coming. Dell has been very good when healthy but that has been few and far between lately. Noel has been comparable to Dell in that role.
With Dell on a 1 year contract and about to turn 27 years old I venture that Noel is set in that role moving forward and the one I want to buy right now. The issue will be overall snaps and targets in a Collins/Harrison led passing attack.
Nico Collins, Marvin Harrison, Jaylin Noel = Buys
Jayden Higgins = Hold
Tank Dell, Kayshon Boutte= Sells
League Wide Affect
This trade reaches past the Cardinals and Texans. This now sets the market for any future trades we might see. The NFL trade deadline is November 10th.
Players like Brian Thomas Jr (Jax), Quentin Johnston (LAC), Jerry Jeudy (Cle) Rashee Rice (KC) and Brandon Aiyuk (SF) are all names rumored to possibly be on the move.
Will teams be willing to spend on these players? is the market gotten too expensive and teams will be looking to build on what they have in house?
The 2027 draft class is projected to be stacked along with a good 2028 class. Teams might want to hold their picks over sending them away for underperforming assets who need a contract? Or does this create an arms race where teams will be loading up to keep up with their conference rivals?
For dynasty we want trades. It creates the value shifts that we need to find edges to win our league. The Marvin Harrison trade could put a damper on that or create a wave of future moves. I tend to lean towards the former. We haven’t seen a ton of in season trades for fantasy relevant players in recent years. I’m not going to acquire players in the hopes they change teams and get a value bump. Id rather wait and get them at less of a value then speculate and get burnt.
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