Fantasy fallout: Sheldon Richardson traded to the Seahawks, Jets get Jermaine Kearse & picks in return

It’s officially official people. The Jets are in full tank mode.

Friday, the Jets traded Pro-Bowl defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson to the Seattle Seahawks for wide receiver Jermaine Kearse and picks (reported by Ian Rapoport).

For the Seahawks, they get an at-times dominant presence in the middle of their defense which certainly helps an already strong unit. I would guess if they get the best version of Richardson, they move a few places up Jordan’s defensive rankings. If you want to know how many, you’ll have to ask the expert.

For the Jets, they get another wide receiver. After Quincy Enunwa went down with a season ending injury, many fantasy football heads—myself included—wrote at length about who will be seeing the majority of the Jets’ targets. While the Jets as a team maybe so bad they’ll go 0-16 and be utterly unwatchable, the beauty of fantasy football is even the worst teams could have fantasy gems. It’s just all about opportunity. And now Kearse is heading to a wide open offense.

Kearse’s best fantasy season came in 2015 where he had 68 targets, 49 catches for 685 yards and five touchdowns. He tallied 101 total fantasy points and was WR44 that year. He’s a bigger receiver who could provide some extra value as a red zone threat. He’s main value will be just that he is possibly now the best receiver on the Jets. So hopefully that means a lot of targets will go his way.

Don’t expect Kearse to be rocketing up draft boards, or even be drafted now. But he’s name to keep eyes on as he moves to an offense where he could be the go-to option.