“Oops!” and “Oh, yeah!” — Top mistake and success of each team January 22, 2021 Wide receiver A.J. Brown was part of an “Oops!” and an “Oh, yeah!” transaction from 2020. Every general manager has hits and misses. Sometimes the misses are minor in scope and are met with a shrug of the shoulders. Other times the misses are so egregious that there aren’t enough hits for him to save his job. Either way, the teams that seem to have the most success are the ones that best mitigate their mistakes while capitalizing off the hits. Here’s a look at the biggest mistake and best success from each team for the 2020 MFFL season. Bangkok Blitz Oops! — Tagged, then signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to 3-year, $13.00 million deal An outsider could have looked at Bangkok’s 2020 offseason and pointed to the fact that the team walked away from the 2020 Auction with more cash in hand than team payroll. But that was all according to ownership’s plan, not to overspend on any particular players and to save money to front load contracts for future seasons. The other common argument is that the Blitz didn’t pay enough attention to the receiver position, finishing the 2020 season with just one receiver in the Top 36 (meaning a WR1, WR2 or WR3). They might have put too much faith in Michael Gallup, who backslid in 2020. Ultimately, it might have been the $13 million NFT placed on receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, and the subsequent three-year deal, that was the top mistake. JJSS did not have a bad season, by any means. He averaged 18.1 points per game. But for a receiver who did not finish as a WR1 and now starts out the 2021 offseason as the league’s highest-paid player (until tags are placed), they could have used more production from him. Oh, yeah! — Drafted Antonio Gibson at Pick 22 The Blitz made a number of savvy moves during, and leading up to the 2020 season. There was the acquisition of the second-overall pick from Jamaica, which led to the selection of running back Jonathan Taylor, who had a terrific rookie season. It cost them three second-round picks and two third-round picks, but if Taylor plays as well as he did his rookie season throughout his career, it was well worth the move. Then there was the acquisition of tight end Noah Fant from Christmas Island for a second- and third-round pick. Fant paid off and finished as a TE8, and looks to be on track for a strong career. The selections of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and J.K. Dobbins were strong moves as well, but those figure to have payoffs at a later date. Perhaps the best hit of the 2020 season for the Blitz was the selection of rookie running back Antonio Gibson with the 22nd overall pick. Gibson finished as the RB15 and looks to play an integral role for the franchise moving forward. Christmas Island Crabs Oops! — Acquired Derrius Guice for second- and third-round pick There were a few head-scratchers for the Crabs this past season. Christmas Island traded a pair of young tight ends in Noah Fant and Dallas Goedert. The trades landed the Crabs two second-round picks and a third. But Fant finished as a TE8 and Goedert finished 10th among tight ends in points per game. The Crabs rectified that by signing Logan Thomas to a free agent contract, and he finished as TE3. But the tight end position will be a question mark this offseason. Speaking of the tight end position, the Crabs signed Ian Thomas to a 3-year, $2.50 million deal. Thomas flopped, finishing as TE51. The Crabs also inked quarterback Carson Wentz to a 3-year, $2.25 million deal. Wentz missed four games and finished as QB21, as one of the higher-paid quarterbacks in the league. The Crabs were forced to restructure his contract this offseason. Ultimately, the acquisition of Derrius Guice for a second- and third-round pick might have been the biggest mistake. Guice was accused of assault and was subsequently released about two months later. The second-round pick the Crabs traded wound up being Pick 16 in the upcoming 2021 Draft. Oh, yeah! — Acquired D’Andre Swift with the third-overall pick in the 2020 Draft Abandon ship! Give kudos to the Crabs for having more foresight than the crew of the Titanic. The defending champions shipped away their team MVP, Michael Thomas, to the Nagasaki Kamikazes last offseason. The team acquired young prospect Deebo Samuel, Pick 10 in the 2020 Draft and two second-round picks. Samuel only played in seven games this year, but Thomas did as well — and ran up a bill of $23 million. Plus, the Crabs utilized Pick 10 to their advantage, to be explained shortly. The Crabs also acquired, but then later unloaded, running back Leonard Fournette, which turned an “oops” into an “oh, yeah.” Not only did they get Pick 8 in the draft — which, again, went to good use, to be explained shortly — but the move prevented the Crabs from overpaying Fournette, who went on to have a miserable season according to his standards up to this point in his career. The Crabs also shipped away the rights to Kenny Golladay in the Leonard Fournette trade. Golladay played in just five games this year and currently is tied for the richest contract in the MFFL. However, as good as all these player shipments were, it was the acquisition of Pick 3, used on D’Andre Swift, that was arguably the Crabs’ best move. Christmas Island used Picks 8 and 10 to move up to Pick 3 and select the rookie running back. Swift led the backfield in scoring and looks to be a significant piece moving forward. Ecuador Ewoks Oops! — Traded, then re-acquired, Ezekiel Elliott Sometimes the best trades are the ones that aren’t made. The Ewoks found that out the hard way — twice with the same player. Last offseason, Ecuador tagged star running back Ezekiel Elliott and then traded him (with tag intact) in a four-way deal. The Ewoks included in that deal receiver Jarvis Landry (who finished as WR31) and tight end Mark Andrews (TE5). Among the pieces that they got in return were running backs Le’Veon Bell and Mark Ingram, finishing as RB63 and RB75, respectively. They also picked up receiver Keenan Allen and tight end Mike Gesicki — both of whom got shipped away. And they also received Nagasaki’s first-round pick. To compound the issue, Nagasaki traded Elliott back to the Ewoks, who gave up two first-round picks, Raheem Mostert, and Tevin Coleman to get him. Elliott tanked and had his worst season as a pro. Boston Scott and Hunter Renfrow — also acquired by the Ewoks in the trade — were non-factors. The Ewoks did receive young prospect Tony Pollard in the deal, who just might have a future. In the end, had Ecuador stood pat and not made either of these deals, they would have been much better off. Oh, yeah! — Signed Keenan Allen, then acquired a first-round pick for him Ecuador signed quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a 3-year, $0.75 million contract in last year’s auction. Tannehill finished as QB10, giving the Ewoks a strong return on investment. But that wasn’t the only good signing for them during the auction. The Ewoks deserve props for signing receiver Keenan Allen to a two-year deal for $9.75 million in last year’s auction, too. Ecuador acquired his rights in the Ezekiel Elliott trade and wisely placed the Transition Tag on him. Allen went on to have a great season, finishing as WR10. The Ewoks shipped him away midseason and wound up with Jamaica’s first-round pick for the 2021 Draft. That pick turned out to be sixth overall, leaving them an opportunity to acquire a strong young prospect on a cheap deal — assuming they keep the pick and select the right player. Egypt Pharaohs Oops! — Traded a first-round pick and Sterling Shepard for Odell Beckham and a second-round pick A year after the Pharaohs traded a first-round pick for tight end David Njoku, they traded another first-round pick for receiver Odell Beckham. There must be something about the Cleveland Browns permeating the Nile Delta. Beckham played in just seven games before heading to IR. Not including the game in which he got hurt, OBJ averaged about 17.8 points per game, which extrapolated for a full season would have ranked him No. 25 among all receivers. Between his drop-off in production (not since 2016 has he been in the WR1 conversation) and his higher salary among MFFL receivers, the Beckham acquisition could have been the Pharaoh’s biggest mistake of 2020. Other moves receiving consideration include the Transition Tag placed on running back Phillip Lindsay, who missed six games and finished as the RB64 on a costly, $7.50 million salary. In Oprah giveaway fashion, the Pharaohs also traded another first-round pick (“YOU get a first-round pick! … YOU get a first-round pick!”) to the Crabs for running back David Johnson. Following that trade, Johnson appeared in just three games for the Pharaohs and averaged 10.8 points per game. Oh, yeah! — Traded DeVante Parker for three draft picks Wide receivers generally don’t wait until their fifth season in the league to have a breakout year, but that’s exactly what DeVante Parker did in 2019. Following that performance, the Pharaohs sold Parker while his stock was high, cashing in the ticket for a nice return on investment. Egypt sent Parker to Christmas Island for two second-round picks and a third round pick. Parker, while immensely talented, saw a big regression from his breakout 2019 season. He failed to stay healthy for the fifth season in his career and saw his receptions, yards and touchdowns all come crashing down. Parker finished as WR39 on the season. Jamaica Jerks Oops! — Traded away A.J. Brown and two draft picks for the rights to Chris Carson Running backs in the MFFL surely are valuable commodities, but sometimes that concept clouds one’s better judgement. The Jamaica Jerks traded stud receiver A.J. Brown, on his rookie contract, plus a second- and a third-round pick for — essentially — the free agent rights to Chris Carson. Carson was not worthless; he finished as RB17. But Brown finished as WR14 while missing 3 games and playing the rest of the season hurt. He has WR1 talent and has two years remaining on his rookie deal at $1 million per season. That doesn’t even include the two draft picks the Jerks gave away in the deal as well. If the Jerks wanted a running back so badly, they should have stayed put at Pick 2 in the 2020 MFFL Draft. It’s still too early to properly evaluate the trade in which Jamaica sent the second overall pick in the 2020 Draft to Bangkok for three second-round picks and two third-round picks. But early returns are not looking so good. Bangkok used that selection on running back Jonathan Taylor, who finished as the RB6 on the season and looks to be a cornerstone piece for years to come. The Jerks did use Pick 14 on quarterback Joe Burrow and Pick 18 on Laviska Shenault. Burrow looks to have a promising future and the jury is still out on Shenault. The Jerks rolled Picks 24, 28, and 29 into two second-round picks from Nagasaki. What the Jerks do with those picks from Nagasaki could determine how good or bad their trade with Bangkok turns out to be. Oh, yeah! — Traded Leonard Fournette for Kenny Golladay, a first-round pick and cash While the Jerks may have biffed the A.J. Brown trade, they nailed another deal involving a receiver. Jamaica sent the free agent rights to running back Leonard Fournette to Christmas Island for the free agent rights to Kenny Golladay, a 2021 first-round pick, and $4.50 cash. At the time, it seemed to be a fairly balanced deal. Fournette was a starting running back, which is a valuable commodity. In the aftermath, however, it was an absolute steal. Golladay only managed to play in five games this past year and his salary is a little high at $13 million. But he averaged 20.2 points per game in the four games he played healthy and he’s under contract for two more years. Additionally, the Jerks will have the ninth overall pick in this year’s draft and they were able to make use of that extra cash. Fournette, meanwhile, gave Christmas Island the heebie-jeebies, and the Crabs cut their losses and shipped him away, salvaging a first-round pick out of it before Fournette’s fortunes changed and he went on to have a terrible season as RB38. Nagasaki Kamikazes Oops! — Swapped the contracts and production of Stefon Diggs for Michael Thomas The Kamikazes made quite a few moves during, and in the run-up to the 2020 season. Most of them were prosperous, however there were a few that did not go as planned. Since the moves are related, they can be lumped into one decision. Coming off a poor season in which he finished as a high-end WR3, the Kamikazes looked to unload the slightly bloated contract of receiver Stefon Diggs in order to make room for the eventual acquisition of receiver Michael Thomas. Thomas then received a $23 million offer from the Bangkok Blitz. The Kamikazes used their NFT rights on him to match the offer, making Thomas the highest-paid player in the MFFL. Unfortunately, the Kamikazes did not get much return on investment as Thomas played in just seven games and averaged 15.8 points per game, ranking him 40th among receivers in that category. Meanwhile, in a cruel plot twist, Diggs went on to make his contract look like a bargain for the Scorpions, finishing as the WR2 and turning in a magnificent performance in the Super Bowl against his former team. Oh, yeah! — Acquired A.J. Brown and two draft picks for the rights to Chris Carson Where does one begin weighing the positive moves the Kamikazes executed during the 2020 season? There was the shipment of washed-up running back Mark Ingram and one-year wonder Tyler Higbee to Switzerland for young receivers Deebo Samuel and Diontae Johnson, plus a second-round pick. There was the four-way trade in which they dumped Le’Veon Bell, plus backups Jaylen Samuels and James Washington, for the rights to Ezekiel Elliott. Then there was the shipment of Elliott back to Ecuador in a three-way deal that landed them DeAndre Hopkins. There was the signing of free agent rookie running back James Robinson, who went on to finish as RB7. And in a close, second-place finish to the biggest hit, there was the unloading of tight end T.J. Hockenson for what wound up being the first-overall selection in the 2021 draft. The only thing that keeps this from being No. 1 is the slight unknown that comes with a draft pick. Ultimately, the trade of Chris Carson’s free agent rights for A.J. Brown, and a second- and third-round pick proved to be the biggest hit. Brown finished as WR14 despite missing three games and playing hurt the whole season and has two years left on his rookie deal at $1 million per season. Russia Renegades Oops! — Traded three young receivers for a washed up Le’Veon Bell The Renegades toed the 2020 line of current versus future title contention. In 2019, they dealt several young pieces in an attempt to compete for a title. So, they looked to rebuild that cache while also trying to compete for a 2020 title. Armed with the third overall pick, they traded back to secure an extra first-round pick, rather than draft a coveted running back. Depending on how the careers of players like D’Andre Swift and J.K. Dobbins transpire, that could have been their biggest mistake. The Renegades also traded a second-round pick, and swapped first- and second-round picks with San Juan to ensure the selection of Jerry Jeudy. After one season, that hasn’t panned out yet, either. Due to the amount of time it takes to grade draft classes, though, the bigger mistake had to do with a pair of trades the Renegades made to try to upgrade its backfield. The Renegades traded Tyler Boyd and Miles Boykin to Turkey for Sony Michel, and then traded Sony Michel and Anthony Miller to Ecuador for Le’Veon Bell. Essentially, it was Boyd, Boykin and Miller for Bell. Boykin and Miller never took the next step many were expecting, but Boyd finished as WR29. Bell, meanwhile, never rebounded from his disastrous 2019 season and had an equally disappointing 2020, finishing as RB63. Oh, yeah! — Traded Melvin Gordon and Pick 13 for Calvin Ridley and 2021 1st The Renegades made a few nice moves to rebuild their core of young players. Through a series of trades dating back to last year, the Renegades built up their cache of first-round picks to 5 and used those on five promising young receivers. They traded the rights to DeAndre Hopkins for what turned out to be CeeDee Lamb. Whether that becomes a net gain or loss remains to be seen, once Lamb’s career plays out. Likewise, they turned Pick 3 into Picks 8 and 10, which eventually became Jerry Jeudy and Justin Jefferson. Whether the addition of those two receivers is a net gain or loss over running back D’Andre Swift remains to be seen as well. Seeking to unload a high-priced contract, the Renegades shipped off Melvin Gordon and Pick 13 in the 2020 draft for Calvin Ridley, a 2021 1st Round Pick and the bloated contract of draft bust Derrius Guice. Gordon had a strong year and finished as RB14, but Ridley’s progression from WR27 in 2019 to WR5 in 2020 was a net victory. The fact that they improved from Pick 13 in 2020’s draft to Pick 5 in 2021 was icing on the cake. The Renegades were able to unload Guice’s contract for a second- and third-round pick from Christmas Island, too. San Juan Scorpions Oops! — Selected Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson It’s awfully difficult to find a mistake from a team that went on to win the Super Bowl. The Scorpions did just about everything right — or at least neutrally — en route to their championship. If one had to nitpick, they could point to whom the Scorpions selected with the 8th pick in the 2020 Draft. San Juan selected receiver Jalen Reagor, who missed five games and averaged just 10.1 points per game the rest of the season. They passed on Justin Jefferson, who was taken one pick later and averaged 20.9 points per game while finishing as WR7. Obviously, you can’t judge a draft class after one season and Reagor still has a bright career ahead of him. But when searching for a mistake to assign this franchise, that’s about as egregious as it gets. Oh, yeah! — Acquired Stefon Diggs for John Brown and Jace Sternberger The Scorpions placed the Transition Tag on receiver Robert Woods, who went out and finished as WR12, averaging 19 points per game. They wisely placed the EFT on Alvin Kamara, who was the league’s best running back and the key player in San Juan’s Super Bowl victory. The Scorpions acquired young tight end Dallas Goedert for a second-round pick. Goedert missed five games, but finished 10th in average points for tight ends. The Scorpions signed free agent Myles Gaskin, who finished 12th among running backs in average points per game with 19.1. In spite of all those key moves, it was the acquisition of receiver Stefon Diggs for receiver John Brown and tight end Jace Sternberger that was ultimately San Juan’s biggest hit. The sixth-year pro had his best year in the league and finished as the MFFL’s No. 2 receiver. The fact that Diggs had a great performance in the Super Bowl against his former team, the Kamikazes, was a fitting way to end the year. Switzerland Squirrels Oops! — Traded Deebo Samuel, Diontae Johnson and a second-round pick for Mark Ingram and Tyler Higbee The 2020 offseason was a reunion of sorts for Switzerland. At least, with two players it was. One player the Squirrels reunited with was receiver Adam Thielen, whom the team dealt at the trade deadline the previous year. More on that in a moment. The other big player they reunited with was running back Leonard Fournette, but the results were not as good as expected. The Squirrels traded Pick 8 in the 2020 Draft for Fournette and Pick 25. Fournette wound up having a bad year, finishing as RB38. While it’s bad to give up a first-round pick for that kind of production, it’s not as egregious as another move they made in the offseason. The Squirrels traded young receivers Deebo Samuel and Diontae Johnson (and James Washington, who was a non-factor), plus a second-round pick for the free agent rights to Mark Ingram and Tyler Higbee. Ingram was a bust in 2020, missing six games and finishing as RB75 while Higbee’s 2020 season made you wonder if he was but a flash in the pan in 2019. Meanwhile, Samuel only played in seven games but averaged 14.7 points per contest while Johnson had a breakout year, finishing as WR21 and averaging 18.7 points per game. Oh, yeah! — Traded for the rights to Adam Thielen in exchange for Andy Isabella In rebuild mode at the 2019 trade deadline, the Squirrels unloaded receiver Adam Thielen to San Juan. The Squirrels then reacquired his free agent rights after the season, trading project Andy Isabella. The Squirrels placed the Transition Tag on Thielen and gladly re-signed him to a contract for $10 million. Thielen improved from a down year in 2019, going from WR65 that year to WR11 this past season. The Squirrels had a few other advantageous moves in 2020. They acquired tight end Mark Andrews and the rights to James Conner for Mark Ingram and Mike Gesicki. They also acquired the free agent rights to receiver Cooper Kupp for Pick 25 in the 2020 Draft. Turkey Jerky Oops! — Traded Calvin Ridley and a 1st Round Pick for Melvin Gordon and Pick 13 in 2020 Turkey elected to be bold in 2020 and go for the gusto. Already possessing one of the league’s highest payrolls, the Jerky chose to help fortify its run game by trading for Melvin Gordon from Russia. Gordon had a successful year, finishing as RB14, but the Jerky gave up receiver Calvin Ridley in the process, who went on to have a breakout third season in the league. In addition, the Jerky swapped a first-round pick in 2021 (which turned out to be Pick 5) for Pick 13 in 2020, a difference of 8 draft slots. The Jerky went and flipped Pick 13 for tight end Hayden Hurst. Whether that turns into a net gain or net loss depends on the careers of Hurst and Henry Ruggs — the player selected with that pick. Hurst finished as a TE9 in his first year with Turkey. Ruggs missed three games and finished as WR96. Still too early to evaluate that. Oh, yeah! — Traded Sony Michel for Tyler Boyd and Miles Boykin The Jerky made a second offseason trade with Russia, sending disappointing running back Sony Michel to the Renegades for receivers Tyler Boyd and Miles Boykin. Boyd had a strong year, finishing as WR29, while Boykin never made the second-year jump many were predicting. Michel, meanwhile, was a big disappointment, missing 9 games and finishing as RB62. Placing the EFT on running back Derrick Henry was an honorable mention to the biggest hit, but was obviously a no-brainer. The Jerky also traded a 2022 first-round pick for running back Kenyan Drake. Drake finished as RB12, but it could be a questionable move by the time 2022 rolls around. Ukraine Grainers Oops! — Traded Preston Williams and $2 million cash for Raheem Mostert There were a number of moves that toed the line of uncertainty for the Grainers in 2020, but there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut winner for biggest mistake. There was the acquisition of receiver Parris Campbell for Pick 20 in the 2020 Draft. After missing nine games in 2019, Campbell appeared in just two games this past year before suffering an MCL injury and missing the rest of the year. It’s too early to close the book on him, but it’s not looking good so far. Then the Grainers placed the NFT on receiver Chris Godwin and signed him to a 3-year deal. Godwin is still one of the most talented receivers in the league, but he missed four games this year and dropped to WR32 on the season. He has one of the highest salaries among receivers, but the market could correct that. The Grainers signed veteran A.J. Green for $4 million this offseason. Green finished at WR62, but the money wasn’t a huge detriment. Ultimately, the move that could be considered the most questionable was trading receiver Preston Williams, plus $1 million cash in 2021 and 2022 to Wake Island for running back Raheem Mostert. Mostert was with Ukraine for just four games and averaged 10.25 points per game. Williams missed eight games, but he averaged 11.3 points per game and is still under contract for two more years. Oh, yeah! — Traded Odell Beckham and 2nd Rounder for Sterling Shepard and 1st Rounder The positive transactions for the Grainers were much more plentiful. Ukraine upgraded from Justice Hill by acquiring Sony Michel. They landed Pick 15 in the 2020 Draft for draft bust Rashaad Penny. They landed a second-round pick for role player Malcolm Brown. They unloaded a bad Todd Gurley contract and landed Kenyan Drake — whom they flipped for a first-round pick. Still, the best move appears to be unloading the bloated contract of Odell Beckham, plus a second-round pick, for Sterling Shepard and a first-round pick. The move helped the Grainers clear up cap space and get a first-round pick out of the deal. Wake Island Wookiees Oops! — Traded a 1st Round Pick for T.J. Hockenson Ask different owners and you’d get different responses, but in this analyst’s opinion, had Wake Island won the Super Bowl in 2020 and earned Pick 12 in the 2021 Draft, it still wouldn’t have been worth trading a first-round pick for a tight end not named Kelce (and maybe Kittle or Waller). As it turns out, the Wookiees did not win the Super Bowl and in fact finished on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Thus, the trading of what would become the first-overall pick in the 2021 Draft for tight end T.J. Hockenson ultimately was the Wookiees’ biggest “oops” of the season. Surprisingly, the award was a lot closer than you might think. The other big contender was when the Wookiees traded receiver DeAndre Hopkins — who finished as WR4 on the season — for Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman and John Brown. Oops. Oh, yeah! — Traded Raheem Mostert for Preston Williams plus $2 million cash It was a rough season for the Wookiees as expectations fell apart rather quickly when star running back Saquon Barkley blew out his knee in Week 2 and missed the rest of the season. There was not a whole lot of positive movement to be excited about and the Wookiees fans are hoping for more positive improvement in 2021. The most positive move the Wookiees made was trading Raheem Mostert for receiver Preston Williams, plus $1 million cash in 2021 and $1 million cash in 2022. The cash helps, but having a young receiver under contract for two more seasons is a positive development as well for a team that is headed into a rebuild without a first-round pick.