It was the tenth pick in the first round, what were you supposed to do grab a wideout? You knew Foster, Peterson, and Lynch were gone before the draft even started so you prayed for Spiller. And you watched Rice, Charles, McCoy, Martin, and Morris, fly off after them and there you were, one pick away from your dream RB 1. Then CJ wasn’t in your queue any more. You check the draft history and there he went right at #9. So you grabbed the only first round RB talent left. Trent Richardson. Then you talked yourself into him. He’s a 3 down back. He has no competition for carries. He’s the biggest/only threat on their team and Joe Thomas is his tackle so how bad could it really be? And you saw two weeks of lackluster production as the offense lacked pop without Josh Gordon.

And then it happened.

You got a text from a league friend about it. And didn’t believe it.

You checked Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport’s twitter accounts. And didn’t believe it.

Then you googled it. And seeing it in text, tweet, and now search engine, you believed it.

Trent Richardson was a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

Jackpot

Everything changed, he was on a playoff team now, he was on a team with a passing attack now. No more 8 men in the box. You could practically hear the fantasy points rolling in. You saw dubious trade proposals like Eddie Lacy and Justin Blackmon roll in. Heck the guy that offered that one said he’d toss in Bilal Powell if you chipped in Kellen Winslow Jr. and you turned it down. Sure you’d be getting some depth but really? How would you replace all that production he’ll be giving you now!

I think I can cut the, “Masterpiece Theater” now right?

If hope was somehow scored in fantasy football Trent Richardson would be CRUSHING all other players now. But it isn’t and he’s not crushing it. As it stands he’s your 20th ranked RB heading into this week and you aren’t a fan. If you’ve seen any Colts game you see Donald Brown out on pass plays now and that’s frustrating. Don’t hit the sell button so fast though, here are some of the facts working in your favor. Pep Hamilton wants a power run game in Indy. Trent Richardson is a power back. Richardson had shown flashes of greatness in his rookie season and from the RB position that is a hard thing to do and not follow up on. Then there’s 13, 20, 18, and 10. Those are his carries with the Colts. Believe me there are going to be more 20s and 18s than 10s. And last, the injury woes that came attached with Richardson look to be nonexistent this year.

Here’s the bad news. Only 2 catches with the Colts. Only a 3.1 YPC with the Colts, he had the benefit of a 4.0 on Monday making that 3.1 higher than what it would have been. He doesn’t look slow like MJD, or CJ Spiller, or Ray Rice, and that actually is concerning as you would understand these numbers if he was toughing his way through a hip, groin, or hamstring issue. We can’t tell if it’s the line, the way defenses are playing him, or if it’s just his field vision but something isn’t going right.

So what do you do with Trent Richardson?

So as always there’s two routes to go if you give him up. You either have a team with depth and are looking to package him with another player and get a steal. Or if you’re thin (maybe grabbed Randall Cobb) you’re looking for multiple players. Here is what you’re doing.

RB – Boy the crop here is rough. You could try and get a straight swap with a Doug Martin owner (and you’d be getting the better end of that deal). If you’re looking to get a markedly better player without giving away the store aim for someone like Frank Gore or Alfred Morris. I wouldn’t throw in much more than a WR 3 or a WR4 with a little upside though.

WR – I so badly want to go all in on Justin Blackmon right now. Be part of the first wave bandwagoners. I don’t think he can keep up this pace but man he sure looks like he can. He faces the Chargers next and after a third outstanding game his asking price will be too high. so if you can snag him and someone else go for it. I also like Keenan Allen if you can get an additional player. If you’re looking to up your WR game significantly throw in someone else and try and get Antonio Brown. Richardson much like CJ2K has a name that brings a little extra pop to his value. Brown doesn’t have that yet, but he will soon.

TE – I’m not doing a RB for TE trade unless all i have is Brandon Petigrew and in that case I’m going for a Martellus Bennett and some spare WR change. Look for matchups when taking the lesser player here. A Jerome Simpson sounds about right.

So here’s a last bit of advice for Richardson owners. Denver has given up a TD to a RB in every game this year. So there’s a chance he has a nice week against the Broncos. Then there’s the BYE week. BYE weeks are a sacred thing in the NFL. I wouldn’t be surprised if Trent has a stranglehold on the snaps for all three downs after the week off.

So there it is. What you need to know and who you could get for Trent Richardson. His play hasn’t been pretty so far and it might take some patience from owners to see his real value. However, nobody in the fantasy community would go crazy if you deal him. Enough people like the name and believe in the opportunity so I think it’s completely worth it to post on your league’s message board that he’s available and much like the Browns were, you’re listening to any and all offers.