I will be doing one long task, this one about one of the more... entertaining trades in the last ISFL century.
OCO Receives:
Curtis Saul*
CHI S21 R1
PHI S21 R3
CHI Receives:
Thorian Skarsgard*
OCO S21 R1
OCO S21 R2
$2,000,000 S21 cap space
*Contracts are retained for both players
So this is one of the most major trades of recent memories that I can think of, and definitely one of the biggest for me as when it happened I was a fairly new user.
Something important to note is that Chicago was projected to have first overall and while a 900 TPE DT like Skarsgard could have potentially changed that, it was unlikely to fix their several missing holes. I think for this trade it’s very important to note that they still had Ryan Leaf Jr, a DT already better than Skarsgard, so getting a DT would not have been extremely beneficial to the team, especially considering the extreme needs at RB, TE, and nearly all defensive back positions. But hey, maybe OCO missed in the first and Chicago crushed this draft with 3 picks in the first two rounds!
Let’s see what these picks turned into.
CHI S21 R1 turned into 1oa, as many expected to happen, and Orange County would pick their next GM Prince Vegeta at 1oa. Vegeta would be a max earning safety before eventually going inactive right before regression, at 1430 TPE. Overall a very good pick and likely well worth it for OCO, as Jeff kept that lr active during a semi rough stretch (at least for old OCO standards).
PHI S21 R3 would turn into 23oa, the third pick of the third round. At this spot OCO would pick Lemon, aka Remon Kurisuto, who would hit 926 TPE before going inactive and actually swapping positions for cap purposes. This is another player who would be massive for OCO’s continued domination, and Lemon was actually the DSFL simmer for a couple of seasons; an obvious good user and good selection.
For Chicago’s acquired picks:
OCO R1 would turn into 6oa, which all things considered doesn't really make this trade all too bad.
At 6oa CHI would end up selecting TE Osiris Firestorm-Fjord. This would prove to be one of Chicago’s few good picks, as Osiris would hit 1195 TPE, and is still active to this day! I know for a fact that HEOB was a main locker room contributor during the dark days of Chicago, and without him I’m not sure Chicago ever makes it out of the cellar, 10/10 pick and honestly due to still being active today I would say the value HEOB brought to Chicago was even more than what Jeff brought to OCO.
OCO R2 would actually be traded AGAIN, this time to Arizona. S20 was by far the season where Chicago did the most trades, and unfortunately for them most were not good trades. Let’s see what Chicago traded this second for….
ARI Receives:
OCO S21 2nd Round Pick
CHI S22 5th Round Pick
CHI Receives:
Leighton Lee*
$1,000,000 S21 cap space
*Contract is retained by Arizona
Leighton Lee was a 695 TPE LB, who would enter regression at the end of the season, and honestly trading a second in a deep class (at the time) is very, very bad. If AZ managed to draft someone good with that second round pick then this would be a highway robbery. Key word “if.”
Arizona would end up selecting Trevor Mouseman with their OCO R2 selection, which while at the time Mouseman was a good pick he would go IA almost immediately after being drafted and never made it to the big leagues.
That Chicago S22 5th however, would prove to be a steal of a pick for a 695 (nearly) regressing linebacker. With that S22 R5 pick, AZ would end up selecting Zamir Kehla, and while he did retire early, he provided several seasons of above average CB play and a pro bowl selection.
AZ gets a grade of: B+
Overall this is a very good deal for AZ, and just Leighton Lee for a 5th is worth it if I'm AZ, however missing on that second makes me unable to give this an A.
CHI gets a grade of: F-
Honestly I can’t even believe this trade was approved. Really? You're going to trade a second in a deep draft, and while you didn't know the 5th would be as valuable as it was, you did know it was a reddit pick, and you traded all that away for not only a not high TPE LB, but a regressing one!? In a season where you started off the season poorly and are unlikely to make playoffs? Chicago has made several trades like this in recent years and this is one of the reasons why they were in such a bad spot for so long.
Now back to our main trade:
OCO Receives:
Curtis Saul*
CHI S21 R1
PHI S21 R3
CHI Receives:
Thorian Skarsgard*
OCO S21 R1
OCO S21 R2
$2,000,000 S21 cap space
TLDR; That OCO R2 would turn into Leighton Lee essentially, which is not a very good trade for who they could have gotten in R2. Let’s narrow it down to who received what to dumb it down.
OCO Receives:
Curtis Saul* - 195 TPE DT, just a placeholder for losing Thorian. In his last season.
CHI S21 R1 - Prince Vegeta - S; a future OCO GM and is on the top 25 TPE list. ISFL Pro Bowler - Currently IA
PHI S21 R3 - Remon Kuristuto - WR/OL; a (former)valued OCO WR member and former DSFL simmer. ISFL - Pro Bowler - Currently IA.
CHI Receives:
Thorian Skarsgard* - 900 TPE DT - Entering his 3rd regression season in the offseason. - Turned into a valued CHI WR member before leaving CHI in FA for his last season.
OCO S21 R1 - Osiris Firestorm-Fjord - CB/TE; Valued CHI WR member and helped them through the rebuild
OCO S21 R2 - Turned into Leghton Lee - 695 TPE LB - Entering his first regression season in offseason - Would retire after only 1.5 seasons in Chicago.
$2,000,000 S21 cap space
I think that it is pretty safe to say that OCO won the trade, however the value in trades are closer than one may think.
OCO gets a grade of: A+
OCO got two cornerstone players for their franchise including a GM, if you get that in a trade I honestly can't give you anything less than an A+.
CHI gets a grade of: D+
If they didn't luck into HEOB falling to 6 this would be another F-, however getting HEOB was key to their successful rebuild so I do have to give kudos for that. However if they didn't make this trade and just picked Jeff 1oa alongside a good player in the third they may have never needed to go full rebuild. Could have been worse definitely, but still a very much not good trade.
OCO Receives:
Curtis Saul*
CHI S21 R1
PHI S21 R3
CHI Receives:
Thorian Skarsgard*
OCO S21 R1
OCO S21 R2
$2,000,000 S21 cap space
*Contracts are retained for both players
So this is one of the most major trades of recent memories that I can think of, and definitely one of the biggest for me as when it happened I was a fairly new user.
Something important to note is that Chicago was projected to have first overall and while a 900 TPE DT like Skarsgard could have potentially changed that, it was unlikely to fix their several missing holes. I think for this trade it’s very important to note that they still had Ryan Leaf Jr, a DT already better than Skarsgard, so getting a DT would not have been extremely beneficial to the team, especially considering the extreme needs at RB, TE, and nearly all defensive back positions. But hey, maybe OCO missed in the first and Chicago crushed this draft with 3 picks in the first two rounds!
Let’s see what these picks turned into.
CHI S21 R1 turned into 1oa, as many expected to happen, and Orange County would pick their next GM Prince Vegeta at 1oa. Vegeta would be a max earning safety before eventually going inactive right before regression, at 1430 TPE. Overall a very good pick and likely well worth it for OCO, as Jeff kept that lr active during a semi rough stretch (at least for old OCO standards).
PHI S21 R3 would turn into 23oa, the third pick of the third round. At this spot OCO would pick Lemon, aka Remon Kurisuto, who would hit 926 TPE before going inactive and actually swapping positions for cap purposes. This is another player who would be massive for OCO’s continued domination, and Lemon was actually the DSFL simmer for a couple of seasons; an obvious good user and good selection.
For Chicago’s acquired picks:
OCO R1 would turn into 6oa, which all things considered doesn't really make this trade all too bad.
At 6oa CHI would end up selecting TE Osiris Firestorm-Fjord. This would prove to be one of Chicago’s few good picks, as Osiris would hit 1195 TPE, and is still active to this day! I know for a fact that HEOB was a main locker room contributor during the dark days of Chicago, and without him I’m not sure Chicago ever makes it out of the cellar, 10/10 pick and honestly due to still being active today I would say the value HEOB brought to Chicago was even more than what Jeff brought to OCO.
OCO R2 would actually be traded AGAIN, this time to Arizona. S20 was by far the season where Chicago did the most trades, and unfortunately for them most were not good trades. Let’s see what Chicago traded this second for….
ARI Receives:
OCO S21 2nd Round Pick
CHI S22 5th Round Pick
CHI Receives:
Leighton Lee*
$1,000,000 S21 cap space
*Contract is retained by Arizona
Leighton Lee was a 695 TPE LB, who would enter regression at the end of the season, and honestly trading a second in a deep class (at the time) is very, very bad. If AZ managed to draft someone good with that second round pick then this would be a highway robbery. Key word “if.”
Arizona would end up selecting Trevor Mouseman with their OCO R2 selection, which while at the time Mouseman was a good pick he would go IA almost immediately after being drafted and never made it to the big leagues.
That Chicago S22 5th however, would prove to be a steal of a pick for a 695 (nearly) regressing linebacker. With that S22 R5 pick, AZ would end up selecting Zamir Kehla, and while he did retire early, he provided several seasons of above average CB play and a pro bowl selection.
AZ gets a grade of: B+
Overall this is a very good deal for AZ, and just Leighton Lee for a 5th is worth it if I'm AZ, however missing on that second makes me unable to give this an A.
CHI gets a grade of: F-
Honestly I can’t even believe this trade was approved. Really? You're going to trade a second in a deep draft, and while you didn't know the 5th would be as valuable as it was, you did know it was a reddit pick, and you traded all that away for not only a not high TPE LB, but a regressing one!? In a season where you started off the season poorly and are unlikely to make playoffs? Chicago has made several trades like this in recent years and this is one of the reasons why they were in such a bad spot for so long.
Now back to our main trade:
OCO Receives:
Curtis Saul*
CHI S21 R1
PHI S21 R3
CHI Receives:
Thorian Skarsgard*
OCO S21 R1
OCO S21 R2
$2,000,000 S21 cap space
TLDR; That OCO R2 would turn into Leighton Lee essentially, which is not a very good trade for who they could have gotten in R2. Let’s narrow it down to who received what to dumb it down.
OCO Receives:
Curtis Saul* - 195 TPE DT, just a placeholder for losing Thorian. In his last season.
CHI S21 R1 - Prince Vegeta - S; a future OCO GM and is on the top 25 TPE list. ISFL Pro Bowler - Currently IA
PHI S21 R3 - Remon Kuristuto - WR/OL; a (former)valued OCO WR member and former DSFL simmer. ISFL - Pro Bowler - Currently IA.
CHI Receives:
Thorian Skarsgard* - 900 TPE DT - Entering his 3rd regression season in the offseason. - Turned into a valued CHI WR member before leaving CHI in FA for his last season.
OCO S21 R1 - Osiris Firestorm-Fjord - CB/TE; Valued CHI WR member and helped them through the rebuild
OCO S21 R2 - Turned into Leghton Lee - 695 TPE LB - Entering his first regression season in offseason - Would retire after only 1.5 seasons in Chicago.
$2,000,000 S21 cap space
I think that it is pretty safe to say that OCO won the trade, however the value in trades are closer than one may think.
OCO gets a grade of: A+
OCO got two cornerstone players for their franchise including a GM, if you get that in a trade I honestly can't give you anything less than an A+.
CHI gets a grade of: D+
If they didn't luck into HEOB falling to 6 this would be another F-, however getting HEOB was key to their successful rebuild so I do have to give kudos for that. However if they didn't make this trade and just picked Jeff 1oa alongside a good player in the third they may have never needed to go full rebuild. Could have been worse definitely, but still a very much not good trade.