The View From Here

Over. Checkmate. Forget about it. Every year they say it’s the craziest offseason of all time, but this one clearly takes the entire cakesheet.

The Brandon Marshall trade is the biggest of all, so far, impacting far more than just the two teams involved. Let’s go to the tape:

-The Denver Broncos unloaded an off-the-field headache and saved a boatload in bucks that might as well go to Eddie Royal who’s almost as good talent-wise. But Marshall was Kyle Orton’s best friend. Forget the 10 TDs and 1,120 receiving yards. The guy had 101 catches this season. One third of the balls completed by Orton were to Marshall. And it’s not like he was actually expendable. Take away Marshall (and I know, odds are someone else would have caught at least some of the passes, but this is for dramatic effect), and Denver is 30^th in total offense (ahead of only Cleveland and Oakland). This was a pass-first team that just lost its ability to pass. Maybe the Broncos can translate the high picks in a good draft to compensate for that, but for right now, the team that was a four-game losing streak away from making the playoffs is probably a lot less than that.

-As for Miami, Bill Parcells gets the exact kind of player he always looks for: Someone else’s malcontent problem that he whips into shape. If there’s any talent at all in Chad Henne, we’ll know it right away. He’s got a solid defense, a tricky running game and now a big No. 1 receiver. Miami was probably closer in the One Player Away realm than most of the teams in the league. They were 20^th in passing offense, fourth in rushing.

-Then you have to think about the Bills, Jets, and Patriots. While the Dolphins lost their last three to knock them out of the playoffs, they went 4-2 in the conference. What’s the Achilles heel of other AFC East team? Stopping the run (NYJ: 8^th, NE: 13^th, Buffalo: 30^th). No more stacking the box against the Fins this year. If Henne is at least a little bit good, this could be the most competitive division in the league. In the same vein, the Chargers, Raiders, and Chiefs have to be licking their chops that the best receiver in the division now isn’t.

-And let’s not forget our beloved AFC North. Oh yes, this trade has your name on it, too. The Steelers, Bengals, Browns and Ravens all need a receiver in that order, or at least could be drafting one. The Broncos and Dolphins were both likely destinations for one of the top talents, be it Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas or Arrelious Benn. With the Dolphins out of the way, at least two of these guys could be sitting there when the Steelers pick at 18. The odds, therefore, of a top three receiver ending up in the North just doubled.

-Back to Cleveland. The Browns have a million needs and if they stay put will probably take Bryant. But now with the Dolphins out of the market, the Broncos’ chances of taking Bryant rose exponentially. Therefore Holmgren’s 7^th pick just increased in value for teams wanting to trade ahead of Denver. This is all based on the hypothesis that the character issue isn’t an issue if the player is really good. Guess what? Bryant is.

All of this for a second-round pick. We’ll see if it’s worth it.