Now that Alex Smith has been traded to Kansas City, what is his fantasy value?
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- Michael Fabiano NFL.com Fantasy Editor
Smith gets slightly more valuable
This move obviously helps Smith's fantasy appeal for the 2013 season - he goes from the backup in San Francisco to a starter in Kansas City, and being a quarterback in coach Andy Reid's pass-laden offense is always a positive. However, I still don't see Smith as much more than a late-round, low-end No. 2 fantasy quarterback. Remember, he was a bust for all intents and purposes before coach Jim Harbaugh came along for the Niners. Can he be as effective without him? Smith was also mostly a game manager, so it's hard to envision a scenario where he all of the sudden starts putting up monster numbers in the stat sheets.
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- Marcas Grant NFL.com Fantasy Editor
Don't overvalue Smith next season
Alex Smith is an upgrade for the Kansas City Chiefs. He's not necessarily an upgrade for fantasy owners. Smith was a good No. 2 fantasy option before he lost his job to an injury. Now he goes to a coach that likes to focus on the passing game, except for one problem ... there may be no one to throw to. Kansas City's main target -- Dwayne Bowe -- is expected to play elsewhere next season. That leaves an average quarterback with no one to throw to. It's better than being a backup in San Francisco, but don't go overboard in next year's drafts.
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- Jason Smith NFL.com Fantasy Analyst
Smith still a bye week option
His value has increased, there's no doubt - as he had zero fantasy value on the 49ers behind Colin Kaepernick. Now with the trade, he's leaped up all the way to ... a No. 2 fantasy QB and potential bye-week replacement. Hey, at least he's in the game now. No matter what happens the remainder of the offseason and preseason, Smith will still enter 2013 behind at least 12-14 other quarterbacks in fantasy. But he does have upside. He could be surrounded with good weapons in KC depending how the next few months go, and we know how Andy Reid likes to ignore the running game, which is good news for Smith. I'd feel very confident with him as my backup in case something happens to my starter or he catches fire and then I have a bargaining chip if I want to make a trade. However his value at it's best will likely be what it was until he got hurt in 2012: a QB who, depending on the matchup, would be worth starting if you have a question at the position that week.
I like the Alex Smith trade as a football move. The Chiefs now become a contender for the AFC West title and this makes a lot of sense from a football perspective. Just don't expect it to have much of a fantasy impact. Expect to see a similar Alex Smith to the one we had in the last two years in San Francisco. Smith had a great passer rating, low touchdown totals and wasn't a guy you could trust on a week-to-week basis. Smith will be a nice backup for you. And if his starts against the Raiders coincide with your starter's bye week (or untimely injuries), then you have a pretty good matchup-based spot starter. Other than that, the only ones who should be excited about this move are Chiefs enthusiasts.
