Dynasty Dilemma: Robert Woods

by Mike Bellace 

Reason to Buy

Approaching his tenth season in the league, Woods faces an uphill battle recovering from a torn ACL and has an out on his contract for the 2022 season! This injury isn’t as scary as it used to be with today’s miracles in modern medicine. I think he recovers and is back on the field by training camp or early season? He’s totaled 125 games in 9 seasons with 570 catches on 897 targets. Also amassing 7,077 yards and 35 touchdowns with a 12.4 YPC average. Not too shabby for a former USC Trojan product? Ok so the numbers aren’t WR1 but he’s been a staple WR2 with consistency and hasn’t really missed a lot of time to injuries. For that kind of production, I'm pretty pleased and the price tag would be fairly cheap for a contending team to add for depth. 

NFL is a Business

The fact that the Rams have gone for broke and paid a lot for free agents this past season is not typically what franchises do? It’s unlikely that they bring back OBJ, so he can come back without losing a ton of targets, except for Kupp, but Woods plays the outside across from Van jefferson, 

who seems to be coming into his own! With all that said I still think there’s room for Woods to put up WR2 numbers, provided he remains with the Rams! OBJ is dealing with a torn ACL himself and is an unrestricted free agent in 2022. They could look to the draft to fill the vacancy at WR because beyond those 3 mentioned it’s roster fodder in my opinion. The Rams should have the money to keep him if Aaron Donald, Von Miller, OBJ and Andrew Whitworth are gone? 

Finding a New Home

If the Rams don’t bring him back, where could he land and how will that all work out? Not a major crisis, as there are plenty of teams that need experienced help at wide receiver and a reunion with the Bills would be really nice? I’m sure he won’t settle for a bad team, again someone looking for the last piece to take them where they want to be? Either way I think Woods can still be a valuable asset to a franchise looking to get better at the position.

Reason to Sell

At some point all players fall off some or as they say, lose a step! For Woods losing a step could be detrimental to his game because he’s not a speedster to begin with. He’s a prototypical possession receiver that delivers when called upon and losing a step could kill that! So I’m looking to sell him for maybe a second round pick or a young player on the fringe of becoming a relevant player in the fantasy world like Mecole Hardman, Tyler Johnson or KJ Hamler just to name a few. 

The Verdict

Here’s a decent NFL talent that’s had a nice career with 2 different teams and if you’re pondering trading him to get younger now’s the time to get something in return before he becomes a droppable player! Yeah you might get another year of solid production out of him but that’s about it, whether he stays or goes! Taking a chance on him remains risky due to age and his latest injury! Look to sell to contending teams that don’t care about losing a second rounder for him because they need depth to win the Ship!