Percy Harvin's Instant Fantasy Reaction After Reportedly Being Traded to Jets

The Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets sent shockwaves throughout the NFL (and fantasy football leagues) Friday when they agreed to a trade involving wide receiver Percy Harvin.

Jay Glazer of Fox Sports initially broke the news:

Considering the fact that major NFL trades rarely ever happen during the season, reaction was a mix of skepticism and shock. Rachel Nichols of CNN and Robert Mays of Grantland seemed surprised, while Pro Football Talk cleared up any potential confusion:

While the news is certainly surprising, you are probably more interested in the impact on your fantasy team. For one, the Jets already played in Week 7, which means Harvin is not going to be available on Sunday if you have him as one of your receivers.

It is really an unavoidable and unfortunate break for Harvin owners.

Ironically, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll recently had Harvin owners excited when said the plan was to use Harvin more in the passing game, via Jayson Jenks of The Seattle Times, "He's too fast not to use deep."

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

In terms of the long-term impact, this means he is switching from quarterback Russell Wilson to Geno Smith. That is a downgrade in reality and the winning department, but in fantasy it may not be that bad for Harvin. After all, he only has 133 receiving yards on the season in Seattle and doesn’t have a single touchdown catch.

The Seahawks offense is built around the run with Wilson and Marshawn Lynch and is actually 31st in the league with 186 passing yards per game. It is not a fantasy-friendly offense for wide receivers, as so many Harvin owners have discovered this season.

Of course, the Jets are 32nd in the league at 185.4 passing yards per game, but Smith has attempted 225 passes to Wilson’s 139. New York throws the ball far more often than Seattle, and some of the lack of aerial production can be attributed to the lack of playmakers at the receiver position for the Jets.

Now they have Harvin, who is certainly a speedy playmaker, and his targets will in all likelihood increase. He will also still be a special teams threat and continue to give you points if you are in a league that rewards individual players for return yardage and scores.

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It may seem strange to say, but Harvin’s fantasy value may actually increase over the course of the season because he is leaving the Super Bowl champions. If nothing else, he will get more targets in the passing game (he only has 26 on the season for Seattle).

It will be up to him to convert on those targets.