Still a couple of months away from most league’s drafts, I wanted to take a minute and add some fantasy to this off season. There were a lot of big name players involved in trade demands / rumors that did not happen. Without consideration for salary cap or any other factors, here are seven trades I wished had happened to liven up the fantasy landscape.

1. Chad Johnson to the Washington Redskins for a second round pick in the 2008 draft. Ocho Cinco has an all pro quarterback and plays in a system in which he has proved effective. Though recently he has changed his tune, he spent most of the summer demanding a trade and avoiding OTAs. A trade would have been a great way to deflate Johnson’s ego. It would have added fantasy value to Jason Campbell and T.J. Houshmanzadah. It would also have given an unknown receiver like Jerome Simpson or Marcus Maxwell a chance to be a sleeper candidate.

2. Roy Williams (the one from Detroit) to the Philadelphia Eagles for Lito Sheppard. Williams would have been Donovan McNabb’s first legitimate wide receiver threat since T.O. left. As a Lion, Williams had some statistical success with Jon Kitna throwing him passes. Mike Martz is gone, and he took a large number of pass attempts with him, so Williams will likely see a small drop in his numbers. Moving to another pass oriented attack in Philly, with a veteran signal caller, would likely have pushed Williams up many draft boards. There would be some pressure taken off Brian Westbrook, but he, McNabb, and Williams would have seen a rise in their fantasy value.

3. Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints for a third round pick and Eric Johnson. His presence would have been great for Drew Brees, who helped put Antonio Gates on the map. It is hard to imagine Brees having better numbers then last season, but he did start slow. A big time talent at tight end could have ended his slump much sooner. Marques Colston might have lost a couple of TD catches, but another legitimate receiving threat could have led to less double teams and more yards.

4, Chris Simms to the Chicago Bears for a deep dish pizza. There is some history of the Bear and Bucs swapping signal callers, though little fantasy value in those prior deals. I do not think this one would have had much impact either, but it would be nice to not have to rank Rex Grossman among starting QBs. The Bears have question marks at every skill position, so why not add another unproven quantity to the mix?

4a. Any other quarterback to the Bears for a Chicago style hot dog. Chad Pennington, J.P. Losman, and Sage Rosenfels all come to mind as players who will most likely be riding the bench for another team this season. Did I mention, it would be nice to not have to rank Rex Grossman among starting QBs

5. Anquan Boldin to the Dallas Cowboys for one of their first round picks in 2008. A legitimate number two opposite Terrell Owens might push Tony Romo ahead of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on some draft boards. In keeper leagues, both Romo and Boldin would be great values based on where they were drafted last season. While Boldin’s numbers would not approach the 100 catches he had in Arizona in 2005, another 70 catch, 800 yard, 8 touchdown performance would be very likely. T.O. and Jason Witten would likely see a statistical decrease from last season.

6. Jason Taylor to the New York Giants for a turn on the catwalk. Perfect for Taylor’s dreams of getting into acting and a suitable replacement for the retired Michael Strahan. It would not improve the Giants defense overall fantasy value, but would have given them the same bookend pass rushers that led to so much success last year. Given the aggressive scheme they use in New York, Taylor would have seen a big jump in value for any league that awards points to individual defensive players.

7. Adam “Don’t call me PacMan” Jones to the Dallas Cowboys for a forth round pick. Drama in Big D should be the name of the soap opera that is the Cowboys. They would have had another cast member and emerging storyline. What other team has such high expectations going into 2008, but is equally poised for a melt down from within?

WAIT– he did get traded to Dallas? Maybe there is something to this fantasy football thing after all, stay tuned.

Have your own fantasy dream trades? Let me know what they are by email.