Westbrook Gravy Train Not Derailed After All?

Will the Jason Peters trade breathe new life into the old legs of Brian Westbrook? I recently wrote about Westbrook's Dynasty value in Rotoworld's burgeoning Pancake Blocks blog.

Re: Rankings Updates. I've been busy with work on the Beckett/Rotoworld spring magazine, but I'll try to update the rankings in the coming week prior to the draft.

With Brian Westbrook looking down the barrel of age 30, his Dynasty league owners have been toying with the right time to sell since last offseason. Donovan McNabb's Week 12 benching made the situation even more hairy, prompting rampant speculation that the Eagles offense as we've known it was effectively derailed.

Knowing that both aging offensive tackles were free agents, that the injury-prone Westbrook was looking increasingly brittle, and that McNabb still harbored ill-will against the team and the fans, this offseason looked like the last chance to bail before the wheels came flying off. The problem for Westbrook owners is that the rest of the guys in their league could read the tea leaves just as easily. Would you have taken a ride on the Titanic had you known about the iceberg beforehand?

But, as we all know, change happens quickly in the NFL. The Eagles have not just replaced both offensive tackles in the same offseason -- they've actually upgraded while getting younger. Better yet, they still have a full stockpile of draft picks to reload the talent base.

Already riding Steven Jackson and Chris Johnson in my long-time Full Contact league, I've been turning rosters around in my head looking for sensible trade scenarios since the season ended. Unfortunately, Westbrook's value has dropped to the point where holding and hoping is the only option that makes sense.

The rebuilt offensive line is a nice head start.

Westbrook's value isn't out of the woods yet, however. A Knowshon Moreno or Donald Brown addition would still spring a leak that could never be patched, but owners can hold out hope that ol' aches and pains has one more dominant season left in those knees.