We’re (nearly) halfway there! The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, but many fantasy football trade deadlines are still a few weeks away, thanks to an often arbitrarily-standard league setting. That means there’s still time for you to concoct ways to bolster your squad. Here are some players whose trade values have recently risen and fallen. Maybe you’ll get some ideas of who to target and who to avoid.
Here we go!
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Rest-of-Season Rankings Risers
Cordarrelle Patterson: This is not the first week Patterson has been the dictionary definition of a “glimmer of hope” for Atlanta’s offense. They mustered 13 points against the Panthers’ defense, six of which came from Patterson. He essentially split time with Mike Davis for a second straight week, rather than merely being uber-efficient in fewer snaps.
Dallas Goedert: What’s the saying in fantasy football, volume > talent? We can argue about that all day, but Goedert has both with Zach Ertz out of Philadelphia. In two games without Ertz, Goedert has reeled in nine of 12 targets for 142 yards. The touchdowns will come, but right now, he’s a bonafide TE1.
Justin Fields: Fields posted his best fantasy performance Sunday by a mile. Though he only threw for 175 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, Fields notched ten carries for 103 yards and a touchdown. Say what you will about the real-life importance of throwing the football, but a QB’s rushing baseline is gold for fantasy purposes.
Michael Carter: Carter has played at least 70 percent of offensive snaps over the last two weeks. The next most-utilized Jets RB (Ty Johnson) hasn’t eclipsed 32%. Carter Jr. looks like the Jets’ RB1, and we still have half a fantasy season ahead of us. Carter has 43 touches in two weeks, 275 all-purpose yards, and a touchdown.
Jeremy McNichols: Fantasy heartbreak. Derrick Henry, who was on pace to break the NFL’s record for most touches in a season, went down with a potentially season-ending injury, leaving Jeremy McNichols inheriting a more sizable workload than he’s ever seen. The fifth-year back is averaging 4.4 yards per attempt on 56 career carries. As of now, he is Tennessee’s RB1.
Michael Pittman Jr.: The six-foot-four second-year receiver has played more than 85% of snaps in every game this season, leading the Colts in nearly every receiving category by a country mile. This Sunday, however, was special. He was targeted 15 times, catching 10 for 86 yards and two touchdowns. This is just the beginning for Pittman, as he’s tied with the second-most targets inside the 10-yard line in the league (8) but has converted only two to touchdowns. Nevertheless, Pittman has emerged as a potential league winner.
Rest-of-Season Rankings Fallers
Odell Beckham Jr.: The Browns offense played an uninspiring game Sunday, losing to Pittsburgh 15-10 with not one Cleveland player posting an alluring stat line. OBJ, however, was squarely the most disappointing for fantasy players. He caught his only target of the game for six yards. OBJ has joined Allen Robinson in the “you-can’t-cut-them-because-they’re-super talented-but-you-certainly-shouldn’t-start-them-right-now” category of receiver purgatory.
David Montgomery: This might be controversial because, on the one hand, Khalil Herbert is reinforcing the value of the RB1 position in Chicago. He’s getting a ton of volume that could be transferred to Montgomery when he’s healthy. However, I don’t think that will be the case. Herbert is a solid option, and as a rookie, it is exactly what Chicago needs to take some of the pressure off Montgomery. I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns into a near-timeshare when Montgomery returns.
Kenneth Gainwell: Yeah, this is a head-scratcher. I started Gainwell in plenty of leagues this week and told others to do the same. I didn’t think he was a great running back, but I didn’t know he was bad enough to pull a straight-up David Copperfield disappearing act. The Philadelphia offense is annoying, and I wouldn’t be surprised if next Sunday Gainwell leads the team in touches, but he’s the Philly RB3 with Miles Sanders out for the time being.
Matt Ryan: First off, many things are bigger than football. By all accounts, Calvin Ridley is dealing with something bigger than football, and I commend him for putting himself first. That being said, Ryan is now staring down the barrel of a blanketed Kyle Pitts accompanied by an ensemble of Cordarrelle Patterson, Hayden Hurst, Russell Gage, and spare parts. He’ll have some good weeks because he’s still a talented quarterback with at least average weapons at this point, but I don’t have confidence in Ryan as a weekly starter for fantasy purposes.
Buy Low Players
Russell Gage: Gage and fellow WR Tajae Sharpe led Atlanta’s receivers with 68% of offensive snaps played. Assuming Kyle Pitts is locked down by opposing defenses, Gage should have a reasonably easy job. He’s probably on the waiver wire right now in your league, but it’s worth sending an offer and stashing him.
Van Jefferson: With DeSean Jackson requesting a trade, Jefferson is squarely the WR3 in the league’s best offense. Over the past two weeks, he’s played more than 83% of the offensive snaps. He’s in deep-league flex territory right now, but should he mount a breakout or a Rams pass-catcher sustain an injury, Jefferson would become a rock-solid fantasy option.
Josh Jacobs: Players with Jacobs on their roster are probably frustrated, confused, and willing to part with him for cheap. I say jump at the opportunity to score a talented running back who leads his team in snaps and touches when healthy. Most reports say the chest injury Jacobs sustained two weeks ago is not severe, and we have no reason to doubt those yet. On a per-game basis, Jacobs is RB18 in PPR right now, and it doesn’t even look as though he’s found his stride. When he does, and I think he will, he’ll be a steady starter in fantasy lineups because he’s a young, talented back.
Jalen Hurts: What a weird game for Philadelphia, fantasy-wise. Despite blowing out the Lions and posting 44 points, Hurts had his worst fantasy performance of the season. However, this is when you pounce. Hurts has an undeniable rushing baseline, averaging 54 yards and nearly one whole touchdown per game on the ground. You’ll have to eat his week 14 bye, but Hurts faces the Washington Football team twice and the New York Giants in the fantasy playoffs.
Sell High Players
Joe Mixon: As Dan Harris and Pat Fitzmaurice like to say, Mixon wore some fantastic “touchdown deodorant” on Sunday. He posted an unimpressive 33 rushing yards on 14 carries, though he caught four passes for 58 yards and scored two touchdowns. Mixon is the perfect “sell high” candidate because he’s made fantasy players very happy to this point, and a trade partner will likely have little doubt he’ll do the same for them. Digging a little deeper, though, Mixon isn’t the three-down back we’d hoped he would be. Since week four, Samaje Perine has played four games and more than 25% of offensive snaps in each. When rookie RB Chris Evans returns, that rotation could become even further muddied. Mixon is a talented back in a good offense, but it’s worth exploring options if you can land a lucrative return for him.
James Conner: With eight touchdowns in his last six games, Conner is turning into the ultimate touchdown vulture for both Chase Edmonds and Kyler Murray. Conner has played more than 50% of snaps just once this season and is currently the RB21 in PPR, RB17 in .5PPR. Sooner or later, the Cardinals should start feeding their more dynamic back, Chase Edmonds, and he’ll find the end zone. I would be shocked if the second half of this season didn’t bring with it positive regression for Edmonds and the opposite for Conner.
Cole Beasley: Beasley has posted two quality stat lines over the last two games, catching 17 of 22 targets for 198 yards and a touchdown. In that time, he’s the WR8 on a point-per-game basis. Beasley will continue to have some good games, but good luck predicting when they’ll be. Stefon Diggs had just five receptions Sunday. Emmanuel Sanders played more snaps than Beasley and had 0 catches. Both of those performances are indeed outliers. Diggs is the alpha in that receiver’s room, and Sanders plays more than Beasley and Dawson Knox should be back soon. I’d trade Beasley now if someone is willing to indulge an offer.
The Trade Market
Here’s my take on some of the most popular questions on the FantasyPros “Who Should I Trade?” tool.
Kenyan Drake or Rashod Bateman: I love Bateman’s potential in Baltimore’s offense. When Josh Jacobs is healthy, Drake isn’t startable in fantasy. Give me the upside with Bateman.
Keenan Allen or Leonard Fournette: Though he’s only found the end zone twice, Keenan Allen is still an elite or near-elite talent at the WR position. I trust he’ll figure it out and get back to form. Fournette’s been great, but there are so many mouths to feed in that offense. Allen side.
Adam Thielen or Darrell Henderson: Give me the RB1 on the best offense in football at the moment.
Darren Waller or Damien Harris: This one is tough, and I think you could make an argument for either player depending on the needs of the teams involved in the trade. I’m leaning towards Waller. The TE position is still scarce, and he’s a candidate to post a ridiculous performance on any given week. Harris has been solid with consistent touch numbers, but his snap counts are low, and playing for New England, one fumble could take him out of the game plan entirely.
DeAndre Hopkins or Joe Mixon: Fantasy RBs are hard to come by, and though I think Mixon is an excellent sell-high candidate, I will need more than Hopkins.
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