We’re officially at the halfway point of the season, which means we’re one week closer to trade deadlines. Are you one move away from locking down a playoff spot? Or are you looking ahead to next year? Below are some moves to consider, no matter what side of the playoff picture you’re on.
Luckily, FantasyPros has you covered. Not only is there the ‘Who Should I Trade?’ tool where you can get instant trade feedback, but every week in this space, we’ll dig even deeper into players that should be moved. There will be the classic one-for-one deals and deals where multiple pieces would equate to one piece, which will be indicated with a ‘-plus’ next to the players’ names.
The Trade: Dameon Pierce (RB – HOU) for Ezekiel Elliott (RB – DAL)-plus
The Reasoning: Dameon Pierce has been a bright spot, not just on the Texans but this entire rookie class. The fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft won the starting job after an impressive training camp and preseason and has taken full advantage of the opportunity. He’s currently top-10 in the league in rushing attempts and yards and looks to be one of the few bell cow backs left. But he still plays for the Houston Texans, who aren’t giving him a ton of scoring opportunities. His three touchdowns are no better than several quarterbacks in the league. So the volume is there, but not the scoring.
On the opposite end of that spectrum is Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott’s efficiency has been declining for three years. No longer does he run for 4.5 yards per carry or average nearly 100 yards per game. Elliott is now good for an even four yards-per-carry and 50-60 rushing yards per game. But he can still score. He’s scored four touchdowns this year after 10 last year and is on an offense that, now that quarterback Dak Prescott is back, can move the ball.
Comparing just Pierce to Elliott, Pierce would win out. He’s more efficient and sees more action in the passing game. But Elliott will have more scoring opportunities, and Jerry Jones would rather sell the team than not give Elliott a significant amount of carries. The Cowboys have the fifth-easiest schedule against run defenses the rest of the way, so if you can swap Pierce for Elliott and a small piece to go with it, I would do it.
The Trade: Gabe Davis (WR – BUF) for Amari Cooper (WR – CLE)-plus
The Reasoning: It took two seasons for the Gabe Davis breakout to happen, but it’s here. Technically, it started in the Bills playoff game last year when Davis had the game of his life with four touchdowns against the Chiefs. That propelled him to starter status this season, where he already totaled 383 yards on 14 catches for an incredible (if unsustainable) 27.4 yards-per-reception. If not for an ankle injury and the Bills’ bye week, he’d be a top-15 receiver in fantasy scoring. And it’s not like Davis or the Bills are showing any signs of slowing down. If anything, they’re improving and should pile on the points in the last half of the season.
In Cleveland, Amari Cooper is on his third team after being traded away from the Cowboys in the off-season. It’s a different team and city, but the same Amari is on pace for another 1,000-yard receiving season and almost 10 touchdowns. Of course, Cooper isn’t as flashy as Davis, averaging just 12.4 yards per reception and acting as quarterback Jacoby Brissett‘s top option in the passing game. But he’s reliable, seeing double-digit targets in four of the Browns’ seven games this season.
Speaking of Brissett, his time as the Cleveland starter is ending, with Deshaun Watson set to return from suspension in just a few weeks. Even if Brissett started for the Browns the rest of the season, I’d still be targeting Cooper as a solid WR2. But with Watson coming back, Cooper’s ceiling just got higher. Watson is more efficient than Brissett in every way, including career touchdown percentage (5.9% to 2.9%) and career yards-per-attempt (8.3 to 6.5).
When comparing Davis and Cooper, the choice is either the boom-or-bust candidate (Davis) or Mr. Consistency (Cooper). Give me consistency down the stretch.
The Trade: Kyle Pitts (TE – ATL) for Greg Dulcich (TE – DEN)
The Reasoning: Proposing this trade would have been unconscionable before the season. Kyle Pitts was coming off a 1,000-yard rookie season – as a tight end – and seemed poised to do even more. Nothing indicated that Pitts and his production would fall off a cliff as it has, but that’s what’s happened through six games of the 2022 season. His season totals look like one that could have come from a single game last year. He has just 16 receptions for 178 yards and one touchdown. His 11.1 yards-per-reception is a full four yards less than the 15.1 he posted last year. He isn’t hurt and had no team issues that we know of, which makes the whole situation one of the weirder stories of this fantasy season.
Meanwhile, one of the happier stories of the season is happening in Denver. It’s been a season of disappointments for the Broncos, from the decline of Russell Wilson to the season-ending injury to Javonte Williams. One bright spot is third-round pick Greg Dulcich. The former UCLA Bruin missed the first five weeks of the season because of an injury and only made his debut two weeks ago. But in those two games, he’s totaled eight receptions for 95 yards and a score. He has half of Pitts’ production in one-third of the time. His yardage totals of 51 and 44 would be the second and third-highest totals of Pitts’ season and his nine targets and six receptions in Week Seven are both higher than Pitts’ season highs in those categories.
His performance through the first half of the season can’t be considered a fluke anymore, and the time for his fantasy managers to cut bait is fast approaching. No one would blame them for holding on to Pitts, hoping he turns it around. But Dulcich would be a fine option, as he appears to be a solid option in the Denver passing game for the rest of the season.
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Michael Moore is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @DLF_Moore.