We’re a quarter of the way through the NFL season but about a third of the way through the fantasy regular season, depending on when your playoffs begin. With each passing week, the chances of making the title game get smaller and smaller. If you’ve been holding off on trading, waiting to see how your team really is, now might be the time to change that. Let’s look at some players who saw their trade values rise and fall after their Week 4 matchups.
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Fantasy Football Trade Value Risers & Fallers: Week 5
Trade Value Risers
Justin Fields (QB – CHI)
I listed Fields as a faller after Week 2 due to his poor performance, both for fantasy and on the field. That was largely because of his value during draft season and how far he’d fallen since then. However, after Week 4’s QB4 performance, his value has seen a bump again. He’s not all the way back to where he was in August, but he’s off the chopping block for me now. Four passing touchdowns and 335 passing yards will do that. If you held on, now might not be a bad time to shop him, but if you were out on him before you’re likely still out on him now.
David Montgomery (RB – DET)
Montgomery might be a little obvious but since he played on Thursday, I’m wondering if fantasy managers forgot about him. Regardless, his trade value definitely went up this week. Finishing as RB2 on the week with 34.1 PPR points will do that. However, more than his fantasy output was his usage. He got 32 touches and two targets in the Lions’ win over Green Bay. That’s a good sign for Montgomery as the season moves along. As much as everyone wants to complain about Gibbs and how the team has used him thus far, Montgomery sure seems primed to fill the Jamaal Williams role. That’s the running back I want on my roster, and I’m willing to pay up for it. If I’m selling I’m asking for a king’s ransom because why not?
Michael Wilson (WR – ARI)
2023 is the year of the rookie, and Wilson is finally joining the party. His seven catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns in Week 4 aren’t necessarily a fluke. It sure looked like he had a good rapport with QB Joshua Dobbs, and bringing in all seven targets will surely make your QB happy. I’m not saying he’ll finish as a top-6 WR every week, but Wilson is definitely worth adding off waivers to see if this was a one-time thing or a sign of things to come. Either way, you shouldn’t have to pay much to get on this ride, and that’s my favorite kind of ride. If you have him, now might be a good time to look at trading him, depending on the return. WRs are much easier to replace, so maybe you can pivot to a bench RB for depth there instead. Not saying you have to, but I’d consider it.
Jake Ferguson (TE – DAL)
Ferguson finished as TE4 on the week with 14.7 PPR points, catching all seven targets for 77 yards. He got 10.1 and 9.8 PPR points in the previous two weeks, so this kind of output is definitely not a fluke. The Cowboys definitely seem enthralled with him, so fantasy managers should get excited too. As frustrating as the tight end position is for fantasy managers, having a set-it-and-forget-it option like Ferguson is a luxury not everyone has. Some might be willing to pay out the nose for that kind of dependency. I’m always willing to sell high if that’s the case. Even more so if I have another option at the position myself.
Trade Value Fallers
Joe Burrow (QB – CIN)
There’s really not much to say at this point. If you’re somehow 4-0 while starting Burrow, you should play the lottery. Almost every team I see that has Burrow, many of which are my own, that team is struggling. The real question is what do you do from here? You can’t bench him, he was likely an early-round pick and you might not have anything better available. So you start him and suffer. His 4.7 PPR points in Week 4 was QB28 on the week, just ahead of Drew Lock and Kenny Pickett. He’s finished with under 10 fantasy points in three of four weeks. That’s not at all what fantasy managers expected when they drafted him in August. If you can trade him on name value or to someone who’s more optimistic, go for it. I’m definitely not buying at this point unless he’s basically free, which isn’t very likely.
Antonio Gibson (RB – WAS)
Gibson has had a very quiet 2023 thus far, and Week 4 was no different. Gibson scored 2.6 PPR points on six carries for 19 yards. While both of those were season highs for him, neither are all that impressive for fantasy purposes. Gibson had a fair amount of upside heading into the year, but that’s all but evaporated now. Gibson wasn’t supposed to impress, but he’s barely rosterable now. See if you can package him with someone else to improve at a position. I’m fine cutting him for a waiver claim if you need to, but I’m not adding him to my own roster until we see that he actually deserves it. At this rate, it might be 2024 before that happens.
Jordan Addison (WR – MIN)
I hate putting a rookie on the fallers list who had a single bad week, but I’m worried that Addison might have more of these 0-point weeks in his future. The entire Vikings offense runs through Kirk Cousins, and that can be a wild ride for fantasy. Addison came out of the gate hot, scoring touchdowns in the first two weeks. He then saw a season-high eight targets in Week 3. To then put up a goose egg in Week 4 feels rough. I’m not trading him for peanuts, but I’m considering all options before this fluke turns into a trend. No one can predict the future, and I definitely think Addison will have better weeks for fantasy, but if someone else is willing to offer me something more consistent I’m all for it.
Darren Waller (TE – NYG)
It almost felt like the Giants forgot they had Waller on the field on Monday Night. He caught all three targets for 21 yards, but I don’t know if I can remember any of them. The Giants looked terrible on the whole, and Daniel Jones definitely saw his own trade value dip as a result. As Jones and the Giants go, so will Waller. That being said, his name still carries weight, and if you can move him in a package for a better tight end, then you do it. At the same time, if you can add him for cheap from a panicking manager, then you do it. Waller could see another uptick in value before the season’s over, but it’s hard to imagine his value getting much lower than it is right now.
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Andrew Hall is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his profile and follow him @AndrewHallFF.