Through the first month of the season, you should have an idea of what kind of fantasy team you have. If you’re at the top of the standings, you’re gearing up for a playoff run. If you’re not, well, it’s time to start unloading. Luckily, FantasyPros has you covered. Not only is there the ‘Who Should I Trade?’ tool where you can get instant 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 but also deals where multiple pieces would equate to one piece, which will be indicated with a ‘-plus’ next to the player’s name. Without further ado, below are some possible trades to offer as we ramble on with the 2023 season.
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NFL Week 5 Fantasy Football Trade Advice
The Trade: Jordan Love (QB – GB) for Dak Prescott (QB – DAL)
The Reasoning: Jordan Love has been one of the feel-good stories early in the NFL and fantasy season. After the drama in Green Bay was finally resolved with Aaron Rodgers moving on, Love was the unquestioned starter. He walked into an uncertain situation due to the youth around him, but his first month has to be considered a success. He’s thrown for 900 yards and eight touchdowns, which currently would put him on pace for nearly 4,000 yards and 30-plus touchdowns. And that’s with a receiving corp made up primarily of players in their first or second season. But the biggest question for Love and his managers is, will it last? This is his first meaningful football under center since his last year of college three years ago. And will those receivers last all season? They’re all just as new to starting snaps as Love is, which means everyone will have to sustain this level of success.
Meanwhile, there’s tried and true Dak Prescott, doing what he always did in Dallas. Prescott has very similar numbers to Love – Prescott has 908 passing yards to Love’s 901; Dak has thrown it 136 times to Love’s 132; Dak’s completion percentage is 71.3 to Love’s 56.1; Dak has a 6.7 YPA to Love’s 6.8. The only big difference is touchdowns, where Love has 10 total to Prescott’s four. But if you were forced to bank on which one is more likely to keep these kinds of numbers going and possibly even improve upon, it would be Dak. Prescott has averaged two touchdowns per game for his entire career to go along with his 250 passing-yard average. Dallas is also a better bet to be playing in meaningful games down the stretch rather than the Packers, who now sit at 2-2. Give me the veteran on a Super Bowl contender over the young quarterback on a team still trying to find themselves.
The Trade: Alexander Mattison (RB – MIN) for Dameon Pierce (RB – HOU)
The Reasoning: It was a rough first two games for Alexander Mattison and his fantasy managers. After the Vikings moved on from Dalvin Cook and handed the reins to Mattison, he totaled just 19 carries for 62 yards in Weeks 1 and 2. There were rumblings that maybe Mattison wasn’t up for the starting job when Minnesota traded for former Rams running back Cam Akers, and those whispers turned into shouting for Mattison to be benched. But he’s turned it on the last games, topping 90 rushing yards in each and averaging more than 4.5 yards per carry.
Texans running back Dameon Pierce was in a similar position, failing to top 38 rushing yards in any of the first three weeks of the season before having a mini-breakout game, seeing 24 carries for 81 yards while adding a long reception of 27 yards.
So why favor Pierce over Mattison if both seem to be trending up? Because, like the quarterback trade mentioned above, Pierce has carried the load of a startable fantasy running back before. His rookie season saw him carry the ball 220 times for 939 yards and four touchdowns. The most carries Mattison has totaled in a season is just 134. There’s also that curious Cam Akers trade Minnesota made when it looked like Mattison wouldn’t be able to meet the expectations we all had for him, including the team. Pierce has veteran Devin Singletary to spell him but hasn’t shown anything to indicate he would be a better option than Pierce. And with rookie CJ Stroud ascending, latching on to Pierce right now is a smart play.
The Trade: Tyler Higbee (TE – LAR) for Dalton Kincaid (TE – BUF)
The Reasoning: Tyler Higbee is currently on pace for one of the best statistical seasons of his career. He currently has 16 receptions for 196 yards and is a low-end TE1 in fantasy leagues. He’s also one of the main targets on a resurgent Rams offense and a healthy Matthew Stafford. And while I might normally advocate for the veteran over the rookie, it’s hard to overlook Dalton Kincaid’s talent and ascension. Through his first four games, he’s totaled 15 receptions on 17 targets. He has just 99 yards, but his playing time has steadily increased to the point where he’s the unquestioned starter now.
The Rams certainly have been passing more, but Higbee is well behind rookie Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell when it comes to targets, and that’s before injured receiver Cooper Kupp comes back. Meanwhile, Kincaid is just one target behind Gabe Davis for second among Bills players but should pass him with his newfound starter status. In this case, I’m taking the upside of Kincaid over the steadier Higbee.
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