From now until the fantasy trade deadline, we will show you trades to propose based on our Trade Value Chart. These trades will provide more value for your team down the stretch run on the way to a fantasy championship.
From now until the fantasy trade deadline, we will show you trades to propose based on our Trade Value Chart. These trades will provide more value for your team down the stretch run on the way to a fantasy championship.
Give credit where credit is due when it comes to Josh Jacobs. The now-Packers running back signed a (relatively) big deal in the offseason to be the workhorse back in Green Bay and has excelled in his new home. He’s in the top seven in the league in rush attempts and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry (YPC). The touchdowns aren’t as frequent as you’d like from a running back seeing 17 carries per game. Despite that, he’s still a borderline RB1 in fantasy scoring.
So why use him as a trade chip? Because changes could be on the way in the Packers’ backfield. The running back with the second-most carries, Emmanuel Wilson, has just 55 compared to Jacobs’ 158. No other player has more than 16, which means Green Bay is in desperate need of another ball carrier to spell Jacobs. That job will go to rookie MarShawn Lloyd, who, until now, has missed nearly the entire season due to injuries. But the Packers didn’t draft Lloyd in the third round to see him sit on the bench. They should start working him in the rotation, which means fewer opportunities for Jacobs.
Instead, go after a former league-winner who, potentially, could be one again. After missing most of the season himself due to injury, Rams receiver Puka Nacua has picked up where he left off from his rookie season. In his last three games, after returning from a leg injury, he’s caught 17 passes for 217 yards and would have had more if he didn’t get ejected in Week 9 for throwing a punch. In the two games he did finish, he caught at least seven passes and totaled at least 98 yards. His being targeted is part of the offensive plan. If he can stay healthy, he should rack up the fantasy points until the end of the season, especially in PPR leagues.
Unless you were blinded by the same glare that stopped CeeDee Lamb from scoring a touchdown in Week 10, you saw how dire things are in Dallas. It’s the first week of the post-Dak Prescott portion of the 2024 season and the offense is officially a disaster. They totaled just 146 yards (49 through the air) and six points in a drubbing at the hands of division rival Philadelphia.
No Cowboy is safe from this sinking ship but none more so than receiver Lamb. The top pick in several fantasy drafts, Lamb was already having a down year (by his standards) with just three games of 90+ receiving yards and four touchdowns. But that was with Prescott under center. In his first game with Cooper Rush at quarterback, Lamb accounted for a deceptively impressive 42% of the passing yards, catching six balls for 21 yards and a 3.5 yards per catch. And that was on 10 targets.
Lamb will still contribute to your fantasy team, just not nearly as much as he did last year.
In his place, swap him for one of the few running backs that seems to be gaining in value as the season winds down. Tampa running back Bucky Irving is seeing more action at the expense of veteran Rachaad White. What was a 70/30 split between White and Irving to start the season is closer to 60/40. The contrast is bigger when you consider the actual touches between the two. Irving has seen 29 carries over the last three games compared to just 19 for White, and that’s with Irving having a slight lead over White in targets. The Tampa offense is one of the better ones in all of football and Irving looks poised to lead the rushing attack down the stretch.
There’s no doubt Joe Burrow has been playing out of his mind this season. He’s first in the league in passing yards and tied for first in passing touchdowns. So why trade him? This assumes that you’d be able to replace him with an above-average quarterback from your bench, the waiver wire or another trade, but he’s also the best quarterback trade chip out there besides Lamar Jackson.
You’re also flashing a promising young rookie in Ricky Pearsall, who is not only on a good offense, but will have opportunities down the stretch. He’s seen 15 targets in the first three games of his career and is averaging a respectable 12.0 yards per catch.
In exchange, you get Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson, who is freshly recovered from his injury and picking up where he left off last season when he finished as a top-five fantasy tight end. He caught eight of his nine targets in Week 10 and turned them into 72 yards. The nine targets were tied for the most on the team with receiver Justin Jefferson.
Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert is more of a risk but a cheap one. He won’t come close to matching his touchdown total from last year and he appears to have ceded ground to second-year back De’Von Achane. Now that the Dolphins’ offense is healthy, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, it could start looking like the 2023 version of the offense that finished in the top three in scoring.
