We are now through four weeks of the fantasy football season. Fantasy managers should always be looking to improve their rosters. With that in mind, here are a handful of players to explore trades for, either to buy low on those who are undervalued or sell high on ones overvalued.
Top Trade Targets To Buy in Your League
Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
You rarely get a real opportunity to buy low on an elite QB. Jalen Hurts has now disappointed in two consecutive games. Next week, the Eagles have their bye. Hurts’ fantasy manager may be … hurting.
We can easily give Hurts a pass for his Week 4 performance. He was without both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. What was he supposed to do?
Better days are ahead for Hurts. Both Brown and Smith should be back following the bye, and the schedule really opens up. Now is the time to try and pounce.
James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals
The fact that James Conner was able to produce 18 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown in a game the Cardinals lost by 28 points speaks volumes. Conner is the clear RB1 and neither Trey Benson nor Emari Demercado is any threat to his touches. All Conner has to do is stay healthy.
The Cardinals may not be one of the better teams in the league, but I don’t think losing games is going to compel them to make a change.
Conner has now posted RB1 numbers in three of his four games this season. He has a tough matchup against the 49ers next week, but then the schedule gets much easier. Conner deserves an RB1 valuation going forward. If his manager doesn’t view him that way, see if you can pry him away for 75 cents on the dollar.
Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Najee Harris has been surprisingly good this season. Injuries to Jaylen Warren and now Cordarrelle Patterson have helped. But regardless of the reason, Harris has seen 17+ carries in three out of his first four games. More encouragingly, he’s actually seeing work in the passing game.
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Harris has seen 11 total targets over the past two weeks. The only real knock on him is, somehow, he hasn’t scored a touchdown.
Odds are Harris’ fantasy manager knows that and understands the touchdowns are coming. But if not, and you can buy Harris as a low-RB2, he projects to be better for the rest of the season.
Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
I still believe Tee Higgins is a very good wide receiver. He missed the first two games of the season, saw six targets in his first game back, and then 10 in his second. Higgins has come close to scoring in both games, but it just didn’t happen. That is serving to depress his value. Had he scored, fantasy managers would have had a much different perception of Higgins.
The Bengals have some potentially high-scoring contests coming up and remain one of the most pass-heavy teams in the league. I still view Higgins as a potential upside WR2. If you can buy him for a WR3 price, or cheaper, now is the time to do it.
Tank Dell, WR, Houston Texans
When players miss games, fantasy managers often forget about them. Tank Dell missed the Texans’ win over the Jaguars due to an injury to his ribs. It does not sound like a long-term concern.
Dell is off to a very slow start, posting games of 8.9, 2.3, and 11.2 in Weeks 1-3, respectively, to open the season. Then, he got hurt.
It’s probably ambitious to assume anyone has a team that has avoided the injury bug. But if your team is relatively healthy, and the Dell manager’s team is not, it’s worth an inquiry.
Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs very clearly wanted to reduce Travis Kelce’s workload this season to keep him fresh for the playoffs. Following the losses of Hollywood Brown, Isiah Pacheco, and Rashee Rice, they may have to utilize Kelce more than they wanted to.
We already saw signs of that this week, with Kelce having his best game of the season, catching seven of nine targets for 89 yards.
It sure sounds as though Rice is going to miss an extended period, if not the entire season. Suddenly, their WR corps is rookie Xavier Worthy and the same guys that didn’t cut it last season. The Chiefs may not have a choice but to lean on Kelce if they want to win games.
Given the state of the TE position, even a moderately effective Kelce might be worth acquiring.
Top Players To Sell in Your League
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
After a month, fantasy managers expecting Patrick Mahomes to be this elite QB1 probably have been convinced that’s not happening. This is for those who still might be willing to pay for the name. Mahomes just isn’t that guy anymore. He does just enough to win, nothing more.
For the fourth consecutive game, Mahomes failed to reach 18 fantasy points. He has yet to throw for 300 yards and has thrown two touchdowns in half of his games. He’s been intercepted in all of them.
With the depletion of his weapons offensively, it’s not going to suddenly get better. If you can sell Mahomes for anything of value, I would do it.
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers
I actually kind of buy what Chuba Hubbard is doing. Andy Dalton has turned this offense into a competent one, and Hubbard is benefiting as the lead back. With that said, he isn’t this good.
Hubbard has now rushed for over 100 yards in back-to-back games. He’s scored 27.9 and 22.1 points in Weeks 3 and 4, respectively.
MORE: PFN’s Consensus Fantasy Football Rankings (Updated Weekly)
Hubbard’s performance has definitely given the Panthers something to think about. However, they did make Jonathon Brooks the first running back taken off the board in this year’s NFL Draft. He’s expected to return to practice within the next couple of weeks.
As great as Hubbard has been, it’s only a matter of time before Brooks, at the very least, makes this a timeshare. And what is making Hubbard great right now is the volume. If an RB-needy fantasy manager is willing to pay a premium for short-term production, it’s worth exploring a trade.
Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This is not the first time Rachaad White has been listed as a “sell.” He’s been a sell essentially since he was drafted.
White has already lost the goal-line role to Bucky Irving. It’s only a matter of time before Irving becomes the lead rusher.
Rachaad White had played 100% of Tampa Bay's red zone snap through three weeks.
In Week 4, rookie Bucky Irving handled all five of Tampa's red zone rush attempts. https://t.co/kfuS0xnnuP
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 29, 2024
White won’t ever be useless because of his ability as a receiver, but the guy who was an RB1 last year is gone and he’s never coming back. The volume simply isn’t going to be there with Irving proving to be a talented runner. And even if Irving got hurt, we saw Sean Tucker get some burn. I’m quite confident he would play enough such that White’s usage will never return to where it was last season.
It may already be too late to recoup full value for White, but even 50 cents on the dollar is worth it.
Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts
Sometimes, to try and extract value, you need to make decisions based on incomplete information. We have no idea how long Anthony Richardson might be out. But his comments after the game suggest he is going to be OK.
Notwithstanding Joe Flacco’s performance, Richardson is going to start if healthy. It sounds like he may not even miss a game. One, at most.
With Flacco, Pittman was able to snag six balls for 113 yards. His season-high was 36 receiving yards up until this week.
Richardson may be better than Flacco, but Flacco is better for the fantasy values of the wide receivers. If you can sell Pittman on the claim that he will be a weekly WR2 with Flacco, knowing it probably won’t be Flacco for long, if at all, it’s a great move to make.
Xavier Worthy, WR, Kanas City Chiefs
This is a very specific scenario. Worthy is not a screaming sell by any means. But this Chiefs offense is not what we expected, and I don’t see it turning around.
Rice is going to miss an extended period, if not the entire season. With Brown and Pacheco out, Worthy is suddenly the team’s WR1. However, he’s not really equipped for the role, and I don’t anticipate his role really changing.
It’s possible there is a manager in your league salivating over the notion of Worthy becoming Mahomes’ WR1. I don’t think the results will be what those people expect. I think Worthy will be the same guy he’s been all season. He’ll get a few chances to splash per game, and you hope he connects on one like he did this past week.
Patrick Mahomes went 30 games without a TD pass over 50 yards.
That just ended with this 54-yard bomb to Xavier Worthy! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/QsQwXF2yqx
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 29, 2024
If someone out there is willing to pay an increased price due to Rice’s injury, Worthy is a sneaky sell.
Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers
I’ll be honest. It’s impossible to call any tight end a sell high, or really even a sell. The position is in such a bad place that anyone useful for even a single week is worth sticking with to see if it’s legit.
Pat Freiermuth just caught five of seven targets for 57 yards and a touchdown in a game where Justin Fields threw for over 300 yards. Fields is not going to do that often. There typically will not be this many yards to go around.
Despite his quality game, Freiermuth is unlikely to be a reliable weekly starter. If you can get anything for Freiermuth, go for it.