We are now through seven 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
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like the fantasy community as a whole tends to forget about players on bye. In fact, I’ve seen Dak Prescott dropped in a couple of leagues (although, his roster percentage remains strong at 89%).
It’s been a rough start to the season for Prescott. He’s averaging 16.1 fantasy points per game, which was the QB17 entering Week 7. And the last thing we remember from him before the bye was a total offensive meltdown against the Lions.
Allow me to remind everyone of what happened almost exactly one year ago. Prescott was averaging 12.58 fantasy points per game through the first five weeks of the season and fantasy managers largely gave up on him.
He had a respectable game ahead of the Cowboys’ Week 7 bye, but it still wasn’t pretty. Then, over the second half of the season, Prescott averaged 23.9 ppg and was the overall QB1.
The Cowboys’ schedule is about to really open up in the second half, just like it did last year. Expect Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to get on the same page and for the Cowboys quarterback to be a QB1 for the rest of the season.
De’Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins
At this point, if you haven’t traded for De’Von Achane, the discount is probably gone. But he still may be worth acquiring.
Achane looked pretty good against the Colts. With Tyler Huntley at quarterback, he carried the ball 15 times for 77 yards, while catching two of three targets for eight yards. The only thing missing was a touchdown.
Tua Tagovailoa is set to return in Week 8. The offense should get back on track rather quickly.
In Weeks 1 and 2, Achane was an elite RB1, scoring 23 and 29.5 fantasy points. It’s possible his manager has forgotten what that was like.
Week 7 was one of the first times we have seen a healthy De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert together.
Achane: 57% snaps, 42% atts, 68% routes, 14% targets
Mostert: 34% snaps, 31% atts, 29% routes, 0% targetsAchane the RB1 but Mostert still involved. Jaylen Wright was RB3.
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) October 20, 2024
Chase Brown, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
After three straight really good outings, Chase Brown had a mega dud against the Browns this week. He carried the ball 15 times for 44 yards and caught two passes for nine yards. This could be the buying opportunity you need.
Brown has taken over the lead back role in the Bengals’ backfield. It’s no longer Zack Moss’ job, as Brown out-snapped him once again.
There’s a world where Brown is an every-week RB2. It might already be here. If his manager doesn’t realize it, perhaps you can pry Brown away from him before the spike games start piling up.
Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
Fantasy managers are getting fed up with Chris Olave. We’re now seven weeks into the season, and he’s had more games with 3.1 or fewer fantasy points (three) than with 16+ (two). Olave is averaging 9.3 fantasy points per game and has been a fantasy WR5. But this is still a really talented player.
Despite all his failings, Olave is averaging 2.14 yards per route run and 9.7 yards per target. For reasons that are hard to understand, his target share sits at a lowly 17.4%.
Derek Carr is likely returning in Week 9. Rashid Shaheed is done for the season. The Saints will need Olave over the second half.
Beginning in Week 9, the Saints start a stretch of games against average or worse pass defenses. They also face a handful of opponents likely to make them throw to keep up.
Given how poor Olave’s production has been, he may be acquirable for a WR3 price. I would pay that willingly.
DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Did we just see the worst game of DeVonta Smith’s entire career? Probably. He’s had 0 receiving yards in a game before. He’s never had fewer than you or I did watching the game from our couches.
The Eagles dominated the Giants with Saquon Barkley and a deep A.J. Brown touchdown. They just didn’t need Smith.
Going forward, the Eagles have a lengthy stretch of games against below-average to bad pass defenses on teams with offenses capable of participating in a shootout.
Prior to this week, Smith had 14.9 fantasy points in every game this season. If his manager is worried about him, feel free to take Smith off their hands.
Amari Cooper, WR, Buffalo Bills
It’s great for fantasy managers that Amari Cooper scored in his Bills debut, but it would’ve made buying him a whole lot easier if he didn’t. Cooper caught four passes for 66 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. Yet, he barely played.
Having been with the team less than a week, Cooper was used sparingly due to his limited knowledge of the playbook, playing just 19 snaps and running 12 routes, both fourth on the team at WR. As a testament to his immense ability as a route runner and his overall high football IQ, Cooper scored on a play in which he didn’t even know what he was supposed to do.
Amari Cooper just scored his first touchdown with the Bills and he had no idea what the play was! Y’all gotta see this. 🤣 🤣
When you know what you’re watching, football is so much more fun. #BillsMafia | #AchoAnalysis pic.twitter.com/KTt646KJow
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) October 20, 2024
As the weeks go by, Cooper will become more integrated into the offense. He will learn the playbook better and eventually become the clear WR1. It wouldn’t be a shock if that happened as soon as this week. If his manager is looking to “sell high” off what appears to be a flukey high-scoring debut, gladly accept.
Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
From Weeks 2-4, Malik Nabers was the best wide receiver in fantasy. Then, he missed two games with a concussion before returning and posting a complete dud against the Eagles.
When Week 8 begins, it will have been a month since Nabers did anything useful for fantasy managers. See if you can’t use that to your advantage.
The Giants have a tough matchup this week against the Steelers. It could be another rough go of it for Nabers. Perhaps you want to wait a week. But beginning in Week 9, the schedule really opens up.
The Giants only have one more game against a defense better than bottom 10 against the pass. Seven of the Giants’ final eight games have shootout potential. If there is any discount at all, buy.
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
It’s difficult to find a tight end worth buying. Going with the TE1 was not my preferred choice. But George Kittle may actually be even better than he’s been.
Once upon a time, the 49ers had too many mouths to feed. Slowly but surely, those mouths all disappeared. Christian McCaffrey has yet to play this season. Brandon Aiyuk might be done for the year. Deebo Samuel has been banged up most of the season. Kittle is the last man standing.
Brock Purdy may need to lean even more heavily on Kittle going forward. If you have depth at running back or wide receiver (or both), use it to sure up your tight end spot with the most reliable option in the game this year.
Cade Otton, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Fantasy managers are justifiably going to add every Bucs WR with the hopes of finding the guy who steps up in the absence of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. My initial inclination is the answer will be none of them. The top beneficiary will likely be Cade Otton.
On Monday night, Otton caught eight of 10 targets for 100 yards. All three numbers marked season highs.
Without his top two receivers, Baker Mayfield’s most trusted target is Otton. They have the strongest rapport. The best part is, Otton doesn’t necessarily need to be acquired via trade — he’s available on the waiver wire in about 60% of leagues. In the event you don’t land him, though, or he’s already rostered, trading for Otton as a TE2, if possible, could prove to be a great value for the remainder of the season.
Top Players To Sell in Your League
Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts
Sometimes, you have to waive the white flag and sell low. I’m ready to do that with Anthony Richardson. Outside of Week 1, it’s been so, so bad.
Yes, this was his first game back after a two-week hiatus. However, there’s no way to sugarcoat 129 yards passing and no touchdowns.
Richardson is completing fewer than 50% of his passes. He’s now scored in the single digits for three consecutive games. If you can still sell Richardson as anything remotely startable, do it.
Jordan Mason, RB, San Francisco 49ers
With each passing week, Jordan Mason’s value decreases, as we near Christian McCaffrey’s return. The 49ers have one more game before their bye week, and then CMC is tentatively expected to be back. The window to sell Mason is closing.
Additionally, the 49ers’ offense isn’t this fantasy-friendly juggernaut anymore. They’ve had too many injuries, including, most recently, to Brandon Aiyuk.
There may be a team out there who needs an RB1 specifically for Week 9. There may be a team willing to gamble on McCaffrey’s return not going well. If you can split Mason into two reliable starters, that should be a net win.
Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
This is a very specific sell scenario. If the managers in your league are viewing Nick Chubb as the double-digit round pick he was in fantasy drafts, of course, do not sell him. But Chubb is a name brand. All it takes is one manager, though.
The Browns are a team in disarray. Deshaun Watson is probably done for the season with a torn Achilles. While we never root for injuries, a change at QB is a good thing for the Browns’ offense. That may serve to prop up Chubb’s value.
It was great to see him back, but he did not quite look like himself, which is understandable coming off the long layoff and the injury Chubb had. His debut stat line also looked better due to him falling into the end zone. But he only ran for 22 yards on 11 carries.
NICK CHUBB IS BACK IN THE END ZONE ❤️
📺: #CINvsCLE on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/ryJFF8nqYe— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
Chubb is going to get better. However, I don’t envision him returning to low-RB1 Chubb. If you can low-RB1/high-RB2 prices for Chubb, that’s probably better than hanging onto him.
Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
As a longtime critic of Najee Harris, it feels bad to call him a sell when he’s done so much to improve his performance and is playing the best football of his career. However, we are getting to the point in the season where it’s time to pay attention to remaining schedule, particularly in the most important weeks of the season.
Now that Jaylen Warren is back healthy, this backfield is back to being an even split. Warren actually out-snapped Harris on Sunday night.
As we well know, Warren is the primary passing down back, while also mixing in on some early downs. He even saw some goal line work. It’s hard to not think this backfield may tip more in Warren’s favor with the Steelers’ second half schedule.
The Steelers don’t have another opponent on the schedule whose run defense ranks in the bottom 10. Their fantasy playoff schedule is especially tough, with Week 16 and 17 matchups against the Ravens and Chiefs, two of the best run defenses in the league.
Coming off his two best games of the season where he finally found the end zone in each, now might be the perfect time to cash out on Harris.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
No one is necessarily looking at Jaxon Smith-Njigba as some every-week must-start player. But his performance has been better than his usage.
Smith-Njigba is purely a PPR scam. His aDOT is somehow lower than it was last year. He doesn’t earn volume — it’s purely a product of circumstance when he gets targeted.
JSN caught three passes for nine yards against the Falcons. With DK Metcalf going down with an injury, fantasy managers may think this is a chance for JSN’s value to spike. In actuality, it’s merely an opening to sell him.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Carolina Panthers
It looks like the Andy Dalton honeymoon is over. The Commanders have been better defensively, but there’s no defending throwing for 93 yards and two interceptions over a full game. There’s a very real chance we see the Panthers go back to Bryce Young within the next week or two. It’s unlikely to be any better.
Diontae Johnson caught just one pass for 17 yards against the Commanders. Back in Week 5, he caught three passes for 23 yards against the Bears. That’s more like what we saw in Weeks 1 and 2 with Young, and what might be happening going forward. If Johnson still has any semblance of the WR2 value he did a couple of weeks ago, see if you can get something usable in return.
Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In my experience, fantasy managers tend to be overly optimistic when it comes to injuries. I get a lot of questions about buying or trading for injured players.
Mike Evans is 31 years old. While he doesn’t have a history of missing games, he does have a history of playing through nagging injuries, much like the hamstring strain he tried to play through last week. As a man in his 20s, he was able to fight through minor injuries. That gets much more difficult in your 30s.
Evans is out until at least Week 12. He might be back then. If he is, and you were able to survive until then, great. But there is likely someone in your league willing to take on the risk. If you can get 75 cents on the dollar and acquire a player who is playing the next four weeks, that’s a good move to make.
Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions
Imagine, for a moment, that his name was not Sam LaPorta. Instead, it was a random tight end who has more than two receptions in just two games this season, and has one game in the double digits, purely because he caught a long touchdown on his lone reception. You might drop that player.
Sam LaPorta’s target share by game:
17.9%
5.7%
9.1%
21.1%
3.7%
8.0%Laporta was above 10% in 16 of 17 games as a rookie.
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 20, 2024
LaPorta is not a featured part of the Lions’ offense. He’s behind both running backs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Kalif Raymond. He’s completely and utterly unstartable. If you can offload him for literally anything that you might be able to use, that’s a winning move.