We are now through five 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.
Trade For Sam Darnold | QB
Just as fantasy managers bought into Sam Darnold as an MVP candidate and viable fantasy starter, he turned back into a pumpkin. Normally, one awful game wouldn’t erase four amazing ones. But Darnold has a stigma attached to him. His manager could easily think the mirage is over.
The way I see it: Darnold had a bad game. Next week, the Vikings are on bye. Then, Darnold has four straight games against soft pass defenses that project to be shootouts. It’s really juicy.
As a reminder, Darnold had thrown multiple touchdown passes in every game prior to Week 5. He’s going to be just fine.
Trade For Chase Brown | RB
Not every player to buy is buying low. Sometimes, you need to buy high. That’s where we’re at with Chase Brown.
The Bengals’ sophomore running back has seen his volume steadily increase over the past two weeks. He’s gone from clear backup to the 1B to Zack Moss.
After carrying the ball a total of 14 times in the first three weeks, Brown has 27 carries over his last two. He’s now scored in two consecutive games and has been far more efficient than Moss, averaging 4.6 yards per carry over that span.
The Bengals’ defense is atrocious. They are going to be in shootouts all season. You want pieces of this offense. Brown is probably the cheapest one to acquire.
Trade For Nick Chubb | RB
Nick Chubb returned to practice this week. He is expected to be activated ahead of either Week 6 or Week 7. It will likely take him a few weeks to ramp up, but once he does, Chubb should reclaim his status as the lead running back.
Jerome Ford has been solid filling in for Chubb, but he is nowhere near as talented. If Chubb can get back to his pre-injury self, or close to it, he has high-RB2 upside. If his manager is in need of a player who can produce immediately, this is the spot to go after Chubb for the second-half upside.
Trade For Tyreek Hill | WR
It’s time. The Dolphins are on bye next week. They will play one more game against the Colts. Then, Tua Tagovailoa is expected to return.
This is geared more towards teams who have more wins than losses and can afford essentially two more weeks of wasted Tyreek Hill. If you can, this offense is going to be just fine once Tagovailoa is back.
Hill actually had a decent day, catching six of nine targets for 69 yards. He was very close to scoring, which would have given him WR1 numbers.
We know what Hill is capable of at his best. If his manager is in dire straits, now is the time to poach Hill at a reduced price.
Trade For Diontae Johnson | WR
After two excellent weeks, the Carolina Panthers looked like…well…the Carolina Panthers in Week 5. Diontae Johnson caught three passes for 23 yards.
It’s unlikely Johnson’s fantasy manager suddenly forgot about the previous two weeks with 20+ fantasy points. At the same time, Johnson does have more games under 6.0 fantasy points than over them.
This was a very difficult matchup against a tough Bears defense. His next two will be a bit softer against the Falcons and Commanders.
Johnson remains the clear WR1 in Carolina with absolutely no target competition. Unless we get word of a move back to Bryce Young, Johnson should still be viewed as a high-end WR2 going forward.
Trade For Tucker Kraft | TE
Buying a player after a career game is usually not what you want to do. However, there are so few viable tight ends this season. Tucker Kraft is the clear TE1 for the Packers. He has completely vanquished Luke Musgrave.
Tucker Kraft with the stiff arm and tuddy! 🧀
📺: #GBvsLAR on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/fijvAwHlla— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
He’s scored 17.3 and 24.8 fantasy points in his last two games. If Kraft’s fantasy manager is treating him like a top-five tight end, then there probably isn’t a buying opportunity. This is in the event the Kraft manager doesn’t know what they have.
Kraft is startable every week, and even more so while Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs are out. A low-TE1 price is what you’re looking for here.
Trade Away C.J. Stroud | QB
C.J. Stroud is very good at football. Unfortunately, what he does just isn’t translating into fantasy production.
Stroud did set a season high with 27 rushing yards in Week 5, but that’s the exception. He’s a traditional pocket passer who needs 300 yards and two touchdowns just to reach 20 fantasy points.
The Texans’ offense looked completely lost after Nico Collins left the game. Given the nature of hamstring strains, it’s likely Collins will miss some time. Stroud was already a low-QB1, at best. Stroud without Collins may not even be startable.
Trade Away Travis Etienne Jr., RB
This may seem reactionary to Tank Bigsby’s big game, but I’ve been recommending Travis Etienne Jr. as a sell for weeks now. The simple fact is the Jaguars have no allegiance to either back. Bigsby is the more talented player. It’s only a matter of time before he takes the 1A role in this backfield.
Etienne carried the ball six times for 17 yards. The only reason he was remotely useful this week was because he caught six passes for 43 yards. That will not happen very frequently.
Etienne is an inefficient runner who is in a timeshare and has lost the primary goal-line role. He should be viewed as a high-RB3. If you can sell him as a mid-RB2 or better, the value you get in return will be better than what Etienne provides.
Trade Away Javonte Williams | RB
Somehow, the Broncos scored 34 points against the Raiders. Javonte Williams looked good. Yet, he didn’t contribute to any of the scoring.
Williams had 13 carries for 61 yards, while adding five receptions for 50 yards. It’s great to see him post RB1 numbers without a touchdown, but the lack of a monopoly on the goal-line work is concerning.
Perhaps someone in your league is encouraged by Williams and thinks this is the start of a turnaround. I do think he will be a viable starter going forward, but the forthcoming schedule is very unfriendly. If you can sell him based on him having weekly mid-RB2 value, that’s a move worth making.
Trade Away DJ Moore | WR
DJ Moore has been mostly solid this season, posting double-digit fantasy points in every game. He got up for this week’s revenge game, catching five of eight targets for 102 yards and two touchdowns. His 27.5 points from this past week marked his best performance of the season. But it was against the Panthers.
Now, to be fair, the Bears do have more favorable matchups coming up against the Jaguars and the Commanders, sandwiching their Week 7 bye. However, I am still not overly excited about the Bears’ offense.
Caleb Williams is improving, but Moore’s production has mostly come from impressive individual efforts.
Caleb Williams to DJ Moore for a Bears touchdown!
📺: #CARvsCHI on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/gRWf6oKOjx— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
His route tree in Shane Waldron’s offense remains concerning. There’s a good chance we just saw Moore’s best game of the season.
Trade Away Michael Pittman Jr. | WR
If Joe Flacco were starting for the remainder of the season, there’s no way Michael Pittman Jr. would be a sell. But he’s not. Anthony Richardson is going to return when he can. Reportedly, the Colts are optimistic it will be next week.
Pittman’s volume with Flacco has been awesome. After failing to so much as reach 8.0 fantasy points each of the first three weeks, he’s scored 17.3 and 14.7 the past two. That’s the Flacco effect.
There’s another effect at play, though. The Josh Downs effect. As great as Pittman’s 17 targets over the past two weeks are, Downs has had more. As great as Pittman’s 11 receptions are, Downs has had more. Downs is too good to allow Pittman to be a true alpha. Try and sell Pittman based on his production with Flacco, knowing the downturn with Richardson is coming.
Trade Away Kyle Pitts | TE
It’s extremely difficult to find tight ends to sell high. Typically, the ones that produce are legitimately good players, and there aren’t many of them. This week, we got a nice game from Kyle Pitts. Use that to offload him to someone who still believes.
Pitts caught seven of eight targets for 88 yards. That may seem great, but that represents only a 13.7% target share. As a reminder, Kirk Cousins threw 58 passes. He essentially played two games. If you can sell him off this extreme outlier of a game, I would do it.