We are now through two 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
Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts
There’s no sugarcoating it — Anthony Richardson was bad against the Packers.
Head coach Matt LaFleur had a plan to win that game with Malik Willis, and he executed it. A big part of it was stymying Richardson.
2 games & 2 INTs for McKinney.#INDvsGB pic.twitter.com/D169tBGqv8
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 15, 2024
Despite Richardson’s poor outing, though, he showed his elite upside, as 12.8 fantasy points is not terrible for a quarterback who threw one touchdown and three interceptions. He still ran for 37 yards on just four attempts.
Next week could be another tough outing, as the Colts face a tough Steelers defense. After that, though, things should lighten up, and Richardson may really be able to take off.
Either buy now or wait a week and buy after Week 3.
Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Jaylen Warren isn’t your typical buy-low candidate. He’s not exactly some elite back that’s underperforming. At his peak, though, he’s a viable low-RB2.
Warren’s Week 1 usage was minimal as he was recovering from a preseason hamstring strain. In Week 2, his playing time ticked up. He looked closer to being in his usual role, carrying the ball nine times for 42 yards, and drawing two targets, catching both for 19 yards.
MORE: Kyle Soppe’s Week 3 Start/Sit Advice for Every Fantasy-Relevant Player
Najee Harris remains the RB1, but Warren may be back to his 40-45% role as soon as next week. I’m not sure if he’s being valued at that level.
If you can poach Warren away from his manager for cheap, he should provide a positive return on your investment.
Josh Jacobs, RB, Green Bay Packers
Oftentimes, touchdowns skew perception. Josh Jacobs did not score a touchdown in the Packers’ win over the Colts. He did carry the ball a whopping 32 times for 151 yards, though.
Jacobs is a true bell cow in every sense of the term. Don’t worry about his lack of targets — that was a product of the team doing everything they could to hide Malik Willis.
While Willis is starting, Jacobs will see heavy volume on the ground. Even though teams know the Packers are running, it can still work because of the threat Willis poses with his own rushing.
Once Jordan Love returns, Jacobs’ receiving game upside will return, as will his touchdown upside. Try and capitalize on his lack of scoring in what was otherwise an incredible performance.
Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
This is your last chance. Right now. Ahead of Week 3.
Ja’Marr Chase is still elite. He just hasn’t shown it over the first two weeks of the season.
The Bengals are notoriously slow starters. Chase sat out pretty much all of training camp. They are just getting back into the swing of things.
Joe Burrow looked much better in Week 2 against a very good Chiefs defense. Just wait for next week.
MORE: Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer
The explosion is coming against a Commanders defense that had no answer for Malik Nabers to the tune of 10 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown.
This Commanders’ pass defense looks just as bad this year as it was last year when it surrendered the second-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Chase may finish Week 3 as the overall WR1.
As an example, if you can trade Tyreek Hill for Chase and a small piece, make that move immediately.
Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
This is another example of wanting to buy high. Rashee Rice is already a fantasy WR1. I’m pretty sure he’s being valued that way by fantasy managers.
Through two weeks, Rice has games of 17.3 and 18.5 fantasy points. He’s not exactly flying under the radar. However, I’m not sure he’s truly being properly valued.
There are three, maybe four receivers I would rather have than Rice for the rest of the season.
This isn’t a low WR1. This is an elite WR1. This is a guy who should be viewed on par with CeeDee Lamb and a healthy Cooper Kupp.
Patrick Mahomes hasn’t even played his best yet. When this offense truly starts humming, we could see some monster games from Rice.
Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
The idea is to buy low…most of the time. Sometimes, you just need to buy high. Brock Bowers is, in fact, the truth. He is everything that was promised.
Bowers was dubbed the greatest tight end prospect of all time. Through two weeks, he looks the part.
Bowers now has 17 targets through two games. In Week 2, he caught all nine of his targets for 98 yards against a good Ravens defense.
It’s unlikely you can buy Bowers for a discount, but I’m not quite sure he’s being valued as an elite TE just yet.
As an example, I would rather Bowers for the rest of the season over Mark Andrews, Evan Engram, and George Kittle. I am one week away from putting him ahead of Sam LaPorta, too.
Top Players To Sell in Your League
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
For the second week in a row, I really don’t have a quarterback that’s a clear sell high. Prior to Sunday Night Football, just three quarterbacks eclipsed 20 fantasy points. Two of them, Derek Carr and Sam Darnold, weren’t started by anyone.
Quarterback play is becoming a serious problem in fantasy football, at least at the start of the season. So, I’ll go with Trevor Lawrence in the event the 74% of managers still rostering him can get anything in return.
MORE: Fantasy Football Waiver Targets in Week 3
Lawrence is not a consistent fantasy starter. He never has been. He’s had a couple of 3-4 game stretches where he posted elite QB1 numbers. Otherwise, he’s been a middling QB2.
I believe fantasy managers should be dropping Lawrence, who has posted games of 11.3 and 13.3 fantasy points over his first two games. But if you can sell him for literally anything, go for it.
James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills
Make no mistake about it, James Cook is very good at football. In a different world or at a different time, he easily could be a locked-in RB in fantasy. However, he is on the Buffalo Bills in the year 2024, with Josh Allen as his quarterback.
It was very encouraging to see Cook handle a goal-line carry against the Dolphins. But that is not the norm. Nearly all of Cook’s touchdowns will have to be like his other two scores — either on a reception or via a splash play.
We very likely saw not only the best game of Cook’s season but the best game of his career. He carried the ball 11 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns while adding the lone 17-yard touchdown reception.
Cookin' up his THIRD TD of the night 🔥#BUFvsMIA on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/hPFdtSTyK8— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2024
Most weeks, Cook’s production will look similar to how it did last week, except a bit less efficient, and without the touchdowns — 80-100 scoreless yards with a catch or two does fantasy managers no favors.
This is not to say you should desperately look to offload Cook. He is still a weekly RB2. But if someone out there is salivating at the notion of acquiring Cook at an RB1 price, there won’t be a better time to cash out.
Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last year, there was no running back I faded more than Rachaad White. That did not work out, as White saw massive volume being the only guy in the Bucs’ backfield. This year, White is going to prove me right … a year late.
Through two weeks, White is averaging an abysmal 1.96 yards per carry. I didn’t think it could get worse than last year. Yet, it has.
White is still a good receiver. But that is not always guaranteed. He was limited to a single target, which he caught for 5 yards against the Lions this week.
Things should be much easier against the Broncos in Week 3, as they struggle against the run. But I fear we may see an increased dose of Bucky Irving, who is a superior runner.
White will never be irrelevant in fantasy because of his receiving ability. But the RB1 we saw last season is never coming back. If you can sell him for something like Jaylen Warren and Brian Thomas Jr., that’s a win for you.
Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins
I have been touting Tyreek Hill since before his breakout 2017 season. This is a sad day, as it is the first time I have ever advocated for trading Hill away.
To be clear, Hill is not going to suddenly be a random WR3 without Tua Tagovailoa. However, there is no denying his elite WR1 upside is gone for as long as Miami’s starting QB is sidelined.
We already know Tagovailoa will return. We just don’t know when. Given his history of concussions over a relatively short period of time, it would be a major surprise if he missed anything less than a month. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he missed up to 6-8 weeks. That’s a long time for your top-two fantasy WR to suddenly be a middling WR2.
Hill averages 22.8 ppg with Tua against 15.7 ppg without him. Now, 15.7 ppg is still high WR2 numbers. But you didn’t draft Hill to merely be very good. If someone out there is willing to pay a WR1 price for Hill, I would sell. I would trade Hill straight up for Rashee Rice, as an example.
Calvin Ridley, WR, Tennessee Titans
Forgive me for not fully buying into the Calvin Ridley resurgence. Of all the top wide receivers from Week 2, Ridley is the only one who didn’t see high target volume.
Guys like DK Metcalf, Malik Nabers, Davante Adams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Amon-Ra St. Brown all saw double-digit targets. Ridley saw…six. He just happened to catch a flukey long touchdown, as well as run one in.
I don’t mean to take anything away from Ridley’s performance. He played well. I just don’t trust this offense and I don’t trust Will Levis. This may end up being Ridley’s best game of the season.
Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens
Much like I am buying high on Brock Bowers, I am down to sell low on Mark Andrews.
It’s only been two weeks, but I do not like what we’ve seen from the veteran tight end. He is simply not commanding targets.
Andrews now has seven targets through two games. While that’s bound to improve, Isaiah Likely isn’t going away.
Andrews only played 63% of the snaps on Sunday. He did run 10 more routes than Likely, but there were nine Lamar Jackson dropbacks where he didn’t run a route at all. I am not liking the usage and I am not liking the player. If you could sell for Bowers and more, that’s a great move to make.