We are now through 11 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 undervalued players or sell high on overvalued ones.
Top Trade Targets To Buy in Your League: Sam Darnold, QB, Seattle Seahawks
Sam Darnold has been the centerpiece of several streamer articles lately, as fantasy managers took some time to trust him as a reliable weekly fantasy starter. Darnold’s stock has taken a hit after back-to-back disappointing weeks, though, and a buy-low window has likely opened.
Darnold has now scored fewer than 10 fantasy points in three of his last four games, and his four picks against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday will have caught the eye. Darnold has taken some time to prove himself with the Seattle Seahawks after crumbling against the Rams in the playoffs last season.
His latest flat performance, coupled with the similar disappointments in Weeks 7 and 10, will have current owners ready to drop him, let alone trade him. But two of those games were against elite defenses, the Rams and the Houston Texans, while the other was in a blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals.
The Seahawks scored two early defensive touchdowns against Arizona, and Darnold attempted just 12 passes in the entire game as they salted away the clock. The journeyman quarterback entered Week 11 ranked second overall in PFSN’s QB Impact metric and has four top-10 fantasy finishes in his last eight games.
Shedeur Sanders, QB, Cleveland Browns
Unbiased conversation about Shedeur Sanders has been in short supply since he was drafted back in April. The rookie quickly became one of the most divisive players in the NFL, as the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback depth chart became an unlikely focal point of the offseason.
It’s fair to say that Sanders’ NFL debut was a disaster; the rookie completed just four of his 16 pass attempts for 47 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. But just as I felt Dillon Gabriel faced too much criticism, I believe it would be unfair to judge Sanders on an impromptu cameo against an impressive Baltimore Ravens defense.
I don’t feel strongly that Sanders will be a star, nor that he will prove to be a bust, but I think it’s worth picking him up for nothing in Superflex. Regardless of Gabriel’s health, the Browns will want to get a proper look at Sanders in the coming weeks. If he’s bad, cut him; if he’s good, he’ll prove a steal on waivers this week.
Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Jaylen Warren is the undisputed lead back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Kenneth Gainwell’s Week 11 explosion is impossible to ignore. Gainwell caught seven of his eight targets for 81 yards and two touchdowns, while Warren again did most of his work on the ground.
Nevertheless, Gainwell outscored Warren by 20.8 PPR points, as Warren totaled 67 yards on 10 carries and two receptions. There’s no getting around the disappointment of a single-digit fantasy week in what should have been a dream matchup, but there will be better days ahead.
Warren faces the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, and Miami Dolphins in the next four weeks and should be a solid contributor in the run-up to the playoffs. His fantasy playoff schedule isn’t great, with the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns in Weeks 16 and 17.
For those needing a boost in the next few weeks, though, Warren should be a solid RB2 over the next few weeks, and a flex option if you make it to the later rounds.
Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Darnell Mooney has been hugely disappointing this year, recording just one top-40 finish at the wide receiver position through eight weeks. The receiver hasn’t managed to hit double-digit fantasy points once this season and has been limited to just one reception in half of his games.
That might make this an odd piece of advice, but buy-lows are rarely pretty on the surface. Starting quarterback Michael Penix left the Atlanta Falcons’ Week 11 loss to the Carolina Panthers early with a knee injury.
That injury is likely to keep him out for at least Week 12 and potentially much longer, with Kirk Cousins the next man up. Mooney averaged over six targets per game with Cousins starting last year, and tallied six top-20 finishes in fantasy.
There is a solid chance that Mooney will be on waivers in your leagues, and if he’s not, he should cost you next to nothing. Certainly don’t go all-out to acquire the receiver, but he’s worth picking up if you have a space for an upside stash on your roster.
Cedric Tillman, WR, Cleveland Browns
If Mooney isn’t available on waivers, Cedric Tillman almost certainly will be. Again, I’m not a fan of Cleveland’s offense this season, and I’m not convinced that any Browns player will provide much for fantasy in the coming weeks.
Joe Flacco’s success with the Cincinnati Bengals suggests that judging any quarterback on their performances in Cleveland would be harsh. However, I expect Sanders to get an extended opportunity on the field, and I expect him to target his receivers more than Gabriel has in recent weeks.
Tillman is a proven performer in both real life and fantasy football and is working his way back from a significant injury. Tillman has eight across the two games since his return, and tallied 52 receiving yards on Sunday. If you need a spark in your flex spot, the Browns receiver is a low-floor, high-ceiling option that should cost you nothing this week.
Theo Johnson, TE, New York Giants
Theo Johnson has caught the eye at times this season, and he is no longer an overlooked piece of the New York Giants’ passing game. The former Penn State standout has averaged 9.2 PPR points per game this season, and 11.3 since Week 4. That makes him the TE13 over that stretch, and his consistent red-zone usage is a big reason for that.
Heading into Sunday, only 12 players had more red-zone targets than Johnson (10) this season, and the tight end had at least twice as many as any of his teammates. However, while many would have expected Johnson to have a better game with Jameis Winston airing it out on Sunday, his four targets were tied for his second-fewest of the year.
Jaxson Dart will hope to be cleared to start again in Week 12, with a daunting matchup with the Lions awaiting the Giants. New York then faces the New England Patriots in Week 13, and there is a strong chance of pass-friendly game scripts in both games.
The Giants then go on bye in Week 14 before facing a miserable Washington Commanders defense. Johnson has been on waivers for much of the year and may even still be there in many leagues. He has five touchdowns in his last seven games with Dart, and could well be a top-10 fantasy tight end for the rest of the season.
Top Trade Targets To Sell in Your League: Justin Fields, QB, New York Jets
Justin Fields’ elite fantasy ceiling makes him a tempting option every week, but it also makes him an alluring option for everybody else in your league. But while the former Steeler can win you a week, he can also send an otherwise promising fantasy week into a nosedive with his complete lack of passing ability.
In nine starts this season, Fields has either finished inside the top 12 at the position or outside the top 29 in fantasy. That unpredictability not only makes him a risky fantasy play, but it has already seen him benched once this season, and he is fortunate to be the New York Jets’ starter still.
Back-to-back wins in Weeks 9 and 10 kept Fields in a job, despite his underwhelming performances, but another loss could well see him benched for Tyrod Taylor again. While his upside is tremendous, leveraging a boom week while you can is usually a good practice.
Rico Dowdle, RB, Carolina Panthers
Rico Dowdle has blown up, regressed to a backup role, and blown up again this year, and he now looks set for a prolonged run as the Panthers’ starter. The former Dallas Cowboys back has impressed when given the opportunity, and totalled 100 yards on 24 touches against the Falcons on Sunday.
Moving forward, though, things get dicey for Dowdle. The Panthers face the Rams in Week 13, before a Week 14 bye. They then face the Buccaneers in Week 16 and the Seahawks in the fantasy championships.
Running backs are a valuable commodity in fantasy, especially at this stage of the season, and good running backs are especially so. That should give Dowdle a strong market this week, and that should see you secure significant compensation in trades.
Sean Tucker, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This one is pretty obvious, but it’s not always easy to know how to handle a breakout like Sean Tucker’s at the weekend. The Buccaneers’ bruising backup erupted for 140 total yards and three touchdowns against the Bills on Sunday.
With Bucky Irving expected to be nearing a return, there is a chance Tucker continues to be involved, but Irving’s presence would be a massive hit to his workload. Unfortunately, none of this is a secret, and your league mates will be all too aware of Tucker’s situation.
Nevertheless, his massive production will be intriguing to some, and you might be able to secure something for the runner this week. Irving isn’t guaranteed to come back in Week 12, but selling high often means selling early.
Tucker’s upside means you shouldn’t sell at any cost, but if you can secure a flex option or a significant FAAB budget, both could prove more useful down the stretch.
D’Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears
I was pretty adamant that D’Andre Swift would return to his starting role after injury, despite Kyle Monangai’s explosive performances when filling in. That proved to be the case, and Swift has tallied 447 rushing yards over his last five games, continuing to establish a massive value on his preseason ADP.
However, he faces a daunting schedule for the rest of the season and has likely lost some goal-line work to Monangai, despite being the team’s RB1. The Bears face the Steelers, the Browns, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Green Bay Packers (twice) in Weeks 12-16, so moving Swift for a similarly ranked back would be a smart move this week.
Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers
Betting against a highly drafted, rookie wide receiver in the second half of the season feels wrong. But having backed Bryce Young on multiple occasions this season, I’m all too aware of the volatile nature of the Panthers’ passing attack this season.
I rate Young and McMillan, but there is a boom/bust element to their fantasy production, something that I fully expect to be ironed out in time. Unfortunately, with just three weeks to secure a place in the fantasy playoffs, time is not something fantasy managers have in abundance.
McMillan has registered three top-13 fantasy finishes this season, but just as many fantasy finishes of WR45 or worse. On the back of a spike week, it might be a good idea to move for a more reliable fantasy asset. It takes several good weeks to win the playoffs, but it only takes one bad one to fall short.
Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Michael Wilson falls firmly into the same bucket as Tucker: backup players who have excelled in a situation that almost certainly won’t last. With Marvin Harrison Jr. sidelined, Wilson was targeted a ridiculous 18 times against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 11.
He caught 15 of those targets for 185 yards, as the Cardinals chased an unlikely comeback. They fell short in that pursuit, but that doesn’t make Wilson’s output any less impressive. There is currently no indication as to whether Harrison will return in Week 12, or even beyond, offering a slight hope of continued production for Wilson.
If you’re unsure of a playoff spot, Wilson’s short-term upside is worth more than you’re likely to get in a trade. However, if you are already in a good place, moving Wilson to a more desperate team for a player who could help you in the playoffs might be a wise move.
Dalton Schultz, TE, Houston Texans
Like Johnson, Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz has been included in our recent “streamers” articles. The veteran tight end has seen a production bump in recent weeks, most notably when playing with backup quarterback Davis Mills.
Of Mills’ 120 pass attempts this season, Schultz has been targeted 26 times, 21.67%. With Stroud, that number drops to 17.36%, as the third-year quarterback spreads the ball more evenly among his receivers.
Schultz has been targeted 28 times in his last three games, and has averaged 14.4 fantasy points per game in that stretch. With Stroud’s return imminent, the Texans’ offense should be more functional, and their overall control of games should improve.
Mills has won both of his starts since Stroud’s injury, but the Texans have had to come from behind to win both. The team faces some tough opponents in the coming weeks, but should find themselves in less desperate situations.
That, in turn, would mean fewer targets for Schultz. There won’t be a huge market for the tight end, but three consecutive top-10 finishes should fetch you some FAAB at the very least.
