Trading is the quickest way to take your team from sitting on the bubble of a playoff berth to a championship contender, or vice-versa if you make the wrong deal, which is why it is so important to make sure you are targeting (and selling) the right players at the right time.
And yes - every player has a price. It doesn't matter whether they are the best player in fantasy football or a dwindling kicker - every player has a price that they should be traded away for or should have something given up to get. If you don't know what the value of your players is, head over to our Trade Charts!
For people in leagues that are more active in trading, this is for you - these are our top 5 trade targets based on the "buy-low, sell-high" approach with players highlighted likely to see an increase in value in the near future due to easy matchups, surrounding injuries, improving/changing scenarios, etc:
1. Calvin Ridley - WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
After an explosive 24-point return from his 1-and-a-half-year hiatus away from football, Calvin Ridley (and the entire Jaguars' offense for that matter) has struggled each of the last two weeks, tallying just 5 catches for 72 yards over those two games combined.
Ridley owners are likely becoming frustrated after their (likely) 3rd rounder has seen a downturn in production while other Jaguars' weapons (Christian Kirk, Evan Engram) have been more involved (and more productive) over these last two games. The good news: it's just a matter of time before Ridley rebounds.
He's gotten the targets needed to be successful, even in his poor performances over the last two weeks, drawing 7+ targets in every game this season and ranking 15th (26) on the year in the category. The issue for Ridley has been bringing in those targets, suffering from a 25% catch rate in Week 2 (8 targets, 2 catches) and suffering from drops in Week 3, dropping 4 passes (on 7 targets) including a would-be touchdown.
The talent is there. The opportunity is there. It just hasn't clicked the last two weeks.
I still view Ridley as a fringe-WR1/high-WR2 long-term, especially in a Jaguars' offense that has the potential to explode at any moment. That makes this the perfect opportunity to try and capitalize on a slump from Ridley, getting him at a major discount.
2. Cooper Kupp - WR, Los Angeles Rams
This is a type of move that will likely end up winning your league or losing it for you. Nobody (likely not even Cooper Kupp) knows the status of the hamstring injury that was re-aggravated just days before kickoff and resulted in Kupp seeking a specialist in Minnesota to find answers to his lingering injury.
All signs point to a potential Week 5 return (or at least, very shortly thereafter) once Kupp is eligible to come off of I.R., but nobody knows the status of the hamstring. He could come back and be perfectly fine after time off or he could come back, tweak it on the opening play, and miss the rest of the year - nobody knows with hamstring injuries.
It's a massive gamble, but one thing is for certain: when Cooper Kupp is on the field, he is elite. You have to go back to 2020 to find the first game that Kupp finished and failed to hit double-digit points. That's TWENTY SIX consecutive games of 10+ points with 20+ points coming in 20/26 of those games and 25+ points being posted 13 times.
With Puka Nacua (no disrespect to him) drawing top-4 numbers in targets (42, 1st), catches (30, 2nd), and receiving yards (338, 4th), it's safe to say that once Kupp is back, he will see his typical workload.
If you want nothing to do with Kupp and his hamstring, I don't blame you, but if you do have interest, now may be your last chance at getting the potential top WR in fantasy upon his return for a notable discount (possibly even for a WR2).
3. Jahmyr Gibbs - RB, Detroit Lions
There's good and bad news for Jahmyr Gibbs' start to 2023. The good news: he's posted 8+ points in each of his first three career games. The bad news: he's yet to eclipse 13+ points, even with David Montgomery out in Week 3 and for a good portion of Week 2.
It's beginning to get a bit clearer on what we will be getting out of Gibbs in 2023 and unfortunately, it likely won't be the league-winning upside many anticipated throughout the preseason. We're going to be getting a 1B to David Montgomery's 1A in the running game, albeit a very efficient (4.5 YPC, 0.727 FPPT) 1B, that is the receiving back and has no redzone/goal-line involvement (at least yet).
Gibbs has been very solid in his role and is a stable option in PPR scoring, getting 54% of his points via the air through 3 games. The issue with that is Detroit's defense has been greatly improved from 2022, limiting the pass-heavy game script opportunities that Gibbs will thrive off of.
I still really like Gibbs as a long-term option and believe he will be more involved (especially in the running game) as the season progresses, but for now, he looks like a stable low RB2. However, at that price, his upside (top-5) is still worth investing in, especially if you can capitalize on a Gibbs owner who likely is very frustrated with his (likely) 3rd rounder's lack of production. You can likely get him for RB3/FLEX value, especially if you negotiate right and emphasize his average production with David Montgomery's absence.
4. Bijan Robinson - RB, Atlanta Falcons
We just saw Bijan's floor in Week 3 and it still was a 60-yard, 10-point performance. Wow. It is very clear Bijan is the definitive focal point of the Falcons' offense through 3 weeks and will thrive in any game script.
You may be thinking "How is a player that is the RB7 in points a buy low?" Bijan is coming off (only) a 10-point performance and is the RB7 with just one TD (which came in Week 1) and virtually no redzone/goal-line work. He will be more involved in the redzone and will find the endzone eventually - he's way too talented not to, but even if he didn't, you are looking at one of the safest weekly RBs in fantasy with a double-digit floor.
It's unlikely he contends for the overall top RB spot (especially with Christian McCaffrey scoring at least a touchdown a game in San Francisco) but top-3 seems a very realistic possibility. I'm throwing a substantial amount of capital to get Bijan at some sort of discount, or at the very least, at a reasonable price, while he can still be traded for.
5. Zach Ertz - TE, Arizona Cardinals
Not every trade, and certainly not every player in your lineup, necessarily needs to be a "home run". You can certainly win games (and your league) by having a few players posting 25+ point performances but you can also create championship teams by layering safe, consistent production. That is what Zach Ertz offers.
Through three weeks, Ertz ranks 4th in both targets (20) and receptions (14) among TEs, even despite a poor Week 3 (2 targets, 2 catches, 6 yards) where he was not involved due to an uncharacteristically run-heavy game script with the Cardinals shockingly thumping the Cowboys.
That is unlikely to happen again. Going forward, it would be very surprising to see Arizona in many, let alone any, games where they control the game script like they did in Week 3. With the Cardinals playing from behind, Ertz receives a dominant target volume, and coincidingly, is a PPR machine.
Now, you're not going to be getting 80+ yard, 1-TD performances out of Ertz, but he does offer a very stable week-to-week floor as we saw in 2022 (10+ points in 8/9 healthy games) and had seen in the opening two weeks (10 targets, 6 catches, 8.1 points in Week 1; 8 targets, 6 catches, 11.6 points in Week 2).
He's not necessarily a 'sexy' option to have on your roster and due to that, alongside a down Week 3, you can get him for next to nothing (maybe a depth player or even, in some cases, off of the waiver wire). Unless you have a TE that has established solid volume this season (Kelce, Andrews, Hockenson, LaPorta, Engram, Henry, Waller, Kittle), I would strongly urge you to target Ertz as an extremely valuable low-TE1/elite-TE2 for a massive discount.