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.
For people in leagues that are more active in trading, this is for you. These are my favorite players to target and my favorite players to shop as their current value and future value don't necessarily align due to easy matchups, surrounding injuries, improving/changing scenarios, etc.
Top Trade Targets/Buy-Low Candidates This Week:
Josh Jacobs (RB - Green Bay Packers)
Jacobs has done everything fantasy managers could've asked for through the first 6 weeks except for one thing: score TDs. Through six games, Jacobs has a strong 108 carries, over 560 total yards, and five games of 11+ points, but has just one TD.
That is going to change, it's just a matter of time, especially with the Packers having just 10 rushing attempts inside the 10-yard line.
We know the floor with Jacobs given his proven ability to produce without TDs, so you're likely getting a top-10 RB for the price tag of a mid-to-high RB2 at the moment given his under-production to start the season.
DJ Moore (WR - Chicago Bears)
He's like the WR version of Josh Jacobs (see above), except he's found the endzone three times - Moore is a very stable and safe WR, especially in PPR formats given the passing volume in the Bears' offense, having drawn 6+ targets and 10+ points in every game this season prior to a Week 6 blowout where the starters didn't get much work late in the game.
Now is the perfect opportunity to 'buy low' on Moore coming off a game where you liked what you saw from Caleb Williams but somehow Moore was seemingly the only Bears player to not find the endzone.
He's on his bye, which should help reduce the price tag on him temporarily as well, but his prospects for the rest of the year look amazing as Chicago faces the 4th-easiest SOS over the next 4, the easiest remaining SOS this season, and the easiest SOS in the fantasy playoffs.
Moore looks like a potential league-winning fringe WR1 that can be bought at a WR2 price in the short term.
Brian Thomas Jr. (WR - Jacksonville Jaguars)
It was a very uncharacteristic game for Brian Thomas this past week, registering his lowest target count (6) since Week 2, the lowest yardage (27) of his career, and the lowest fantasy output (5.7 points) of his career, including his only game in the single-digit points.
The Jaguars' offense couldn't get anything going and even when they did late, Thomas dropped a TD that one would expect him to bring in 9 times out of 10. The schedule also turns for the better with Jacksonville going from the 6th-hardest SOS among WRs to start the season to the 3rd-easiest SOS over the next month and an above-average schedule for the remainder of the season.
It's a very short-term buying window for Thomas off of that down game that ultimately should've been much better on the stat sheet. You'll still be paying a pretty penny for Thomas, but it's a window to buy him at a borderline WR2 price tag as someone who should be a top-10 ROS WR.
Low-Cost Targets/Stashes:
Raheem Mostert (RB - Miami Dolphins)
Mostert seems to be an afterthought in fantasy at the moment, having returned from a 3-week absence in Week 5 to tally 4.2 YPC on 19 carries. He still has the capability of being the back that we saw in 2023, granted at an extremely reduced TD volume, but still a more than capable FLEX/RB3 option.
It's a narrow window to 'buy low' on Mostert before Tua returns (likely in Week 8, per reports) as you can get him for pennies on the dollar as an RB3 for RB4/5 trade value.
It's a low-risk/high-reward gamble because - What if the Dolphins' offense returns to what we thought it would be once Tua is back?
David Njoku (TE - Cleveland Browns)
We saw Njoku return into a more traditional role for him in his first full game this season, having exited in Week 1 to an ankle injury, returning in Week 5 to only depart mid-game with a knee injury. He led the Browns in targets (7) and catches (5).
The current situation for the Browns' offense is as follows:
Struggling mightily to put up points
Tons of passing attempts (playing from behind)
WRs dropping tons of passes (Cooper leads the NFL in drops, Jeudy is 7th)
Inconsistent QB play from Watson
With Cooper (traded to Buffalo) gone, we can anticipate an expanded role for Njoku as the likely 2nd option in a Browns' offense that should be improving with the return of Nick Chubb.
Worst-case scenario, the offense doesn't improve and Watson is replaced by the gun-slinger in Jameis Winston (positive for Njoku). Best-case scenario, the offense does improve, and more redzone opportunities are opened up (positive for Njoku).
Either way, Njoku looks to be a very low-risk/high-potential investment at a very inconsistent (and underperforming) TE position, especially considering he was the overall TE1 in fantasy from Week 7 onward last season.
Top Trade Bait/Sell-High Candidates This Week:
Josh Downs (WR - Indianapolis Colts)
I was all for selling Downs last week as the anticipation was Anthony Richardson would be returning, but another week of Joe Flacco at QB has helped maintain (and actually raise) the value you can get from Downs via a trade market.
With 7+ catches and 16+ points in his last three games, you can likely get a fair WR3 type of return for Downs via trade and I would jump all over that this week. We don't know if the emergence of Downs will still keep him as the featured receiving target in this offense under Anthony Richardson, but between the reduced passing volume under Richardson and Michael Pittman Jr. not missing any time (as opposed to originally being reported as an IR candidate), I have little confidence in the security of Downs.
I'm personally trying to package him with another fringe starter in an attempt to move for a true RB2/WR2 this week before Richardson takes back over under center.
Jameson Williams (WR - Detroit Lions)
It appears that Jameson Williams has gone back to his more traditional self after a very promising 20 targets in the first two weeks of the season. Since then, he has target totals of 3, 2, and 4 - however, he has hit on 35+ yard TDs in back-to-back games.
That is the nature of Williams within an offense of Detroit's caliber and number of weapons. You're going to have notable games of production but almost all of his production will be via unpredictable big plays.
I'd definitely look to see what you can get out of him on the trade market after back-to-back weeks where he was saved by long scores. Look for a more secure FLEX or WR2 option. A perfect move in my opinion would be to package Williams with a bench player to make a move on a player like DJ Moore (see above).
Bucky Irving (RB - Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
If you told me before Week 6 that in Rachaad White's absence, Irving would tally 5.8 YPC, score a TD, and post 18.5 fantasy points, I would've been all on board for Irving to be a potential fringe-RB2 option down the stretch in 2024. However, that all changes with the massive breakout of Sean Tucker (192 total yards, 2 TDs, 34.2 fantasy points).
Irving was the "lead back" in the sense of drawing the start and getting a majority of the snaps (64%) but it was a dead-even split between him and Tucker in terms of carries with Tucker drawing one more target (and catch).
I have no issues with Irving being in my lineup in the short-term while Rachaad White is out, but I am very concerned about this being a pure committee/'hot hand' backfield once White is back based on the trend of Irving slowly supplanting White then Tucker seeing such a strong workload. It also doesn't help that Tampa draws the single-hardest SOS among RBs over the next month.
I'm trying to flip Irving while there is still the anticipation that he is the lead back once White returns because once that happens, we could be looking at anything from the 1A/1B (with White as the 1A) to a true three-headed split between the backs in Tampa.
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