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. Bijan Robinson - RB, Atlanta Falcons
Well, that certainly wasn't ideal for Bijan Robinson. In case you (somehow) didn't hear - Bijan Robinson saw just 1 touch all of Week 7 due to a "headache" that left him 'not feeling well' and was known, but not reported by the Falcons coaching staff days before the game.
Bijan owners were likely a bit disappointed in their first-round pick's limited production, eclipsing 13 points just once and failing to hit 19+ points in the prior four weeks. His now 0.3-point performance thanks to the 'headache' may be the icing on the cake for them being willing to talk trades on the rookie.
It's the PERFECT time to look to acquire the RB, coming off several underwhelming weeks, but still offering a very promising long-term outlook, especially if you're in a playoff-contending situation. He had gotten 14+ touches and double-digit points in each game prior to his 'headache' game, even despite a limited redzone role.
He should become more involved (compared to Allgeier) as the season progresses and the Falcons draw closer to playoff contention, which is perfect considering Bijan will draw the 11th-easiest remaining schedule and the 2nd-easiest playoff schedule for fantasy. In three playoff matchups, Bijan will play three top-7 matchups: Carolina (2nd), Indianapolis (7th), and Chicago (6th). He's a potential league winner.
2. Jared Goff - QB, Detroit Lions
Goff has surprisingly been a solid option so far, ranking as the QB8 on the year with 18+ points in 4 of 7 games. That comes even without his WR2 in Jameson Williams missing the start of the season and Goff having faced the 3rd-toughest schedule among QBs thus far.
Everything is aligning for a monster end to the season for Goff. He draws the 3rd-easiest SOS over the next 4 weeks, the 2nd-easiest remaining SOS, and the 6th-easiest playoff SOS while the Lions look to be fighting for high seeding (for the first time in forever) in the playoff race.
Now is the optimal chance to get Goff for fringe-QB1 (or even high-QB2) value off of his worst in over a year, posting just 280 yards, 0 TDs, and an INT in a 9.2-point performance. He could easily be a top-5 QB the rest of the season and a difference-maker for those looking to make the playoffs or for those looking for playoff-specific matchups.
3. Calvin Ridley - WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
It has been an ugly start to the season for Calvin Ridley, eclipsing 12+ points just twice this season even despite drawing 7+ targets in five of his first six games. To go with that, he's gotten colder as of late, posting 4 for 30 yards (6.6 points) in Week 6 and just 1 (on 4 targets) for 5 yards (1.5 points) in Week 7.
He ranked 5th on the team in targets last week, in large part due to a matchup with lockdown corner Marshon Lattimore. He's in no question a boom-or-bust WR at this point (even despite the large volume earlier in the season). The good news is that boom-or-bust nature may start to favor the 'boom' side of things shortly, drawing the 6th-easiest schedule over his next 4 games, including three top-10 matchups against Pittsburgh (3rd), San Francisco (10th), and Tennessee (7th).
Ridley owners are likely fed up with his inconsistencies, especially after his 1.5-point performance last week. Now is the time to strike, even if you don't expect him to be a top-15 WR for the rest of the season (which he should roughly be). He's a player you can likely get for around a WR3/FLEX price tag.
4. Keenan Allen - WR, Los Angeles Chargers
It was an uncharacteristic performance from Keenan Allen. It was the first time in nearly TWO YEARS that Allen finished a game healthy and had single-digit fantasy points.
Even in his ugly game, bringing in just 4 of 9 targets and being missed (for a second straight week) on a wide-open touchdown, he still put up a respectable 9.5 points. That's the floor you're getting... That's absurd.
He's been incredible to start the season, ranking as the WR5 in points, and likely should have been even more productive. Now is one of the rare opportunities to try and acquire Allen at any form of a discount, landing yourself a top-5 WR with unparalleled consistency (which is invaluable) at a likely mid-WR1 price tag.
If you don't have Allen already, I'd strongly encourage making a strong effort to get him.
5. Aaron Jones - RB, Green Bay Packers
Aaron Jones made his return from his hamstring injury that has cost him 3 games (and a portion of two others) this season, and it was very clear the Packers wanted to ease him back into the offense in fears of a re-aggravation, giving Jones just 11 touches and 36% of the snaps to A.J. Dillon's 17 touches and 56% snap share. However, he was extremely efficient in his limited work, posting 8.7 points and going for 4.4 YPC.
I wouldn't anticipate him to reach his top-5 anticipated ceiling from the preseason, but Jones still offers, at the very least, low-end RB1/high-end RB2 value on a week-to-week basis. Right now, you can get that for what likely should be mid-RB2 value on the trade market, especially if you negotiate correctly.
This is purely an upside shot, especially with Green Bay drawing a favorable (9th-easiest) playoff SOS for RBs. It is important to be aware of the potential re-injury for Jones, seeing as he had missed Weeks 2 & 3 to his hamstring, played part of Week 4, then subsequently sat Weeks 5 and 6.