Early Season Trade Targets

Trades can be very important to your fantasy football success if you are able to capitalize on the right situations. Buying low on players can greatly improve your team. It happens every year, a player gets off to a slow start and the fantasy owner is freaking out. Always take advantage. Remember this is a game and we want to win. Don't help your league mates, instead destroy them. By making various trades, I have seen an increase in my overall success when it comes to championship titles. Right now your looking for buy low candidates. Later in the season you should be looking for playoff matchups. There is always a time and a place for trades and I will try to help you get a better view of that. I will go through my favorite trade targets through each position. Theses are in no specific order. A general tip when trading, always check the opposing team for needs and messaging them instead of sending a blind offer should give you a better success rate. 

QB:

Baker Mayfield- I was completely off of Baker during draft season, but that was because of his price. He was going way to early for me. It is very possible that the Baker owner is disappointed. Now you may need to move your QB also with the trade but I think now is a good time. Hell even a week or 2 from now his price may be even lower. He has some tough matchups upcoming and he could continue to disappoint fantasy owners. I do see a turn around eventually. This offense has way to many weapons for him to only throw 1 TD pass a week. It is very likely someone partnered Baker with a Dak or Lamar in which they would feel like they don't want Baker. This is more of a long term acquisition.

Other than Baker, you really just need to be targeting teams that have multiple QB. In most redraft leagues, fantasy players take more than one QB. It just always happens. Find the team with Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson, and even Tom Brady and go get the other QB on their team. These players should more than likely be willing to move their second QB if you are in bad need of a QB. 

RB: 

Alvin Kamara- Now it may be difficult to get him for a discount, but is worth a shot. With Drew Brees undergoing surgery on his thumb, the Kamara owner may be worried. I think he will be just fine, maybe even getting a few more targets in this offense. Brees will return this season and if you can get a top 5 back at a discount go do it. I am not as worried about him as some may be. There isn't really data on how he is used with Brees not in the picture, but I could see a lot of negative game scripts which allows his targets to go up. I guess you could say I'm not worried about him in PPR leagues. 

Nick Chubb- I am a huge Chubb fan. He is getting a ton of work and I wouldn't be surprised if his usage goes up once this team gets things going. He is averaging 17.5 carries through the first two weeks, he just isn't involved in the passing game like most would want. I think that eventually changes. He is a star and the Browns would be stupid to not give him 3 down work. Just like I said about Baker, people are surely disappointing in this offense through two weeks, capitalize on that. 

Leonard Fournette- This is probably a contrarian pick but I am very impressed with how this team has used him so far. He is getting a good amount of targets, which will increase his production. The team is just currently struggling as Nick Foles is out. I have been very impressed with Gardner Minshew so far and think better days are ahead for Fournette. He hasn't done much yet, failing to top 70 rushing yards in any game, but he has a good shot to turn things around in the coming weeks. I was always off of him due to the lack of targets but that is no longer an issue. 

David Montgomery- One of "my guys" this season would have been cheaper a week ago, but I still want to mention him. There still may be someone who is looking to move him. I luckily gained another share of him recently for Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill. Believe me, I don't know how I did either. I have a ton of faith in this guy this year and it looks like the Bears do after they gave him 19 touches last week. Mike Davis is now an after thought and Monty will continue to lead the team in rushes. He is a special talent just look at his tape. 

Melvin Gordon- This is only for those undefeated teams that can afford to use the roster spot. He will play again this year. I am confident in that. He needs to for him to enter free agency next year. Look for teams that have started the year 0-2 and send them an offer they can't refuse at this point. More than likely they're panicking for a win. 

Miles Sanders- So far this has been a full out RBBC. I think Sanders should eveunally take over the job. I mean Jordan Howard isn't anything special and Darren Sproles is 36 years old. At some point this team is going to see what they have in Sanders. He was a top dynasty rookie pick coming into the year but has been an afterthought in redradft leagues. He could be a cheap RB to target if you need help in the position. It is more than likely players who have him are disappointed through two weeks. In the first two weeks, he has lead the RB group in snaps. His time will come. 

WR:

Michael Thomas- Just like Alvin Kamara, there are probably people out there panicking about Thomas. Earlier this week I was asked if someone should trade Deebo Samuel and Marquise Brown for Thomas. That's insane to me. That there are people that worried. Go send a messgae to the Thomas owner and see what they would want. I still could see him getting double digit targets week in and week out until Brees comes back. His scoring opportunity will be limited but he will still get a ton of looks. 

Robert Woods- He had a down game last week, but I still view him as the WR1 on this offense. I honestly think Brandin Cooks is the one who loses value due to Cooper Kupp playing. He was one of the most consistent WR last year and even helped me get to a championship. If the Woods owner is looking at how Kupp and Cook performed last week, you may be able to capitalize. I expect at least 7 targets from him each and every week. 

Tyler Lockett- He is the WR1 on this team. Don't let Metcalf truthers tell you otherwise. If someone out there is worried that DK will over take him, go capitalize. Lockett had 12 targets last week and caught 10 of them for only 79 yards. If he gets that amount of work, 79 yards will be an after thought. He had a huge yards per target last year and should continue that trend. People drafted him expecting big things and through two weeks I could see some owners disappointments. 

D.J. Moore- Now I will say I have not gone out to try to acquire him in leagues because I already own him in a ton. I do think there is good opportunity to trade for him. I would personally wait until next week and see how he performs with Cam out, but he could still be pretty decent. It's a coin flip if you want to get him this week or next. Just know I am still starting him and not looking back. He is the clear cut WR1 on this team and has shown it. I am not a huge fan of looking at paces but it is worth noting he is on pace for over 1300 yards on the year. He was one of my favorite breakout players this year and don't let Cam's injury sway you away. 

Larry Fitzgerald- I am team Kirk but it is worth noting how much Fitz is still being used. He now has back to back games with over 100 yards. Some teams may value him a little too high so he will be harder to acquire, but if your lucky, you can get a top 25 WR for cheap. I will take bite the bullet here and even say I thought he would be washed this year. That is a trend he continues to break year after year. He more than likely is sitting on many teams benches, so go get a guy who could easily be at least an every week flex play. 

DeSean Jackson/ Michael Gallup- If you can afford a roster spot go get these two. I think they both have top 25 potential when healthy. They both will be missing time so it may be wise to try to trade for them next week. Both are in high powered offenses and showed huge week 1 performances. Owners may be looking to get a healthy player on their team instead of looking at the upside of these guys. If you can afford the spot, go get them. 

John Brown- He has been great through two weeks and I don't expect anything to change. He is currently the WR17 on the year and I wouldn't be surprised if he stayed around the 20ish range. Josh Allen really seems to trust him. He is a great flex play if you have been dealing with injuries. I also think he is still undervalued in most leagues. With his past, no one is really ready to believe. He has 7 catches in each of the first 2 games. Although that probably won't be an ongoing trend, he is still constantly leading the team in WR play. This isn't a terrible offense and you should be able to get their WR1 for the low. 

TE: 

Mark Andrews- Whoever has Andrews more than likely has a second TE unless they went all in. I am one of those teams, but even then I had a second TE in a few. I really don't know the market for Andrews but I think it is worth exploring. I would expect to pay for a top 7 TE but that's ok. He could easily be right behind the big 3 at TE. He is currently the highest scoring TE in the league. Don't go crazy to get him, but if the deal is right, pull the trigger. He is legit. 

Austin Hooper- The only TE's that I own outside of the top 3 are Hooper and Andrews. I'm sticking to my guns. He would be the cheaper option if you are looking to improve at the position. He is averaging 7.5 targets through 2 games. Don't forget he was also a top 10 TE last year. He had a down game, but I really think the Falcons get it together at some point. He is still a top 7 TE, like I had projected him to be as.