The fantasy football regular season is quickly coming to an end, with just five games left after Week 9 ends. Some teams in your league might have locked up a playoff spot, a few teams probably have no chance of making the playoffs, and tons of teams need to keep winning to clinch their spot.
Most leagues’ trade deadlines are still a couple of weeks away. So, it is time to make some trades to add more potential to your team. Whether that be to help push you into the playoffs or give you a boost while in the playoffs. If you can trade for top-performing players without trading away so many assets that it hurts your overall team, then make those trades. However, most managers might not be able to make those trades, so this article will discuss players that can genuinely be acquired in most leagues. These trade targets are undervalued due to injuries, performance perception, or situation perception. That allows these players to be realistically traded for in most leagues.
Running Back Targets
Michael Carter – RB20 (RB21 ppg) – 87.7% rostered in ESPN
- Carter is a rookie RB and started slowly as most rookies do, but he has back-to-back RB1 weeks (Weeks 7 and 8) after the bye week because his snap share significantly increased
- He had a mediocre Week 9 performance, so you may still be able to make a trade at a reasonable price because he has only been an RB2 or better in half of his games
- He is a PPR weapon as he is 7th in targets and 8th in receiving yards for running backs
- Favorable RB schedule: Week 11 – vs. Dolphins, Week 12 – @ Texans, Week 13 – vs. Eagles, Week 15 – @ Dolphins, Week 16 – vs. Jaguars
Zack Moss – RB27 (RB24 ppg) – 81.8% rostered in ESPN
- Moss shares the backfield with Devin Singletary, which keeps his perceived value down
- According to FantasyData, he averages 32.4 PPR points/100 snaps compared to Singletary’s 23.3 PPR points/100 snaps
- He is part of a high-scoring offense, and he loses some rushing TDs to Josh Allen, and that keeps his value down
- He dominates redzone carries 20 to 9 compared to Singletary and 3 to 1 inside the five-yard line
Clyde Edwards-Helaire – RB50 (RB37 ppg) – 88.4% rostered in ESPN
- CEH has been on IR since Week 6 after getting hurt in Week 5 but should be back healthy soon
- Out of four complete games, he has two 100-yard rushing games (50%)
- He averages 7 ypc this season
- Darrel Williams has dominated on runs inside the five-yard line with four touchdowns on five carries, but there is no reason why CEH cannot take away some of those opportunities when he returns healthy
- There is such a negative perception about CEH that it should not take much to acquire him in a trade if you make the trade before he comes off IR
Wide Receiver Targets
Antonio Brown – WR29 (WR6 ppg) – 90.7% rostered in ESPN
- Brown has been incredible this season, which is why he is the WR6 in points per game (19.1)
- He is injured, and it is unclear if he will be healthy after the Week 9 bye
- He is part of a high-powered passing offense but shares targets with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Rob Gronkowski
- One of the most favorable schedules for the rest of the season
- It might be tough to acquire Brown in a trade because he has been so good when healthy, but the other manager may be nervous about the injury, and you can take advantage
Tee Higgins – WR44 (WR38 ppg) – 91.6% rostered in ESPN
- Higgins has missed two games due to an injury
- He is 2nd on the team in snaps/game but has the highest target share per snap (17.9%)
- Ja’Marr Chase has been scoring long touchdowns and gets all of the attention, but Higgins has a 27.3% target share in the last three games compared to 25.3% for Chase
- Higgins is getting plenty of opportunities, so the touchdowns will come, so now is the time to acquire him before he has a blowup game
Julio Jones – WR73 (WR59 ppg) – 87.9% rostered in ESPN
- Julio Jones is one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL, but he has struggled with injuries
- He has not performed well this season with the Titans, but their offense should be completely different now that Derrick Henry is out
- The Titans should be passing more, which will give Jones more opportunities if he can stay healthy
- He is a big name, but it should not take much to acquire him in a trade because he has not performed well yet this season
- He is a low-risk target that has boom potential if he stays healthy and the offense increases passing attempts, as expected
- Titans have a favorable schedule for the passing game for the rest of the season
Tight End Targets
Darren Waller – TE8 (TE4 ppg) – 99.7% rostered in ESPN
- Darren Waller will be the hardest player to acquire on this list and will take the most assets to trade away
- He is having a good season but has been disappointing compared to the preseason expectations and missed his last game due to injury before the bye week
- The current Waller manager may be frustrated with how high they drafted Waller and could be willing to trade him away if you offer enough in return
- He had 19 targets Week 1 but hasn’t exceeded 8 targets in a game since that week
- There has been significant turmoil with the Raiders this season, which may impact the value perception of Waller
- He still has the 4th highest TE target share in the NFL
- Raiders have a favorable passing schedule for the rest of the season and could lead the league in passing yards, and they are currently 2nd in passing yards per game (324.1)
George Kittle – TE27 (TE13 ppg) – 95.1% rostered in ESPN
- George Kittle is struggling with injuries again this season and just came off of the IR in Week 9
- He is averaging seven targets per game
- He is one of the most talented tight ends in the NFL, when healthy
- The current Kittle manager may be disappointed with how little he has down this season for the draft capital cost and could be willing to trade him away for solid assets to avoid potential future headaches
- Amazing fantasy playoff schedule: Week 15 – vs Falcons, Week 16 – @ Titans, Week 17 – vs Texans
These players have the potential to turn around your season or help you seal a championship, but trading in fantasy football is an art. There is not a specific formula to make a trade, which is why this article does not tell you who to offer to acquire these players. Now is the time to start the line of communication with your league mates and figure out a trade that helps both sides, but puts you in a position to win games. Good luck and get in the playoffs so you can win the championship!