Trade Targets

Trading is probably my favorite part about Fantasy Football. My team is always in flux, as dynamic as the NFL. Many other managers have a foolishly stubborn attraction to keeping the same roster throughout the season, so it can be hard to negotiate a trade. You send them a reasonable offer and they're offended because they think their players are the Cat's Meow while yours are all injury-prone duds. But sometimes you can find the wheelers and dealers of your league and make something happen, by putting your knowledge to the test - you think Kenny Britt will have a better season than Brandon Marshall, he thinks Britt is a fluke - make the trade and see who was right. Inevitably, someone will prove to be right and someone will prove to be wrong (I like Britt more obviously), but there are some mutually beneficial trades in which both managers will be "right" because both starting rosters will be stronger post-trade. Perhaps Manager A drafted Peyton Manning in the 5th round in August, and grabbed Jimmy Graham in the 7th and Rob Gronkowski in the 10th, and maybe he even grabbed Fred Davis off the Waiver Wire. Now he has a wealth of elite TEs, and is struggling at QB. Manager B grabbed Matt Stafford and backed him up with Ryan Fitzpatrick, and picked up Cam Newton off the Waiver Wire; his TE is Aaron Hernandez who is out for a few weeks. Clearly, there is a trade to be made here. A player riding the bench on A's roster would be a starter on B's roster, and vice-versa. The point is, think about what position you have an embarrassment of riches at, and exploit the needs of others. The Jamaal Charles-owner may overpay for your RB, and the Miles Austin-owner may overpay for your WR. With all that in mind, here are some guys I'm targeting and guys I'm trying to unload. I used to call them "Sell-Highs" and "Buy-Lows" but that's not always the case, so here are my Buys and Sells:

BUY

Sam Bradford
Bradford was drafted as a starting QB in many leagues but currently sits as the 27th best QB in fantasy points. He's being dropped in 10 team leagues, but I'm keeping the faith. Bradford had challenging matchups against Philly and the Giants. Unfortunately, his upcoming matchups are equally tough with Baltimore and Green Bay in two of the next 3 weeks. But then he gets Cincy, Cleveland, and the entire NFC West twice. Bradford's mediocre receiving corp was not doing him any favors with drops on Monday Night Football, but Bradford had solid accuracy and pocket presence. You probably don't want Bradford as your only QB (you may have Flacco, or have added Grossman or Newton), but I have faith that Bradford could be an every week starter in the second half of the season, especially once Amendola returns.

Ben Roethlisberger
Big Ben was overdrafted as the 7th QB off the board, and now has the 26th most fantasy points. Ouch. He couldn't even exploit the plush Seattle matchup. He has a pretty nice slate of six matchups until hitting Baltimore again. Yes, I'm worried about his offensive line and his ability to stay upright all year. But I think Sunday was a fluke. He's still a top ten QB in my opinion and I'll gladly trade for him if his owner thinks otherwise.

Daniel Thomas
Every piece of news for a full month leading up to Sunday led to a steady decline in the value of Daniel Thomas. That all changed when he played his first NFL game. He looked excellent between the tackles against a stout Houston Run D, while Reggie Bush was utterly ineffective. I expect their split to be a little closer to even than it was on Sunday, but Thomas is on the right side of this timeshare, and I'd trade Bush for Thomas in a heartbeat.

Chris Johnson
CJ has got to be the biggest disappointment of 2011 so far, averaging just 2.3 yards-per-carry, with no TDs. John Kuhn has more fantasy points than CJ. But he's too young to have lost a step. He didn't get enough carries to get going in Week 1, and had one of the toughest matchups in the league in Week 2 against Baltimore. He's feast-or-famine and has famined for two straight weeks. With Kenny Britt's explosive games, defenses cannot afford to put all their attention on stopping CJ. I'd trade anyone but McCoy, Rice, and Peterson for CJ right now.

Jermichael Finley
Taken as the 2nd TE off the board, Finley currently is chilling down the list as the 15th best TE. I think Gates, Finley, and Gronkowski are in an elite tier of their own, and virtually equal to each other right now. Finley had a TD taken away by a questionable application of the "Calvin Johnson" rule in the endzone. He has 8 catches for 121 yards and it's clear that Rodgers will exploit the defensive mismatch all year. I'd trade any TE but Gronkowski and Gates for Finley right now.

Anquan Boldin
Boldin followed an impressive Week 1 outing with a dud in Week 2. I expect to see more games like Week 1 and fewer like Week 2 in the future. I still think Lee Evans is a decent deep threat, and obviously Ray Rice is always a force to be reckoned with, leaving plenty of room for Boldin down the middle.

Mike Williams (TB)
Williams had negative yards on Sunday. In non-PPR leagues, you would have been better off starting Randy Moss in your WR spot. Josh Freeman has played decent football - his 250 yards and 1 TD per game is underwhelming compared to the explosive passing games of so many other teams this year, but he's completing 68% of his passes and should utilize Williams more effectively in the future. Williams has had the targets, and I believe he'll convert more of those into catches in the coming weeks.

SELL

Dwayne Bowe
I'm worried about Bowe, Bro. I think his Week 1 is a more accurate preview of coming attractions than his Week 2. If people think Week 1 was the fluke, make a deal. The Chiefs lost their best threat in Jamaal Charles this week. They also lost Tony Moeaki for the year. Dwayne Bowe is their only playmaker and should see plenty of targets, but defenses can focus all their attention on him because they're not to worried about Old Man Jones in the backfield or Jonathan Baldwin.

Reggie Bush
See Daniel Thomas above.

Shonn Greene
Green has the opportunity to be the featured-back on a strong offense behind a solid O-line, but he just is not very good. Sometimes all the elements are there except one crucial one - talent. With Nick Mangold out for a while, now is the time to sell Greene for anything you can get. Of course, don't drop him, but if you can get any Top 20 RB for him like Starks or Fred Jackson for example, do it now.

Jon Stewart
Stewart put together a solid 10 point fantasy day on Sunday, but let's look at how he did it. Stewart had 5 yards on 6 carries (that's less than a yard-per-carry for those who took "special" math in school), and caught 8 balls for 100 yards. This could be a sign of things to come as defenses try to stop the scrambling Cam Newton, but I'm not buying it. JStew had 8 catches for 103 yards all year in 2010. He could have a few good games throughout the season, but I'm selling high. 

Dallas Clark
Clark salvaged his fantasy day with a garbage-time TD on Sunday, but otherwise he has posted 39 and 32 yards so far. I expect those puny numbers to continue with an inept Kerry Collins at the helm. Many people argue that weak QBs rely on their TEs, which should be good news for Clark. But let's look at the top TEs - Finley, Gates, Gronkowski, Witten, Graham - they have the best QBs in the game. Perhaps Vernon Davis is the exception, not the rule. With all the great TEs out there, you can probably afford to sell Clark and grab a decent replacement. 

Good luck on the free market!