Dynasty Fantasy Football Trades
Taking advantage of potential valuation trends in the trade market is imperative. That is even more true during the season when players can experience wild valuation changes on a week-to-week basis. Each week, I will be highlighting some players you should be looking to move or acquire and the reasons why.
Buy – Cedric Tillman, WR CLE
In the wake of the Amari Cooper trade, there was a little uncertainty about who would step into the void. I wasn’t excited about finding out, as Deshaun Watson was playing so badly it didn’t matter. However, now that he is out of the way, this offense could get very interesting with Jameis Winston under center, pushing the ball downfield.
Tillman stepped into the big void left by Cooper, running 47/57 routes and commanding an impressive 11 targets for a 23.4% target per route run. Now you throw Winston into the mix. He will likely enjoy taking shots outside to the big-bodied Tillman. As a prospect, I was a fan of Tillman. However, he did have a horrendous level of production as a rookie last year. This is more of a speculative buy than a nailed-on buy him now before he becomes a superstar. However, he is well worth the speculative add for the cost of a future third round pick.
Sell – Tank Bigsby, RB JAX
Bigsby has taken over the backfield in Jacksonville after the Travis Etienne injuries. However, while he was dominant on Sunday, he hardly saw the field in obvious passing situations. In fact, on Sunday, he saw one target and had a terrible drop on that play. The lack of receiving work is not a death nail, but it is a concern in games where the Jaguars will be playing from behind and, therefore, in more obvious passing situations. The Jaguars’ next five contests are as follows: Packers, Eagles, Vikings, Lions, and Texans. That is arguably as tough of a five-game stretch as any team can face, and the Jaguars will likely be playing from behind in every game. If that’s the case, Bigsby will likely not see the lion’s share of the work and will struggle for fantasy purposes. It could be ideal timing to sell high off of Sunday’s performance. I would happily accept an early second round pick, but given his recent production, you may be able to garner an even more significant return. If you can pivot to another player or even get a first round pick from a contending team, that could be a great move to make
Buy – Justin Herbert, QB LAC
In Dynasty, sometimes you need to take the long view and just bet on talent. Herbert is currently the QB25 – this follows an off-season of discussions about how run-heavy the Chargers will be and how difficult it will be for Herbert to produce big fantasy numbers. The Chargers moved on from almost the entirety of their receiving corps, including Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Off the back of this, Herbert’s trade value has declined significantly to the point where I saw him sent in a trade straight up for Kirk Cousins last week.
In my opinion, Herbert is still an elite quarterback. He is clearly playing through several injuries at the moment, which is likely hampering his production. The Chargers will also invest in receivers moving forward, so he has better options to throw to. If you’re willing to play the longer game, there will be a bounce back for Herbert’s dynasty value. In Superflex leagues, his value seems to be a little all over the place. I would happily pay three random future first round picks to acquire the franchise quarterback. However, I don’t think you have to pay anywhere near that level. The Trade Analyzer has him worth just less than two future firsts, and as I mentioned earlier, some people appear to be really panicking about his value.
Sell – Mark Andrews, TE BAL
Through the 2022 and 2023 seasons combined, Andrews played under 65% of the Ravens offensive snaps once. He saw under five targets in a game twice during that same period. In 2024, he has played in seven games, has yet to see more than five targets in any game, and hasn’t played more than 65% of snaps in any game since week one. As you can probably tell, I’m very nervous about the trends for Andrews moving forward. If you add the fact Andrews has now put together three consecutive solid games and is averaging 15.1 Points per game through those three weeks, there may not have been a more obvious sell-high candidate. Yes, Andrews will likely have some boom weeks throughout the rest of the season. However, he is playing behind Isaiah Likely in total snaps and is walking a very fine tightrope of huge efficiency on limited volume.
The market for Andrews will likely be a bit all over the place depending on the league, as some will value him as the fantasy star he previously was, and some will struggle to believe after his slow start to the season. If you can move on from him for a late first, I think that’s a great deal, but perhaps the best plan would be to pivot to another player or make a more extensive package deal.
One to Watch – Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE CAR
There are few bright spots for the Panthers at the moment. However, we may be seeing the emergence of a future star. Over the past three weeks, Sanders has increased his playing time. He has been over 70% route participation in each of those games despite not hitting that mark up to that point of his career. In each of those games, he has seen over five targets, and it feels like more will be coming in the next few weeks as the Panthers search for cornerstone pieces to build their franchise around.
- Dynasty Fantasy Football Trades - December 12, 2024
- Dynasty Fantasy Football Trades - December 6, 2024
- Dynasty Fantasy Football Trades - November 28, 2024
