Dynasty Fantasy Football: Traversing the Trade Finder
Welcome back to Traversing the Trade Finder, a series where I pick two players and try to find what opportunities are available to us using the amazing Dynasty League Football Trade Finder tool. For those who are unfamiliar, this tool helps you find real trades being made in dynasty leagues with the ability to search for specific players or draft picks and to filter by various settings. We love to talk about finding opportunities in the dynasty trade market and this tool literally shows you these opportunities in action. This week I’ll be taking a look at two running backs in different sections of their career.
For all trades, I will be using the following filters: 12 Teams, 2QB, and 1 point PPR.
Chase Brown, RB CIN
Coming into the season there was debate around which running back in Cincinnati was the better bet. Zack Moss was ol’ reliable who could be counted on to be solid in all phases of the position but also didn’t offer much explosiveness or play-making ability. Chase Brown on the other hand had athleticism to spare but was unproven as a pro after his lightly used rookie year. The season started with Moss in the lead but Brown was slowly taking more and more of the backfield before a Moss injury expedited things. Now Brown has essentially had the Bengals backfield to himself and performed quite well. In the three games without Moss, Brown has scored 26.7, 22.4, and 19.3 fantasy points. Moss could miss the rest of the year so it’s easy to project Brown to continue to produce at a high level for the rest of season. So, what’s he worth on the market?
I’m a fan of Chase Brown. I made sure I was highly invested in him prior to the season. I expected Brown to be the lead in the Bengals running back room eventually. But I really didn’t expect him to dominate the backfield the way he is even with a Moss injury. With that said, I’m taking any first-round rookie draft pick for Brown. It’s important to remember that Brown is a day three NFL Draft pick and running backs like him have a history of being replaced sooner rather than later. I’m not saying that the Bengals will replace Brown in 2025 with certainty but there’s a higher chance of it than with other running backs. Taking a big profit in this way on a player like Brown is just good process in dynasty. Yes, sometimes you miss on the rare player who bucks the trend but over time you will continuously make a profit.
This one is really interesting compared to the previous trade because most would value Jordan Addison at approximately a first-round rookie pick, including myself, and I just said I would take any first-round draft pick. It’s just not quite that simple with Addison though. I’d argue the draft pick is actually a better asset than Addison as it’s more flexible. Addison is a talented player who has shown an ability to produce but he’ll also always be behind Justin Jefferson which limits his potential ceiling. In a vacuum I prefer Addison but if I needed the running back as a competing team, I’d actually be ok with taking the Brown side.
James Conner, RB ARI
Life, death, and James Conner being a value in fantasy football. Year after year, we see Conner’s value and cost drop in the off-season as people everywhere project his downfall but he always proves those people wrong. Yes, he may miss a few games a year but while he’s healthy he continues to produce like a top 12 running back. In 2024 Conner is still scoring the same way he has in the past but with the running back position having a renaissance he’s no longer a top 12 running back for fantasy. Still, Conner is a value compared to what his cost of acquisition was this offseason. With rookie running back Trey Benson looking as though he won’t be taking any opportunities from Conner, there’s no real concern the rest of the season. So, if Conner is going to be Conner, should we be buying?
Cedric Tillman has been a fun player out of nowhere and a nice little boon for fantasy teams since taking over as the X wide receiver for the Browns. But similar to Chase Brown, we need to remember Tillman’s draft capital. Again, it’s no guarantee that he’ll lose his position sooner rather than later, he just has a higher chance of it happening. The difference between Tillman and Brown is that it’s harder to earn the opportunities and production at wide receiver than it is at running back. It may be natural to think that Conner is the better option on competing teams but Tillman is producing at a similar level. I prefer the Conner side as the added draft pick helps break the tie but if you needed the wide receiver, I wouldn’t fault you too much for taking the Tillman side.
We’ve got a much simpler trade here and it’s a much simpler answer to go with it. This a classic competitor vs rebuilder trade and you know which side is which. This is a nice price for both sides and a trade that I’ve actually made in a few leagues recently. There aren’t many running backs with as good of a rest-of-season outlook as James Conner that you can buy for a single second-round draft pick. Likewise, as a rebuilder you’re happy to get the draft pick in return.
Fantasy playoffs are almost here. I hope you’re ready.
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