Pros and Cons to Consider Before Closing the Deal
This column is designed to quickly unearth some not so obvious things to help you... buy low and sell high.
Further, we suggest you only make a trade if you receive plenty of value in return and the deal results in an improved roster for your squad. In short, obtain players that will outperform their current perceived value while trading overrated talent. Do that and you'll be on your way to improving your roster. The perfect trade!
Owners considering trades should also consult our Rest-of-Season Rankings and Player Trade Evaluator.
The Playoffs are Coming!
With the playoffs just around the corner, this will be our final installment of Trader's Alley. We have heard from many of you that you already have a playoff spot locked up and are beginning to look ahead towards the playoffs. I'm pleased to announce, we have rolled out a brand new report for subscribers designed to help you start planning your playoff matchups. We leverage our signature Strength of Schedule metric, Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed by position (aFPA), to rank all relevant fantasy players based solely on playoff strength of schedule.
>> The Playoff aFPA Matchup Planner
Trade for DeMarco Murray
Why trade for him now?
1) Schedule gets much easier.
2) Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
3) Has a soft game this week.
Possible trade bait to land him:
(Clearly we'll need to put a nice package together to land Murray. But now that BYE weeks are mostly over, it is time to attempt to consolidate talent and upgrade our starters.)
Marshawn Lynch+
Andre Ellington+
Julio Jones+
Trade for Tony Romo
Why trade for him now?
1) Schedule gets much easier.
2) Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
3) Has a soft game this week.
Possible trade bait to land him:
Martavis Bryant
Steve L Smith
Latavius Murray
Trade for Matthew Stafford
Why trade for him now?
1) Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
2) Has a soft game this week.
Possible trade bait to land him:
Latavius Murray
Anquan Boldin
Darren Sproles
Trade for DeSean Jackson
Why trade for him now?
1) May be undervalued due to poor performances the last couple of weeks.
2) Change to Colt McCoy may actually help.
3) Has a couple of nice matchups against the Rams and Eagles.
Possible trade bait to land him:
Trent Richardson
DeAndre Hopkins
Steven Jackson
Trade for Chris Ivory
Why trade for him now?
1) Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
2) Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Possible trade bait to land him:
Jason Witten
Bishop Sankey
Steve L Smith
Trade away Anquan Boldin
Why trade him away now?
1) Schedule gets much harder.
2) Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
3) History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Possible reach target players to land in trading him away:
Dan Herron
Tony Romo
DeSean Jackson
Trade away Ryan Mathews
Why trade him away now?
1) Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
2) Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
3) RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Possible reach target players to land in trading him away:
Denard Robinson
Julius Thomas
Julio Jones
Trade away Steven Jackson
Why trade him away now?
1) Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
2) History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Possible reach target players to land in trading him away:
Jeremy Maclin
Greg Olsen
DeSean Jackson
Trade away Marshawn Lynch
Why trade him away now?
1) Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
2) Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Possible reach target players to land in trading him away:
Calvin Johnson
DeMarco Murray
Dez Bryant
Trade away Latavius Murray
Why trade him away now?
1) Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued.
2) Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Possible reach target players to land in trading him away:
Sammy Watkins
Roddy White
Joique Bell
Trade Pros and Cons: Full Breakdown
Dwayne Allen
Has a soft game this week.
Keenan Allen
Has a soft game this week.
C.J. Anderson
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Odell Beckham
Schedule gets much easier.
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
Joique Bell
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Kelvin Benjamin
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Giovani Bernard
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
LeGarrette Blount
Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued.
Alfred Blue
Has a soft game this week.
Anquan Boldin
Schedule gets much harder.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Blake Bortles
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
Tom Brady
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Drew Brees
Schedule gets much easier.
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
John Brown
Schedule gets much harder.
Dez Bryant
Schedule gets much easier.
Has a soft game this week.
Reggie Bush
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Jordan Cameron
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Randall Cobb
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Marques Colston
Schedule gets much easier.
Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued.
Jared Cook
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Brandin Cooks
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
Isaiah Crowell
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Jay Cutler
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Owen Daniels
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Eric Decker
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Larry Donnell
Schedule gets much easier.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Eric Ebron
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
Andre Ellington
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
Has a soft game this week.
Schedule gets much harder.
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Mike Evans
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Coby Fleener
Has a soft game this week.
Malcom Floyd
Has a soft game this week.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Michael Floyd
Schedule gets much harder.
Matt Forte
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Arian Foster
Has a soft game this week.
Antonio Gates
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Josh Gordon
Has a soft game this week.
Frank Gore
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
Schedule gets much harder.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Jimmy Graham
Schedule gets much easier.
A.J. Green
Has a soft game this week.
Percy Harvin
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Dan Herron
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Jeremy Hill
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
T.Y. Hilton
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Carlos Hyde
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
Mark Ingram
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
Schedule gets much easier.
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Chris Ivory
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Fred Jackson
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Steven Jackson
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Vincent Jackson
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Alshon Jeffery
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Rashad Jennings
Schedule gets much easier.
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Andre Johnson
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Colin Kaepernick
Schedule gets much harder.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Travis Kelce
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Jarvis Landry
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Andrew Luck
Has a soft game this week.
Marshawn Lynch
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Eli Manning
Schedule gets much easier.
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued.
Peyton Manning
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Brandon Marshall
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Ryan Mathews
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Jordan Matthews
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
Josh McCown
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
LeSean McCoy
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Heath Miller
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Lamar Miller
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Alfred Morris
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
DeMarco Murray
Schedule gets much easier.
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Has a soft game this week.
Latavius Murray
Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Jordy Nelson
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Branden Oliver
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Joseph Randle
Schedule gets much easier.
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Has a soft game this week.
Rueben Randle
Schedule gets much easier.
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Trent Richardson
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Mychal Rivera
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Philip Rivers
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
Has a soft game this week.
Denard Robinson
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
Has a soft game this week.
Tony Romo
Schedule gets much easier.
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Has a soft game this week.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Mark Sanchez
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Bishop Sankey
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
Mohamed Sanu
Has a soft game this week.
Steve L Smith
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Torrey Smith
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Darren Sproles
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Matthew Stafford
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now.
Has a soft game this week.
Kenny Stills
Schedule gets much easier.
Ryan Tannehill
Has a soft game this week.
Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued.
Julius Thomas
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Pierre Thomas
Schedule gets much easier.
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Delanie Walker
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Mike Wallace
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Sammy Watkins
Young, learning with huge upside talent.
Reggie Wayne
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Terrance West
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
Roddy White
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Russell Wilson
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16.
Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
Jason Witten
Schedule gets much easier.
History shows older players wear down more during the season.
Tim Wright
Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued.
Segmenting Players by Category
Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued:
Eli Manning
Ryan Tannehill
LeGarrette Blount
Latavius Murray
Marques Colston
Steve L Smith
Tim Wright
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now:
Philip Rivers
Mark Sanchez
Matthew Stafford
Chris Ivory
Frank Gore
Joique Bell
Denard Robinson
Andre Ellington
Mark Ingram
Antonio Gates
Schedule gets much harder:
Colin Kaepernick
Frank Gore
Andre Ellington
Michael Floyd
John Brown
Anquan Boldin
Schedule gets much easier:
Eli Manning
Tony Romo
Drew Brees
Joseph Randle
Pierre Thomas
Rashad Jennings
Mark Ingram
DeMarco Murray
Rueben Randle
Marques Colston
Kenny Stills
Odell Beckham
Dez Bryant
Larry Donnell
Jason Witten
Jimmy Graham
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team:
Branden Oliver
Pierre Thomas
Reggie Bush
Darren Sproles
Terrance West
Trent Richardson
Dan Herron
Ryan Mathews
Joique Bell
Giovani Bernard
Jeremy Hill
Isaiah Crowell
LeSean McCoy
Mark Ingram
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16:
Eli Manning
Mark Sanchez
Tony Romo
Drew Brees
Joseph Randle
Terrance West
Chris Ivory
Lamar Miller
Isaiah Crowell
Alfred Morris
C.J. Anderson
DeMarco Murray
Rueben Randle
Reggie Wayne
Steve L Smith
Vincent Jackson
Torrey Smith
Kelvin Benjamin
Odell Beckham
Mike Evans
Randall Cobb
T.Y. Hilton
Jordy Nelson
Jared Cook
Travis Kelce
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16:
Russell Wilson
Branden Oliver
Ryan Mathews
Rashad Jennings
Andre Ellington
Marshawn Lynch
Percy Harvin
Eric Decker
Jarvis Landry
Mike Wallace
Owen Daniels
Mychal Rivera
Heath Miller
Faces a very difficult opponent this week:
Jay Cutler
Josh McCown
Colin Kaepernick
Russell Wilson
Peyton Manning
Branden Oliver
Latavius Murray
Terrance West
Steven Jackson
Ryan Mathews
Isaiah Crowell
Marshawn Lynch
Matt Forte
Anquan Boldin
Vincent Jackson
Alshon Jeffery
Brandon Marshall
Kelvin Benjamin
Mike Evans
Owen Daniels
Larry Donnell
Jordan Cameron
Delanie Walker
Julius Thomas
Has a soft game this week:
Philip Rivers
Ryan Tannehill
Matthew Stafford
Tony Romo
Andrew Luck
Joseph Randle
Alfred Blue
Denard Robinson
Andre Ellington
Arian Foster
DeMarco Murray
Malcom Floyd
Mohamed Sanu
Keenan Allen
A.J. Green
Josh Gordon
Dez Bryant
Coby Fleener
Dwayne Allen
History shows older players wear down more during the season:
Josh McCown
Tony Romo
Drew Brees
Tom Brady
Darren Sproles
Steven Jackson
Fred Jackson
Frank Gore
Malcom Floyd
Reggie Wayne
Andre Johnson
Anquan Boldin
Steve L Smith
Roddy White
Jason Witten
Antonio Gates
Young, learning with huge upside talent:
Sammy Watkins
Mike Evans
Eric Ebron
Odell Beckham
Brandin Cooks
Jordan Matthews
Blake Bortles
Kelvin Benjamin
Bishop Sankey
Carlos Hyde
Jeremy Hill
Could be rested if team clinches a top playoff seed:
