Pros and Cons to Consider Before Closing the Deal
EDITOR'S NOTE: We don't normally publish Trader's Alley with only two weeks in the books, due to people's propensity to overreact to the small sample size and our strength of schedule data requiring 3 weeks of football. But I've had so many people asking for the article this season, I decided to go ahead and roll with it on limited data. Please keep this in mind when evaluating trades this week and try not to overreact to a single week's games. Don't place too much importance on the strength of schedule information until next week when we are able to roll out 2016 data.
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.
FANTASY TIP: Before proceeding any further, see if your league has an IR roster spot. If so, drop your kicker, defense or an expendable player and grab either Steelers TE Ladarius Green or Patriots RB Dion Lewis and stash them in your IR spot. Then re-add your kicker, defense, etc. Lewis and Green could be available as early as Week 7, and if you have an IR spot, filling it costs you nothing.
Trade for Allen Robinson
Why trade for him now?
1) Because of his slow start, may be undervalued now.
2) Demonstrated clear WR1 upside last season.
3) Has a couple of soft matchups (BAL & IND) before the BYE, so this may be the last great buying opportunity.
Possible trade bait to land him:
Adrian Peterson
Larry Fitzgerald
Devonta Freeman
Mark Ingram
Why trade for him now?
1) Because of his slow start, may be undervalued now.
2) No real competition for workload in New Orleans.
3) Touchdowns are coming.
Possible trade bait to land him:
Adrian Peterson
Demaryius Thomas
Willie Snead
Trade away Isaiah Crowell
Why trade him away now?
1) Due to a long run and a hot start, Crowell is currently a top 10 RB and is likely overvalued.
2) RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team.
3) With Josh McCown out indefinitely, Cody Kessler and Charlie Whitehurst make up Cleveland's QB depth chart.
4) Do you really want to own a Browns running back?
Possible reach target players to land in trading him away:
Travis Benjamin
Thomas Rawls
Delanie Walker
Trade away Adrian Peterson
Why trade him away now?
1) History shows older players wear down more during the season.
2) Wasn't running well before the injury, and timetable is unknown. Would consider selling if you can still get decent money on the dollar based on name recognition.
Possible reach target players to land in trading him away:
Tevin Coleman
Thomas Rawls
Jarvis Landry
Trade away Martellus Bennett
Why trade him away now?
1) Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued.
2) Faces a very difficult opponent this week.
3) Gronk's return is coming.
Possible reach target players to land in trading him away:
Tyler Lockett
Tom Brady
Michael Floyd
Trade Pros and Cons: Full Breakdown
Jay Ajayi
Dwayne Allen
Danny Amendola
C.J. Anderson
Doug Baldwin
Gary Barnidge
Odell Beckham
LeVeon Bell
Travis Benjamin
Martellus Bennett
Giovani Bernard
Tom Brady
Drew Brees
Antonio Brown
Jaron Brown
Derek Carr
Jamaal Charles
Corey Coleman
Tevin Coleman
Brandin Cooks
Isaiah Crowell
Andy Dalton
Eric Decker
Josh Doctson
Phillip Dorsett
Julian Edelman
Ezekiel Elliott
Larry Fitzgerald
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Coby Fleener
Matt Forte
Arian Foster
Devonta Freeman
Will Fuller
Antonio Gates
Marquise Goodwin
Josh Gordon
Frank Gore
Jimmy Graham
A.J. Green
Rob Gronkowski
Jeremy Hill
T.Y. Hilton
Carlos Hyde
Mark Ingram
Alshon Jeffery
Julio Jones
Travis Kelce
Eddie Lacy
Jarvis Landry
Tyler Lockett
Andrew Luck
Eli Manning
Marcus Mariota
Brandon Marshall
Doug Martin
Ryan Mathews
Jordan Matthews
LeSean McCoy
Vance McDonald
Jerick McKinnon
Christine Michael
Latavius Murray
Cam Newton
Carson Palmer
DeVante Parker
Breshad Perriman
Adrian Peterson
Dennis Pitta
Thomas Rawls
Jordan Reed
Theo Riddick
Philip Rivers
Aaron Rodgers
Ben Roethlisberger
Kyle Rudolph
Matt Ryan
Greg Salas
Emmanuel Sanders
Sterling Shepard
Charles Sims
Willie Snead
Jonathan Stewart
Jacob Tamme
Ryan Tannehill
Tyrod Taylor
Demaryius Thomas
Julius Thomas
Laquon Treadwell
Clive Walford
Delanie Walker
Mike Wallace
Spencer Ware
Dwayne Washington
Sammy Watkins
Carson Wentz
Kevin White
DeAngelo Williams
Russell Wilson
Jameis Winston
Jason Witten
T.J. Yeldon
Segmenting Players by Category
Due to excellent showing last week, may be overvalued:
Tyrod Taylor
Philip Rivers
Derek Carr
Matt Ryan
Vance McDonald
Clive Walford
Jacob Tamme
Kyle Rudolph
Dennis Pitta
Martellus Bennett
DeAngelo Williams
Isaiah Crowell
Jaron Brown
Greg Salas
Marquise Goodwin
Danny Amendola
Corey Coleman
Mike Wallace
Travis Benjamin
Because of last weeks modest effort, may be undervalued now:
Eli Manning
Russell Wilson
Andrew Luck
Dwayne Allen
T.J. Yeldon
Arian Foster
Charles Sims
Doug Martin
Thomas Rawls
Eddie Lacy
Carlos Hyde
Mark Ingram
Doug Baldwin
A.J. Green
Antonio Brown
Schedule gets much harder:
Russell Wilson
Drew Brees
Gary Barnidge
Jimmy Graham
Coby Fleener
Christine Michael
Isaiah Crowell
Thomas Rawls
Ryan Mathews
Mark Ingram
Josh Gordon
Corey Coleman
Tyler Lockett
Doug Baldwin
Willie Snead
Jordan Matthews
Brandin Cooks
Schedule gets much easier:
Ryan Tannehill
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Ben Roethlisberger
Jay Ajayi
DeAngelo Williams
Arian Foster
Jarvis Landry
Eric Decker
Brandon Marshall
Matt Forte
LeVeon Bell
Antonio Brown
RBBC factor - has another RB with talent on team:
Jay Ajayi
Jerick McKinnon
Dwayne Washington
Adrian Peterson
Christine Michael
Spencer Ware
Tevin Coleman
Arian Foster
Giovani Bernard
Jeremy Hill
Charles Sims
Doug Martin
Theo Riddick
Devonta Freeman
Thomas Rawls
Jamaal Charles
Has a nice schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16:
Philip Rivers
Eli Manning
Dwayne Allen
Travis Kelce
Dwayne Washington
Isaiah Crowell
Charles Sims
Doug Martin
Theo Riddick
Latavius Murray
Carlos Hyde
LeSean McCoy
Emmanuel Sanders
Mike Wallace
Sterling Shepard
Sammy Watkins
Demaryius Thomas
Jordan Matthews
Odell Beckham
Hard schedule during FF Playoff weeks 15 and 16:
Tom Brady
Cam Newton
Mark Ingram
C.J. Anderson
Faces a very difficult opponent this week:
Andy Dalton
Tom Brady
Drew Brees
Martellus Bennett
Travis Kelce
Julius Thomas
Rob Gronkowski
Spencer Ware
Jonathan Stewart
Jamaal Charles
Carlos Hyde
Ryan Mathews
LeSean McCoy
Phillip Dorsett
Julian Edelman
Willie Snead
T.Y. Hilton
Alshon Jeffery
Brandin Cooks
A.J. Green
Matt Forte
Has a soft game this week:
Ryan Tannehill
Derek Carr
Matt Ryan
Ben Roethlisberger
Aaron Rodgers
Jacob Tamme
Dennis Pitta
Delanie Walker
Jordan Reed
Christine Michael
Tevin Coleman
DeAngelo Williams
Frank Gore
Isaiah Crowell
Devonta Freeman
Thomas Rawls
Mark Ingram
Josh Gordon
Corey Coleman
Jarvis Landry
Eric Decker
Jordan Matthews
Brandon Marshall
LeVeon Bell
Julio Jones
Antonio Brown
History shows older players wear down more during the season:
Philip Rivers
Tom Brady
Eli Manning
Carson Palmer
Antonio Gates
Jason Witten
Dwayne Washington
Adrian Peterson
DeAngelo Williams
Frank Gore
Larry Fitzgerald
Young, learning with huge upside talent:
Jameis Winston
Marcus Mariota
Carson Wentz
Will Fuller
Sterling Shepard
Josh Doctson
Laquon Treadwell
Corey Coleman
Ezekiel Elliott
Kevin White
DeVante Parker
Phillip Dorsett
Breshad Perriman
Could be rested if team clinches a top playoff seed:
