Things are getting real in fantasy football leagues as teams jockey for postseason positioning or try to avoid a last-place punishment. The waiver wire gets more dried up every week (seriously, Ronnie Rivers?), so the best way to improve your squad is through a trade. Finding the right buy-low, sell-high targets is never easy, though. Fortunately, FantasyPros is here to help with tips and trade advice in their Week 9 Stock Watch that includes Davante Adams, Gabriel Davis, Leonard Fournette, Romeo Doubs, Michael Pittman Jr., and D’Andre Swift, among others.
We’ve discussed the importance of planning your trades around bye weeks before, but it’s even more important at this point in the season. With six teams on bye this week (Browns, Cowboys, Steelers, 49ers, Broncos, Giants), half of the league will have taken its mandatory PTO by Week 10. (The Lions, Texans, Raiders, Titans, Eagles, Rams, Bills, Vikings, Chiefs, and Chargers have also had their byes.) That creates a major market inefficiency for their players. If you can ship out a Falcons’ player who won’t have his bye until Week 14 for, say, a Raider, then you gain a valuable game played. Obviously, all owners intuitively know this, but if you put together an enticing enough offer with more overall value going to the other team, you can nab those key players and really strengthen your core starting lineup for the stretch run. Depending on your roster and current place in the standings, that might be worth it.
MORE FROM FANTASY PROS: Trade analyzer
The bottom line with any trade at this point in the season is that you need to have a specific goal in mind. It’s not just swapping out players because you think one guy might be marginally better than another. You have to be looking at plugging holes created by bye weeks, building depth to guard against injuries, or sharpening your starting lineup with as much high-end firepower as possible for the playoffs. Each owner has his or her own preferred strategy. Know your strengths (i.e. how active you are on the waiver wire, how much time you’re willing to devote to start-sit decisions, etc.) and plan accordingly. And always remember that trade values change quickly in the fantasy world, so don’t get too infatuated with a specific target. Adapt to the trends, and don’t hesitate if you have a good offer on the table. — Matt Lutovsky
WEEK 9 FANTASY: Top waiver pickups
Week 9 Fantasy Trade Advice: Buy-low trade candidates
Davante Adams, WR, Raiders. Adams ran a route on 28 of Derek Carr‘s 29 drop-backs (97 percent), but he caught just one pass for three yards on five targets. It was a disaster for the Raiders all day on offense. Adams failed to catch any of his three targets of 20-plus yards. But a bad game for Adams gives savvy fantasy owners the perfect chance to buy. Even after a horrible game, Adams ranks sixth in target share (30 percent), 11th in air yards share (40 percent), and eighth in weighted opportunity. Also, the Raiders also have a top-five schedule for fantasy WRs rest of the season.
D’Andre Swift, RB, Lions. Swift finished with just five carries for six yards, but he caught five passes for 27 yards and a TD on five targets. However, Swift totaled just 10 touches to Jamaal Williams’ 13. Williams also scored two rushing TDs. However, Swift still played more snaps (55 percent) and ran a route on 54 percent of drop-backs. Considering the struggles of the Lions defense so far this season – they can’t stop anybody – I’d be a buyer of Swift after a so-so game. It’s not crazy to think he was being eased back after so much time missed. He also has a salivating schedule over the next three weeks against Green Bay, Chicago, and the Giants.
Gabriel Davis, WR, Bills. Davis finally puts up a high-end target share (28-percent target share) in Week 8 but catches just two passes for 35 yards. Buy-low. No other Bill (besides Stefon Diggs) saw more than three targets (Dawson Knox). Davis also saw almost 100 air yards and combined for three red-zone/deep targets.
For more buy-low targets from Fantasy Pros, click here.
WEEK 9 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Week 9 Fantasy Trade Advice: Sell-high trade candidates
Michael Pittman Jr., Colts. Pittman led the Colts with nine targets, catching seven for 53 yards (39-percent target share) in Sam Ehlinger‘s first start. His 39-percent target share was the second-highest mark in Week 8. He also almost scored a rushing TD. The performance is encouraging for Pittman for the remainder of the season, as his new QB is dead set on hyper-targeting him. However, we have seen before how volatile fringy QBs can be supporting WRs especially when they only throw 23 times as Ehlinger did in Week 8. I’d see if I can sell high on Pittman based on his target share alone if possible. He also has the Patriots and Eagles in two of his next three matchups.
Leonard Fournette, Buccaneers. Fournette scored on Thursday night, but it’s hardly a reason for celebration. He has seen 12 or fewer touches for two straight games, while rookie Rachaad White has seen seven touches for three straight weeks. Fournette rushed just nine times for 24 yards (2.7 yards per carry). Each running back saw three targets despite Fournette running a route on 73 percent of drop-backs. Fournette remains a sell-high candidate amid his efficiency woes and White imposing his will as a threat to Lenny’s workload.
WEEK 9 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Romeo Doubs, Packers. Doubs played the most snaps among the Packers WRs and led the team with seven targets (4-62-1) for a 24-percent target share. Tight end Robert Tonyan finished second with six targets. But keep in mind his TD score game without Allen Lazard (shoulduer) in the lineup. Considering how inconsistent Doubs has been this season, I’d view his nice prime-time showing as a perfect opportunity to sell high.
For more sell-high targets from Fantasy Pros, click here.
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