For many leagues out there, this is the final week for you to try and improve your team via trades. Now obviously, all moves are dependent on your individual league’s rosters and tendencies, but when it comes to knowing which players to target based on positive and negative outlooks, that’s universal. For example, if you’re in the playoff hunt and have a wide receiver set to face the Jaguars during the playoffs, you may want to consider moving him for someone with an easier roadmap to success.
Winning in fantasy football is not just about the current week. You’ll need to plan for your stretch run. We reached out to our featured experts below to assist in that as you start combing through rosters in your league to make deals. Consider making moves on the names below before it’s no longer an option.
More Trade Advice:
Trade Analyzer | Trade Value Chart | ROS Rankings
Q1. What one player are you trying to buy before the deadline and what would you give up to get him?
Michael Crabtree (WR – OAK)
“There seems to be a downturn in market perception of Michael Crabtree, given that he has just 11 receptions in his last three games and has been out-targeted by Amari Cooper 38-21 over that span. That perception, and the fact that he’s on a bye this week, has me trying to acquire him anywhere I can. The Raiders have a relatively soft remaining schedule for wide receivers the rest of the way (the Broncos matchup in Week 12 notwithstanding), and Crabtree gets the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Eagles in the fantasy playoffs. I’d be looking to swap a running back whose value is inflated based on recent performance (Jay Ajayi or Jerick McKinnon), or a similarly overvalued wide receiver (Marvin Jones or Jarvis Landry). But I’d be willing to increase the price to a Carlos Hyde type of player if necessary.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
DeVante Parker (WR – MIA)
“I’d love to find a way to sneak DeVante Parker off someone’s roster and into my lineup before the fantasy playoffs. He has been dealing with injuries throughout the season, but has still managed to perform well in the four games he has been on the field. In those four games, he has at least 8 targets and 69+ yards in each game. It may not happen this week with Carolina’s strong pass rush, but he will get in the end zone again soon and live up to all of that preseason hype the rest of the season. I’d deal Zeke or Jay Ajayi straight up to land Parker.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
Michael Thomas (WR – NO)
“Thomas will continue to be in the buy column, as he’s yet to have a true breakout game in 2017. The crazy part about this is that he’s still top-10 in receptions and yards, which gives a great indication of what should follow… touchdowns. Drew Brees has fallen short of his usual totals this year, but we’ve seen him do this for so long, we know what to expect by now. He’s thrown at least 32 touchdowns in each of the last nine seasons, so when you see him have just 13 touchdowns through eight games, you should know that positive regression is coming. Thomas will be on the receiving end of a lot of those touchdowns. In terms of what you should give up, I would trade away DeAndre Hopkins for him right now, which should give you an indication of how high I am on him. But knowing you may not need to give that much, think about offering a 2-for-1, like Marvin Jones and Kelvin Benjamin.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
Devonta Freeman (RB – ATL)
“Right now, I would love to buy Devonta Freeman if I could. Not only is his perceived value down after 4 underwhelming weeks, but he has a pretty decent playoff schedule. Freeman has that Kareem Hunt Syndrome right now, which is having gone over a month without scoring a TD. Those TDs will return for one of the best RBs in the league. Of players most probable to end up as an RB1, Freeman is going to be the easiest to acquire.”
– Mike Wright (The Fantasy Footballers)
LeSean McCoy (RB – BUF)
“McCoy has a sneakily easy strength of schedule ahead of him. He has the potential to power a team through the playoffs on his own and I’d be willing to package an RB2 and WR1 for his services going forward.”
– The FFGhost (Dynasty League Football)
Q2. What one player are you trying to sell before the deadline and what would you be willing to get in return to make the move?
Adrian Peterson (RB – ARI)
“I’ll have to go with the obvious answer and that’s Adrian Peterson, and I’d look to do it before Thursday’s game against Seattle (and if not, just hope he finds the end zone). Assuming for the sake of argument that Peterson can handle the ridiculous workload that Bruce Arians intends to give him, Peterson should have some value in Weeks 11 and 12, as game scripts against the Texans and Jaguars will likely favor him. But come the fantasy playoffs, tough matchups against the Titans, Redskins, and Giants certainly do not bode well for upwards of 20 touches per game, both because of the opposing run defenses and the likely negative game scripts, at least in the first two matchups. That’s to say nothing of the fact that Peterson is 32 years old and is unlikely to continue to be effective if he gets anywhere near the touches he’s been seeing. If Peterson’s value is that of a strong RB2, I’d unload him for the likes of Christian McCaffrey or Chris Thompson, or receivers such as Devin Funchess or Demaryius Thomas.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
DeAndre Hopkins (WR – HOU)
“You have to sell Hopkins right now. Tom Savage is bad. It took Savage 16 targets to get Hopkins to his final stat line of 6/86/1. Now you can cup-full this and say, “Well at least he over-targeted him!” But I don’t see great things coming for Hopkins and the Texans offense as they play Jacksonville and Pittsburgh in the fantasy playoffs. Thank the fantasy gods that Hopkins put up that line last week so you can convince someone else to be left holding the bag.”
– Mike Wright (The Fantasy Footballers)
T.Y. Hilton (WR – IND)
“While I loved Hilton in Week 9 and told a lot of people to play him, I’m telling those same people to sell him while the stock is up. The Texans have been decimated by injuries, which has hindered their ability to get after the quarterback, therefore allowing Hilton to run wild on their secondary. Going forward, though, Hilton will play against the Steelers (No. 3 against fantasy WRs), then have his bye, return to play the Titans (solid matchup), but then right back to the Jaguars (No. 1), Bills (No. 9), Broncos (No. 4), and Ravens (No. 2). That’s a brutal schedule, especially during the fantasy playoffs. If you can put him together in a package to get Michael Thomas, that’s what I call a league-winning trade. I’d even debate taking DeVante Parker straight up for him, though you can get more in return after such a big game.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
Alshon Jeffery (WR – PHI)
“After Jeffery’s back-to-back 15 point fantasy games, including last week’s 23-pointer against Denver’s secondary, I’m trying to sell him wherever I own him. Prior to those performances, he was merely mediocre, plus he is about to come into a stretch of matchups that runs into the fantasy playoffs against Richard Sherman, Trumaine Johnson, and Janoris Jenkins. I’m trying to avoid that if I can land myself a Lamar Miller or Stefon Diggs.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)
Demaryius Thomas (WR – DEN)
“Thomas’ lack of touchdowns is incredibly worrying and his quarterback play is a merry-go-round. At a time when I need consistency and production, he is a risk I just can’t afford. I’d be willing to trade for a similar player but one whose quarterback play isn’t as variable and whose touchdown production is at least present.”
– The FFGhost (Dynasty League Football)
Get detailed analysis of any trade in your league with our Trade Analyzer 
Thank you to the experts for naming their trade candidates. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter if you’re not already doing so and check out our latest podcast below for more great advice.
Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Google Play | TuneIn | RSS
