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Every week, fantasy football owners run into roster issues and conundrums that can leave them flat-out stumped. Unsure how to handle an injured starter? How long should you hold out hope for a disappointing high-round draft pick? We’ll help fantasy football owners navigate all of these questions and more in our series ‘Fantasy Football Roster Renovation.’ Our writers tackle your roster issues below.

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I’m 7-0 or 6-1 and am thinking about making moves with an eye toward the fantasy playoff period. How should I navigate things?

The advantage of being at the top of your league at this point in the season is that you can make moves that have more of a long-term view. When you are sitting at the bottom of the league and fighting for a playoff spot, each week is an elimination game. You cannot trade for injured players or pick up players that have tough matchups, because every move is geared toward winning a must-win game. When you are winning, you cannot phone it in until the playoffs, but you probably have a strong roster, and you can look toward the future. You want to look at the teams that are at the bottom of the league that are in a must-win mentality and figure out if there are players they cannot afford to hang onto that could fill a void for you later in the season. Those players can be acquired at a discount and help sure up the weak spots on your roster that will need to be filled later in the year when you make your title run. Examples of players that fit that bill are Drew Brees, Davante Adams, A.J. Green, Odell Beckham Jr., and Melvin Gordon. Those are players that are either currently injured or really struggling that have a chance to play better in the second half of the season. For teams that are losing, they cannot afford to hang onto these names and drop more games waiting for them to either return to health or become productive players.
– Derek Lofland (@DerekLofland)

At this point of the season, it’s time to start looking at your bench and try to make deals to improve your starters. Check your league’s playoff settings and look to upgrade your starters with players who have fantasy-friendly schedules during the playoffs (most likely Weeks 14-16). Your bench should now consist of either handcuffs to your star running backs and players with a ton of upside. For example, runningbacks such as Tony Pollard, Reggie Bonnafon, and Ryquell Armstead should be stashed on your bench. These guys have a ton of upside if something were to happen to the team’s starting running back and would provide plenty of fantasy value in an expanded role. With more than an 80% chance of making the playoffs, it’s time to start getting your roster in great shape for the upcoming playoff run.
– Brad Camara (@beerad30)

Before we know it, the playoffs will be here. Hopefully, you have already begun making moves to prepare your roster for the final push to a championship. Checking the status of each owner’s team in your league is critical for securing a championship. For example, what quarterback did the Baker Mayfield owner use in Week 7? Did that owner start Sam Darnold against the Patriots? Chances are they will drop Sam Darnold and could be open to a deal. An owner in one of my leagues did this and they also own Davante Adams. I will be sending some type of trade offer targeting Adams and any other interesting player to this soon-to-be desperate owner. If you need help with trade offers, reach out to me or check out the FantasyPros trade value chart for Week 8 and beyond.
– Andrew Liang (@whenpigskinfly)

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