2006 Sample: Players to Trade & Trade For
Here's a sample of one of our weekly features. This article appears on Tuesday and is only one small piece of what we do each week during the season.

Players to Trade and Trade for: Week Four

9/27/05
 

The purpose of this column is to help readers take advantage of perceived and anticipated player values for trading. What we try to do here is isolate players whose values are currently down but could go up, and vice versa. What we are not trying to do is advise you to trade or trade for these players at any cost. It’s important to get proper value in trades.

Players to Trade for:

Players listed here last week who saw their values go up last week but are still solid guys to target: Jimmy Smith, Mewelde Moore, Ronnie Brown, and Drew Bennett.
  

Colt Guys (Ind) – The first two weeks it was apparent that the Colts were playing two teams that matched up well with them. Last week, the culprit was Romeo Crennel, the guy who co-wrote the blueprint on how to stop the Colt offense. Crennel doesn’t have the talent to stop this offense consistently, but he managed to do it for four quarters. But this team’s schedule against the pass is incredibly good, especially their next four games against Ten, SF, Stl, and Hou. Other than a couple of tough games against the Steelers and Patriots, the rest of their schedule looks fantastic. We’re officially begging you to get whatever piece of this passing game you can at a cheap price right now.

Domanick Davis (RB, Hou) – Coming off a bye, with his value down already, Davis is simply a brilliant choice to target in a trade. His schedule is the 8^th easiest according to our projected SOS, and he’s a proven commodity and his offense’s go-to guy. Heck, he’s their only hope. After he has a huge game this week against the Bengals, his value will go way up, so it’s now or possibly never.

Rudi Johnson (RB, Cin) – He hasn’t scored in two weeks, but a rational person knows that’s a mild concern for this guy. If you can pry him away at a discounted price after two so-so games, we say, do it.

Steven Jackson (RB, Stl) – So far, our preseason concerns with him (injuries, lack of playing time) are coming to the surface more than his obvious upside, but that doesn’t mean Jackson isn’t a solid guy to trade for right now. With his value low and his schedule good, acquiring him could be the kind of move that really puts you over the top. 

Chris Brown (RB, Ten) – He’s risky, but he’s also the man for the Titans for at least the next four games, and the team has a good schedule. If you have, for example, great depth at another position, Brown can do some good things for you if your roster is suffering due to a struggling back. There is not a tough run defense on the schedule their next six games other than, believe it or not, the Colts, and they can likely be worn down.

Clinton Portis (RB, Was) – We pretty much dissed him all summer, and so far there are no regrets, but that was a function of QB Patrick Ramsey’s issues more than Portis’ other issues (his lack of scoring, for one). But right now, veteran Mark Brunell looks decent enough, and this team has a good line, a good defense, and a good schedule, so CP should be okay and clearly looks like a guy whose value is on the way up. Coming off the bye, not even ranking as a top-20 fantasy RB right now, his value is down, so it can only go up.

Chris Chambers (WR. Mia) – It’s a crazy league right now, as usual, and you have to look for players who are actually producing, and with Gus Frerotte at the helm, Chambers is starting to. There’s a real good chance that in 3-4 weeks Chambers is viewed as one of the best options at his position, given what we’ve seen so far from him and this offense, so before his value soars, we like the idea of getting him now.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh (WR, Cin) – Talk about going with what’s working, the Bengal offense is working, and it will work all year, and this guy is all over the place and all kinds of active. He’s a guy who will cost a little, but his value should still rise these next few weeks. He’s a guy who looks good enough to spend a little on.

Ashley Lelie (WR, Den) – We’re gluttons for punishment, apparently. We can be proactive or reactive, and we choose to be proactive. Sure, we do need to be reactive with Lelie and understand that he’s very frustrating right now, but he’s also a player in a great position to succeed whose value has faded fast. If you’re looking at your team and see studs across the board and can add Lelie to the mix as your #3, that’s the kind of move that can make your team simply unstoppable. Talented 1000-yard receivers who average 20 yards a catch who can be had on the cheap don’t grow on trees in fantasy football. That’s all we’re saying.

Andre Johnson (WR, Hou) – It’s an old trick to acquire as many high draft choices as you can early in the season by targeting some struggling “stud,” and the strategy has some merit. For example, if you can acquire Johnson for a song right now and plug him in as your #3, would it bother you too much if he continues to underachieve? Probably not. And if he starts coming on strong, certainly possible given his stud talent, would that make you happy? Probably so. It’s your call, but it’s our job to point this stuff out.

DeShaun Foster (RB, Car) - He's been quietly solid, and all he needs is an injury to Stephen Davis to be "the man" in a pretty good spot. Davis has been good, but can he really hold up over the course of 16 games? Doubtful. Foster makes a lot of sense if your team needs a shot of upside.
 

Frank Gore (RB, SF) – Things change quickly in the NFL, so if you can get someone to throw Gore into a deal as an afterthought, you could very well come out smiling come November and December. The 49ers’ schedule down the stretch looks very good, and starter Kevan Barlow should continue to fall out of favor. Remember, head coach Mike Nolan didn’t draft Barlow, but he drafted Gore. Nolan’s already prepared to make some significant changes with this roster.

Players to Trade:

Players listed here last week who saw their values go down: Curtis Martin

Donovan McNabb (Phi) – If you’re in dire need of a productive RB and you can roll with a solid QB option like Matt Hasselbeck, Drew Brees, Jake Delhomme, or even Frerotte, it might not be a bad idea moving McNabb for that stud back. We said this last week, and a move like this makes even more sense given the state of McNabb’s body. The guy’s a warrior, but it’s only three games and he’s falling apart. It’s risky, but when you add up McNabb + an average RB there’s a good chance it won’t come out on top over a solid QB + a stud RB over the long haul, especially given the laundry list of injuries McNabb’s working through.

Corey Dillon (NE) – His value is still pretty high due to his 5 TDs, but he’s averaging a very pedestrian 3.1 yards per carry, and he’s on a pace now for a meager 944 rushing yards this year. He’s getting off some nice runs, but he’s also getting stopped for no gain quite a bit. The team has issues on the OL, the defense won’t likely afford him as many leads to protect, and the schedule is tough. So while Dillon’s value probably won’t go much lower, it probably won’t go much higher.

Willie Parker (Pit) – His number of carries will go down, for sure, so that’s obviously a strike against him. We’d still rank him as this team’s #1 back, and he will start this week, but Parker owners should be concerned by the impending return of Jerome Bettis, who, if healthy, will vulture the short TDs. There is no way the team will stop giving Parker the ball if he’s healthy, and, again, he will start, but Parker’s going to go from being a good #2 back to a good #3 back, most likely.

Brett Favre (GB) – Leave it to Favre to have so many negatives surrounding him and his team only to throw 4 TDs passes on national TV. However, things could easily still unravel here, especially if there’s another injury at receiver. His schedule doesn’t look favorable, so if you can get good value now, it’s a good time to move him.

Brandon Lloyd (SF) – We like him, and we’d roll with him for now if he was needed, but for the long-term, rookie Alex Smith is going to be the guy here sooner than later, so Lloyd’s value should be taking a serious hit here soon. If you don’t necessarily need him, he’s a good one to move or package in a deal to help yourself elsewhere.