The Week 4 Trade Exchange
Weekly Trade Exchange – Buy Low/Sell High
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com
I say it every week. Keep shopping. Don’t be hasty if you have a good team, don’t be desperate if you’ve had a rough start. Look for value. Look for ways to improve your roster. Buy Low. Sell High. Try to do both.
Sell High:
Jamaal Charles
I don’t necessarily recommend moving him but you couldn’t possibly sell higher. Charles put up a 36 point fantasy monster on Sunday. Peyton Hillis stinks and Charles looks pretty healthy. Still, you have to expect inconsistency a year back from ACL surgery. I bet a number of owners wish they’d at least shopped Adrian Peterson after his week 1 performance. It’s worth a look.
Michael Turner
My predictions about Michael Turner’s fantasy relevance are looking good. He has the opportunity to be a touchdown machine. His value teeters the edge, as Turner looks to be dangerously touchdown dependent. After scoring two weeks in a row this is a great time to make a move.
Larry Fitzgerald
The Cardinal’s offense looks to be on the uptick. Fitzgerald’s production could rise accordingly. I don’t completely trust him for fantasy football purposes. If I can find an owner who is still wowed by his name and draft position, I’m checking to see if they are lathered up after his big Week 3.
Santonio Holmes
Speaking of trust. I definitely don’t trust Santonio Holmes or anything connected to Mark Sanchez’s arm. A touchdown in Week 2 and 147 yards in Week 3. This is the time to ship him out. See if you can get a low end #2RB or a #3 with upside. If your league allows TE at the flex position, I am trying to make a move for someone in the Dennis Pitta range.
Wes Welker
Week 3 says he might be back. Weeks 2 and 3 show he will be solid. Logic tells me there are way too many options in NE and Belichick is too snakey with his gameplans. This is going to be an up and down season. You don’t mind keeping Welker but you would love to get some value in return. He could be a nice piece in a package for a premium player. You should be able to get a #2RB for him straight up.
Torrey Smith
Smith is a great option all year. There are several other talented players on the Ravens offense. At the end of the day, Ray Rice is the guy. If you can get top 3-5 WR value for him after a 25 pt. performance in Week 3, take a look.
Buy Low:
Aaron Rodgers
24, 10, 9 are his points totals so far. Not the 30 points/week his owners were expecting. Maybe they are getting antsy. Feel it out. Rodgers is the biggest fish there is.
Cam Newton
The 13, 25, 9 point lines Newton has produced look a lot like Rodgers. Again, his owners may be a bit frustrated. Heck, I saw Newton traded for Ben Tate in one of my leagues this week, so you never know. Throw a feeler out.
Mike Vick
Averaging a respectable 16 ppg. Two out of three weeks he has scored about 20 points. With the sacks and turnovers it looks a lot worse than it is. Having no preseason and facing three tough defenses to start hasn’t helped. Vick has a lot of upside as he finds his rhythm. Of course, he is always an injury risk. I am looking to buy him after a 6 point stinker in Week 3.
Matt Stafford
Ouch. Averaging less than 14 PPG, he is hurting his owners and his hip his hurting him. Typically a yardage monster, I think he rebounds. Stafford has big upside.
Tony Romo
Only 13 PPG. Romo is a 16 PPG guy with upside. Two bad games in a row versus stout defenses. Take a shot at him. His numbers will improve in the division games.
LeSean McCoy
11 PPG, 1 TD, 2 fumbles. Owner’s concerns about touchdown dependency could begin to surface. While he likely won’t have a 20 TD repeat, Shady is a 15+ PPG guy. Take advantage.
Matt Forte
Likely to miss one more game and a bye week is on the horizon. Look for a desperate Forte owner with a bad record. Try to swoop in with a super-saver deal.
Brandon Marshall
2 points, 7 points, are his totals in the last two games. Marshall is still getting a ton of targets. You do have to wonder about consistency moving forward. Cutler is wildly erratic and Marshall seems to lose focus. Both are career trends.
Jordy Nelson
Averaging 6 PPG. Bleepin Bleep. A super buy low. He could be very hit or miss.
Greg Jennings
7 points on the season. Owners must be hurt badly.
Dez Bryant
Averaging 6 PPG and still no TDs. 30 career games and counting, never once have we seen a 20 point fantasy performance. His attention span is very short. I think he’s out in Dallas if they can scoop up Wes Welker in the offseason. Freakish physical ability with upside in a good offense. The Cowboys will give him every opportunity to succeed.
Buyer Beware:
Stevan Ridley
Belichick’s version of Patriot Games is very scary. Declining production each week. A possible steal if the Patriots continue the transition to a more balanced offense. See if there is panicking owner in your league. Don’t go crazy on him.
Ahmad Bradshaw
A toe. An ankle. A shoulder. A neck. A Foot. Does he have any body parts left? A sneaky good performer. You wonder if Andre Brown has earned a time-share. Bradshaw could be a good value if you buy him low enough. I’m wanting to package two inferior players here. Maybe a #3/4 RB + #3/4 WR. Something like that.
Steven Jackson
His value is in the basement. Last week, he literally could not lift his knees as he ran. Put a fork in him. He might have the occasional good week but for the most part, Jackson is done.
Chris Johnson
3.6 PPG is just awful. I’m not sure you can buy him low enough. For the right deal, I would do it. My eyes tell me he looks a little bit better every week, as does Jake Locker and the Titans offense. I wouldn’t mind buying Johnson ultra low as a possible super-flex play later in the season.
Beanie Wells
Always hurt. By far the most talented runner in Arizona. He could make the offense much more dynamic. At some point he will earn the starting job and goal line duties. Arizona is a good team that wants to play defense and run the ball. You can get him for a bag of peanuts. Stash him and be patient.
**Update – Wells has been placed on the 6 week IR. He could be useful down the home stretch but will be very hard to roster until then. Many owners may go ahead and drop him.
Vincent Jackson
He was very inconsistent in San Diego. It doesn’t look any better with Josh Freeman at the helm. Jackson is getting a ton of targets, his connection with Freeman isn’t there yet. VJAX will put up some monster weeks if you can survive the stinkers. A good #2 WR and a great #3. You might be able to get a deal on him right now after disappointing fantasy production in two out of three games.
