With Yahoo’s default fantasy football trade deadline set for Saturday, November 16, now is the time to optimize your rosters for a potential playoff push. In the final trade article of the year, Sal Vetri presents five players to target in trades and five players to consider moving on from while their value is high.
5 fantasy trade targets
D’Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears
The entire Bears offense struggled in Week 10. Chicago averaged just 3.9 yards per play against the Patriots defense on Sunday. This poor day affected everyone, including Swift, who produced just 65 scoreless yards in Week 10. But the good news was Swift still commanded a strong role. He played 68% of the snaps and posted 17 touches in this game. Swift has now earned 17 or more touches in six straight games.
This is the perfect time to buy low on Swift. Coming into Week 10, Swift had earned 14 or more points in five straight games including four games of 100+ yards and a touchdown. There’s a chance the Bears make a change at play-caller and if this happens it could shake up the backfield usage. But that would be looking at the downsides only. There’s also an outcome where a new play-caller helps get this offense on track and continues to feature Swift. Swift is a buy-low before he faces the Packers’ 24th-ranked run defense according to PFF in Week 11. Trade someone like Tony Pollard or Darnell Mooney for Swift if you can.
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
Stevenson continues to see one of the best roles in football the past month of the season. Over his past three games since getting healthy, Stevenson has played 75% of the Patriots’ snaps and averaged 20 opportunities per game. This is quietly strong usage for the Patriots’ three-down back. Stevenson has recently taken over the long down-and-distance work from Antonio Gibson, according to Fantasy Life. Stevenson has run nearly five times the amount of routes as Gibson in the past three weeks.
Stevenson is coming off a down week where he produced 77 scoreless yards on 21 touches. But this inefficient day has opened a buy-low window for him. The Patriots offense hasn’t been sexy for most of the season, but Drake Maye has given them life. He’s leading sustained drives that get to the red zone more often than Jacoby Brissett did. This has helped Stevenson, who has two top-10 finishes across four games with Maye. Stevenson has strong matchups against the Rams, Colts, and Cardinals coming up. Try to deal Calvin Ridley or Jakobi Meyers for Stevenson.
Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
Nabers has been relatively quiet the past month of the season. He hasn’t topped 75 receiving yards or 15 fantasy since Week 4, despite a few great matchups against the Commanders and Panthers during this stretch. Nabers is coming off another down outing where he produced just eight fantasy points against the Panthers in Germany. But it’s hard to put all the blame on Nabers; Daniel Jones completed less than 60% of his passes in Week 10 and now ranks 30th in QB efficiency this season according to Player Profiler.
The good news for Nabers is his target volume has remained elite. Nabers has earned 10+ targets in six of his last seven games and has had at least seven targets in every game this season. Nabers still ranks first in expected fantasy points (that’s how good his role is) but he ranks second in unrealized air yards because Jones is struggling to complete passes downfield. The poor QB play is creating an opportunity to buy low on Nabers. Right now is the time to strike as Nabers enters his bye week and will face the Bucs in Week 12. The Bucs allow the second most passing yards per game this season. Try to trade George Pickens or James Conner for Nabers while you still can.
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DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Metcalf is coming out of his bye week and it’s likely he returns from his knee injury this week. Metcalf has missed the Seahawks past two games due to this injury. This, combined with his bye week in Week 10, has opened a nice buy-low window on Metcalf. Metcalf plays on an offense that is currently throwing 41 times per game, the third-most in the NFL, and let’s not forget how dominant his role has been this season. Despite not playing a game over the past three weeks, Metcalf still ranks sixth in explosive plays and first in deep targets of 20+ yards according to Player Profiler.
Metcalf is a true alpha receiver, and his rest of season schedule is strong. He’ll face the Cardinals secondary twice and a struggling Jets defense over his next four games. Send a trade offer for Metcalf before he returns in Week 11. Trade Jayden Reed or Marvin Harrison Jr. for Metcalf if you can.
Amari Cooper, WR, Buffalo Bills
Cooper has been a frustrating player to roster the past few weeks. He’s been a last-minute inactive the past two Sundays despite participating in practice all week. The last time we saw Cooper was in Week 8 when he posted just one catch for three yards before injuring his wrist against the Seahawks. There’s a good chance you can acquire Cooper at a discount right now, especially given his difficult Week 11 matchup against the Chiefs.
Cooper is a strong buy-low right now because the Bills and Josh Allen desperately need him. Allen has struggled the past two weeks without Cooper. In Week 9, Allen averaged just six yards per attempt, his second-worst showing of the year. In Week 10, Allen had a softer matchup against the Colts but still struggled as he completed less than 60% of his passes. Expect Cooper to immediately operate as the team’s top receiver once healthy. Now is the time to trade for him before his potential return in Week 11. Trade Away Kareem Hunt for Cooper if you can. Speaking of which …
Trade away these 5 players
Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Hunt has been one of the best backs in fantasy since taking over the Chiefs’ backfield in Week 5. During this stretch, he’s earned 58% of the snaps and averaged a whopping 23.5 opportunities per game. Since Week 5, Hunt ranks fifth in fantasy points per game among all RBs. He’s put up better fantasy production than Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara and Kyren Williams during this time. All of this is great; Hunt has been a league-winning back for his fantasy managers, but right now is the time to trade him away.
Isiah Pacheco is close to returning for the Chiefs. He’s expected to be back at practice within the next one to two weeks. Pacheco could return to the field by Week 13, which means you may only have one or two more games of Hunt seeing a workhorse role for the Chiefs. Hunt has survived on high volume this season; his efficiency remains poor as he’s averaging just 3.7 yards per carry. Now is the perfect time to sell high on Hunt after his 100 total yards and seven catches in Week 10. Try to deal him away for Jakobi Meyers or Ladd McConkey.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals
Harrison is coming off a quality performance where he produced 13.9 fantasy points on five targets. He’s now produced a useable fantasy week in two of his last three games. This has opened a nice sell-high window for the Cardinals’ first-round rookie.
Over his last five contests, Harrison is averaging just five targets per game and ranks 48th in wide receiver points per game. TE Trey McBride leads the team in target share during this stretch and Harrison has been typecast as a mostly downfield, boom-or-bust receiver. He ranks seventh in deep targets but plenty of these are uncatchable as he ranks 57th in catchable target rate this season according to Player Profiler. It’s a good time to sell Harrison if you can. Try to trade him for DeVonta Smith or George Pickens.
Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Irving has been awesome this season. He’s perhaps the most exciting running back to watch each week. Irving ranks second in broken tackles rate and top 10 in explosive run rate. He’s a fantastic player and is coming off a strong showing where he produced 87 total yards on 16 touches against the 49ers.
Irving now enters his bye week. He actually has a strong schedule coming out of the bye as well, as he’ll have matchups against the Giants, Panthers and Raiders. I understand if you’d prefer to stash him, but there’s one big issue.
Irving is still operating behind Rachaad White.
In Week 10, White played 59% of the Bucs snaps and handled 100% of the goal-line snaps and 100% of the two-minute offense snaps. This caps Irving’s upside. His fantasy value currently relies on him creating explosive plays at a high rate. If you could deal Irving for Jakobi Meyers or Brian Robinson Jr., you should.
Deebo Samuel Sr., WR, San Francisco 49ers
This one may surprise you, but right now is a good time to test the market on a Samuel Sr. trade. He’s coming off a fine game in Week 10 where he produced 76 scoreless yards on eight touches. It goes without saying Samuel is a rare and elite talent, but this 49ers offense has a lot of weapons now.
Christian McCaffrey returned in Week 10 and immediately earned 20 opportunities and George Kittle continued his strong season with 57 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. But the more important takeaways from Week 10 come from the 49ers’ wide receiver usage. Jauan Jennings operated as the team’s X receiver. This was Brandon Aiyuk’s old role, and it led to Jennings leading the team with 93 yards on 11 targets. Rookie Ricky Pearsall also contributed with 73 yards and a score on six targets. Samuel’s production may not be as consistent as we once thought with the increased involvement of Jennings and Pearsall. If you can deal Samuel for DK Metcalf or James Cook, you should.
Austin Ekeler, RB, Washington Commanders
Ekeler has been great in place of Brian Robinson Jr. for the past two weeks. He’s managed to average 14 touches in the past two games and he’s scored three touchdowns during this time. But it hasn’t just been the past two contests where Ekeler has been productive, he’s been good all year. Ekeler has scored 10+ fantasy points in seven of his nine games and is quietly leading the NFL averaging 6.8 yards per touch.
Ekeler is a strong roster piece, but there’s a chance you can upgrade him for a weekly fantasy starter. Brian Robinson Jr. is trending to play in Week 11, so now is the time to trade away Ekeler after his season-high 17.6 points in Week 10. Try to trade him for Courtland Sutton or Romeo Doubs if you can.
