Fantasy Football Day Trader: Week 2 Edition
Welcome to the Fantasy Football Day Trader, where I present my favorite players to invest in as well as those to fade. Fantasy football is a lot like the stock market, and this article series is meant to assist you with your investment portfolio. I’m here to present my fantasy opinions for your consideration, and these are players that I’m actively trying to trade for/away in my personal leagues. This article series will present fantasy players that I’m looking to move and the price tag that I think is fair.
You should always try to assess your trade partner’s valuation of players before jumping to a price tag that you assume is fair. If you’re new to fantasy or if you’d like a refresher on general trade strategy, we have an evergreen article to help: The Art of the Fantasy Football Trade.
Intro
The fireworks from draft season have faded. Week 1 has come and passed, and it feels glorious. We’re into football season folks. Before we get into it, let’s take a moment to reflect. It’s the best time of year. I got a text from my brother-in-law at 12:45 pm on Sunday afternoon “I’m legit giddy right now. Great mood all day.”. I couldn’t agree more. Life is tough. Football provides a beautiful distraction from the day-to-day grind. And it IS a grind. I don’t care who you are, everyone is trying to get through the day. The week. The month. The year. And it’s hard to take a step back and appreciate the moment. I’m guilty myself – I feel like it’s always go-go-go.
Every day, I get up at 6:00 am. My wife’s and my alarms go off. It’s a moment of confusion and panic. Every day. I check my work emails, my personal emails, my texts, my Twitter, etc. My wife goes to work – out of the door by 6:15 am every day. Meanwhile, I fall back asleep…but not before telling myself I need to get up ASAP to get a head start on the day. 6:19 am hits, and I click snooze again. 6:28 am alarm hits, and I know I need to get up and start sprinting. Wake the kids up. Change diapers. Clothes for the day. Breakfast. Bathroom. Teeth brushed, pack lunches and snacks (but recently my wife has been doing this, which is awesome – she’s the real family MVP). Feed the dog and walk outside with her to make sure she poops in the woods and not the neighbor’s lawn. Oh, gotta check the weather and pack sweatshirts. Middle daughter gets picked up – task 1 complete. “I need coffee” phase hits. Rush to bus stop for 5-year-old. Wait for 5-20 minutes for bus pickup – task 2 complete. Then rush to drop youngest at daycare 20 minutes away – task 3 complete. And then my day fully starts, although I’ve already been working emails and calls. And in the afternoon, my wife tackles pretty much the same scenario but end of day vs start of day. Then playtime, dinner, tubs, storytime, etc. Every parent knows the struggle. I wouldn’t change it for the world, but it makes you a little crazy.
Whether you’re a parent or not, you know what it’s like to get through a long day. Don’t get me wrong – I live a great and cushy life, I’m not trying to complain. But everyone knows the challenge of a long day. And a long week. And a long month. Like many of us, football season is my favorite time of year. Sunday becomes the best day of the week and Mondays become exciting. My brother-in-law said it perfectly – “I’m legit giddy right now”. That’s exactly how I’ve felt for the past week as the NFL season has kicked off. It’s OK to take a moment for yourself. Enjoy it.
Alright, let’s get to the actual trade article!
Fantasy Football Day Trader: Week 1 Edition
Week 1 of the NFL season is the most chaotic of them all. I think it was Mike Tyson who said “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. We’ve spent the past several months developing projections and opinions about NFL teams, coaches, and players…but savvy fantasy managers are quick to adjust based on new information. I mean Week 1 played out a lot differently than most of us expected. One of the best ways to gain an edge in fantasy football leagues is to trade with your leaguemates. The first 1-3 weeks of the season are the riskiest and provide the greatest opportunity to greatly improve your team (and also the highest risk to screw up your team). But I’m all for early-season trades. If you don’t shoot, you can’t score.
Investments (Trade For)
D’Andre Swift (RB, Lions)
Swift put up an RB3 overall performance on one of the worst offenses in football. I love Swift, I always have. He was super productive in Week 1 with 9.6 yards per carry and three receptions for 31 yards. He’s on a bad team, but he’s always been productive and will continue to be productive. Andy mentioned on Monday’s pod “if they give him the CMC workload, he’d be the next CMC”. While I don’t expect the Lions to give him 25 touches per game, Swift would immediately become the most valuable player in fantasy if they did…Swift is the real deal and I think you can acquire him at a discount. I’d trade Saquon for Swift plus any asset at all in a heartbeat. HE’S GOT THAT DOG IN HIM. Price Tag: Mid RB1 | Risk Rating 2/5
— Jeff Greenwood (@TheFantasyEng) September 13, 2022
Brandin Cooks (WR, Texans)
Dude saw 12 targets, tied for the 6th most at the WR position. He was underrated in drafts this past year, as he has been for his entire career. Cooks isn’t a bright and shiny new toy like the rookies, so people don’t get excited about him. But Davis Mills was productive and should continue to give Cooks a very healthy workload. I mean the Texans are probably going to be behind and trying to throw to come back…Cooks could be the king of garbage time this season. And he was top-5 in the NFL is air yard share in Week 1 (50%). Cooks is a back-end WR1 that costs almost nothing to acquire. Trade for Cooks with confidence. DAWG. Price Tag: WR2 | Risk Rating 2/5
Donovan Peoples-Jones (WR, Browns)
DPJ saw the 13th most targets among all WR in Week 1 (before MNF game), almost double what Amari Cooper saw – which was good for a 37% target share in Week 1 (!!!!!!). DPJ has been incredibly productive when given the ball, and he’s on a mediocre offense (at best)…you can probably acquire DPJ for almost nothing – and why not? HE’S A DOG. Price Tag: throw-in | Risk Rating 2/5
Holy smokes. Baker Mayfield launches a Hail Mary and Donovan Peoples-Jones comes down with it! pic.twitter.com/EucELAu2lq
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 17, 2021
Cordarrelle Patterson (RB/WR, Falcons)
Patterson saw 27 opportunities (rush att + targets) in Week 1. He was a stud last season, yet everyone wants to avoid him. The guy is really good at football and not too expensive to acquire in a trade…why not? Keep it simple, stupid… Patterson was great last year and should be great again this year – he just has a name that’s not super sexy. Capitalize on getting C Pat, who doesn’t cost a lot to acquire. DOGG. Price Tag: Back-end RB2 | Risk Rating 5/5
Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB, Chiefs)
I’ve been all about CEH so far this season. I was never super interested in him in the past because he’s a mediocre talent at best. But his cost has finally come to a point where it’s worth the gamble. I’ll take a guy that plays 1st and 2nd down on KC, especially when he’s going as a back-end RB2 or RB3. CEH had a great game and should be a solid RB2 this season… It is a little concerning that rookie Isiah Pacheco had more carries and veteran Jerick McKinnon saw more targets, but CEH was still involved in key plays – and they used him near the end zone. Andy, Mike, and Jason mentioned on Monday’s show that they’re on the other side with CEH – they’d be looking to trade him away. For me, I’m still gambling on CEH having valuable touches in an offense that lost Tyreek Hill last season. Don’t get me wrong, I still love having Pacheco on my bench as a lottery ticket…but you have to remember that Mahomes hand-selected CEH, who was drafted in the 1st round by KC in 2020. I’m trading for CEH to get a piece of the KC offense. PUPPY DOG. Price Tag: Back End RB2 | Risk Rating 4/5
Fades (Trade Away)
Ezekiel Elliott (RB, Cowboys)
Zeke had 10 rush attempts and 2 targets…which only netted him 5.4 fantasy points this week. Zeke is a declining RB on a team that lost its QB for the next 2 months. Zeke has been an elite fantasy RB for many years, but is the end of his elite production coming? I would rather break free from Zeke before the inevitable decline than ride it out with him. Zeke carries name value and will probably get some serious interest in typical home leagues. Price Tag: High-End RB2 | Risk Rating 4/5
Travis Etienne (RB, Cowboys)
Etienne was drafted by the Jaguars in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. Etienne suffered a Lisfranc injury and didn’t play in the 2021 season. Fast forward to 2022…Etienne actually looked great in week 1, but he missed a couple of key passes that would have scored TDs. He also paled in comparison to teammate James Robinson, who had 13 opportunities and turned that into 19.4 fantasy points. Etienne has potential, but if it were me…I’d trade him for value at RB/WR. He’s too risky to me on a team where beat writers were hyping Robinson all offseason and Week 1 agreed with that energy. And the Jaguars aren’t any kind of offensive powerhouse. I’m out on Etienne. Price Tag: Back End RB2 | Risk Rating 4/5
Comments
Travis Etienne (RB, Cowboys)
Good one 😂😂😂