Trade Targets for Week 8 (Fantasy Football)
This week had it all: a shootout between 40+ year-old QBs on TNF, a Mile High Miracle, the return of CeeDee Lamb, Jonathan Taylor’s hat trick of hat trick TD games, and the Panthers and Jets played each other (cue the circus music). Now, we’re heading into the first “byemaggedon” with six teams on bye (Cardinals, Lions, Jaguars, Raiders, Rams, Seahawks).
As for me, I’m ready for Lamar Jackson‘s valiant return, as I’m pretty invested in seeing Derrick Henry transform into the Yeti again. Here’s hoping.
Let’s take a look at some trade-for / trade-away candidates heading into Week 8.
Players to Trade For
D’Andre Swift
Don’t look now, but since coming out of their Week 5 bye, D’Andre Swift has looked… kind of amazing… He has surpassed 100 rushing yards in each of the last two games and has been a top-10 RB both weeks as well. After an equally strong Week 7 performance by rookie Kyle Monangai, there may be some concerns about a pending workload split. But if his time in Detroit taught us anything, it’s that Ben Johnson can scheme two successful RBs in the same backfield, no problem. Perhaps this performance speaks more to Monangai’s potential as the “David Montgomery” of this backfield than anything else.
This trade does come with a bit of a double-move. I’m looking ahead at fantasy playoff schedules, and while Swift & Co. do have three great RB matchups coming up in the next three weeks, things get decidedly more difficult rest of season. The Bears have two matchups against Green Bay surrounding a game against Cleveland in Weeks 14-16. My aim with Swift is to pay market value for him now, let him deliver three great games for your team during this next important stretch, and then look to possibly trade him away before the Week 11 game against Minnesota. Think of him as a loaner to help through the upcoming bye weeks.
Bears OL actually creating rushing lanes, but a lot of these big runs are D'Andre Swift's athleticism winning out. Just beating DEs/LBs to spots.
Mostly OZ, but counters and man changeups. pic.twitter.com/oH7vhqDVTr
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) October 20, 2025
George Kittle
Count me as one of the Kittle owners who were so desperate to get him back in my lineup that I ended up taking a donut this week. Ugh. The encouraging news (maybe?) is that Kittle was on the field for 81% of the team’s snaps. This confirms the reporting that once he was ready to come back, he’d be all the way back. I don’t know if it will take a better matchup, Brock Purdy’s return, or just another week to game plan with a now-healthy Kittle, but I’m certain he will return value this season.
The Falcons (last week’s opponent) and Texans (this week’s opponent) are two of the best defenses against TEs, so don’t be shocked if Kittle’s numbers are a bit muted again this week. But I don’t think I would take the risk of waiting one more game to target him. If the Kittle owner in your league is nervous at all, or has simply found a suitable fill-in option in Harold Fannin, Oronde Gadsden, Darren Waller (despite his current pec injury), etc., I’d start floating offers. Kittle was my #1 TE heading into the season, and I am excited to see him back in action moving forward.
Chase Brown
Brown showed the first signs of life since Joe Burrow’s injury this week, and I’m taking it as a sign that things might actually get better this year. For starters, Brown has had a brutal schedule for RBs thus far, with games against Cleveland, Minnesota, Denver, and Green Bay, to name a few. He’s obviously been nerfed by the Jake Browning experience, but these last two weeks with Joe Flacco under center have produced Brown’s two highest YPC totals of the season. And given his early-season struggles, I’d say he broke out last week against Pittsburgh, to the tune of 11 carries for 108 yards (9.82 YPC). Flacco brought out the best in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, which really opens things up for Brown to mix in some effective runs.
This trade plays on several strategic levels. To begin, this is the first week since the fantasy draft that Chase Brown managers can hope to get even close to what they paid for him in the draft. He was drafted as an RB1 for most teams, and he has been an RB4 thus far. So I think you will have some managers who are willing to play ball on a deal for Brown. While his early-season schedule was brutal, things really open up for Brown during the second half of the season. He’s got a Week 10 bye (use this to deflate his value a bit more), but otherwise, seven of his nine remaining fantasy matchups are green, starting this week against the NY Jets. There are potential shootouts coming against Chicago, New England, Baltimore, Buffalo, and there are positive game scripts against the Jets, Dolphins, and Cardinals remaining. In fact, his matchups during the fantasy playoffs might be the best in the league (Baltimore, Miami, Arizona). Go poke around for a Chase Brown trade and see if things turn around from here on out.
Chase Brown is LOOSE. Look at Ja'Marr get out and block 👀
PITvsCIN on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/rUG5o2bi1B— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025
Players to Trade Away
DeVonta Smith
I, for one, loved seeing the Eagles air it out last week. I was literally just having the conversation in one of my Sleeper league chats about whether or not Jalen Hurts was elite. I think his fantasy value is in trouble if/when they ban the tush push, although I expect he will still have plenty of rushing TDs. But I also acknowledged that he absolutely balled out in both of his Super Bowl appearances. And that had me convinced that he’s elite, but being held back by scheme and sometimes game script. DeVonta Smith is collateral damage to both of these.
I’ve always been a fan of Smith’s, and like A.J. Brown, I expect there will be more really good games in the future. But this is about consistency for me, and if you can find a similar player with more consistency, I’d capitalize on Smith’s Week 7 explosion and move him. Looking at similarly-scoring RBs, I’d rather have Quinshon Judkins, D’Andre Swift (at least for the next three weeks!), and I think you could get Jaylen Warren plus.
Chris Olave
Health concerns entering the season suppressed Olave’s draft stock to the point where he became a real bargain for teams. He has been a target monster this year, earning double-digit targets in five of seven games so far. And this week, he finally splashed with two TDs and a WR1 week.
However, his schedule rest of season is brutal. And he still has his bye in Week 11. This is a super straightforward move of selling high and getting someone with a bit more upside. Not to mention the fact that he is still one bad hit away from an extended absence, if not retirement. Olave is WR12 on the season, which puts him around Garrett Wilson, Courtland Sutton, and Quentin Johnston. I’d rather have all three of those guys. We are also in the same ballpark as the RBs mentioned above (see: DeVonta Smith), and I’d rather have them as well. Thank Olave for his service, and let someone else deal with the late-season disappointment.
Hit Me Up!
Keep those questions coming on X! I appreciate those who have reached out for advice, and I’d also love to hear of any deals you’ve done as a result of our conversations, and (gulp) if they’ve worked out for you. Am I the first person to ever invite trolling on the internet? Maybe so. @kempertrull