Fantasy Football Day Trader: Week 8

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Day Trader, where the writers at The Fantasy Footballers team up to present our 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.  We’re here to present our fantasy opinions for your consideration, and I can tell you firsthand that we preach what we praise.  This article series will present fantasy players that we’re looking to move and the price tag that we 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 from last year to help: The Art of the Fantasy Football Trade. 

Fantasy Football Day Trader: Week 8

Here are three trade tips to consider for Week 8

1. Don’t be afraid to create a bidding war.  This happened in my main fantasy league this past week.  Several fantasy GMs apparently reached out to the team with Davante Adams.  The fantasy GM texted us all in a group thread, “Good luck boys, may the best offer win.”  What a great way to drive up the price.  As you can imagine, this approach isn’t for everyone – as some league mates would be offended and potentially lose interest in trading with you in the future.  Know your league, and don’t be afraid to drive up the price on your players.
2. Keep it to yourself if you “win” big on a trade.  Nothing ruins your chances of trading with someone again in the future faster than you bragging about how you fleeced them, especially if your trade partner is new to fantasy.  In my main fantasy league, I traded a couple of mediocre pieces for Lev Bell in 2017 and he still won’t trade with me again.
3. If you do in fact “fleece” your trade partner, DO NOT refer to it with a term related to sexual abuse.  You know what I’m talking about.  This was a topic of discussion in the fantasy community this week, and I wanted to address it in this article.  Fantasy football is an escape for us.  It’s a ton of fun, and many of us are obsessed with it.  There’s no reason to remind victims of dark times or really just use that type of language for that matter.

Investments (Trade For)

Travis Fulgham (Jeff Greenwood – @TheFantasyEng)
Travis Fulgham is quietly the WR7 on a points-per-game basis through Week 7.  While he’s only played in four games so far this season, his fantasy production has been great: 12.7 pts, 26.2 pts, 16.5 pts, 9.8 pts.  He’s on pace to be Carson Wentz’s first-ever 1,000+ yard receiver (although Ertz hit that mark in years past).  The Eagles are a mess and have a ton of injuries, and Fulgham has filled a valuable role for the offense in every game he’s played this season.  His teammates Dallas Goedert, Zach Ertz, Jalen Reagor, and Miles Sanders will return at some point this season.  Also, there’s a 100% chance Fulgham was picked up from waivers within the last couple of weeks.  Many fantasy GM’s will try to flip their waiver wire gem before his teammates return.  Fulgham is the guy right now, and he could easily stay productive when others return.  He also has almost zero name recognition, which means you can probably acquire him at a significant discount.  Is there any player that’s better to trade for in fantasy than Fulgham right now?  I honestly don’t think so.  Price Tag: Flex | Risk Rating: 3 (medium risk)

J.K. Dobbins (Marvin Elequin – @FF_MarvinE)
In Week 6, Mark Ingram was forced to leave the game early due to a mid-to-high ankle sprain. Coming out of their bye week, it sounds like Ingram may still be recovering from this injury, leaving the door open for J.K. Dobbins to take over. In six games this season, Dobbins ranks as the RB58 in total opportunities. However, with the limited volume, he has been one of the most efficient RBs in the league. Per PlayerProfiler, Dobbins is currently the RB3 in yards created per touch (2.50), RB18 in juke rate (25%), and RB2 in breakaway run rate (12% – 15+ yard runs). Whenever he touches the ball, good things tend to happen. It remains to be seen if he will receive the opportunity, though it could happen as soon as this Sunday if Ingram is unable to suit up. Be sure to trade for Dobbins now before he receives the opportunity and shows us just how high his fantasy upside can be!  Price Tag: High-End Flex RB | Risk Rating: 3 (medium risk)

Tyler Boyd (Peter Chung – @FF_Hypeman)
The first rule of trading is, “buy low, sell high.” But what happens if the “low” never comes? That’s why I’d still suggest trading for Bengals WR Tyler Boyd, even after he just had his best fantasy game last week against the Browns. During the Battle of Ohio, Boyd caught a whopping 11 passes from 13 (!) targets for 101 yards and a TD. He also threw a pass for 16 yards. His 22.2 half PPR points made him the week’s WR6, and he’s the overall WR12 on the season. But here’s the thing: I think he’ll do even better this week against the Titans. He has a beautiful projected matchup opposite unprepared seventh-round rookie CB Chris Jackson, who is sadly part of the reason why the Titans’ strong defense (on-paper) is currently allowing the 5th MOST points to WRs. Boyd leads the team in targets, which is wonderful considering that QB Joe Burrow has the MOST pass attempts in the NFL. He has a good consistency score, the fifth best playoff schedule, and received the second MOST Red Zone targets among WRs. Simply put, he’s getting it done and should continue to do so all the way to your championships. Yet despite all these accolades, Boyd surprisingly does not have much name-value to many fantasy managers because he lacks the flash or drama of other star receivers like Allen Robinson II or Mike Evans, both guys who he’s outscored this year. Try to offer someone like Ronald Jones or Raheem Mostert for him and see if you can steal away this year’s dark horse WR1.  Price Tag: Mid-to-high RB2 | Risk Rating: 3 (medium risk)

Tyler Boyd snatches the Bengals TD in traffic 😳pic.twitter.com/0h8K0ehySU
(via @NFL)

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Fades (Trade Away)

Darius Slayton (Jeff Greenwood – @TheFantasyEng)
Darius Slayton has had three good fantasy weeks and four terrible fantasy weeks so far this season.  He’s a player that many viewed as the Giants’ best receiver before the season started – but it’s clear now that Sterling Shepard is the alpha now that he’s back.  Additionally, Slayton is unusable in fantasy in three of the next four matchups because he plays two top-6 defenses against opposing WR and also has a bye.  I would trade away Slayton now if you can get anything for him – even a kicker or defense upgrade.  Price Tag: Bench piece | Risk Rating: 1 (low risk)

Wayne Gallman (Marvin Elequin – @FF_MarvinE)
Devonta Freeman left last week’s matchup versus the Eagles after suffering an ankle injury, which leaves his week 8 availability in doubt. In his absence, Wayne Gallman received a season-high 15 touches, turning that into only 54 yards and 1 touchdown. Despite the favorable matchup, he was not particularly efficient with his touches. The Giants now face a tough Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense who have held David Montgomery, Aaron Jones, and Josh Jacobs below 60 scrimmage yards each. If we factor in the Giants’ 32nd ranked offensive line (per Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards metric), Gallman will not have much room to run even if he does have the backfield to himself. I do not expect a startable fantasy game from Gallman, so I would much rather trade him to the Freeman fantasy manager in exchange for a higher upside flex WR or RB.  Price Tag: Low-End Flex RB | Risk Rating: 2 (low risk)

Tyler Lockett (Peter Chung – @FF_Hypeman)
Just hear me out. Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett was ON FIRE last week for the world to see on primetime during Sunday Night Football. He caught 15 of 20 targets for an astonishing 200 yards and 3 TDs against the Cardinals. He was Week 7’s clear No. 1 fantasy receiver, and the overall WR2 on the season. So why trade away the “MOST UNDERRATED WR in the NFL,” per gargantuan colleague DK Metcalf? Because he’s wildly inconsistent, that’s why. Here’s how he ranked in each game this year: WR22, WR12, WR1, WR72, WR53, WR1. It’s evident that he’ll either outright win your matchup for you, or help sink it. Lockett admitted so himself after his amazing three-TD onslaught against the Cowboys in Week 3, telling Amari Cooper, “they come in bunches, and then some games you don’t get nothing, bro.” And like clockwork, Lockett followed that 100 yards & three TD performance with a scoreless 39-yard dud. That’s been the story of his career, and the first half of this season is demonstrable proof that things haven’t changed despite QB Russell Wilson’s explosive MVP pace. He’s so hot-and-cold, that even our writing staff has mentioned him as Week 4’s Trade Away and Week 6’s Trade For targets. To make matters worse, he has the MOST difficult remaining schedule for WRs, after just coming off of the fifth-easiest one. His playoff schedule is also the league’s worst, having to face the Jets (21st most difficult) and Football Team (32nd) during the playoffs before meeting the Rams (31st) at the fantasy championships. I wouldn’t blame you for waiting another week, as he should have another great game opposite mediocre 49ers’ CB Jamar Taylor, who’s bounced around seven teams and just turned 30 last month. Strike while the iron is hot, and boy is it scorching right now. See if you can nab a strong RB like Jonathan Taylor in return.  Price Tag: Low RB1 or High RB2 | Risk Rating: 3 (medium risk)