Time is ticking to make a league-altering fantasy trade.
The NFL’s ridiculous non-guaranteed contracts and salary cap have made player-for-player trades fairly rare over the years, but it’s a market that can be exploited in fantasy football by focusing on both potential mistakes in popular public opinion and seasonlong trends.
Let’s break down some of this week’s top fantasy football trade targets, as well as players you should consider selling sooner rather than later.
Top Fantasy Football Trade Target for Week 9
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Our top trade target in Week 8 was Stefon Diggs, a No. 1 receiver disguised as a No. 2 receiver in a pass-heavy offense that was in the midst of a slight slump.
Smith-Schuster fits a similar mold: He’s totaled only 11 receptions for 144 scoreless yards over his past two games while Antonio Brown has ripped off an 11-179-3 receiving line.
Of course, the Steelers’ Week 7 bye didn’t help build any confidence in the minds of fantasy owners, plus Smith-Schuster more or less found the end zone in Week 6 against the Bengals:
Touchdown or Nah?????? 😫 CMON MAN!!! 😂 pic.twitter.com/SAIDgzQbt5
— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) October 14, 2018
AB has out-targeted Smith-Schuster 80 to 69 on the season, but JuJu’s 9.9 targets per game are still the eighth-most among all wide receivers. He’s also only one of nine receivers with double-digit red-zone and deep-ball (20+ yards) targets after eight weeks of action.
There are few players in the league with Smith-Schuster’s elite blend of personality and talent. The 21-year-old also just so happens to have one of the position’s most fantasy-friendly roles in the league’s fifth-ranked scoring offense.
Go get Smith-Schuster before his plethora of targets inevitably leads to some huge performances.
Honorable Mention Trade Targets
Duke Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns
The departures of Hue Jackson and Todd Haley elevate Freddie Kitchens to offensive coordinator. (Kitchens worked as Carson Palmer’s quarterback coach under Bruce Arians with the Cardinals from 2013-16.)
Perhaps Johnson is even available as a free agent in your league. Either way, his stock seems to be at an all-time low despite the fact that his on-field performance is at an all-time high:
Maybe now the Browns won't ignore Duke Johnson?
2015: 5.5 yards per touch (29th among RBs with at least 20 touches)
2016: 6.9 (6th)
2017: 6.7 (8th)
…
2018: 7.4 (4th)— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 30, 2018
It wouldn’t even take a complete overhaul in the Browns’ system to get Johnson on the field more, as he’s already played on 43% of the offense’s snaps this season.
Maybe part of the Browns’ new-look offense will involve getting one of their most-talented players the ball more often. What an idea!
Fantasy Football Players to Sell in Week 9
Eric Ebron, TE, Indianapolis Colts
Jack Doyle returned to the lineup this past Sunday for the first time since Week 2. He proceeded to post overall TE1 numbers by catching six of seven targets for 70 yards and a touchdown.
More concerning for Ebron’s future was Doyle’s snap count domination:
Week 8 Colts TE usage
Jack Doyle:
7 targets, 57/78 snaps (73%)Eric Ebron
3 targets, 17/78 snaps (22%)— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 29, 2018
I thought Ebron would maintain fantasy relevance with increased snaps in the slot or as a wide receiver with Doyle in the lineup, considering Ebron had lined up as a receiver on 65% of his snaps entering Week 8, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.
Fortunately for fantasy investors, Ebron still managed to post a deceiving 3-37-1 receiving line on just three targets last week.
Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert might be the only fantasy tight end handcuff more valuable than Ebron, but there’s a chance that some still view the position’s touchdown leader as an elite every-week commodity. Consider testing the market with Ebron before his reduced snaps become clearer after the Colts’ Week 9 bye.
He’ll likely work as a low-volume and touchdown-dependent option as long as Doyle is healthy.
Tarik Cohen, RB, Chicago Bears
Cohen appeared to take over the Bears’ backfield from Weeks 4-7, as he out-touched Jordan Howard 46 to 38 while playing a more-than-respectable 43.5% of the offense’s snaps.
Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Jordan Howard, Tarik Cohen
The most intriguing game over this stretch was Chicago’s 48-10 victory over Tampa Bay in which Cohen out-carried Howard 13 to 11. J-Ho’s failure to lead the backfield in a matchup with ideal game flow for an early down back such as himself gave plenty of credence to the notion that Cohen was emerging as the Bears’ featured playmaker on offense.
There’s little doubt that Cohen is #good at football as the electric 5-foot-6, 181-pound spark plug leads all running backs with an average of 8.5 yards per touch this season (minimum 40 touches). Still, his 21 snaps in the backfield in Week 8 were his fewest since before the Bears’ Week 5 bye, and Cohen ultimately received only six total touches in their win over the Jets.
Howard didn’t exactly dominate with a 22-81-1 rushing line, although the performance enforced the reality that this is a committee backfield.
Cohen’s average of 7.3 touches in Weeks 1, 2, 3 and 8 is probably lower than the coaches would like, but his average of 15.3 touches per game in Weeks 4-7 probably won’t be repeated anytime soon.
Pictured above: Eric Ebron, Andrew Luck
Photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
