Take a moment, folks, and be thankful. Be thankful if you stuck with Lamar Miller this year, or if you drafted Carson Palmer. Be thankful if you nabbed Devonta Freeman off waivers, or if you handcuffed Le’Veon Bell with DeAngelo Williams.
But hey, just because you’re thankful doesn’t mean you rest on your laurels. So as always, let’s take a look at this week’s fantasy trade value chart and break down some of the more intriguing players you could either obtain or ditch in a trade.
But before we do that, let’s all remember to be thankful for our friends, our families, the roofs over our heads and the food on our table, for those of us lucky enough to have those things. It’s easy to take them for granted, but it’s far more than so many people in the world have.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Matt Camp’s Trade Advice
Trade Values
Analysis
What is it, 2010 all of the sudden?
I’m just asking because that was the last time Darren McFadden was this relevant in fantasy circles. That season, the former Oakland Raiders running back accumulated 1,664 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns, finally showing the sizzle that made him the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 draft.
Of course, he’s never accumulated over 1,000 yards from scrimmage again or even scored more than five touchdowns in a season since. A laundry list of injuries and poor Oakland offenses certainly never helped.
But ah, here is McFadden again making himself relevant in fantasy circles behind the stout Dallas offensive line. He’s now posted double-digit fantasy points in four of his last five games and has received at least 17 rushes in five straight contests. He’s the feature back in an offense that runs the ball very well, which makes him incredibly valuable.
And his head coach, Jason Garrett, seems thrilled.
“He’s tough, he’s physical, he loves to play,” Garrett told Eric Prisbell of USA Today. “He has a great competitive spirit and our team feeds off that. It was great to see him running downhill and really doing a great job finishing the game for us.”
So, what do we make of this RB2? Is he a player worth making a deal for? Or should you sell high on him if you own him?
I’d lean toward the latter. McFadden will produce if he remains healthy, but history suggests he won’t. If you are in a dynasty or keeper league and you’ve pretty much given up on the season, sell McFadden immediately. He’ll fetch you a solid return and all you’ll be losing is a player who history suggests will get hurt before the season ends.
A few players you might want to make deals for fresh off the waiver wire are Baltimore Ravens running back Javorius Allen and Carolina Panthers wideout Devin Funchess. The former is now Baltimore’s starter with Justin Forsett done for the year. The latter has finally established himself as a valued target for Cam Newton.
Allen has value for the rest of this season and that’s about it, so dynasty or keeper league owners can probably dangle him in front of Forsett owners and charge a pretty penny. In single-year leagues, meanwhile, Funchess hasn’t proved to be completely reliable this season, so you might be able to buy him for pretty cheap and hope he continues to produce.
Oh Eddie Lacy, why must you break so many hearts? After basically disappearing off the fantasy radar, Lacy responded last week by rushing 22 times for 100 yards. That probably ended your chances of buying low on him, but so what?
Lacy can’t be trusted this year. He just can’t. Yes, he’s better than James Starks. Yes, he’s starting to look healthier. But Starks is still a factor, the Packers are still going to rely heavily on Aaron Rodgers‘ arm and Lacy’s injury issues this season could always resurface.
If an owner is willing to part with Lacy on the cheap this year, by all means, make that move. It’s very possible he could post RB1 numbers down the stretch. But don’t give up an RB1 price to get him. There’s just too much uncertainty there.
Meanwhile, you probably lost your chance to sell high on Chris Johnson, who has posted a combined 17 fantasy points in his last three matchups and hasn’t reached double-digit points in four of his last five games. Not only has Johnson fallen from the ranks of the RB1 tier, he can’t be considered a consistent RB2 at this point, either.
Buy low on Johnson if you still believe in him, but if you’ve given up hope, don’t expect to get a ton in return for him in any deals.
Delanie Walker is a tight end worth targeting in a trade. He’s gotten hot in recent weeks and is one of Marcus Mariota’s more reliable options in the passing game. He’s also, rather quietly, put himself very firmly in the TE1 mix, albeit in a disappointing year for the position.
Speaking of disappointments, Jason Witten is due for a resurgence with Tony Romo back in the lineup. While Witten has been poor enough to drop him out of the TE1 tier even with Romo back in the fold, it wouldn’t be surprising if he saw a resurgence in production with his old buddy throwing him the rock.
Romo’s return should do wonders for the offense in general. He has to be considered a high-end QB2 or low-end QB1 every week, while Dez Bryant should again post elite numbers on a consistent basis.
All fantasy stats via ESPN standard leagues. You can also find Timothy Rapp on Twitter and on Twitch.
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