The waiver wire is important, but trading is what truly makes or breaks your fantasy season. Here are the top buy-low and sell-high picks at every position entering Week 3.
Quarterback
Buy
Carson Wentz’s stock has taken a hit in the past two weeks with poor showings against the Washington Football Team and Los Angeles Rams. The hope here is that this is just a fluke for Wentz, who has proven in the past that he can be a solid fantasy quarterback. Don’t break the bank and expect Wentz to finish as a top-five quarterback, but take a chance on him with the idea that he can’t get much worse from here and should see more success soon.
The Steelers have been passing a lot lately and that won’t change anytime soon. With the growing struggles of James Conner, Roethlisberger will be tasked with throwing early and often. Furthermore, while the Steelers aren’t bad, it’s unlikely that they’ll have many multi-score leads this year. Pittsburgh will always be in the game until the final drive, meaning Roethlisberger will need to keep passing to close the gap in a deficit or build on a lead.
Sell
The idea of selling Burrow is quite scientific. Everyone knew that there was a lot of hype surrounding him this season, but people were still timid when it came to drafting him. After two great weeks, you might just be able to convince your league-mates to circle back and give up a huge haul for Burrow, who is sure to see a bit of regression soon. He won’t regress to a point where he could be dropped, but since his value is very high, now is the time to take advantage of that.
Similar to Burrow, Russell Wilson is off to an incredible start but will likely regress soon. He’ll still be a start-and-forget option for the rest of the year and he can certainly fetch a solid haul. If you have a decent quarterback situation, you’d be foolish not to part with Wilson in an effort to acquire aid for other parts of your roster, such as a weak running back room.
Running Back
Buy
Robinson was thrust into the starting role after Leonard Fournette was released and Devine Ozigbo and Ryquell Armstead were placed on injured reserve. Since then, he’s owned than 94 percent of the Jaguars’ carries and is showing no signs of slowing down. While not a threat in the passing game, he’s flown under-the-radar as one of the better RB2 options out there. If you need running back help, check in on Robinson’s price tag before it’s too late.
Yes, we’re doing this again. Joe Mixon is a top-10 running back but has yet to produce at the rate people were hoping to see when they drafted him in the middle of the first round. Mixon can turn his season around in the blink of an eye and his owners are surely growing tired of him failing to meet his projections every week. Anyone who needs RB2 help should be all over Mixon.
Bell is currently on IR and has two more weeks to go before he can return, but it’s never too early to keep an eye on his status. Some owners might be willing to dump him for cheap. If so, you’d be wise to invest in him now so you can reap the rewards when he returns as the focal point of the Jets’ offense in a few weeks.
Sell
No, Cook is not a bad running back. But the Vikings’ offense has looked miserable this far and there’s little reason to be optimistic that their woes will be reserved. Cook’s two touchdowns in Week 1 made up for his 51 scrimmage yards, as did his one score this week when he finished with 71 yards. There are going to be weeks where Cook struggles, and his value in the trade market currently exceeds his value for the rest of the season. If you have solid running back depth, deeply consider parting with Cook sooner rather than later.
Trade Ronald Jones today or live with the consequence of cutting him in two weeks. Leonard Fournette is taking over as the starting running back in New England and he’s not looking back. Jones will still see touches, but it’s quite possible that he’ll be barely rosterable within a few weeks now. If you want to trade him, do it now, because he likely won’t have any value at all by the end of the Buccaneers’ game next weekend.
Wide Receiver
Buy
D.J. Chark
Chark has yet to truly go off in a single game this year and instead enters Week 3 with fewer targets than Keelan Cole. While Cole and the other Jacksonville weapons will continue to command attention in the passing game, Chark remains the No. 1 receiver. His price is fairly low right now, making him a very reliable WR2/FLEX investment for teams needing to solidify their lineup.
As with any injured player, Golladay’s price has dropped as of late. Owners of Golladay are surely worried about his status going forward and could be selling him for cheap. If that’s the case, take him off their hands in exchange for a lesser-valued wide receiver who is consistent and healthy. It might take a week or two for Golladay to fully re-acclimate to NFL play, but he’ll be a top-five receiver again very soon.
Sell
Josh Allen has to slow down at some point, right? Brown has seen back-to-back weeks in which he finished over projection, but that won’t last forever. He’s not a bad option on your bench, but if you can trade him for more than he’s worth, there’s no reason not to pull the trigger. A fair compensation for Brown right now would be a high-end FLEX with WR2 or RB2 potential, such as J.K. Dobbins or Diontae Johnson.
Everything said regarding John Brown is also true with Stefon Diggs, though his value is higher. The former Vikings wideout is going to be a start-and-forget player for the rest of the year, but chances are, folks are overpaying for him right now. Do yourself a favor and bolster the rest of your roster by trading Diggs during his early-season peak.
Tight End
Buy
Andrews had a huge Week 1 but finished Week 2 with just one catch. The emotions of a fantasy owner when it comes to tight ends are wild, and some owners may be looking to move on to a more consistent tight end. Little do they know, Andrews will fit that description once he finds his rhythm soon. Andrews won’t be cheap to trade for, but he’s still being vastly undervalued ahead of Week 3.
After an incredible Week 1, Goedert calmed down in Week 2 against the Rams. Like Andrews, Goedert should also have a great season from here on out. However, between his quiet Week 2 and his role as Zach Ertz‘s backup, Goedert’s price tag might be fairly cheap right now. See if you can bundle a bench tight end and bench wide receiver or running back in exchange for Goedert and plug him into your lineup right away.
Fant has impressed in the first two weeks, so why would someone want to trade him? A quarterback transition often hurts a lot of the offense, including the tight end. Fant looked solid with Jeff Driskel at the helm, but owners of Fant might continue to be skeptical of how he’ll perform without Drew Lock. Fant is valued slightly above Goedert, so consider pursuing one of the two.
Sell
Gesicki had eight catches for 130 yards and a touchdown again last week. He likely won’t hit that mark again this season, but the good thing about such an early breakout game for a tight end is that prospective trade partners might drastically overvalue him (as opposed to later in the year when they see one 27-point game mixed in with many eight-point games). Depending on your depth at tight end, you might consider trading Gesicki.
Cook caught just two passes for 13 yards on Monday night. If not for his touchdown, he would have vastly disappointed several fantasy owners banking on his breakout during Michael Thomas‘ absence. If Cook can’t post a respectable catch total without Thomas, he likely won’t do much better when Thomas returns. Right now, Cook is a borderline starting lineup play but could surely fetch a decent haul in the trade market.
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