Fantasy Football Trades You Need To Make Before Week 9

Week 9 Fantasy Football Trades: Top Buys & Sells

If you’re going to win a fantasy football championship, you have to be trying to find ways to make your team better week in and week out. One of the best ways to do that is to shop the trade market. Be active with making trade offers, updating your trade block, and engaging in conversation with your league mates. It’s also important that you make quality trades. The best way to make sure you don’t get taken advantage of by your league mates and that you are offering fair deals is to utilize our fully customizable redraft fantasy football trade calculator. Now here are a few buys and sells to consider building your trades around in Week 9.

More: Fantasy Notebook: Snaps, Targets, Air Yards, & Routes Data From Week 8

Buy Chris Olave 

I have talked about Chris Olave in this article multiple times this season. The usage remains high while the production just hasn’t matched. But I’m confident this isn’t take-lock. The process is sound and the results are going to come.

Olave is WR35 in fantasy points per game but is top-12 in expected fantasy points (Josh Larky on Twitter). He is averaging 9.6 targets per game which puts him at No. 7 in total targets. He has combined for 34 targets in the last three weeks. Olave has had double-digit targets in five of eight games and has been above a 30% target share four times. His only game below a 20% target share was the week that Derek Carr miraculously played with his injured shoulder but could barely throw the ball. 

In Week 8, Olave saw nine passes thrown his way. He racked up a whopping 170 air yards. Yet, he finished with just 46 actual yards. On the season, Olave is second in air yards and has gone over 100 in all but one game. Targets and air yards are the two most predictive metrics for future wide receiver performances. Olave is crushing in both areas. Eventually they’re going to give us the results we’ve been waiting for and expecting. When that happens—look out—Olave could go on a massive tear. And that’s before I mention touchdown regression. According to expected touchdown models, Olave should have multiple more touchdowns based on usage and performance than he actually does. 

You’re going to want Olave in your lineup when the touchdown regression, air yards, target shares, and general luck all come together to create some monster performances down the stretch. Factoring in a fantasy playoff schedule of the Giants, Rams, and Bucs, Chris Olave is the ultimate buy ahead of Week 9.

Buy DK Metcalf 

DK Metcalf has been a steady producer for fantasy football so far in 2023. He’s been consistent. However, he’s yet to have one of those classic DK Metcalf spike week performances that we get from him a few times per season. But there are some indicators that those could be coming.

While his five catch, 67-yard performance in Week 8 was mostly pedestrian, Metcalf had a 38.9% target share for a team-high 14 targets. The other wide receivers on the team combined for 15 targets. It was Metcalf’s second-consecutive game (not including the one missed with injury) with 10 or more targets. He finished the game with 152 air yards which was 55.3% of the team’s total air yards and he’s now gone over 100 air yards in three of his last four games. 

Metcalf is running a ton of routes, seeing a bunch of targets, and racking up the air yards. At some point these are going to all come together with a bit more luck and some touchdown regression to create a monster performance. Once that happens, we know he’s capable of stringing a few of those performances together with multiple spike weeks over a short stretch. I’m trying to acquire him at his current cost before the boom games hit.

Sell Calvin Ridley

I was screaming from the rooftops all summer long that Calvin Ridley’s late round 2, early round 3 ADP was far too high. You’re welcome. But here we are in Week 9, and Ridley is coming off just his third double-digit fantasy performance since Week 1. It’s gotten so bad that Ridley fantasy managers are celebrating this 14-point week. If he is still on your roster, now is your chance to move on and sell. 

Even with 10 targets, Ridley managed just 83 receiving yards. He was still less efficient than receiving mate Christian Kirk despite out-producing him in the raw numbers. Part of my case to fade him in drafts this year was the target competition. We’ve seen that come to fruition with both Kirk and Evan Engram continuing their success from 2022. That makes it difficult for a guy like Ridley to emerge as the target hog many fantasy gamers (and analysts) paint him out to be. He will have weeks like this, he’s not a bad receiver, but they’re going to come with plenty of down weeks because he is not an alpha.

The Jaguars are heading into their bye in Week 9, then have a game against the 49ers in Week 10. They also have tough matchups coming up against the Browns and Ravens. 

Sell DeAndre Hopkins 

DeAndre Hopkins was brought to life with the NFL debut and breakout performance of Titans rookie quarterback Will Levis. Hopkins scored three touchdowns and racked up 128 receiving yards on four receptions. It was awesome. But I don’t expect a repeat of this performance any time soon.

Now, you could argue that if Levis does indeed remain the starting quarterback for the rest of the season, it will be a positive for Hopkins. I would agree with that. However, this is still a rookie quarterback. And while it was a good start, there are plenty of areas Levis still needs to improve on. It’s also hard to imagine the Titans suddenly become a pass-heavy offense. They’re still going to lean on the run game and Derrick Henry as the focal point. Even in Week 8, Levis only threw 29 times. And Hopkins’ 22% target share was one of his lowest of the season. That’s not going to get the job done more often than not. 

Again, I do believe Levis will be a positive for Hopkins. But, that positive was massively exaggerated in Week 8. I tend to think Hopkins will be closer to what he was over the first seven weeks than anything. So if there’s someone in your league who is pumped up about this performance and thinks Will Levis is going to unlock the old DeAndre Hopkins, then take advantage and sell high.

Bonus Buys

• Dalton Schultz 

• Chig Okonkwo

Bonus Sells

• Justin Jefferson 

• TJ Hockenson

• Jordan Addison

 

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