Trades You Need To Make In Fantasy Football Before Week 9
Trade Targets For Fantasy Football Week 9
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: All The Usage Data From Week 8
Buy All Colts
RIP Anthony Richardson. That was a fun dream. Imagining Richardson being a Cam Newton-Josh Allen hybrid was the dream of all dreams. Unfortunately, Richardson regressed in a big way from year one to year two. He completed more than 50% of his passes just one time this season and that came in a game that he exited after four attempts. He completed just 20 of 56 attempts (35.7%) over the last two weeks. It was brutal. His complete incompetence as a passer was dragging his pass catchers into the mud right alongside him.
But worry no more—Joe Flacco szn is here!
Flacco completely changes this offense. He opens up everything. He can complete his passes at a league average (or better) rate and he can push the ball down the field to his playmakers. Michael Pittman’s only 100-yard game and his two touchdowns came from the arm of Joe Flacco. Josh Downs combined for 30 targets, 217 yards, and two touchdowns in three games with Flacco. Even Alec Pierce had a 134-yard game in one of Flacco’s starts. Adonai Mitchell’s best performance? Week 5 with Joe Flacco.
Flacco attempted 44 and 38 passes in his two starts. He completed 67% of them. Much like his time with the Browns last season, the Colts coaches trust him to throw the ball at high volume. That volume, paired with competent quarterback play, will equal money for our fantasy assets. Buy Michael Pittman. Buy Josh Downs. You can even stash Pierce and Mitchell in some leagues.
As for running back Jonathan Taylor—we want him too. Sure, the move to Flacco might mean more pass volume, but it also means improved offensive efficiency, extended drives, and more trips to the red zone. There will be more opportunities for everyone to score fantasy points, including Taylor. The running backs are often the last position discussed when a team upgrades the quarterback position—everyone wants the receivers—but they get an equal, if not greater, bump in fantasy value for all the reasons I just listed. So yes, go buy Jonathan Taylor, too.
Buy Rome Odunze
I will continue to push Rome Odunze as a buy, as a waiver wire pickup, and as a must-stash. Whatever category he falls into for your league, make sure he is on your roster. Admittedly, the Bears pass attack took a slight step back in Week 8 after they had been surging prior to the bye. However, the usage has been very encouraging for the No. 9 overall pick. Oduzne has been above a 20% target share in three of the last five games. That included Week 8 when he led the Bears in receptions and receiving yards and he carried the ball twice. It only added up to 54 total yards but encouraging nonetheless.
Outside of the Commanders game which was just a weird one on both sides, the Bears offense had been improving over the prior few weeks. D’Andre Swift got going. Caleb Williams got going. Getting their stud rookie receiver on track seems like the natural next step. In fact, some of Odunze’s underlying metrics have been impressive. He’s top-20 among wide receivers in snap share and red zone targets, and he’s top-24 in unrealized air yards. His 112 yards in Week 3 vs the Colts are the most by any Bears pass catcher this season.
We know he has the talent. We know his quarterback does too. It’s only a matter of time before the connection gets hot and we get a mega breakout. We see rookies smash in the second half of their first season all the time. That’s not even considering the contingent upside he provides in the case of a DJ Moore or Keenan Allen injury where the target share would consolidate and Odunze would become a focal point of the offense. And looking ahead, the Bears schedule presents juicy shootout after juicy shootout in almost every week the rest of the way. Get Odunze while he’s dirt cheap and enjoy the rewards when he goes ‘boom’.
Buy Drake Maye
Remember when I talked up Drake Maye as a sleeper to stash at the end of your drafts this summer? Well, it’s happening. In his two full games since taking over the starting job in New England, Maye has scored over 20 fantasy points in each and finished as the QB10 and the QB7. Then in about half a game before sustaining a concussion in Week 8, Maye scored 11.5 fantasy points while rushing for nearly 50 yards and a touchdown. Not only is he getting it done for fantasy, he looks good doing it. He’s poised in the pocket, accurate with his throws, and isn’t afraid to tuck it and run. He leads all NFL quarterbacks in completion percentage under pressure and is no. 2 in deep ball completion rate.
With the Patriots in comeback mode more often than not, they will need to continue to lean on Maye and the passing game. He is only going to get better from here and could very likely finish the season as a top-10 quarterback in fantasy points per game. He’s currently in concussion protocol which should help you acquire him for cheap. This might be your last chance to do so.
Buy Xavier Worthy
Full transparency: I wrote up Xavier Worthy as a buy last week. Moments before publishing, the Chiefs traded for DeAndre Hopkins. Not having time to fully evaluate this new situation, I pulled him from the article. However, after analyzing this situation and gaining some information from Week 8, I am moving forward with recommending Worthy as a buy heading into Week 9.
Worthy’s role has been expanding over the last few weeks. He led all Chiefs wideouts in routes and had a team-high eight targets which was good enough for a 30% target share in Week 7. No other Chiefs wide receiver had more than two targets (7%). Worthy was also No. 3 in the league in Week 7 with 134 air yards which accounted for 62% of the team’s total air yards.
Then in Week 8, Worthy again had a healthy 21% target share. This time they connected for four catches, 37 yards, and a touchdown. It was still an underwhelming performance considering the eight targets and the explosive elements of Worthy’s game. The truly game-breaking plays haven’t hit yet.
Eventually they will. When that happens, you’re going to want him on your team. This is a playmaking wide receiver with 4.21 speed who has already flashed his explosive ability with several splash plays this season. Now that the usage is up, it’s only a matter of time before the boom weeks start coming in bunches.
Sell Kareem Hunt
Kareem Hunt has been a consistent fantasy contributor since taking over the Kansas City backfield after Isiah Pacheco broke his leg in Week 3. However, a lot of his fantasy production has come on touchdowns. He has scored four times in the last three games. That’s great, but it’s scary to think about what happens when the touchdown luck runs out. That’s because Hunt is about as inefficient as it gets. He’s outside the top-40 running backs in yards per carry and outside the top-50 in yards per touch, yards created per touch, and fantasy points per opportunity. Hunt is no. 31 in evaded tackles per touch and has yet to have a run of 15 yards or more on 84 carries.
He is completely riding the wave of the Kansas City offense. While it’s getting the job done for now, that magic can only last for so long. Eventually, he’s either going to breakdown, become completely ineffective, or cede the job to Isiah Pacheco when he returns sometime after Week 12. Either way, you’re not going to have Hunt for your championship run. So, if you’re in position to start looking ahead to the fantasy playoffs, you may want to cash out on this ticking time bomb while he has value.
Sell Diontae Johnson
The Diontae Johnson trade to the Ravens is fun for Lamar Jackson. It’s fun for Xavier Legette, too. But you know who it’s not fun for? Diontae Johnson. While he certainly gets an offensive upgrade and a massive boost at quarterback, Johnson now slides into an offense that already features Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers. We can’t forget about the resurgent Mark Andrews, either.
That’s not a situation that feels optimal for a newcomer to thrive right away, especially when we factor in how little the Ravens gave up to get him. They gave up a fifth round pick for Johnson and a sixth, a move that will be a net move down of about 15 picks. And the Panthers are paying most of Johnson’s remaining 2024 salary. Essentially the Ravens have nothing invested into Johnson which means this is a luxury addition, not a guy they’re going to force feed targets to.
I do think Johnson can have success in the Ravens offense, but this is a move that will benefit the real life team far more than our fantasy teams. We’re looking at WR3 level production (at best) rest of season. He may not be a “must sell,” but I know there are people in your league who are excited about this move and will expect high-end production. Sell Johnson to them.
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RANKINGS | WEEKLY | DYNASTY | ROS
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