Whether you won or lost in Week 1, working the trade market is essential to improving your roster. I previously outlined a detailed strategy on how to negotiate better trades, which could help you as early as this week.
Check out the players who are perfect Week 2 buy low, sell high trade targets.
Buy Low
Jonathan Taylor
Jonathan Taylor’s talent has never been in question: The man ran for 6,174 yards at Wisconsin in 3 years.
When Marlon Mack went down with an Achilles tear, Taylor inherited an incredible opportunity. He is now the unquestioned starting running back behind PFF’s top-ranked offensive line in the NFL. Even better, Philip Rivers LOVES targeting running backs, and Taylor hauled in all 6 of his targets for 67 yards in Week 1.
While Nyheim Hines will still play a factor in the passing game, Taylor combines insane talent with a massive opportunity both in the run and pass game. Check out CJay’s piece for a more detailed breakdown of Taylor’s Week 1, and get him now while you still can!
James Conner
James Conner’s night was derailed with an ankle injury in Week 1, but the injury does not look serious according to Dr. David Chao.
Benny Snell looked very good behind the Steelers offensive line on Monday night, but Mike Tomlin typically uses one bell-cow back.
"Our bell cow is James Conner." Mike Tomlin
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) September 8, 2020
While Snell has a chance to cut into Conner’s workload moving forward, Conner should come cheap on the trade market right now. Conner clearly comes with risk, but still has a good chance to remain a bell-cow back if he can put the ankle injury behind him.
Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell saw a team-high 25.6 percent target share in Week 1 against the Ravens, with a solid ADOT of 11.9 yards. As we all know, the Ravens have a strong cornerback duo and a strong defense overall.
While he finished with an ugly stat line of 3 catches for 22 yards, he did get 10 targets and drew two flags in coverage. Even if the Browns offense doesn’t set the world on fire this year, look for them to execute better against softer defenses, beginning this week against the Bengals.
Dak Prescott
Dak was tackled on the 1-yard line and battled a controversial offensive pass interference call on a deep completion late Sunday night. His 266 yard, 1 TD stat line could have looked a lot better with a bit more luck. He has a trio of great receivers, a solid offensive line, and rushing upside, which gives him a high ceiling moving forward.
Sell High
Dalvin Cook
I have no questions about Cook’s talent. He is one of the best backs in the NFL and is electric with the ball in his hands. However, according to Edwin Porras, DPT, his injury risk is greater than you might think.
He’s is also statistically one of the biggest injury risks among top-five fantasy running backs in the league. Theoretically, his chances of another ACL tear are approximately 20%. His chance of dislocation for one shoulder is 13%-26% and 40%-50% for the other.
Even if he is able to stay healthy, Cook only played 58 percent of the snaps in Week 1. After giving Cook a massive contract extension, the Vikings could be concerned with preserving his longevity by giving Mattison more touches.
“It’s tough to ignore Alexander Mattison who got half the number of carries that Cook did (6 to 12) but produced the same number of rushing yards as the Vikings workhorse,” wrote Jon Jackson. “Cook was saved by two touchdowns; however, we could be talking a very different narrative this week if one of those fell into Mattison’s hands.”
If you’re worried about Cook’s injury history or usage, you can sell now for an extremely high value.
Will Fuller
If you started Fuller in Week 1, you were rewarded with a solid outing. However, The Wolf himself has some concerns:
Keep in mind, six of eight receptions (75%) and 72 of his yards (65%) came during 4th quarter garbage time. The Chiefs were surrendering significant cushion to avoid the huge swing play. Brandin Cooks wasn’t on the field for the majority of this churn-fest, and was clearly less than 100% when out there.
To make matters worse, Fuller has to face Baltimore’s vaunted cornerback duo of Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters in Week 2. Then, things won’t get easier in Week 3 in Pittsburgh against Joe Haden and Steven Nelson.
If you’re looking to capitalize on his Week 1 performance, you may want to do so before this tough two-game stretch.
Nick Chubb
While Chubb disappointed in Week 1, he still holds significant value. He’s a supremely talented player and probably went in the first two rounds of your draft.
Nick Chubb: highest-graded RB pic.twitter.com/fleYdryosU
— PFF (@PFF) April 8, 2020
He was efficient in Week 1, gaining 66 totals yards on 10 carries and one catch, but the 11 touches are a major problem. On the other hand, Kareem Hunt saw 13 carries and 6 targets. Part of Hunt’s heavy usage might be due to game flow as the Browns were behind throughout the game and lost 38-6, but the Browns could be in store for many more blowouts this year.
Fortunately, the Browns are 6-point favorites over the Bengals on Thursday Night Football. A bounce-back performance from Chubb on Thursday night could provide a great opportunity to jump ship if you’re worried about his usage.
