Fantasy Football Trade Value Chart Week 2: Wide Receivers

RSJ’s Jackson Barrett created a value-based drafting Excel tool to create the preseason values for this Fantasy Football Trade Value Chart. The tool uses the FantasyPros consensus projections to assign values based on a 12-team, full PPR league.

Each week throughout the season, these values will be altered to reflect the player’s value for the rest of the season. Changes made to player’s value will be based on FantasyPros Rest of Season ECR, results from the season thus far, and The Wolf’s Rest of Season Rankings. But for the most part, the below values should generally reflect consensus rankings. The values provided also allow for comparing player values across positions, not just within one positional group.

For more information on how to make successful deals, check out our strategies for negotiating trades.

Be sure to tune back each week throughout the season. We’ll be adjusting the chart, discussing risers & fallers, and pinpointing trade targets.

The trade value chart for each position is linked below.

Fantasy Football Week 2 Trade Value Chart: Wide Receivers

Wide Receiver Risers

Hopefully, you bought the dip on Rashee Rice. The way Rice dominates on short, quick routes is truly just a joy to watch. Rice frequently dominates his opposition and earns targets at a high rate as a result. Check out these stats pulled by RSJ’s very own Liam “Dortcher Chamber” Boyle.

Do you know what high-level target earners do in offenses with Patrick Mahomes? Score fantasy points in droves. Rice has posted elite levels of efficiency since becoming a full-time player in the latter stages of the 2023 season.

Rice has the talent and peripheral metrics of an elite receiver in fantasy. It’s time that he’s treated as such.

It’s a joy to admire what Rice is able to do to defenders out of the slot. But it might be more entertaining to watch Cooper Kupp do the exact same thing. Kupp was in vintage form on Sunday Night Football, decimating defenders at will.

Kupp put up some truly ridiculous numbers on Sunday night against the Lions. All you can do is sit back and laugh at his 43-percent target share and 51-percent air yards share. Kupp was back looking like his 2021 self and made it quite clear that his lacking production last year was due to his ailing health.

Kupp will now get at least four games without Puka Nacua on the field after he was placed on IR with a knee injury. Kupp has a very strong outlook even when Nacua returns, but when it’s just Kupp out there, he is one of the best options in fantasy.

Wide Receiver Fallers

It was a tough week for the vast majority of wide receivers. There were plenty of receivers who failed to live up to expectations, but Amari Cooper is one who really sticks out from the bunch. The fall for Cooper largely isn’t his fault either. Cooper had a respectable day outside of one bad drop.

Cooper earned targets at a respectable rate on Sunday and was clearly the focal point of the passing attack. The biggest issue is that Deshaun Watson seems to have lost all competency as a quarterback. Watson was trending in this direction before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery last year. Sunday all but confirmed the worst fears of Browns fans.

There is a sliver of hope that this was just a case of a slow start against a strong defense. Unless Watson makes some significant improvements in the coming weeks, Cooper will remain firmly in WR3 territory.

Another receiver whose fantasy value is taking a hit because of poor quarterback play is none other than Drake London. The hope was that Kirk Cousins would come in an provide the stability at quarterback that fantasy managers so desperately craved for London and Kyle Pitts.

Cousins was anything but reliable in his debut with the Falcons. He was a statue in the pocket, was inaccurate with his passes, and looked like he did not trust the foot/ankle that he had surgery on last year. Cousins seemed unwilling to full plant and push off of his right foot and it impacted multiple throws.

Not only did Cousins look bad, but London posted a measly 11-percent target share in Week 1. London is going to have to turn a few things around to get his season back on track. Unfortunately, one key component, the quarterback play, is out of London’s control.

Wide Receiver Trade Target

The fantasy community has always loved Chris Olave as a talent, as shown by his aggressive ADP in two consecutive years. The issue has always been the poor offensive environment in New Orleans.

The hope was that new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak would pull this offense out of the 2010s and make some positive changes. He did just that. It was just one game, against the Panthers, but the Saints looked like a strong offense that utilizes modern concepts.

Always look to invest in talented players in fantasy football. Kubiak seems like he can be the one to save Olave’s talent from being wasted.