Fantasy Football Week 3: Examining Trade Value for This Year's Top 100 Players

In fantasy football, I normally live by a pretty simple rule when ascribing value for players who seem to be blowing up all of the sudden:

• One great (or terrible) game may be a fluke.
• Two great (or terrible) games in a row mean a player is worth further exploring and analyzing.
• Three great (or terrible) games in a row are a trend and likely indicative of that player's future potential worth.

Of course, heading into Week 3, we are still on the second week of analysis with many players, so my trade values aren't going to change too drastically from last week—or from my draft rankings from before the season.

But we will take a look at a few players trending up or down and try to establish whether their current forms will be the norm or if they'll normalize going forward. 

Rank	Position Rank	Player	Position	Team	Trade Value
Rank	Position Rank	Player	Position	Team	Trade Value
Rank	Position Rank	Player	Position	Team	Trade Value
Rank	Position Rank	Player	Position	Team	Trade Value
Rank	Position Rank	Player	Position	Team	Trade Value
Rank	Position Rank	Player	Position	Team	Trade Value
Rank	Position Rank	Player	Position	Team	Trade Value
Rank	Position Rank	Player	Position	Team	Trade Value
Rank	Position Rank	Player	Position	Team	Trade Value
Rank	Position Rank	Player	Position	Team	Trade Value
1	1	Antonio Brown	WR	Pittsburgh Steelers	11
2	1	David Johnson	RB	Arizona Cardinals	11
3	2	Le'Veon Bell	RB	Pittsburgh Steelers	11
4	3	Lamar Miller	RB	Houston Texans	11
5	4	C.J. Anderson	RB	Denver Broncos	11
6	5	Todd Gurley	RB	St. Louis Rams	11
7	6	Matt Forte	RB	New York Jets	11
8	2	Odell Beckham Jr.	WR	New York Giants	10
9	3	Julio Jones	WR	Atlanta Falcons	10
10	4	A.J. Green	WR	Cincinnati Bengals	10
11	1	Rob Gronkowski	TE	New England Patriots	10
12	7	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	Dallas Cowboys	9
13	8	Mark Ingram	RB	New Orleans Saints	9
14	9	LeSean McCoy	RB	Buffalo Bills	9
15	10	DeMarco Murray	RB	Tennessee Titans	9
16	5	DeAndre Hopkins	WR	Houston Texans	9
17	6	Allen Robinson	WR	Jacksonville Jaguars	9
18	7	Kelvin Benjamin	WR	Carolina Panthers	9
19	2	Jordan Reed	TE	Washington	8
20	1	Cam Newton	QB	Carolina Panthers	8
21	2	Aaron Rodgers	QB	Green Bay Packers	8
22	11	Spencer Ware	RB	Kansas City Chiefs	8
23	12	Jamaal Charles	RB	Kansas City Chiefs	7
24	8	Jordy Nelson	WR	Green Bay Packers	7
25	9	Brandon Marshall	WR	New York Jets	7
26	10	Dez Bryant	WR	Dallas Cowboys	7
27	11	Alshon Jeffery	WR	Chicago Bears	7
28	12	Mike Evans	WR	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	7
29	13	Brandin Cooks	WR	New Orleans Saints	7
30	13	Melvin Gordon	RB	San Diego Chargers	6
31	14	Latavius Murray	RB	Oakland Raiders	6
32	15	Ryan Mathews	RB	Philadelphia Eagles	6
33	16	Carlos Hyde	RB	San Francisco 49ers	6
34	17	LeGarrette Blount	RB	New England Patriots	6
35	14	Amari Cooper	WR	Oakland Raiders	6
36	15	Larry Fitzgerald	WR	Arizona Cardinals	6
37	16	Eric Decker	WR	New York Jets	6
38	17	Stefon Diggs	WR	Minnesota Vikings	6
39	18	Doug Baldwin	WR	Seattle Seahawks	6
40	3	Andrew Luck	QB	Indianapolis Colts	6
41	4	Russell Wilson	QB	Seattle Seahawks	6
42	3	Greg Olsen	TE	Carolina Panthers	6
43	19	Demaryius Thomas	WR	Denver Broncos	5
44	20	Jordan Matthews	WR	Philadelphia Eagles	5
45	21	Julian Edelman	WR	New England Patriots	5
46	22	Sammy Watkins	WR	Buffalo Bills	5
47	23	Mike Wallace	WR	Baltimore Ravens	5
48	18	Doug Martin	RB	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5
49	19	Jonathan Stewart	RB	Carolina Panthers	5
50	20	Matt Jones	RB	Washington	5
51	21	Isaiah Crowell	RB	Cleveland Browns	5
52	22	Eddie Lacy	RB	Green Bay Packers	5
53	5	Drew Brees	QB	New Orleans Saints	5
54	6	Ben Roethlisberger	QB	Pittsburgh Steelers	5
55	4	Travis Kelce	TE	Kansas City Chiefs	4
56	5	Julius Thomas	TE	Jackonsville Jaguars	4
57	6	Zach Ertz	TE	Philadelphia Eagles	4
58	7	Delanie Walker	TE	Tennessee Titans	4
59	24	T.Y. Hilton	WR	Indianapolis Colts	4
60	25	Randall Cobb	WR	Green Bay Packers	4
61	26	Jeremy Maclin	WR	Kansas City Chiefs	4
62	27	Jarvis Landry	WR	Miami Dolphins	4
63	28	DeSean Jackson	WR	Washington	4
64	29	Allen Hurns	WR	Jacksonville Jaguars	4
65	30	Michael Crabtree	WR	Oakland Raiders	4
66	31	Josh Gordon	WR	Cleveland Browns	4
67	7	Carson Palmer	QB	Arizona Cardinals	4
68	8	Tom Brady	QB	New England Patriots	4
69	32	Willie Snead	WR	New Orleans Saints	3
70	33	Travis Benjamin	WR	San Diego Chargers	3
71	23	Jeremy Hill	RB	Cincinnati Bengals	3
72	24	Giovani Bernard	RB	Cincinnati Bengals	3
73	25	Devonta Freeman	RB	Atlanta Falcons	3
74	26	Tevin Coleman	RB	Atlanta Falcons	3
75	27	Thomas Rawls	RB	Seattle Seahawks	3
76	28	Christine Michael	RB	Seattle Seahawks	3
77	29	Arian Foster	RB	Miami Dolphins	3
78	30	Theo Riddick	RB	Detroit Lions	3
79	8	Dwayne Allen	TE	Indianapolis Colts	3
80	9	Eric Ebron	TE	Detroit Lions	3
81	10	Tyler Eifert	TE	Cincinnati Bengals	3
82	31	Frank Gore	RB	Indianapolis Colts	3
83	32	Rashad Jennings	RB	New York Giants	3
84	33	Matt Asiata	RB	Minnesota Vikings	3
85	34	Jeremy Langford	RB	Chicago Bears	2
86	35	T.J. Yeldon	RB	Jacksonville Jaguars	2
87	36	DeAngelo Williams	RB	Pittsburgh Steelers	2
88	9	Derek Carr	QB	Oakland Raiders	2
89	10	Matt Ryan	QB	Atlanta Falcons	2
90	11	Eli Manning	QB	New York Giants	2
91	34	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	Denver Broncos	2
92	35	Golden Tate	WR	Detroit Lions	2
93	36	Marvin Jones	WR	Detroit Lions	2
94	37	Will Fuller	WR	Houston Texans	2
95	38	Tavon Austin	WR	St. Louis Rams	2
96	11	Jimmy Graham	TE	Seattle Seahawks	2
97	39	Sterling Shepard	WR	New York Giants	2
98	40	Victor Cruz	WR	New York Giants	2
99	41	Michael Floyd	WR	Arizona Cardinals	2
100	37	Charles Sims	RB	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2

Running back remains fantasy football's most combustible position. And perhaps the most pressing question in all of fantasy at the moment is a big one: What to make of Todd Gurley?

The Los Angeles Rams' second-year star running back was a top-five pick in most leagues, but he's mustered just 98 rushing yards on 36 carries, adding two receptions for 14 yards. The workload is a positive—despite a floundering offense, the Rams aren't shying away from getting him the ball, as he's averaging 19 touches a game—but the horrendous quarterback play and the lack of many other dynamic weapons mean teams are keying on Gurley.

Indeed, the Rams have scored just nine points total in two games, and neither Case Keenum nor Jared Goff is striking fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators. In turn, teams can stack the box against the Rams, keeping Gurley from getting untracked.

That surely has fantasy owners worried, though the Rams aren't as concerned, as Keenum told Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com:

"

Todd is going to get going. It's Todd. Just continue to operate how we are. I think the passing game and running game are going to complement each other. I think we are doing a good job of marrying some of those plays. I'm excited to see him continue to go because I know he's hungry. I thought he played well [Sunday]. We're going to rely on him a lot moving forward.

"

I tend to side with Keenum on this one. Gurley is too talented to be held in check all season long, and he may get going against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team already allowing 19.5 fantasy points to opposing running backs per week (27th in the NFL). 

If Gurley can't get it going against the Bucs, feel free to begin panicking.

I might be panicking when it comes to players like Eddie Lacy, Arian Foster, Devonta Freeman and Thomas Rawls, however. 

• Lacy: Quite simply, he hasn't played well. Twelve fantasy points in two games isn't exactly desirable.
• Foster: He can't stay healthy.
• Freeman: Tevin Coleman is going to steal snaps and touches from him all season long. Freeman has been given 32 touches and turned them into 13 fantasy points. Coleman has been given 27 touches and produced 23 fantasy points. Coleman isn't going away, folks.
• Rawls: Injuries have plagued him early in the season, and Christine Michael (25 carries for 126 yards) has looked better anyway.

I wouldn't recommend trading these guys away, since their values are super low, but I'd hesitate to trade for any of them outside of Lacy, either, since he's the only player to this point who isn't being hampered either by injury concerns or a timeshare situation.

But running back hasn't been all doom and gloom. A few players—namely Melvin Gordon, C.J. Anderson, DeMarco Murray, Matt Forte, Isaiah Crowell and LeGarrette Blount—have been revelations. 

So, which of these players can sustain their good fortunes?

Gordon is a mixed bag. On one hand, 52 percent of his fantasy points this season have come from his three touchdowns. He's currently on pace to reach the end zone 24 times. That obviously isn't sustainable.

On the other hand, with Danny Woodhead's recent ACL tear, Gordon is now potentially going to see even more touches and a bigger workload. Gordon already has 41 touches after two weeks. It's safe to assume he'll be getting right around 20 or more touches a game going forward.

Anderson, meanwhile, is going to be Denver's workhorse. The Broncos aren't going to throw the ball as often or as successfully as they did a few years back with Peyton Manning. Anderson's 40 carries for 166 yards and two touchdowns on the ground aren't a fluke—he's poised for a big year.

Murray may eventually end up losing more touches to rookie Derrick Henry, but for now, he's the team's starting running back and is producing. He's worth monitoring due to the presence of Henry, but Murray seems trustworthy for now.

If you believe Henry will eventually earn a more even split of the playing time, however, here are some fair returns for Murray:

• Alshon Jeffery and Jimmy Graham
• Greg Olsen and Willie Snead
• Andrew Luck and Eric Ebron
• Jordan Matthews and Julius Thomas
• Demaryius Thomas and Carson Palmer

Forte has been excellent his entire career and is on a better offense with the New York Jets than he had last year in Chicago. He's also worth monitoring for the wear and tear on his 30-year-old body, but he's shown little sign of slowing down just yet and looks like a safe RB1.

Cleveland can't keep its quarterbacks healthy, so Crowell is worrisome, if only because teams probably aren't going to fear Cody Kessler and will stack the box. Crowell has been inconsistent in his career, as well, so don't overvalue him just yet.

Matt Camp of Bleacher Report agrees:

And then there's Blount, who has been awesome for the Patriots but will probably be fed the rock less regularly once quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski return and the Pats rely more heavily on the passing game. He's a solid RB2 for now, but things may change for Blount come Week 5.

As for the other positions, the player of the week was Stefon Diggs, who continues to thrive in Minnesota. 

"He's just kind of one of those guys," Diggs' new quarterback, Sam Bradford, told Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune after the Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers. "When I first got here and started watching tape, he just kind of popped. You just kind of notice him. He's always getting separation, he seems to always be finding a way to get open. Then tonight, he was pretty much unstoppable out there tonight."

Indeed, his numbers on the year are staggering—16 catches for 285 yards and a touchdown. 

More importantly, Diggs has looked polished, already seems to have an excellent rapport with Bradford—who has only been with the team for a few weeks—and doesn't have a real threat in Minnesota to take targets away from him. Plus, with Adrian Peterson out of commission, the team may turn to the passing game with more regularity.

Diggs is for real. If he's somehow available in your league, claim him. And it can't hurt to float a lowball offer to a fantasy owner in your league who had the foresight to draft him.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter. All points against and fantasy stats via ESPN.