Fantasy Football Week 1: Examining Trade Market for Top 100 Flex Players

Fortune favors the bold, so don't be afraid to make a major trade or two if you're looking to upgrade your fantasy football roster during the course of the 2016 season.

When he was head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jimmy Johnson famously created a table giving certain point values to each draft pick. Since then, writers and team executives have tweaked the format in order to more accurately weigh every selection.

Taking the same general approach would be an advisable strategy as you look to maximize the worth of any fantasy assets you're willing to deal.

Just as no perfect way exists to evaluate the worth of a draft pick, the table below is far from the definitive ranking of the trade values for the top 100 flex players. Instead, it serves as a general framework to consider when you're judging the worth of one player against another:

Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers	10
2	Todd Gurley	Los Angeles Rams	10
3	Odell Beckham Jr.	New York Giants	10
4	Adrian Peterson	Minnesota Vikings	10
5	Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons	10
6	David Johnson	Arizona Cardinals	10
7	Ezekiel Elliott	Dallas Cowboys	10
8	DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans	9
9	Devonta Freeman	Atlanta Falcons	9
10	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	9
11	Allen Robinson	Jacksonville Jaguars	9
12	Lamar Miller	Houston Texans	9
13	Doug Martin	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	8
14	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay Packers	8
15	Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys	8
16	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals	8
17	Le'Veon Bell	Pittsburgh Steelers	8
18	Jordy Nelson	Green Bay Packers	7
19	Brandon Marshall	New York Jets	7
20	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos	7
21	Mark Ingram	New Orleans Saints	7
22	LeSean McCoy	Buffalo Bills	6
23	Brandin Cooks	New Orleans Saints	6
24	Alshon Jeffery	Chicago Bears	6
25	Mike Evans	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6
26	Carlos Hyde	San Francisco 49ers	6
27	Sammy Watkins	Buffalo Bills	5
28	Jamaal Charles	Kansas City Chiefs	5
29	C.J. Anderson	Denver Broncos	5
30	Keenan Allen	San Diego Chargers	5
31	Thomas Rawls	Seattle Seahawks	5
32	Amari Cooper	Oakland Raiders	5
33	Jonathan Stewart	Carolina Panthers	5
34	T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts	4
35	Jordan Reed	Washington Redskins	4
36	Jarvis Landry	Miami Dolphins	4
37	Jeremy Hill	Cincinnati Bengals	4
38	Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	4
39	Jeremy Langford	Chicago Bears	4
40	Doug Baldwin	Seattle Seahawks	4
41	Matt Forte	New York Jets	4
42	Julian Edelman	New England Patriots	4
43	Kelvin Benjamin	Carolina Panthers	4
44	DeMarco Murray	Tennessee Titans	4
45	Jeremy Maclin	Kansas City Chiefs	4
46	Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers	4
47	Michael Floyd	Arizona Cardinals	4
48	Golden Tate	Detroit Lions	3
49	Eric Decker	New York Jets	3
50	Ryan Mathews	Philadelphia Eagles	3
51	Donte Moncrief	Indianapolis Colts	3
52	John Brown	Arizona Cardinals	3
53	Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos	3
54	Melvin Gordon	San Diego Chargers	3
55	Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	3
56	Latavius Murray	Oakland Raiders	3
57	T.J. Yeldon	Jacksonville Jaguars	3
58	Frank Gore	Indianapolis Colts	3
59	DeSean Jackson	Washington Redskins	3
60	Delanie Walker	Tennessee Titans	3
61	Matt Jones	Washington Redskins	2
62	Duke Johnson	Cleveland Browns	2
63	Rashad Jennings	New York Giants	2
64	Ameer Abdullah	Detroit Lions	2
65	Danny Woodhead	San Diego Chargers	2
66	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals	2
67	Allen Hurns	Jacksonville Jaguars	2
68	Marvin Jones	Detroit Lions	2
69	Jordan Matthews	Philadelphia Eagles	2
70	Kevin White	Chicago Bears	2
71	Chris Ivory	Jacksonville Jaguars	2
72	Arian Foster	Miami Dolphins	2
73	DeVante Parker	Miami Dolphins	2
74	Torrey Smith	San Francisco 49ers	2
75	Travis Kelce	Kansas City Chiefs	2
76	Michael Crabtree	Oakland Raiders	2
77	Tyler Lockett	Seattle Seahawks	2
78	Corey Coleman	Cleveland Browns	2
79	Tyler Eifert	Cincinnati Bengals	2
80	Justin Forsett	Baltimore Ravens	2
81	DeAngelo Williams	Pittsburgh Steelers	2
82	Derrick Henry	Tennessee Titans	2
83	Sterling Shepard	New York Giants	2
84	Willie Snead	New Orleans Saints	2
85	Stefon Diggs	Minnesota Vikings	2
86	Tavon Austin	Los Angeles Rams	1
87	Josh Gordon	Cleveland Browns	1
88	Coby Fleener	New Orleans Saints	1
89	Jay Ajayi	Miami Dolphins	1
90	Bilal Powell	New York Jets	1
91	LeGarrette Blount	New England Patriots	1
92	Vincent Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1
93	Gary Barnidge	Cleveland Browns	1
94	Charles Sims	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1
95	Theo Riddick	Detroit Lions	1
96	Devin Funchess	Carolina Panthers	1
97	Antonio Gates	San Diego Chargers	1
98	Will Fuller	Houston Texans	1
99	Zach Ertz	Philadelphia Eagles	1
100	Michael Thomas	New Orleans Saints	1

Jamaal Charles and Le'Veon Bell are among the names that likely stand out since they're listed lower than where many expect them to finish the season in fantasy points. The fact is, their respective trade values are about as low as they'll get this season.

Bell will miss the first three games of the season through suspension. If you acquire him now, he's not going to provide the kind of immediate return Devonta Freeman, David Johnson and Ezekiel Elliott would.

The Pittsburgh Steelers running back is also coming off a torn MCL, which is worrying to some extent. But he didn't miss a beat after his two-game suspension last year, and a similarly hot start could be on the cards in 2016.

At the moment, though, Bell's value is depressed since he'll have to ride the pine for the next three weeks. Once he is back on the field, it'll return to normal.

Charles' start to the year is likely to be delayed as he continues recovering from a torn ACL.

"I think it's a stretch for him to play Sunday," Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Monday, per ESPN.com's Adam Teicher. "We'll see how it goes."

When Charles is healthy enough to return, Reid may be a bit cautious with his workload. With Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware in the backfield, Kansas City has plenty of depth to ease Charles back into a starting role.

There's too much volatility to consider Charles one of the best running backs on the trade market, but his reputation and track record make him a potentially worthwhile gamble for those owners willing to take a chance on the four-time Pro Bowler.

For the most part, now isn't the time to be making any major shakeups with your roster. Nobody has played a down of meaningful football, and a lot is bound to change, even through just the first couple of weeks in the regular season.

That doesn't mean you should decline every trade offer thrown your way, but remember, even safe bets can be anything but. Just ask owners who selected Charles, Eddie Lacy or Marshawn Lynch in the first round last year.