Fantasy Football Week 5: Tips, Trade Value Rankings for Top 100 Players

Everybody panic!

After a quarter of the NFL season, a slew of players with huge expectations coming into the season are struggling. October and November tend to be the months when fantasy owners start wheeling and dealing, so you may be wondering if it's time to sell on some disappointing players, buy on some other surprising options and what sort of deals you should be looking to make in either scenario.

If you find yourself in this boat, my weekly fantasy football trade chart is here to help.

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

So, what exactly is up with Todd Gurley, Odell Beckham Jr., DeAndre Hopkins, Dez Bryant, Amari Cooper and Rob Gronkowski? And is it time to start panic selling?

The first answer will take some analysis. The second answer is "No, not yet. Don't...sell...low!" But let's start with the analysis.

We have to start with Gurley because, honestly, his slow start may be the biggest surprise in all of fantasy football. After Week 3, it appeared he was back on track after rushing for 85 yards and two touchdowns. And then on Sunday, he rushed 19 times for just 33 yards. He's averaging just 2.6 yards per carry.

The panic is building.

The fact is teams to this point of the season simply haven't feared Case Keenum in the passing game. Keenum did throw for 266 yards and two scores last week, but nobody is going to suddenly confuse him for Aaron Rodgers.

But here's the thing: Other running backs are facing stacked boxes and are still managing to be more productive than Gurley, as Scott Barrett of Pro Football Focus tweeted:

So did Gurley just forget how to run the ball?

No, of course not. His offensive line is playing poorly and isn't generating a push against stacked boxes. The playing-calling has been...uninspired. And teams are building game plans to slow down Gurley and daring the rest of the Rams offense to beat them.

The Rams offense isn't beating anyone. The Rams defense, on the other hand, has been excellent, hence the team's 3-1 record. And so Gurley continues to struggle.

"As long as I keep winning, I can care less," Gurley told Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. "It don’t even matter to me.”

It matters to fantasy junkies, though.

Perhaps some relief is coming. Gonzalez suspects the Rams will continue to employ Gurley in the passing game more often, as they did in Sunday's win. At this point, fantasy owners will take production in any way they can get. So don't give up on Gurley just yet. You'd be selling low anyway, and honestly, the Rams would be crazy not to find creative ways to get their best weapon more production.

Then there is Beckham, who apparently isn't enjoying himself these days.

"Football is my sanctuary," Beckham told ESPN.com's Anita Marks. "It's where I go to escape. It's where I'm most happy. I'm not having fun anymore."

He added: "What I'm communicating, we're not doing. I'm not getting the opportunities to contribute, and that's frustrating to me."

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

His fantasy owners are frustrated, too. Beckham has yet to score a touchdown, has exceeded 100 receiving yards just once on the season and, at this point, seems easily rattled. Even his quarterback, Eli Manning, acknowledged that Beckham needed to "be aware" that people are going to attempt to get under his skin and added that, "He's got to play smart."

The New York Giants are smart enough to know that they need Beckham heavily involved in the offense, even if his public comments about his role irked a few folks. Beckham is unquestionably the team's most dynamic playmaker, and the Giants aren't going to compete for an NFC East crown unless they get him going.

So he'll rebound. Stay patient.

The reason to have optimism that Hopkins will get going, meanwhile, is that Will Fuller has continued to produce. Teams aren't going to simply be able to lock down Hopkins with Fuller also capable of torching them.

Is it a concern that Fuller has one more target, two more receptions and 96 more receiving yards after four games? 

Maybe. It's possible Fuller has established a better rapport with quarterback Brock Osweiler early in the season. But, like Beckham, Hopkins is a dynamic talent who the Texans will continue to involve heavily in the offense. It's hard to imagine many more stretches where Hopkins only accumulates five fantasy points in a two-week stretch going forward.

As for Bryant and Gronkowski, there is some uncertainty, as injuries are involved and neither player has had his starting quarterback to this point. If you can buy low on Gronk, I'd do it, though I certainly wouldn't sell low on him. Bryant's injury concerns make him more of an unknown, as does Romo's injury. If you can get a good package for him, I'd consider shipping him off your team.

Finally, what to make of Michael Crabtree seemingly surpassing Amari Cooper as Derek Carr's favorite receiver?

Player	Catches	Yards	TD	Targets	Fantasy Points
Michael Crabtree	26	308	4	37	55
Amari Cooper	20	318	0	35	32

The obvious difference between the two players is touchdowns. It has to be worrying Cooper fans that Carr has now thrown nine touchdown passes and none have been to Cooper, especially since seven of them have been in the red zone and three of those red-zone scores have gone to Crabtree.

Does Carr trust Crabtree more in the red zone? Or is it just bad luck and game flow that has dictated Cooper's lack of touchdown production?

Well, consider this. Last year, Carr threw 10 touchdowns within the red zone and just two went to Cooper. So since being drafted by the Raiders, Cooper has accounted for just two of the 19 touchdowns Carr has thrown in the red zone. 

If Cooper is going to score, it will probably come from longer throws down the field. Given that he only scored six touchdowns a season ago, compared to nine for Crabtree, we may be looking at a trend, with Crabtree looking like the more valuable receiver in Oakland. Cooper will still be productive, and he's obviously young so a major breakthrough could be on the horizon, but he's starting to look more like a flex than the high-end WR2 he was drafted to be.

In other words, selling on him isn't crazy.

Another player I don't think it's crazy to sell on is LeGarrette Blount. Yes, he's been awesome to start the season, but the New England Patriots have also relied on the running game heavily with Tom Brady suspended. Now that Brady's back, expect the Patriots to start throwing the ball a whole lot more (and for players like Julian Edelman to have a major production spike).

As you can see, I factored that into my assessment of Blount on the chart. I have him valued as a six, but if we were only valuing his production to this point, he'd probably be in the nine range. So, if you want to sell, here are some packages you should be shooting for:

• Jordan Reed and Travis Benjamin
• Stefon Diggs and Ryan Mathews
• Jarvis Landry and Kyle Rudolph
• Jimmy Graham and Willie Snead

Meanwhile, I think his actual value is more like the following deals:

• Julius Thomas and Philip Rivers
• DeSean Jackson and Eric Ebron
• Tyler Eifert and Victor Cruz

Blount will still have value. He's the team's best short-yardage and between-the-tackles runner. But with Brady starting a full slate of games last year, Blount rushed for over 100 yards just once in 12 contests. 

I expect him to return to the land of the flex options. I don't see him as the RB1 he's been to this point in the season going forward. 

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