Fantasy Football Week 7: Examining Trade Value for This Year's Top 100 Players

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a great fantasy trade is in the eye of the owner pulling the trigger.

Ultimately, a player's value in fantasy will come down to a number of factors. Some of them should be objective. Is that player producing? Does he have a history of producing? Is he injury-prone, stuck in a position platoon or inconsistent?

But some factors are subjective. We've all had players who have bombed for us before turning things around the next year. That won't change the fact that you'll always be wary of that player now. 

So ultimately, my weekly trade chart should always be treated as a guide, and certainly not as scripture. This is to give you a general idea of how a player should be valued in a trade so you don't get yourself ripped off. But if a trade doesn't feel right to you, don't make it, even if the chart says otherwise. Trust your gut.

OK, now to the chart.

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

As always, let's take an in-depth look at one player so we can go over the thought process in determining his trade value and whether you should be clamoring to trade for him or rushing to sell him.

This week, the question haunting me is this: What to make of Russell Wilson?

The quarterback drafted by many to anchor their fantasy teams is averaging a disappointing 13.8 points per game this year and has exceeded 20 fantasy points in a game just once. Wilson isn't playing particularly poorly—he's completing 65.9 percent of his passes and has thrown just one interception—but his five touchdown passes on the season and 35 rushing yards have severely minimized his fantasy value.

To put that in context, Wilson threw for five touchdown passes in a game twice last season, and he rushed for 31 yards in Week 1 alone in 2015.

So what is going on? And will Wilson's value stabilize, or is he going to end up a bust this season?

The first answer is an easy one. As Gregg Bell of the News Tribune wrote: "Wilson has played all but the first two quarters of the first game Sept. 11 with either a sprained right ankle or a sprained ligament in his left knee. That has all but eliminated the quarterback’s running."

Bell added:

"

He’s not even running on pass plays this season, partly why Seattle is throwing more passes. He has scrambled for just one first down. Last year he scrambled for 19 first downs. 

Wilson looked more mobile last weekend against Atlanta and said after the game.

"I felt great." But he was not at full speed – not with a brace still on his left knee, both ankles still heavily taped and him still doing rehabilitation on both legs.

[Pete] Carroll was asked Monday if Wilson was getting close to a health point that he can be more of a factor in the running game.

"Well, I don't know that it's a question about that," the coach said. "We are calling the plays. We are calling stuff, and then he's running boots (bootlegs) and nakeds (bootlegs with no blockers) and stuff like that, scrambles and all that. 

"We are in the middle of it. He should be OK."

"

A season ago, Wilson rushed for 553 yards and a touchdown, which represented 61.3 fantasy points. That's six points per game, or the difference between Wilson finishing third in the quarterback rankings and 15th.

Yes, the fact that Wilson threw for 4,024 yards and 34 touchdowns, both career highs, was ultimately the reason he had so much value. But his ability to produce on the ground separated him from the good fantasy quarterbacks and made him a great one. 

Until he is able to make plays more consistently with his legs, Wilson will be a low-end QB1 and even a QB2 against tough matchups. So if you sell now, you are selling incredibly low. And keep one other thing in mind—in his last seven games last year, Wilson exploded, throwing for 24 touchdowns. At any moment, he could get hot again and carry you to a championship.

Don't give up on Wilson yet. Just make sure you have a nice backup waiting in the wings. His value should stabilize, but fantasy is hardly a game of guarantees.

If you are desperate to deal him, though, what can you expect to get in return? Here are a few deals that reflect his current value: 

• Kyle Rudolph and Giovani Bernard
• DeSean Jackson and Matt Asiata
• Jeremy Maclin and Coby Fleener
• Martellus Bennett and the Minnesota defense

Do any of those deals feel particularly appealing? Of course not. Wilson's value is low right now. And until it stabilizes, smart owners will do one of two things: hold on to him or look to buy him at a discount rate. 

If you truly believe he's going to be poor from a fantasy perspective all season, by all means, sell him off. But make peace with the fact that you won't be getting a great return unless Randy the Seahawks Fan at your job has a Wilson Fathead in his office and utilizes the "only draft Seahawks" fantasy philosophy. 

Don't be Randy, you guys. Randy isn't winning titles. 

A few more thoughts:

• Antonio Brown's fantasy value takes a slight dip as long as Ben Roethlisberger is injured, but probably not a huge dip. As Matt Franciscovich of NFL.com wrote: "In [Landry] Jones' only true start last season in which he actually knew he'd be the starter, got all of the first-team reps in practice and finished the game, Brown piled up 124 receiving yards. Jones is obviously not Big Ben, but he should be able to keep Brown's fantasy value afloat for the time being." I tend to agree with that assessment.
• For all of the angst about Aaron Rodgers, he's still averaging 18 fantasy points per game. We're talking about the guy who has thrown for 4,000 or more yards five times in his career and 30 or more touchdowns five times as well. Fantasy owners need not panic.
• A week ago, I was high on Jordan Howard. Then he rushed for just 34 yards on 15 carries, salvaging his week with a touchdown. Ka'Deem Carey, meanwhile, rushed nine times for 50 yards. Howard should be in starting lineups, at least as a flex, but let's not anoint him an RB1 just yet.
• Lamar Miller has been good all season. In Week 6, he was great. Expect more of the latter the rest of the season.
• Keep an eye on Michael Thomas in New Orleans. He may play himself into the WR2 role in that offense behind Brandin Cooks, displacing Willie Snead. He has 70 or more receiving yards in two of the Saints' last three games and a touchdown in three straight contests.
• Hunter Henry is legit. In a San Diego offense without Keenan Allen and Danny Woodhead—and with Antonio Gates well past his prime—Henry looks like the sleeper of the year at tight end for fantasy owners. He's a player you absolutely should target in trades.

Those are my thoughts. And as always, may the fantasy points be with you!

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