Fantasy Football Week 1: Examining Trade Market for Top 100 Flex Players
We've all seen it happen—that one person in your league can't make the draft, has to take their chances with the autodraft feature and ends up with five quarterbacks and an incredibly imbalanced roster. Hilarity ensues.
But that person also desperately needs to hit the trade market to address needs across their roster, and that's where you swoop in, hoping to pry some value deals from a desperate player. Trades are tough at the beginning of the season, but with the return of the trade value chart below, you'll be in business.
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Trade Value: 20
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Trade Value: 19
2. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys
3. Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins
4. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings
Trade Value: 18
5. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons
6. Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets
7. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions
8. A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Trade Value: 17
9. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
10. Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
11. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Trade Value: 16
12. Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets
13. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions
14. Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
15. Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Trade Value: 15
16. Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams
17. Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
18. Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
19. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Trade Value: 14
20. Josh Jacobs, RB, Green Bay Packers
21. Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Trade Value: 13
22. Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts
23. Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons
24. Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
25. DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Trade Value: 12
26. Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
27. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
28. Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
29. James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills
30. Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Trade Value: 11
31. Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions
32. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
33. Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
34. De'Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins
35. D.J. Moore, WR, Chicago Bears
36. Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Trade Value: 10
37. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals
38. Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans
39. Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
40. Stefon Diggs, WR, Houston Texans
41. Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Trade Value: 9
42. DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
43. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
44. Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
45. Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns
46. Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens
47. Evan Engram, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
Trade Value: 8
48. C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans
49. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
50. Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
51. Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
52. Zamir White, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Trade Value: 7
53. Joe Mixon, RB, Houston Texans
54. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
55. Kenneth Walker II, RB, Seattle Seahawks
56. Raheem Mostert, RB, Miami Dolphins
57. Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
58. Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons
59. Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals
Trade Value: 6
60. Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
61. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
62. Christian Kirk, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
63. George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
64. Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts
65. Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers
Trade Value: 5
66. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
67. Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills
68. Jake Ferguson, TE, Dallas Cowboys
Trade Value: 4
69. D'Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears
70. James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals
71. David Montgomery, RB, Detroit Lions
72. J.K. Dobbins, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
73. Brian Robinson Jr., RB, Washington Commanders
74. Tony Pollard, RB, Tennessee Titans
75. Calvin Ridley, WR, Tennessee Titans
76. Jayden Reed, WR, Green Bay Packers
77. Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
78. Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
79. Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers
Trade Value: 3
80. Keenan Allen, WR, Chicago Bears
81. Devin Singletary, RB, New York Giants
82. Jerome Ford, RB, Cleveland Browns
83. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
84. Aaron Jones, RB, Minnesota Vikings
85. Zack Moss, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
86. David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns
87. Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
88. Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Trade Value: 2
89. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
90. Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos
91. Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
92. Aaron Rodgers, QB, New York Jets
93. Kirk Cousins, QB, Atlanta Falcons
94. Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
95. Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans
96. Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
97. Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
98. Tank Dell, WR, Houston Texans
99. Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
100. Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
Any players not listed have a trade value of one. Trade values determined using PPR scoring and projections.
The trade value chart before the start of the regular season is based purely on projections, so there might be a few players higher or lower than expected. Let's go through them.
Let's focus primarily on Anthony Richardson, arguably the most fascinating fantasy player heading into thi season. He has an average draft position of 57.5 in ESPN drafts and 47.4 in Yahoo drafts but comes in at No. 64 on the trade value chart. There are a few reasons for that.
To start, the trade value chart looks at value slightly different than standard projections, since there is a lot of depth at the position. In standard leagues last season, the difference between the No. 7 quarterback (Jared Goff) and the No. 19 quarterback (Geno Smith) was about 3.1 fantasy points per week. Once you get away from the elite options at the position, there is plenty of depth available, making those players less valuable in trades..
Now, the question is whether you think Richardson will be one of the elite options or more of a middle-of-the-road guy. In his four games last season, he averaged 18.2 fantasy points per contest. In a full 17-game season, that translates to 309.4 fantasy points, which last season would have ranked him sixth overall.
And the fantasy hype has followed:
A big chunk of that fantasy value, however, came from his 136 rushing yards and four scores. That playing style also contributed to a number of injuries that resulted in him appearing in just four games as a rookie. Taking the sort of big hits he endured last season, consistently, isn't sustainable going forward.
But has Richardson ever proven to be an elite passer only at either the college or professional level? As a passer last year, he threw for 577 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, which projects to 2,452 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.
His best season at Florida, meanwhile, came in 2022 when he threw for 2,549 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions, completing just 53.8 percent of his passes. He was excellent as a runner, of course, notching 654 yards on the ground and nine scores.
Now, there are plenty of dynamic running quarterbacks who stay healthy enough to be forces in fantasy football. Many of the top quarterbacks listed above make a major impact on the ground.
But Richardson feels a bit more feast-or-famine than all of them. He probably needs to run to make a huge impact as a fantasy quarterback, but his running style puts him in major risk of injury. We've never seen evidence that Richardson, despite his huge talent, can be the sort of passer to make a fantasy splash if he's putting a greater priority on hanging in the pocket.
If he rushes more responsibly, yes, the upside is still there. Just don't overpay in early-season trades for that possibility.
One player who could be about to pop off this season is Green Bay Packers wideout Jayden Reed. When quarterback Jordan Love went Super Saiyan down the stretch last season, Reed was a contributing factor, catching 36 passes for 376 yards and four touchdowns in his final seven games of the regular season.
Over the course of 17 games, that translates to 87 catches for 913 yards and nine touchdowns, and that's without accounting for the young receiver having another offseason of development and time to build additional rapport with Love.
There is a lot of depth at wide receiver, so don't overpay for Reed. There's also the matter of Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks soaking up targets in Green Bay too. But Reed is a player you can currently get for pretty cheap who might be in line for a big jump in year two.
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