Fantasy Football: 7 Stars to Realistically Trade for Prior to Sunday's Games

The following countdown details seven playmaking stars whose fantasy values have noticeably declined since the preseason—for various reasons.

As a result, each one could be had for a reduced-market trade price before Sunday's slate of games, provided prospective owners can push the right buttons during negotiations.

Good luck...and enjoy the show!

Quarterback: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions

2012 Stats: 1,756 Yards Passing, 7 Total TDs

Reasons To Doubt Stafford

1. Through six games, Matthew Stafford has yet to register two touchdown passes in a contest.

2. With Stafford on the field, the Lions are averaging only 20 points per game. (The last two scores in Detroit's 44-41 OT loss to Tennessee involved backup QB Shaun Hill.)

3. Stafford's partner in crime, all-world receiver Calvin Johnson, only has one touchdown this season—and it came with Hill at quarterback.


Reasons To Covet Stafford

1. Stafford is currently averaging 44 pass attempts per outing, and his completion mark is a healthy 62 percent.

2. Even with Nate Burleson's season-ending injury, Stafford still has a skillful fleet of playmakers, from Johnson, Titus Young, Ryan Broyles to Mikel Leshoure, Brandon Pettgirew, Tony Scheffler, Joique Bell. And that doesn't even include Jahvid Best (concussion symptoms), if/when he gets clearance from NFL doctors.

3. No NFL quarterback can duplicate Stafford's fastball, whether in the pocket or when scrambling from the pass rush.

4. Stafford and Hall of Famer Dan Marino are the ONLY quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards/40 TDs in the same season...before their 25th birthdays.

My advice: If you don't own a top-10 QB, it's time to move heaven and earth to land Stafford for a reasonable price.

Quarterback: Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

2012 Stats: 1,387 Yards Passing, 8 Total TDs

Reasons To Doubt Newton

1. Cam Newton hasn't passed for more than 250 yards in his last four games.

2. The Panthers QB is averaging only 16.8 completions per game, down considerably from last year's 19.4 average.

3. For the season, Newton only has one outing of two or more TD passes.

4. Newton's passive-aggressive whining during the post-game media conferences have been a real turn-off for fantasy owners.

It's almost like he's going out of his way to alienate teammates and coaches after defeats.


Reasons To Covet Newton

1. Real-world foibles aside, Newton has crossed the QB-elite threshold of 275 total yards and/or three touchdowns in four of his six games. In that span last year, Newton had the same ratio.

2. Newton has the immense physical gifts to take over games for long stretches. In Week 4 against the Falcons, Newton accounted for 301 total yards and three scores, while completing 63 percent of his passes.

3. Just like Matthew Stafford, Newton (4,757 total yards/35 TDs last year) is way too talented to be deemed mediocre for an entire campaign.

He simply has too much influence on the Panthers offense to struggle for two more months.

Running Back: Ryan Mathews, San Diego Chargers

2012 Stats: 390 Total Yards (259 Rushing), 1 TD

Reasons To Doubt Mathews

1. Ryan Mathews is way off the pace of last year's output (1,546 total yards, 6 TDs), due to injury (broken collarbone in August) and the general sloppiness of the Chargers offense.

2. For the season, Mathews has racked up 100 total yards only once.

3. Through four games, Mathews has 17 catches for 131 yards. In the same span last year, the pass-friendly back collected 19 catches for 254 yards.

4. Curiously, Mathews has never scored a receiving touchdown in three NFL seasons.


Reasons To Covet Mathews

1. I didn't expect Mathews to dominate upon returning from the collarbone injury. Hence, I'm actually happy that he's tallied at least 76 total yards in all four games.

2. Barring injury, Mathews' per-game average of 97.5 total yards will improve to 110 in the latter half of the season. How does that happen? His per-game touches climb into the 20s.

3. There's a reason why most fantasy gurus had Mathews as a top-10 overall pick in July and early August (prior to injury).

When everything's rolling, he's a weekly lock for 115 total yards and 0.4 touchdowns.

Running Back: Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams

2012 Stats: 456 Total Yards (380 Rushing), 1 TD

Reasons To Doubt Jackson

1. In his age-29 season, Steven Jackson is no longer a mortal lock for 1,300 total yards and six touchdowns.

2. Jackson needed seven games to earn his first touchdown of the 2012 season (vs. Green Bay).

3. Rams head coach Jeff Fisher clearly has a succession plan for Jackson, involving rookies Daryl Richardson and Isaiah Pead. In fact, some would argue that Richardson (384 total yards) is already the club's go-to back, between the 20s.

4. Jackson hasn't racked up 90 total yards in any game.


Reasons To Covet Jackson

1. Jackson remains a highly capable runner, especially in short-yardage and goal-line situations. He seems to be reasonably healthy, too.

2. The Rams rusher has accounted for 76 total yards and/or one touchdown in each of his last three games.

3. Have you peeked at the Rams' schedule for Weeks 14-16?

During the fantasy playoffs, Jackson has three eminently doable matchups with the Bills, Vikings and Buccaneers.

Wide Receiver: Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions

2012 Stats: 38 Catches, 592 Yards, 1 TD

Reasons To Doubt Johnson

1. After six games last year, Johnson had nine touchdowns. In the same span for 2012, he has only one.

2. Johnson already has two games of 60 or fewer receiving yards.

3. In the last three weeks, Johnson has failed to notch a catch-per-target ratio above 50 percent.

4. For even-numbered games, Johnson has deflating averages of 5.1 catches, 61 yards and 0.33 touchdowns.

5. In 2011, Johnson had two four-game streaks of 100 yards receiving. For this season, he's yet to crack the century mark in back-to-back outings.


Reasons To Covet Johnson

1. Johnson (96 catches, 1,681 yards, 16 TDs in 2011) is on the short list of NFL wideouts to collect double-digit targets in five straight games.

2. No receiver strikes more fear into the hearts of NFL defenses than Johnson. And with Matthew Stafford as his quarterback, Calvin's mild malaise will end sooner than later.

3. Here's a gentle reminder of what you'd be trading for: In his final four games last year (including the playoffs), Johnson amassed 200 receiving yards three times.

And the one "clunker" game entailed 102 yards and one touchdown.

Wide Receiver: Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs

2012 Stats: 34 Catches, 423 Yards, 3 TDs

Reasons To Doubt Bowe

1. Dwayne Bowe has accounted for only 85 receiving yards in the last two games, despite collecting 17 targets.

2. For Week 6, he caught only three balls for 25 yards against the Buccaneers, the NFL's second-worst pass defense (at the time).

3. Among NFL pundits, there's speculation that Bowe—in line for a big-money extension soon—may be dealt before the league's trade deadline.

4. Some fantasy owners believe Bowe's numbers will plunge considerably with Brady Quinn as the Chiefs' new starting quarterback.

The same Quinn who painfully passed for 180 yards and two interceptions against Tampa Bay in Week 6.


Reasons To Covet Bowe

1. The Chiefs wunderkind is on the short list of NFL receivers to thrice collect 12 or more targets this season.

2. Bowe may be the best garbage-time receiver in fantasy—a trend that may continue with Quinn running the offense.

3. It's possible that Bowe will be dealt to a title-contending club with a solid quarterback. And even if he's traded to a non-contender, like Miami, I'd prefer rookie Ryan Tannehill over Quinn.

4. Bowe and Jamaal Charles are the only two stars in the Kansas City offense, worthy of numerous looks and touches every week.

5. Looking ahead, Bowe will likely be projected for double-digit fantasy points (standard-scoring) for Weeks 14 (Cleveland), 15 (Oakland) and 16 (Indianapolis).

Tight End: Aaron Hernandez, New England Patriots

2012 Stats: 17 Catches, 143 Yards, 2 TDs

Reasons To Doubt Hernandez

1. Aaron Hernandez's season has been slowed by a persistent ankle injury. In fact, he reportedly didn't make the trip to England for Patriots-Rams.

2. Even when healthy, his production does not resemble that of last year (79 catches, 910 yards, 7 TDs).

3. The dual impact of tailback Stevan Ridley and receiver Brandon Lloyd have diminished Hernandez's touches.


Reasons To Covet Hernandez

1. In complete games this year (Weeks 1, 6, 7), Hernandez registered at least five catches and seven targets all three times.

2. Assuming Hernandez returns for Week 10, he's a lock for sizable numbers against the submissive Bills defense.

3. With Hernandez out for Sunday, fantasy owners have a golden window to swap the Patriots star for another tight end (Brent Celek? Martellus Bennett? Brandon Pettigrew?), when conducting trade talks with a GM who desperately needs a Week 8 victory.

4. Hernandez is just 10 months removed from a stellar finish to the 2011 campaign.

In the final six games (including playoffs), he tallied double-digit targets and double-digit fantasy points four times (standard-scoring).