Fantasy Football Week 3: Updated Trade Value for Top 100 Players

In a week full of injuries and unrest, it's quite possible that your fantasy team is hurting. In fact, it almost seems probable. And while carefully playing the waiver wire is always a great way to improve your squad, sometimes the only way to shake things up in a positive way is by making a trade.

That's why I put together a trade value chart each week to help you ensure that any deal you are getting represents a solid value for your team. No, that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider your particular league format and rules, team needs and other considerations, but the following is a guide to assist you so one of your sneaky league mates doesn't try to pull a fast one on you.

Indeed, with this chart you may even be able to pull a fast one on them. 

Quarterbacks

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Value
1	7	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos	29
2	8	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	28
3	9	Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	28
4	22	Matt Stafford	Detroit Lions	24
5	23	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers	24
6	32	Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts	20
7	61	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons	12
8	65	Nick Foles	Philadelphia Eagles	11
9	83	Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks	5
10	91	Colin Kaepernick	San Francisco 49ers	3
11	95	Jay Cutler	Chicago Bears	2
12	98	Tony Romo	Dallas Cowboys	2
13	99	Philip Rivers	San Diego Chargers	2

I don't doubt that Kirk Cousins will be on this list at some point this season. I genuinely think he fits Jay Gruden's system well, and Washington has plenty of complementary pieces in place to support him. That being said, in his last four starts Cousins has scored 21, 10, 0 and 18 fantasy points. He's far from a sure thing for fantasy owners, so for now I'd take a wait-and-see approach if you are thinking about dealing him or dealing for him.

Also of note is after two straight weeks of just nine fantasy points, Tom Brady has fallen off of the chart. If you believe he'll have a big season, you'll never be able to get him for a better price, but I think we may be seeing the New England Patriots evolving into a running team that beats opponents with a short, quick passing game and Rob Gronkowski in the red zone. 

Maybe Brady will light up the Oakland Raiders this week and change my tune, but I think it's more likely the Pats will look to run, run and run some more against a defense that has already given up 400 rushing yards this season, worst in the NFL.

As you can see, I think there's a bit of a value drop after the top six quarterbacks, meaning you might be able to snag either Matt Ryan or Nick Foles at a great value right now. The Atlanta Falcons have a pretty dreadful run game, so Ryan is going to have to pass the team to victory each week, while the Philadelphia Eagles have such a dynamic offense that Foles simply has to be accurate on his passes to produce. 

Frankly, Foles has been pretty poor thus far this season and has still thrown for over 300 yards in both his games. 

So, let's say you wanted to buy low on one of these quarterbacks who are valued close to one another. What type of deals could you make?

• Ryan for Matt Asiata
• Ryan for Marques Colston
• Ryan for Lamar Miller and Golden Tate
• Foles for Pierre Thomas and T.Y. Hilton
• Foles for Michael Crabtree
• Foles for Torrey Smith and Donald Brown

If you are in desperate need of an upgrade at quarterback, you really don't need to pay a premium to get one. Now is the time to strike, however, as each player's value is bound to go up moving forward.

Running Backs

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Value
1	1	LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia Eagles	30
2	2	Matt Forte	Chicago Bears	30
3	3	Marshawn Lynch	Seattle Seahawks	30
4	4	Arian Foster	Houston Texans	30
5	10	DeMarco Murray	Dallas Cowboys	27
6	11	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay Packers	27
7	12	Alfred Morris	Washington	26
8	13	Le'Veon Bell	Pittsburgh Steelers	26
9	14	Montee Ball	Denver Broncos	26
10	15	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals	26
11	29	C.J. Spiller	Buffalo Bills	21
12	30	Doug Martin	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	20
13	31	Andre Ellington	Arizona Cardinals	20
14	36	Reggie Bush	Detroit Lions	19
15	37	Joique Bell	Detroit Lions	19
16	39	Darren Sproles	Philadelphia Eagles	17
17	40	Zac Stacy	St. Louis Rams	17
18	43	Rashad Jennings	New York Giants	17
19	45	Frank Gore	San Francisco 49ers	16
20	47	Bernard Pierce	Baltimore Ravens	16
21	57	Stevan Ridley	New England Patriots	13
22	58	Shane Vereen	New England Patriots	13
23	59	Jamaal Charles	Kansas City Chiefs	13
24	62	Matt Asiata	Minnesota Vikings	12
25	70	Ahmad Bradshaw	Indianapolis Colts	8
26	75	Chris Ivory	New York Jets	7
27	76	Chris Johnson	New York Jets	7
28	77	Trent Richardson	Indianapolis Colts	7
29	78	Toby Gerhart	Jacksonville Jaguars	6
30	79	Terrance West	Cleveland Browns	6
31	80	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins	6
32	85	Knile Davis	Kansas City Chiefs	4
33	86	Khiry Robinson	New Orleans Saints	4
34	87	Pierre Thomas	New Orleans Saints	4
35	90	Fred Jackson	Buffalo Bills	3
36	92	Donald Brown	San Diego Chargers	3
37	93	DeAngelo Williams	Carolina Panthers	3
38	94	Danny Woodhead	San Diego Chargers	3

I'm going to be honest with you, folks—for about half of this list I had no idea how to adjudge trade values for running backs. There are so many injuries to consider and committee situations to evaluate that players Nos. 20-38 were incredibly difficult to evaluate. 

We're still uncertain how long Jamaal Charles will be out due to injury. The Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints predominantly have turned to committee approaches, making the trade value of the players in those systems a bit murky. 

I like Chris Johnson's explosiveness, but Chris Ivory has proven to be a better fit in that system thus far. On weeks when the New England Patriots throw the ball around, Shane Vereen has a ton of value, but when they pound the rock, Stevan Ridley is the better option. Good luck figuring out how the Saints will utilize their backs on a weekly basis. Will Terrance West continue to get a healthy plate of touches when Ben Tate returns?

At the moment, you should be hoarding the players listed Nos. 1-19 on this list. The value at running back will start to materialize in the coming weeks but, for the moment, you should make owners overpay for any of the top running backs in the league unless you really need help at another position and are stocked with backfield options.

In other words, it should come as little surprise that 10 of the top 15 players in terms of trade value are running backs. At a position in disarray for fantasy owners, hold onto the safe options or demand a bounty. 

Let's say someone does come calling for one of your top backs and you feel you have enough depth behind them and enough weakness elsewhere to make a deal. Let's say they want a player like Alfred Morris, Le'Veon Bell, Montee Ball or Giovani Bernard. What type of deal should you be demanding in return?

• Randall Cobb and Zach Ertz
• Rob Gronkowski and Russell Wilson
• Cam Newton and Antonio Gates
• DeSean Jackson and Sammy Watkins
• Cordarrelle Patterson and Kendall Wright

As you can see, you should either be getting back an absolute stud and a solid second option or two players you can instantly insert into your starting lineup. But chances are, you should be trying to trade for a consistent option at running back, not trading one away.

Wide Receivers

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Value
1	6	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions	29
2	16	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos	25
3	17	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals	25
4	18	Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys	25
5	19	Brandon Marshall	Chicago Bears	25
6	20	Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons	25
7	21	Jordy Nelson	Green Bay Packers	25
8	24	Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	23
9	25	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers	23
10	27	Alshon Jeffery	Chicago Bears	21
11	33	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans	19
12	34	Percy Harvin	Seattle Seahawks	19
13	35	Vincent Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	19
14	41	Cordarrelle Patterson	Minnesota Vikings	17
15	42	Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos	17
16	44	DeSean Jackson	Washington	16
17	46	Jeremy Maclin	Philadelphia Eagles	16
18	48	Victor Cruz	New York Giants	15
19	49	Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	15
20	50	Pierre Garcon	Washington	15
21	51	Roddy White	Atlanta Falcons	15
22	52	Reggie Wayne	Indianapolis Colts	15
23	53	Wes Welker	Denver Broncos	15
24	54	Keenan Allen	San Diego Chargers	14
25	55	Michael Floyd	Arizona Cardinals	14
26	56	Mike Wallace	Miami Dolphins	13
27	60	Marques Colston	New Orleans Saints	12
28	63	Michael Crabtree	San Francisco 49ers	11
29	64	Eric Decker	New York Jets	11
30	67	Julian Edelman	New England Patriots	10
31	68	Sammy Watkins	Buffalo Bills	10
32	69	Kendall Wright	Tennessee Titans	9
33	71	Torrey Smith	Baltimore Ravens	8
34	72	DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans	8
35	73	T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts	7
36	81	Golden Tate	Detroit Lions	5
37	82	Steve Smith	Baltimore Ravens	5
38	84	Brandin Cooks	New Orleans Saints	5

While there is discontent at running back, wide receiver continues to provide a bit more stability. Well, as much stability as the position can provide—generally speaking, only the top receivers are consistently productive for fantasy owners every single week. Often, you're left hoping streakier players like D-Jax, Vincent Jackson or even Julio Jones break off a few big plays.

And some players have already seen fluctuations in their value. After having just one catch for 19 yards with Drew Stanton under center on Sunday, Michael Floyd is probably desperately hoping for the return of Carson Palmer. But maybe you don't want to wait around to see when Palmer will actually return. Maybe you need help at other positions now and want to cut ties with Floyd.

You'd be selling a bit low, sure, so I wouldn't recommend it. But if you went that route, here's what you might get in return:

• Jordan Cameron and Khiry Robinson
• Matt Asiata and Jay Cutler
• Ahmad Bradshaw and Toby Gerhart
• Jason Witten and Chris Ivory

Not exactly the sexiest deals, right? Ride out the turbulence with Floyd.

Keep in mind that you still might be able to get some nice values at other positions, however.

Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images

D-Jax's slow start has seen him be devalued, but he'll erupt soon enough. Jeremy Maclin should consistently produce as the No. 1 option in Philly's explosive offense. Patterson very well could be the centerpiece of Minnesota's offense going forward. Heck, Torrey Smith owners might just give him to you after watching Steve Smith steal the headlines in the first two weeks.

Now might be a great time to target players in the WR2 or flex ranges who possess big-play potential but haven't quite gotten untracked. It's a risky strategy, sure, but the reward could be great.

Tight Ends

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Value
1	5	Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints	29
2	26	Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos	22
3	28	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	21
4	38	Vernon Davis	San Francisco 49ers	18
5	66	Jordan Cameron	Cleveland Browns	10
6	74	Jason Witten	Dallas Cowboys	7
7	88	Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers	3
8	89	Zach Ertz	Philadelphia Eagles	3
9	96	Antonio Gates	San Diego Chargers	2
10	97	Delanie Walker	Tennessee Titans	2
11	100	Martellus Bennett	Chicago Bears	2

We're quickly getting to the point where Julius Thomas is no longer the top guy in the "Everyone Who Isn't Jimmy Graham" grouping of tight ends and simply sits right behind Graham in the "Consistently Elite" category. Thomas owners might be laughing all the way to the bank this year after getting Graham-like value without having to sacrifice a first- or second-round pick to get it.

After that, however, the position has been all over the map. Players like Antonio Gates, Delanie Walker and Martellus Bennett have outscored Greg Olsen, Vernon Davis and Rob Gronkowski. 

Down is up, left is right and Michigan fans are rooting for Ohio State at tight end thus far.

The position will regulate at some point but, while it does, you might be able to get a good deal on players like Gronk. I have him at a higher market value than where his owners might value him given how dominant he has been in the past, so he's a guy I would target, hoping to lowball his owner. 

If you're desperate at the position, however, you may need to pay fair market price. Here are some deals you could expect to make for the New England star:

• Julian Edelman and Michael Crabtree
• Darren Sproles (keep in mind that Gronk is a player whose production should increase, while Sproles will likely regress to the mean) and Colin Kaepernick
• Frank Gore and Brandin Cooks
• Mike Wallace and Ahmad Bradshaw

Some of those deals might seem a touch steep, but keep in mind that Gronk has 43 touchdown receptions in 52 regular-season games. He's not healthy yet, no, but soon enough he'll be visiting the end zone with regularity.

Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes too. It's more fun than playing hot potato with James Jones.