Fantasy Football 2014: 3 Players You Should Trade While You Can

To trade or not to trade, that is the fantasy football question!

Some things in life are very hard for fantasy football owners to do, like having to sit down with your family for dinner while your quarterback’s interception is under review by the officials and that possible pick could lose you your game.

Another difficult thing for fantasy owners is trading one of their most productive players away when the guy is going downright sick, putting up huge numbers on a weekly basis and leading his fantasy team to weekly wins.

But intelligent fantasy owners know to trade a player when his stock is at its highest point. They realize certain hot players on their roster are not going to keep racking up Hall of Fame-caliber stats throughout the season. These players should be dealt before they lose their carries, catches, jobs or health.

Here are three players fantasy owners should trade while they can.

DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys (RB)

People know Murray is probably the most valuable running back in fantasy football right now. People know he is running behind one of the best offensive lines and that he has little to fear when it comes to his backups stealing his carries and vulturing his touchdowns.

People also know Murray is a ticking time bomb waiting to sprain a knee or pull a hamstring.
Fantasy owners with short memories think that Murray is more durable than Walter Payton ever was. They watch him carrying the ball 20-plus times every week and think his upright, “please hit me in the chest” running style will keep him safe.

But wasn’t it just last year where football fans considered Murray on the same level as Oakland’s Darren McFadden? Both were injury-plagued enigmas who could run for 150 yards one game and then bruise a buttock and miss a month.

Murray missed 11 games during his first three seasons. Just when fantasy owners would count on him most was when he would be sidelined for a couple contests. Coupled with the fact that he was in a pass-first offense, Murray’s fantasy worth was always questionable.

So is Murray less of an injury risk now? Unless he has been overdosing on milk and vitamins, there is no reason to think he cannot be hurt at some point. And there is no reason to think that head coach Jason Garrett and the Dallas offense will not get pass-happy and forget about Murray later in the season like they have in past years.

Murray leads the NFL with 534 rushing yards and five touchdowns and has topped the 100-yard plateau and scored at least one TD in all four contests this season. His fantasy value is never going to get higher. His trade value is never going to get higher, either.

Do not trade Murray unless the haul you would be receiving in return is substantial, but if you can get a major player at another position or multiple very good players, you have to weigh the risks Murray’s brittle body present against the rewards of acquiring talented players whose histories are not as checkered in the fantasy football world.

Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans (TE)

How many fantasy owners would have plunked down a $5 bet on Walker being a more valuable tight end than New England’s Rob Gronkowski this season? Right, probably the same amount who would bet that Josh McCown was going to throw for more passing yards than Peyton Manning.

Yet not only has Walker outpointed Gronkowski, the guy is neck-and-neck with New Orleans’ Jimmy Graham among the stats leaders at tight end. Give Walker credit, he has made watching Tennessee Titans games viable for fantasy owners.

Walker was a forgotten man with the San Francisco 49ers for seven seasons—the walking advertisement of a role player. But last season with Tennessee, he set career highs across the board and was probably a backup tight end on thousands of fantasy squads.

Forget about 2013, though. Walker has 22 receptions for 317 yards and three touchdowns after a month. For those of you who cannot multiply by four, this means Walker is on pace for 88 receptions, 1,268 yards, a dozen scores and to be mentioned in the same breath as Shannon Sharpe and Antonio Gates when fantasy owners talk about amazing tight ends of all-time.

Having Jake Locker and Charlie Whitehurst throwing to a receiver or tight end can never be good for that pass-catcher’s fantasy worth. While Walker has benefited from these small-armed slingers’ short passes early on, chances are defenses will adjust and start paying more attention to Walker and forcing his quarterbacks to look in other directions.

Now that the secret is out that Walker is more than just a slow-footed fourth option in Tennessee’s passing offense, opponents will clamp down on him. It just does not seem reasonable to think he will top the 1,000-yard mark this late in his career on this type of a team. Now is your time to trade Walker before the two-catch, 24-yard, zero-TD unhelpful outings start coming.

Eddie Royal, San Diego Chargers (WR)

Last week was a great week in sports for teams or players with the word “royal” in their name. The Kansas City Royals qualified for the playoffs in baseball for the first time in 29 years, and Eddie had his second straight two-touchdown game.

Royal has somehow gone from injury-prone slot receiver to touchdown machine in a short span. After having just 10 touchdown receptions in his first five seasons, Royal caught a career-high eight touchdown tosses in 2013 and has four in four games in 2014.

Even though San Diego has more big bodies in their receiving corps than the Cleveland Cavaliers have in their frontcourt, Royal has found his niche in San Diego’s passing attack.

San Diego is loaded with skilled pass-haulers. Tight end Antonio Gates is still quarterback Philip Rivers’ top target, super sophomore Keenan Allen continues to look like a fantasy stud and veteran Malcom Floyd has rebounded from his serious neck injury suffered last season to again be a dangerous deep threat.

Royal’s body is almost sure to break down. He has only played in all 16 games once in six seasons. The question is not whether he will get hurt, it is when. Fantasy owners of Royal have to wince every time he gets tackled.

Send Royal now to an owner in your league in the market for a receiver because he or she needs a flex player or has a receiver or two on bye in the coming weeks. Rivers might be looking Royal’s way in the red zone a lot now, but chances are the frequency will not keep up.