Fantasy Football Week 6: Updated Trade Value for Top 100 Players

From a young age I loved the art of a trade.

Swapping desserts in the cafeteria in elementary school? I was a pro. Baseball cards? I also ended up with the Ken Griffey Jr. card I wanted (he was my favorite player back in the day). Pogs? Well, I was always more into the slammers, but man, did I end up with pretty good slammers.

So it isn't really all that surprising that I now pen a weekly trade value chart for fantasy football. I've been doing this sort of thing since childhood, so it's only natural that I would pen a guide for fantasy owners looking to swing a deal. As always, this is a general look at each player's relative value and only takes standard leagues into account, so always consider your own format and team needs first.

After all, you wouldn't deal for a Twinkie if you were really in the mood for a Fruit Roll-Up, right?

Quarterbacks

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	6	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos	29
2	19	Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	25
3	20	Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts	25
4	28	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	22
5	32	Matt Stafford	Detroit Lions	21
6	43	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons	18
7	56	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers	13
8	63	Philip Rivers	San Diego Chargers	11
9	64	Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks	11
10	79	Jay Cutler	Chicago Bears	7
11	86	Colin Kaepernick	San Francisco 49ers	5
12	96	Nick Foles	Philadelphia Eagles	2

It's time to drop Drew Brees a bit on the value chart. After five games into the season, he's yet to crack 20 fantasy points in standard leagues, and something seems a bit off with both him and the entire New Orleans Saints offense. Now would generally be a great time to buy relatively low on Brees, though you might want to wait until after the bye week to do it.

I'd expect him to bounce back after the bye.

Another player who is a great buy-low candidate is Cam Newton, largely because he's rushed for just 42 yards on 14 carries. When he isn't rushing the ball, he simply isn't a QB1. But the moment he starts running the ball more consistently, his value will shoot right back up.

Let's say you are looking to bolster the quarterback position and you know Newton's owner is looking to sell him off. What type of deals will you have to put together to land him?

• Reggie Wayne and Steven Jackson
• Andre Johnson and Darren McFadden
• Roddy White and Stevan Ridley
• Jason Witten and Keenan Allen

Not too shabby, right?

Finally, Jay Cutler pops up on this list, shooting ahead of a few quarterbacks and a few players at other positions who slipped down the rankings. It's hard to ignore Cutler's surprising consistency this year, with five straight weeks of 16 or more fantasy points. I'm not completely sold on this fantasy consistency being sustainable, but after five weeks it's hard to ignore the No. 3 quarterback in fantasy points.

Running Backs

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	1	DeMarco Murray	Dallas Cowboys	30
2	2	Marshawn Lynch	Seattle Seahawks	30
3	3	Matt Forte	Chicago Bears	30
4	4	Jamaal Charles	Kansas City Chiefs	30
5	5	Le'Veon Bell	Pittsburgh Steelers	30
6	7	Arian Foster	Houston Texans	28
7	8	LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia Eagles	28
8	9	Alfred Morris	Washington	28
9	10	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals	28
10	23	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay Packers	23
11	24	Andre Ellington	Arizona Cardinals	23
12	25	Rashad Jennings	New York Giants	23
13	33	C.J. Spiller	Buffalo Bills	20
14	34	Zac Stacy	St. Louis Rams	20
15	35	Doug Martin	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	20
16	36	Frank Gore	San Francisco 49ers	20
17	37	Ahmad Bradshaw	Indianapolis Colts	20
18	47	Matt Asiata	Minnesota Vikings	16
19	48	Darren Sproles	Philadelphia Eagles	16
20	49	Ben Tate	Cleveland Browns	16
21	50	Knowshon Moreno	Miami Dolphins	16
22	51	Chris Ivory	New York Jets	16
23	55	Montee Ball	Denver Broncos	14
24	57	Reggie Bush	Detroit Lions	12
25	58	Joique Bell	Detroit Lions	12
26	59	Trent Richardson	Indianapolis Colts	12
27	60	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins	12
28	61	Fred Jackson	Buffalo Bills	12
29	62	Justin Forsett	Baltimore Ravens	12
30	80	Chris Johnson	New York Jets	6
31	81	Stevan Ridley	New England Patriots	6
32	82	Shane Vereen	New England Patriots	6
33	83	Khiry Robinson	New Orleans Saints	6
34	84	Pierre Thomas	New Orleans Saints	6
35	90	Darren McFadden	Oakland Raiders	3
36	91	Branden Oliver	San Diego Chargers	3
37	92	Steven Jackson	Atlanta Falcons	3
38	99	Bishop Sankey	Tennessee Titans	2
39	100	Jeremy Hill	Cincinnati Bengals	2

Yes, this is the week LeSean McCoy loses his place amongst the most valuable fantasy options in the game. No, he doesn't drop too far, mostly because I think he'll rebound and finish as an RB1 this year, but I also can't ignore that players looking to deal Shady right now are probably getting about 80 cents on the dollar.

Do I think you should trade him if you have him? No. Do I think you should low-ball the McCoy owner in your league who does own him? Absolutely.

As always, the top running backs are worth their weight in gold this year. Only deal them if someone blows you away with an offer.

Montee Ball is a player I think should be dropped in value, both because he's likely out for a few weeks, but also because he's been a bit hit-or-miss for the Denver Broncos this season. Because Julius Thomas has been such a beast in the red zone for the Broncos, Ball has lost some of his value there, and he hasn't looked as natural in Denver's offense as Knowshon Moreno did a year ago.

So, how should you value an RB2 set to miss the next few weeks of the season (or, how should you value him closer to when he's set to return)? Here are some trade packages I would float for Ball if I was trying to buy low:

• T.Y. Hilton and Brandin Cooks
• Colin Kaepernick and Martellus Bennett
• Pierre Thomas and Wes Welker
• Philip Rivers and Branden Oliver

I know some of these may seem a bit steep, but keep in mind that when Ball returns, he should be a solid RB2 option at a pretty thin position. And obviously, there are owners out there who might take far less than the above deals, which are examples of the most you should be willing to part with. As always, this is a guide, not an exact science. After all, you might not have the depth to give up two players for a guy set to miss a few weeks to injury.

But if you do, go out and get Ball now. He'll never be cheaper. 

Wide Receivers

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	11	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers	27
2	12	Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons	27
3	13	Jordy Nelson	Green Bay Packers	27
4	14	Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys	27
5	15	Brandon Marshall	Chicago Bears	27
6	16	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos	27
7	21	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions	24
8	22	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals	24
9	26	Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	22
10	27	Alshon Jeffery	Chicago Bears	22
11	30	Jeremy Maclin	Philadelphia Eagles	21
12	31	Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos	21
13	38	Steve Smith	Baltimore Ravens	19
14	39	DeSean Jackson	Washington	19
15	40	Mike Wallace	Miami Dolphins	19
16	41	Victor Cruz	New York Giants	19
17	42	Vincent Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	19
18	44	DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans	17
19	45	Percy Harvin	Seattle Seahawks	17
20	46	Kelvin Benjamin	Carolina Panthers	17
21	65	Pierre Garcon	Washington	10
22	66	Reggie Wayne	Indianapolis Colts	10
23	67	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans	10
24	68	Keenan Allen	San Diego Chargers	10
25	69	Terrance Williams	Dallas Cowboys	10
26	70	Golden Tate	Detroit Lions	10
27	72	Julian Edelman	New England Patriots	8
28	73	Wes Welker	Denver Broncos	8
29	74	Roddy White	Atlanta Falcons	8
30	75	Michael Crabtree	San Francisco 49ers	8
31	76	Michael Floyd	Arizona Cardinals	8
32	77	T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts	8
33	78	Sammy Watkins	Buffalo Bills	8
34	85	Brandin Cooks	New Orleans Saints	6
35	93	Brian Quick	St. Louis Rams	2
36	94	Kendall Wright	Tennessee Titans	2
37	95	Eric Decker	New York Jets	2

Given their uncertain medical predicaments, Calvin Johnson and A.J. Green had to be bumped down the value chart a bit. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd do a deal involving either player at the moment. You obviously need to get a lot in return for the pair of elite wideouts if you do send them packing, however, as when they are on the field they are generally locked-and-loaded WR1s.

Percy Harvin is a bit of a conundrum. On Monday night, we saw him score three touchdowns, all erased due to penalties, so we know he's capable of doing big things in Seattle's offense. Still, from a fantasy perspective he's been a bit quiet this season, which is why I think his value is a bit tricky to determine. 

If you were looking to add Harvin, these are the types of packages you'd likely have to give up:

• Cam Newton and Travis Kelce
• Jay Cutler and Golden Tate
• Darren Sproles
• Ben Tate
• Russell Wilson and Chris Johnson

If you believe Harvin will continue to be the player who has scored just one touchdown this season, those prices are way too steep. But if you believe he'll be the same player as the guy we saw on Monday night, who should have had at least two touchdowns (two scores came on consecutive plays, amazingly), then most of these prices are pretty reasonable for an explosive player with WR1 potential. 

Keep in mind that you probably have better depth at wide receiver than you have at any other position, so don't be afraid to use some of your receivers as trade bait for other positions. If you play the matchups correctly and do your homework, you can survive without an elite receiver. Trying to survive without a consistent quarterback or running back, however, is a recipe for disaster. 

Tight Ends

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	17	Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints	26
2	18	Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos	26
3	29	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	22
4	52	Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers	15
5	53	Vernon Davis	San Francisco 49ers	15
6	54	Jordan Cameron	Cleveland Browns	15
7	71	Martellus Bennett	Chicago Bears	9
8	87	Delanie Walker	Tennessee Titans	4
9	88	Travis Kelce	Kansas City Chiefs	4
10	89	Antonio Gates	San Diego Chargers	4
11	97	Jason Witten	Dallas Cowboys	2
12	98	Larry Donnell	New York Giants	2

Well, it's happened—Julius Thomas has proven, at least for the time being, that he's exactly as valuable as Jimmy Graham. In my main league with a collection of old high school and college friends, one of my buddies has consistently tried to pry Orange Julius away from me, and I flat out refuse to deal him given his consistent production (it's also a two-TE league, making Thomas even more valuable than he would be in standard leagues).

The man has seven touchdowns in four games, folks, and what's so crazy is that his production seems fairly sustainable in Denver's high-powered offense. Peyton Manning loves him some Orange Julius in the red zone. No, he likely won't finish with over 20 touchdowns on the year, but are you going to be surprised in the least if he finishes with 15? 

You shouldn't be. Yes, his output this season has been very touchdown reliant, always worrisome. But when you have a quarterback who finished last season with 55 touchdown passes, well, it's not quite as worrisome as it would be for some other players.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Rob Gronkowski also looked like his old self this week, so it's pretty safe to say his buy-low window has slammed shut. In a year when the tight end position has been surprisingly deep, there is still a hierarchy of three players that fantasy players should covet. If you own one of them, you have a major advantage over the competition, and you should charge a bounty if anyone tries to get their hands on Graham, Thomas or Gronk.

Just ask my buddy. He doesn't know it, but he'll never get his hands on Orange Julius unless he makes me a deal I could never refuse.

All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard-scoring leagues. Any player not listed on the chart has a trade value of one, including defenses. Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes, too. It's more fun than Russell Wilson imitating a chicken with its head cut off.