Fantasy Football Week 7: Updated Trade Value for Top 100 Players

This week's trade value chart is going to have a particular theme familiar for fantasy owners—buy low or sell high?

Taking the updated trade values into account, I'll focus on a few players from each position I think you should either consider buying low or selling high. From disappointing players with huge ceilings they've yet to reach to major producers whose output feels unsustainable, I'll be focusing on getting you the ultimate value in a few trade scenarios. 

After all, the trade value chart is all about maximizing value and minimizing your risk in any trade. Let's get to the wheelings and dealings!

Quarterbacks

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	6	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos	29
2	16	Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	26
3	17	Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts	26
4	26	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	21
5	37	Philip Rivers	San Diego Chargers	18
6	38	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers	18
7	49	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons	14
8	50	Matt Stafford	Detroit Lions	14
9	59	Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks	11
10	60	Jay Cutler	Chicago Bears	11
11	61	Colin Kaepernick	San Francisco 49ers	11
12	85	Nick Foles	Philadelphia Eagles	4
13	86	Tom Brady	New England Patriots	4

There aren't too many quarterbacks playing well right now that I think you can sell high on.

We know that Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers are simply playing up to their ability. Andrew Luck is the next great quarterback in this league and his production is sustainable. Philip Rivers, Jay Cutler and Matt Ryan are in offensive systems that allow them to thrive and have the weapons to continue to produce. Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick are two-way threats, always valuable.

So right now at quarterback you are better off trying to buy low.

And the top five candidates in that regard are Drew Brees, Cam Newton, Tom Brady, Nick Foles and Matt Stafford.

Brees hasn't been bad so much as he hasn't been elite, so chances are you won't be getting a huge bargain on him. Newton and Brady have recently exploded, so their value should shorty return to the norm. Relying on Foles is tricky, since Philly's offensive scheme presents him with plenty of opportunities to make plays but, well, he's simply not a great quarterback.

That leaves Stafford. Always a bit erratic, the last two weeks have proved that Stafford's fantasy value plummets without Calvin Johnson on the field, as he's posted back-to-back weeks of 11 fantasy points. And the truth is Stafford was a bit erratic even before Megatron was injured.

Games	Total Points
Weeks 1, 4	54
Weeks 2, 3, 5, 6	38

Let's keep perspective here, though. This is a player who has thrown for at least 4,600 yards in the past three seasons and 29 or more touchdowns in two of those three. His ceiling is still high, meaning he's a great buy-low candidate for owners fed up with his roller-coaster production this season.

So what are you potentially giving up to steal Stafford off of a league mate this year?

• Darren Sproles and Eric Decker
• Percy Harvin and Brian Quick
• Michael Crabtree and Antonio Gates
• Trent Richardson and Zac Stacy
• T.Y. Hilton and a scrub not in the top 100

Not too shabby, right? If the Stafford owner in your league is fed up, play off of his frustration and low-ball him this week. The price you give up for a player who still has top-five potential at the quarterback position will be more than worth it.

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	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals	28
9	22	Alfred Morris	Washington	23
10	23	Andre Ellington	Arizona Cardinals	23
11	32	Rashad Jennings	New York Giants	19
12	33	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay Packers	19
13	34	Ahmad Bradshaw	Indianapolis Colts	19
14	35	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins	19
15	36	Frank Gore	San Francisco 49ers	19
16	43	Ben Tate	Cleveland Browns	16
17	44	Fred Jackson	Buffalo Bills	16
18	45	Justin Forsett	Baltimore Ravens	16
19	46	Doug Martin	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16
20	54	C.J. Spiller	Buffalo Bills	12
21	55	Jerick McKinnon	Minnesota Vikings	12
22	56	Chris Ivory	New York Jets	12
23	57	Montee Ball	Denver Broncos	12
24	58	Darren Sproles	Philadelphia Eagles	12
25	69	Reggie Bush	Detroit Lions	7
26	70	Joique Bell	Detroit Lions	7
27	71	Trent Richardson	Indianapolis Colts	7
28	72	Shane Vereen	New England Patriots	7
29	73	Zac Stacy	St. Louis Rams	7
30	74	Branden Oliver	San Diego Chargers	7
31	75	Mark Ingram	New Orleans Saints	7
32	90	Darren McFadden	Oakland Raiders	3
33	91	Bishop Sankey	Tennessee Titans	3
34	92	Khiry Robinson	New Orleans Saints	3
35	93	Pierre Thomas	New Orleans Saints	3
36	100	Jeremy Hill	Cincinnati Bengals	2

Both DeMarco Murray's usage and production this season have been absurd. Unbelievably absurd. Unsustainably absurd.

Let's translate his current production (159 carries for 785 yards and six touchdowns) to a full 16-game season if he maintains this pace.

Carries	Yards	Touchdowns	Receptions	Yards
424	2,093	16	56	413

His current pace would put him first all time in rushing attempts in a single season, third all time in rushing yards—behind only Eric Dickerson (2,105 yards in 1984) and Adrian Peterson (2,097 yards in 2012)—and second all time in yards from scrimmage, just three yards behind Chris Johnson (2,509 yards in 2009).

That's insane.

Do you see where I'm going here, folks? Simply put, you're probably never going to be able to sell higher on DeMarco Murray than right now.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Now, I'm not suggesting that Murray will suddenly be anything less than an RB1 the rest of the way. I don't think that's the case. But when a player is in the midst of having a historical season that doesn't seem particularly sustainable—given Murray's previous history of injuries, the Dallas Cowboys would be insane to continue working him this hard—well, that's the precise moment to sell. 

Maybe you are actually deep at running back but need to upgrade at other positions. Let's just go over some of the deals that represent the floor of what you might be able to get in exchange for Murray:

• A.J. Green and Terrance Williams
• Andrew Luck and Travis Kelce
• Randall Cobb and Martellus Bennett
• Rob Gronkowski and Pierre Garcon
• Jeremy Maclin and Vernon Davis

Not too shabby, right? In some of these deals, you're even buying low on players (Green and Davis) or likely dramatically improving at two positions. And remember, these are the baseline for the types of deals I think you could get on the market. There's a good chance you can charge an even higher premium for Murray's record-setting pace. 

I'm not telling you to sell. I am telling you that if you are willing to sell, you'll likely fleece your league mate in the deal.

As for options to buy low on right now, target players whose role will increase due to injuries (Lamar Miller, Shane Vereen), players who have recently seen their role increase (Bishop Sankey, Jerick McKinnon) or players who haven't quite lived up to expectation yet (LeSean McCoy, Eddie Lacy, Doug Martin).

Wide Receivers

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	10	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers	27
2	11	Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons	27
3	12	Jordy Nelson	Green Bay Packers	27
4	13	Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys	27
5	14	Brandon Marshall	Chicago Bears	27
6	15	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos	27
7	20	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions	24
8	21	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals	24
9	24	Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	22
10	25	Alshon Jeffery	Chicago Bears	22
11	28	Jeremy Maclin	Philadelphia Eagles	20
12	29	Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos	20
13	30	Steve Smith	Baltimore Ravens	20
14	31	DeSean Jackson	Washington	20
15	39	Mike Wallace	Miami Dolphins	17
16	40	Kelvin Benjamin	Carolina Panthers	17
17	41	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans	17
18	42	Vincent Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	17
19	51	DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans	13
20	52	T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts	13
21	53	Julian Edelman	New England Patriots	13
22	63	Reggie Wayne	Indianapolis Colts	9
23	64	Pierre Garcon	Washington	9
24	65	Michael Crabtree	San Francisco 49ers	9
25	66	Michael Floyd	Arizona Cardinals	9
26	67	Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	9
27	76	Terrance Williams	Dallas Cowboys	6
28	77	Golden Tate	Detroit Lions	6
29	78	Percy Harvin	Seattle Seahawks	6
30	79	Brian Quick	St. Louis Rams	6
31	80	Mohamed Sanu	Cincinnati Bengals	6
32	87	Wes Welker	Denver Broncos	3
33	88	Roddy White	Atlanta Falcons	3
34	89	Keenan Allen	San Diego Chargers	3
35	94	Brandin Cooks	New Orleans Saints	2
36	95	James Jones	Oakland Raiders	2
37	96	Torrey Smith	Baltimore Ravens	2
38	97	Eric Decker	New York Jets	2
39	98	Marques Colston	New Orleans Saints	2

With the Baltimore Ravens starting to focus on getting Torrey Smith more involved in the offense, I think you'll see Steve Smith Sr.'s production start to diminish a bit over the duration of the season. That would hardly be shocking—Smith Sr. started out like a man on fire this year. 

But the Ravens are also trying to get Smith more involved in the offense. While Smith Sr. has been targeted 55 times on the season to just 34 for Smith, that pair have an equivalent 13 targets in the past two weeks, and Smith has a 20-18 advantage in points in that time. 

The Ravens have never been shy about throwing the ball around with Joe Flacco under center, so both players can sustain fantasy value in this offense, but it would hardly be shocking to see Smith Sr. slowly lose some value in the coming weeks.

In other words, now's probably a pretty good time to sell high. Here's what you are looking at getting back in exchange for the fiery receiver:

• Russell Wilson and Michael Crabtree
• Nick Foles and Ben Tate 
• Tom Brady and Fred Jackson
• Philip Rivers and Jason Witten
• Cam Newton and Jeremy Hill

For a player who seems far more likely to finish as a WR2 or high-end WR3, those are pretty solid deals.

If you are looking to buy low, now is probably your last chance to get Michael Floyd or Larry Fitzgerald at a cut rate. With Carson Palmer back in action, the fantasy stock of each should rise. 

At some point, Percy Harvin is going to produce. I think. I hope. Who knows? He's too talented to not produce, and besides, at this point his owner is probably willing to deal him for a ham sandwich. I'd see if I could get him on the cheap.

Speaking of guys who are worth approximately a sandwich right now, what has happened to Keenan Allen? He's averaging just 4.3 fantasy points per game and is now well behind Eddie Royal (60) and Malcom Floyd (52) in fantasy points. If you want the ultimate high-ceiling bargain, Allen is your man.

Tight Ends

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	18	Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints	25
2	19	Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos	25
3	27	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	21
4	47	Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers	15
5	48	Jordan Cameron	Cleveland Browns	15
6	62	Vernon Davis	San Francisco 49ers	10
7	68	Martellus Bennett	Chicago Bears	8
8	81	Antonio Gates	San Diego Chargers	5
9	82	Delanie Walker	Tennessee Titans	5
10	83	Travis Kelce	Kansas City Chiefs	5
11	84	Jordan Reed	Washington	5
12	99	Jason Witten	Dallas Cowboys	2

I will say, unabashedly, that I love me some Julius Thomas. If you've read past trade value chart articles, you know as much. But I also have to recognize that his nine touchdowns after five games simply isn't sustainable. 

Nor is the fact that he's averaging 3.29 fantasy points per reception. To put into perspective just how ridiculous that statistic is, top receiver Antonio Brown is averaging 2.24 fantasy points per reception. Even Randall Cobb, who has a ridiculous seven touchdowns after six games, is only averaging 2.52 fantasy points per reception.

Elsa/Getty Images

So yes, I think Thomas' value is probably at an all-time high. If you think you have a backup at the position you can start and really need help elsewhere, here are the types of packages you can get for the stud tight end:

• Alshon Jeffery and Wes Welker
• Philip Rivers and Reggie Bush
• Cam Newton and Shane Vereen
• Alfred Morris and James Jones
• Andre Ellington and Brandin Cooks

Thomas might bring you back even bigger deals than the ones outlined above. Those are baseline values. The man they call Orange Julius is a heck of a bargaining chip to own.

Vernon Davis and Jason Witten remain the top buy-low options at the moment. Once Davis returns to health he's a top-five option, while Witten has proved in the past to be Mr. Reliable at the position. Now would be the time to steal either at a bargain.

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 math class with Jason Pierre-Paul.