Fantasy Football Week 8: Trade Targets to Help You for 2nd Half of Season

No matter what your fantasy team looks like at this point of the season, it is likely you can always use more help to make sure you bring home that championship. The good news is some key additions could be brought in for relatively low costs in trades.

In most leagues, you are not going to be able to trade for someone like Peyton Manning or DeMarco Murray because whoever owns them knows exactly how much they are worth. On the other hand, there are struggling players who have the talent to explode over the second half of the season. You want to make sure they get the fantasy points for your team and not that annoying friend of yours.

These players have not been among the league's elite to this point but are worth exploring in trades over the next couple of weeks.

Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions

Although Matthew Stafford was drafted to be one of the top quarterbacks in fantasy football, he has not produced at this level. He has had two big games out of seven but has not topped 15 fantasy points in the other five. 

Despite attempting the fifth-most passes in the NFL, he only has nine passing touchdowns on the season.

There is no question this type of inconsistency has frustrated fantasy owners who thought they were getting one of the upper-echelon players at the position.

The good news is the team still trusts him to throw the ball, as evident by his 36 attempts per game. More importantly, he has been competing over the past month without a healthy Calvin Johnson (the receiver missed two games but has not been healthy for four). 

According to the team's Twitter account, the receiver will at least make the trip to London, where the team will face the Atlanta Falcons:

Even if he does not play, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes he will have time to recover before coming back at full strength:

Johnson is undoubtedly the most talented receiver in the NFL when healthy and makes a huge difference for the entire Lions offense.

Additionally, Joique Bell and Reggie Bush have been banged up at times this season but will get healthier as the season progresses. This duo will give the quarterback more options in the passing game. 

Stafford will keep throwing the ball, and eventually, the yards and touchdowns will follow. At this point, a frustrated fantasy owner could give him up for QB2 prices when he really could be a top-five quarterback for the second half of the year.

Alfred Morris, RB, Washington Redskins

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Over the last three weeks, Alfred Morris has totaled just 12 fantasy points. The longer this goes on, the easier it will be to convince someone to part with the struggling running back.

The key here from a fantasy perspective, though, is to exercise some patience. That is exactly what the Redskins are doing as they continue to feed their top running back the ball regardless of the situation. While the 2-5 team has spent a good portion of the season behind on the scoreboard, Morris still ranks third in the NFL with 115 rushing attempts.

While Roy Helu continues to make plays in the passing game, Morris remains the go-to option on the ground. He also should keep getting goal-line carries whenever they come around.

Washington will need him even more this week against the Dallas Cowboys with third-string quarterback Colt McCoy likely to get the start. The team will try to control the game with the rushing attack and keep the pressure off the journeyman quarterback.

Of course, the real improvements will come when Robert Griffin III comes back. Head coach Jay Gruden provided the latest on the starting quarterback:

Although Griffin has struggled over the past two seasons, he is still someone who requires a lot of focus from the defense. This should help Morris get closer to the 6.5 yards per attempt he averaged in Week 1 with Griffin under center instead of the 3.5 yards per carry he has averaged since.

Legitimate every-down backs are hard to find in the NFL, but Morris is one of them. If you can add him to your team, make the deal and wait for better days ahead.

Rueben Randle, WR, New York Giants

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

As soon as Victor Cruz went down for the year with a knee injury, we wondered who would step up in his place. The New York Giants have a quality passing attack, and the role of No. 1 receiver can lead to a great deal of fantasy points.

Rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr. had the better fantasy day on Sunday with two touchdowns on four catches, but this could work out better as it distracts others from the solid performance of Rueben Randle. The third-year player was targeted a team-high nine times and finished with six catches for 74 yards.

Even before Cruz's injury, Randle had become a bigger part of the offense, with at least nine targets in five straight games. The problem is he has not turned this into much success, actually totaling the fewest yards (321) of anyone with at least 50 targets on the season.

Still, Randle clearly is the go-to option going forward for the Giants. Beckham is capable of big plays, but the rookie has still only played in three career games and has 11 offensive touches. Like all young receivers, he will disappear at times and frustrate fantasy owners.

However, Randle is likely to turn his opportunities into more production. Let everyone else think Beckham is the better option and grab the former second-round pick before this comes.

Percy Harvin, WR, New York Jets

RICH SCHULTZ/Associated Press

The reason so many people drafted Percy Harvin in fantasy leagues is because he has the talent to be one of the top receivers in the NFL. This has not changed over the last two months.

Harvin was traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the New York Jets reportedly due to off-field issues and the inability to get along with teammates. Despite these issues, Jets general manager John Idzik made this deal for a reason, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com:

"

Pure and simple, bringing a player like Percy in is to help our offense. He's an explosive player, he's a dynamic player. I think he can help our offense.

I think we have some weapons, I really do. We're developing those weapons. We're developing as an offense. We're developing around Geno [Smith]. Percy will help in that regard.

"

Obviously, the Jets do not have the best quarterback situation in the league. However, Harvin is the type of player who can succeed without a good one thanks to his ability to make things happen after the catch. If the coaching staff can get the ball in his hands, he can be successful.

In 2011, Harvin totaled 1,312 yards from scrimmage with a quarterback combination of Christian Ponder in his first season and Donovan McNabb in his last. Even Geno Smith might be an upgrade over that mess. 

The Seahawks could not find a way to utilize Harvin, but New York represents a chance at redemption for one of the most dynamic players in the league. Trading for him would be a big risk, but he could represent a nice payoff as well.

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