Fantasy Football Week 8: Updated Trade Value for Top 100 Players

My favorite NFL story in recent memory has to be the rumors surrounding the Percy Harvin trade, specifically the report that the Seahawks tried to dangle the disgruntled wide receiver in front of the Denver Broncos in hopes of landing Julius Thomas in a deal. 

Any fantasy owner worth his or her salt could tell you that such a deal would be ridiculous. Heck, anyone who has actually watched football this year could tell you as much. The last thing you want to be in your fantasy leagues is the person who gets branded as the "Trade Troll" for trying to get deals to go through like Harvin for Orange Julius.

It's a quick way to lose respect in your league. But luckily, with my handy trade chart you won't have to be the Trade Troll—or worse, the person who actually makes a deal with the Trade Troll. 

Quarterbacks

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	8	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos	29
2	9	Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	28
3	10	Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts	28
4	29	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	22
5	37	Philip Rivers	San Diego Chargers	20
6	47	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers	16
7	48	Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks	16
8	68	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons	9
9	69	Matt Stafford	Detroit Lions	9
10	76	Tom Brady	New England Patriots	7
11	77	Colin Kaepernick	San Francisco 49ers	7
12	93	Jay Cutler	Chicago Bears	3
13	94	Tony Romo	Dallas Cowboys	3
14	97	Nick Foles	Philadelphia Eagles	2

Let's start out by categorizing a few players at the position:

• Don't You Dare Trade: Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck
• Sell High: Philip Rivers, Jay Cutler
• Buy Low: Cam Newton, Matt Stafford, Nick Foles

The first three guys should speak for themselves. Philip Rivers is a sell-high candidate mostly because a season ago he scored 18 or more fantasy points in four of the first five weeks but replicated the feat just four times in the last 11 games. A drought could be coming.

As for Jay Cutler, well, he's erratic. And turnover-prone. And I just don't trust him. Someone in your league will probably take the bait for the No. 6 quarterback in fantasy points thus far this season, however. I'd deal him now while his value remains high. 

Go out and get Cam Newton now. He's healthy, and with his health has come 24 carries for 148 yards in the past two weeks. A running Newton is a fantasy-dominant Newton. And honestly, you're probably not giving up that much to get him. Here's some of the deals you're looking at:

• Shane Vereen and a defense
• Pierre Garcon and Zach Ertz
• Martellus Bennett and Roddy White
• Michael Crabtree and Tre Mason

For a player with legitimate top-five potential at the position, those deals aren't too shabby, especially if you aren't getting much at quarterback.

Matt Stafford remains erratic, sure, but most offenses would sputter a bit if they suddenly lost Calvin Johnson. You're never going to get Stafford at a lower price, though. Of course, if you are going to make this deal, you are also gambling that Megatron will return to health sooner rather than later. 

And then there is Nick Foles. Sure, he was never going to replicate 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions this season, but folks were also expecting more than 14.3 fantasy points per game. With his offensive line slowly returning to health and the Eagles coming off a bye, the hope is that Foles will be a bit better.

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	6	Arian Foster	Houston Texans	30
7	7	LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia Eagles	30
8	17	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals	26
9	18	Andre Ellington	Arizona Cardinals	26
10	24	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay Packers	23
11	25	Ahmad Bradshaw	Indianapolis Colts	23
12	26	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins	23
13	35	Alfred Morris	Washington	20
14	36	Rashad Jennings	New York Giants	20
15	38	Ben Tate	Cleveland Browns	19
16	39	Justin Forsett	Baltimore Ravens	19
17	40	Jerick McKinnon	Minnesota Vikings	19
18	41	Frank Gore	San Francisco 49ers	19
19	49	Doug Martin	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	15
20	50	Chris Ivory	New York Jets	15
21	51	Darren Sproles	Philadelphia Eagles	15
22	52	Joique Bell	Detroit Lions	15
23	53	Trent Richardson	Indianapolis Colts	15
24	54	Shane Vereen	New England Patriots	15
25	61	Montee Ball	Denver Broncos	12
26	62	Mark Ingram	New Orleans Saints	12
27	70	Darren McFadden	Oakland Raiders	8
28	71	Reggie Bush	Detroit Lions	8
29	72	Branden Oliver	San Diego Chargers	8
30	83	Fred Jackson	Buffalo Bills	5
31	84	Ronnie Hillman	Denver Broncos	5
32	85	Tre Mason	St. Louis Rams	5
33	86	Denard Robinson	Jacksonville Jaguars	5
34	87	Bishop Sankey	Tennessee Titans	5
35	98	Khiry Robinson	New Orleans Saints	2
36	99	Jeremy Hill	Cincinnati Bengals	2
37	100	Zac Stacy	St. Louis Rams	2

Any time I get a trade question and people suggest they might trade a top running back, I generally try to advise against it. I honestly believe if you have one of the top nine players on this list, you should hold onto that player. They're simply too valuable to move unless you somehow managed to have an amazing draft picking out running backs. 

Just think of what happened at the position in the past week or so alone. Stevan Ridley was lost for the season, and C.J. Spiller likely won't be back this year, changing the value of Shane Vereen and Fred Jackson (well, sort of—Jackson is set to miss time himself).

Tre Mason appears to have seized the starting role in St. Louis. Ditto for Denard Robinson in Jacksonville and Jerick McKinnon in Minnesota. Ronnie Hillman has looked better than Montee Ball in his deputy duties. And just think of all the committee situations around the league. 

The point is simple—running back is the most volatile position in fantasy football, and when you have a player who doesn't seem subject to the committee trend or injury bug, well, you hold on for dear life. That jewel you think you've unearthed? He might be nothing more than fool's gold in a few weeks.

There are a few tricky players in the RB2 range, however. Frank Gore has been Mr. Consistent in his career, for example, but in the past two weeks he's rushed just 25 times for 58 yards. Part of that was San Francisco falling behind to Denver quickly. But part of it is Gore getting older, too, and Carlos Hyde waiting in the wings. 

So let's say you were willing to dangle Gore to improve other positions. What sort of packages could you expect to get in return?

• T.Y. Hilton and Nick Foles
• DeAndre Hopkins and Bishop Sankey
• Michael Floyd and Tom Brady
• Russell Wilson and Delanie Walker

Honestly, if you can get Wilson back in a deal for Gore, you should jump all over that deal. I tend to value running backs a little more highly than some given the uncertainty at the position, but I also think Gore is at the end of the rope, and you can deal him to an owner based on what he was, not necessarily what he is now. 

Wide Receivers

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	11	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers	27
2	12	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos	27
3	13	Jordy Nelson	Green Bay Packers	27
4	14	Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons	27
5	15	Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys	27
6	16	Brandon Marshall	Chicago Bears	27
7	19	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions	25
8	20	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals	25
9	21	Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	25
10	27	Alshon Jeffery	Chicago Bears	22
11	28	Jeremy Maclin	Philadelphia Eagles	22
12	31	Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos	21
13	32	Steve Smith	Baltimore Ravens	21
14	33	Mike Wallace	Miami Dolphins	21
15	34	Kelvin Benjamin	Carolina Panthers	21
16	43	DeSean Jackson	Washington	17
17	44	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans	17
18	45	Vincent Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	17
19	46	T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts	17
20	55	Golden Tate	Detroit Lions	14
21	56	DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans	14
22	57	Pierre Garcon	Washington	14
23	58	Julian Edelman	New England Patriots	14
24	63	Terrance Williams	Dallas Cowboys	11
25	64	Michael Crabtree	San Francisco 49ers	11
26	65	Michael Floyd	Arizona Cardinals	11
27	73	Reggie Wayne	Indianapolis Colts	7
28	74	Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	7
29	75	Percy Harvin	Seattle Seahawks	7
30	78	Mohamed Sanu	Cincinnati Bengals	6
31	79	Torrey Smith	Baltimore Ravens	6
32	80	Wes Welker	Denver Broncos	6
33	81	Roddy White	Atlanta Falcons	6
34	82	Marques Colston	New Orleans Saints	6
35	90	Brian Quick	St. Louis Rams	4
36	91	James Jones	Oakland Raiders	4
37	92	Eric Decker	New York Jets	4

Calvin Johnson and A.J. Green remain in the second tier of wide receivers as we wait to see how their injury situations pan out, but the second they return and start producing, they'll be WR1s again.

Not too much has changed at wide receiver. Torrey Smith has gotten bumped up. Players like Keenan Allen have been bumped down. You might think Randall Cobb should be in the first tier of receivers, but too much of his production is tied to touchdowns at the moment.

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

In fact, Cobb's eight touchdowns represent 52.7 percent of his fantasy value. Contrast that to Jordy Nelson, who is getting just 37.8 percent of his fantasy value from reaching paydirt, or Antonio Brown, fantasy's top receiver who is getting just 32.3 percent of his fantasy value from touchdowns (five receiving, one throwing).

Touchdown production isn't sustainable. It generally isn't predictable, unless you happen to be Julius Thomas and are Peyton Manning's favorite red-zone threat. 

So, you guessed it—that makes Cobb a player you can sell a bit high on. Right now, you can get an absolute bounty in return for him. 

• Alfred Morris and Tre Mason
• Justin Forsett and Mohamed Sanu
• Julius Thomas and a defense
• Rob Gronkowski and Tony Romo

Cobb will likely continue to be a WR1 or high-end WR2 this season. But if you can deal him at his absolute peak value and need help at other positions, why not improve your team while you can?

Tight Ends

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	22	Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints	24
2	23	Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos	24
3	30	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	22
4	42	Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers	18
5	59	Jordan Cameron	Cleveland Browns	13
6	60	Vernon Davis	San Francisco 49ers	13
7	66	Martellus Bennett	Chicago Bears	10
8	67	Antonio Gates	San Diego Chargers	10
9	88	Travis Kelce	Kansas City Chiefs	4
10	89	Jordan Reed	Washington	4
11	95	Delanie Walker	Tennessee Titans	3
12	96	Zach Ertz	Philadelphia Eagles	2

Here are some of the players that Jordan Cameron has fewer fantasy points than this season: Daniel Fells, Lance Kendricks and Clay Harbor. Here are the players he has the exact same amount of points (25) as: Scott Chandler and Jace Amaro.

Yikes. 

The Cleveland Browns aren't going to be mistaken for the Greatest Show on Turf anytime soon, and missing Josh Gordon is probably putting all of the defensive attention on Cameron, but I really think he's primed for a breakout soon. I think he's too talented to keep underwhelming. 

David Richard/Associated Press

It's tough to know his exact value, however. You're either paying for what he's done in the past or selling him because he's done very little this season. Still, getting a potential top-four option at tight end for the following trade packages has to be appealing to the savvier owners among us:

• Terrance Williams and Zac Stacy
• Larry Fitzgerald and Wes Welker
• Reggie Wayne and Marques Colston
• Darren McFadden and Denard Robinson

You're not exactly giving up a king's ransom in these deals. Cameron is worth inquiring about this week.

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 trying to keep a straight face while offering Percy Harvin for Julius Thomas in a trade.