Fantasy Football Week 9: Updated Trade Value for Top 100 Players

I play the game Destiny quite a bit, and I generally enjoy myself. It's not perfect, few games are, but I really dig the gameplay, graphics, sound quality and teamwork required to beat the game's tougher missions, so I can overlook most of its flaws.

Most of them. You see, you can't trade gear or weapons in the game. And I really, really like to trade things. You might have an exotic weapon I really want, and I might have an exotic piece of gear I can't even use. That's a great trade! Let me make that trade!

See? I'm always thinking about trades. From fantasy football to my MMOFPS addiction, I just want to trade things. So that's why I make a weekly trade value chart each week to help you with any trades you might be considering. We're halfway through the season, folks, and a good trade can be the difference between the playoffs and the consolation games. 

Be prepared. Become legend. Or something like that.

Quarterbacks

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	7	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos	29
2	10	Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	27
3	11	Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts	27
4	25	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	22
5	43	Philip Rivers	San Diego Chargers	17
6	44	Tom Brady	New England Patriots	17
7	45	Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks	17
8	55	Colin Kaepernick	San Francisco 49ers	13
9	65	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers	10
10	66	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons	10
11	67	Matt Stafford	Detroit Lions	10
12	87	Jay Cutler	Chicago Bears	4
13	88	Tony Romo	Dallas Cowboys	4
14	99	Nick Foles	Philadelphia Eagles	2

There shouldn't be too many surprises at the quarterback position. Drew Brees isn't in the top group of quarterbacks, because while he's been pretty consistent this year—15 or more points in every game—he's rarely been spectacular, exceeding 20 points just twice. Luckily for his fantasy owners, those performances have come in the past two games. 

Expect Brees to be in that top group of quarterbacks in terms of trade value rather shortly. 

Tom Brady's meteoric rise continues, thanks to the 106 total fantasy points he has in his past four starts. He has 14 passing touchdowns and no interceptions in the month of October, for heaven's sake. It's been a tale of two seasons for Brady, who registered just 35 total fantasy points in New England's first four games. 

Normally, I might tell you to sell high on Brady given he's proved to have bust potential this season, but these recent performances are far closer to expectations than that slow start. With Rob Gronkowski at full health and a developing rapport with Brandon LaFell in recent weeks, Brady's here to stay as one of the more valuable QB1 options.

As you can see, I've developed a "disappointing with a chance for big production to come" tier that includes Cam Newton, Matt Ryan and Matt Stafford. Some of the struggles for these players can be explained. Newton wasn't healthy to start the year and was limited in the running attack. Your local high school might have a sturdier line than the one Ryan plays behind. And Stafford has been without Calvin Johnson for a huge chunk of the season. 

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Still, we're entering that part of the year where potential upside probably means little compared to immediate results. If you are currently sitting at 3-5 in a competitive league, you need wins now, not wins later. 

On the other hand, if you are 7-1 and have been grinding out wins by playing quarterback matchups, you might have a golden opportunity to pounce on one of these players in the hopes that he finally explodes down the stretch. You likely won't have to give up a ton to get any of them. Here are a few of the types of deals you could be looking at for each of these players:

• Larry Fitzgerald and a defense
• Michael Crabtree and a defense
• Darren McFadden and Reggie Bush
• Jordan Cameron and Reggie Wayne
• Martellus Bennett and James Jones

For players who have the potential to explode down the stretch, namely Stafford and Newton—the issues in Atlanta may not be going away anytime soon, though it didn't keep Ryan from starting strong—those are bargain deals. 

Running Backs

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	1	DeMarco Murray	Dallas Cowboys	30
2	2	Arian Foster	Houston Texans	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	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals	30
7	8	Marshawn Lynch	Seattle Seahawks	28
8	9	LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia Eagles	28
9	18	Andre Ellington	Arizona Cardinals	25
10	19	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay Packers	25
11	26	Ahmad Bradshaw	Indianapolis Colts	21
12	27	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins	21
13	28	Alfred Morris	Washington	21
14	38	Ronnie Hillman	Denver Broncos	18
15	39	Chris Ivory	New York Jets	18
16	40	Justin Forsett	Baltimore Ravens	18
17	41	Jerick McKinnon	Minnesota Vikings	18
18	42	Rashad Jennings	New York Giants	18
19	49	Frank Gore	San Francisco 49ers	14
20	50	Darren Sproles	Philadelphia Eagles	14
21	51	Joique Bell	Detroit Lions	14
22	52	Trent Richardson	Indianapolis Colts	14
23	53	Ben Tate	Cleveland Browns	14
24	54	Shane Vereen	New England Patriots	14
25	60	Mark Ingram	New Orleans Saints	11
26	61	Montee Ball	Denver Broncos	11
27	62	Denard Robinson	Jacksonville Jaguars	11
28	63	Branden Oliver	San Diego Chargers	11
29	64	Fred Jackson	Buffalo Bills	11
30	83	Darren McFadden	Oakland Raiders	5
31	84	Reggie Bush	Detroit Lions	5
32	85	Doug Martin	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5
33	86	Bishop Sankey	Tennessee Titans	5
34	95	Tre Mason	St. Louis Rams	2
35	96	Zac Stacy	St. Louis Rams	2
36	97	Jeremy Hill	Cincinnati Bengals	2
37	98	Jonas Gray	New England Patriots	2

By far, the two most interesting players at running back right now are LeSean McCoy and Marshawn Lynch. While McCoy is starting to trend up—he has 43 carries for 232 yards in his past two games—Lynch has taken a nosedive, with six fantasy points in each of his last three games.  

Lynch went from being Mr. Consistency in his first four games to Mr. Going To Be Gone This Offseason, and one wonders if all the recent strife in the Seattle Seahawks camp has anything to do with his middling performances. 

Either way, both of these players still have elite upsides and should be valued as such. For McCoy, reaching the end zone is the key. For Lynch, it's more of a mystery. Both have proved how awesome they are in the past for fantasy owners, however, so consider their value to still be quite high.

Some players are really hard to place a value on this week.

Ahmad Bradshaw has been awesome this season, but his injury history and the fact that a healthy Trent Richardson will get a major share of the work continues to worry me. It also worries me that 35 percent of his fantasy value this season has come from six receiving touchdowns. Banking on Bradshaw to finish with 12 receiving touchdowns out of the backfield is risky, to say the least. 

So yes, Bradshaw is a trade-high candidate. Here are some of the deals you could get for the player:

• Kelvin Benjamin and Eric Decker
• Mike Wallace and Jordan Reed
• DeAndre Hopkins and Michael Floyd
• Vincent Jackson and Terrance Williams
• Matt Ryan and Mark Ingram

Generally, I recommend holding on to your running backs if possible, since the position has become difficult to get consistent production from. But if you get blown away with an offer for Bradshaw, a player I believe could regress some in the second half of the season, I think you should take that deal. 

Speaking of one of the players available in the Bradshaw theoretical trades, Ingram, he's a fascinating player to keep an eye on. He's been a beast when healthy this year and has the potential to finally seize the New Orleans starting gig all for himself, putting an end to one of fantasy's longest and most frustrating backfield committees.

If that happens, he's an instant RB1, so now might be the time to go after him. With double-digit fantasy points in three of four games, the risk is low, but the potential reward is immense.

Wide Receivers

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	12	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers	26
2	13	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos	26
3	14	Jordy Nelson	Green Bay Packers	26
4	15	Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys	26
5	16	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals	26
6	17	Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	26
7	20	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions	24
8	21	Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons	24
9	29	Jeremy Maclin	Philadelphia Eagles	20
10	30	Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos	20
11	31	Brandon Marshall	Chicago Bears	20
12	32	Alshon Jeffery	Chicago Bears	20
13	33	Steve Smith	Baltimore Ravens	20
14	34	Mike Wallace	Miami Dolphins	19
15	35	Kelvin Benjamin	Carolina Panthers	19
16	36	DeSean Jackson	Washington	19
17	37	T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts	19
18	48	Golden Tate	Detroit Lions	15
19	56	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans	12
20	57	Vincent Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	12
21	58	DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans	12
22	59	Sammy Watkins	Buffalo Bills	12
23	68	Pierre Garcon	Washington	9
24	69	Julian Edelman	New England Patriots	9
25	70	Terrance Williams	Dallas Cowboys	9
26	71	Michael Floyd	Arizona Cardinals	9
27	72	Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	9
28	73	Mohamed Sanu	Cincinnati Bengals	9
29	78	Michael Crabtree	San Francisco 49ers	6
30	79	Torrey Smith	Baltimore Ravens	6
31	80	Wes Welker	Denver Broncos	6
32	81	Roddy White	Atlanta Falcons	6
33	82	Brandin Cooks	New Orleans Saints	6
34	89	Percy Harvin	Seattle Seahawks	3
35	90	Reggie Wayne	Indianapolis Colts	3
36	93	Marques Colston	New Orleans Saints	2
37	94	Eric Decker	New York Jets	2

Until we see Calvin Johnson back in action and healthy, it's hard to consider him for the top tier of receivers. He's the type of player that should be pursued only by deep teams with an excellent record in case he explodes down the stretch.

Julio Jones has been Mr. Frustrating this season for owners. With 69 fantasy points in his first five games, Jones appeared primed to finish in the top five at the position this season. But like Ryan, he's slumped of late, with just 16 points total in his last three contests. He's always been a bit streaky, sure, and he's yet to dip below five fantasy points in any game, so all is not lost here.

You probably won't be able to buy low on Jones, either, as most owners know an inevitable explosion is coming. But it's certainly worth asking a potentially impatient owner if he would be willing to deal, right?

Speaking of buying low, now is the time to target Brandon Marshall, who has just seven fantasy points total in his past two games. With his locker room tirade and the Chicago Bears' recent struggles—and the fact that the Bears are on bye this week—Marshall owners may be willing to cut ties with the elite receiver.

Here are the types of deals you'll have to offer to pry him away: 

• Montee Ball (who might have lost his starting gig to Ronnie Hillman) and Mohamed Sanu (who has been awesome, but his value will dip once A.J. Green returns)
• Philip Rivers and Delanie Walker
• Tony Romo and Greg Olsen
• Vincent Jackson and Dwayne Allen
• Frank Gore and Torrey Smith

Not too shabby, right? Marshall has struggled of late and so have the Bears, but he's also traditionally been one of fantasy's most consistent wide receivers, and the bye week is going to be good for that entire team. Now is the time to get him.

Tight Ends

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	22	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	23
2	23	Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints	23
3	24	Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos	23
4	46	Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers	16
5	47	Antonio Gates	San Diego Chargers	16
6	74	Martellus Bennett	Chicago Bears	8
7	75	Dwayne Allen	Indianapolis Colts	8
8	76	Jordan Cameron	Cleveland Browns	7
9	77	Vernon Davis	San Francisco 49ers	7
10	91	Travis Kelce	Kansas City Chiefs	3
11	92	Delanie Walker	Tennessee Titans	3
12	100	Jordan Reed	Washington	2

When a player is touchdown reliant, the good weeks are going to be great and the bad weeks are going to be awful. Such has been the case for Julius Thomas, who has three weeks with 17 or more fantasy points but has mustered just two points in each of the last two weeks. 

Ride this roller coaster, folks—tight end is traditionally a volatile position, and the good times have proved to mitigate the bad ones with Thomas over the last season and a half. 

The Gronk is back, and Jimmy Graham appears to be on the up-and-up as well, marking a clear distinction between the top three tight ends and everyone else. If you have one of these players, you have such a major advantage over your competition.

Darren McCollester/Getty Images

There is an argument to be made for who the No. 4 tight end from a value perspective should be. Martellus Bennett deserves consideration, though he's cooled off in the past four games. He started with a bang, scoring 52 fantasy points in the first four weeks, but he's posted just 28 since. 

In my opinion, that leaves either Antonio Gates or Greg Olsen. Gates has 15 more fantasy points on the season, thought Olsen has posted more double-digit performances (five to four). Both players are excellent options, and if you want to improve at tight end but don't want to pay for an elite top-three option, both are prime targets.

Here's an example of what you might be giving up for either player:

• Matt Stafford and Percy Harvin
• Cam Newton and Roddy White
• Fred Jackson and Doug Martin
• Branden Oliver and Darren McFadden

So basically, you're either giving up disappointing players, guys losing time to injury, players on poor offenses (McFadden) or a player like Branden Oliver, who might see his role diminish once Ryan Mathews returns. For a weekly starter, those aren't bad deals.

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 a J.J. Watt selfie.