Fantasy Football Week 10: Updated Trade Value for Top 100 Players

Every fantasy owner has different criteria when making a trade, and no trade can be judged without context.

Do you value what a player has done thus far this season, or do you value a player's potential upside? Do you take into account what they've done in seasons past, or do you only care about recent production? Do you value a player at certain positions higher than others? Do you make trades based on need or solely on value? Are you in a dynasty league and take the future into consideration?

Like snowflakes, no two trades are exactly the same, and no trade value chart can possibly account for every aspect of your league or your own personal philosophy. What the trade value chart can do, however, is give you a pretty good sense of how you should value players when you are making a deal so you don't get ripped off. 

Keeping that in mind, let's take a look at the Week 10 trade value chart.

Quarterbacks

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	7	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos	28
2	8	Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts	28
3	21	Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	23
4	22	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	23
5	23	Tom Brady	New England Patriots	23
6	48	Philip Rivers	San Diego Chargers	15
7	49	Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks	15
8	67	Colin Kaepernick	San Francisco 49ers	10
9	68	Ben Roethlisberger	Pittsburgh Steelers	10
10	69	Jay Cutler	Chicago Bears	10
11	85	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons	4
12	86	Matt Stafford	Detroit Lions	4
13	89	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers	3

Matt Stafford owners have had a rough season, but good news is on the way, as Calvin Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that he would play this week, per ESPN's Michael Rothstein. That sound you hear is Megatron and Stafford owners all dancing in unison. 

Stafford's value remains pretty low, so with the news that Megatron will return, now is probably the last time you'll be able to buy low on the player. Consider doing so. 

If you want to sell high, however, Ben Roethlisberger's value couldn't possibly be higher. You might want to wait a week to cut ties, of course—the New York Jets have allowed 24 passing touchdowns, easily the most in the NFL—but it's hard to imagine Big Ben keeping up this torrid pace.

Consider that in the past two weeks Roethlisberger has 12 touchdown passes, while in the first seven weeks of the season he had just 10 passing scores. Or consider that in the past two games Big Ben has 79 fantasy points, while in the first seven weeks he had a total of 98.

This week or next (assuming that Big Ben torches the Jets, which he probably will) you'll be getting great value for a player who traditionally is inconsistent for fantasy owners. What is the very least you could get for Big Ben?:

• Travis Kelce and Martavis Bryant
• Andre Johnson or Vincent Jackson and a defense
• Darren McFadden and Reggie Wayne
• Pierre Garcon and Jordan Cameron

Again, I know those don't sound like amazing deals, but those represent the low end of the packages you could expect to get in return for Roethlisberger. There's no way Big Ben is going to keep up this torrid pace—cash in on him while you can.

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	29
6	6	Marshawn Lynch	Seattle Seahawks	29
7	9	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals	27
8	10	Andre Ellington	Arizona Cardinals	27
9	11	LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia Eagles	27
10	24	Alfred Morris	Washington	22
11	25	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay Packers	22
12	26	Ahmad Bradshaw	Indianapolis Colts	22
13	27	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins	22
14	28	Ronnie Hillman	Denver Broncos	22
15	40	Chris Ivory	New York Jets	17
16	41	Justin Forsett	Baltimore Ravens	17
17	42	Denard Robinson	Jacksonville Jaguars	17
18	43	Mark Ingram	New Orleans Saints	17
19	53	Rashad Jennings	New York Giants	13
20	54	Frank Gore	San Francisco 49ers	13
21	55	Shane Vereen	New England Patriots	13
22	56	Fred Jackson	Buffalo Bills	13
23	63	Darren Sproles	Philadelphia Eagles	11
24	64	Joique Bell	Detroit Lions	11
25	65	Trent Richardson	Indianapolis Colts	11
26	66	Ryan Mathews	San Diego Chargers	11
27	74	Darren McFadden	Oakland Raiders	7
28	75	Montee Ball	Denver Broncos	7
29	76	Reggie Bush	Detroit Lions	7
30	88	Bishop Sankey	Tennessee Titans	3
31	92	Jerick McKinnon	Minnesota Vikings	2
32	93	Branden Oliver	San Diego Chargers	2
33	94	Bobby Rainey	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2
34	95	Doug Martin	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2
35	96	Terrance West	Cleveland Browns	2
36	97	Ben Tate	Cleveland Browns	2

At this point in the season, it seems pretty safe to say that if you don't have one of the top 14 running backs in fantasy, you're likely in serious trouble. And yes, I'm including Ronnie Hillman in that discussion, because he's been brilliant since Montee Ball went down to injury, has proved to be a better fit for Denver's offense and likely is going to keep the starting gig going forward.

So, what to do if you don't have one of those players but have some assets at other positions to trade to solidify your lineup at fantasy's trickiest position this year?

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Well, I would first argue that you should target a player just outside of the top tier and one that has perhaps underwhelmed a little at times this year. Let's say you know an owner has Alfred Morris but would be willing to move him based on some of the dry spells Morris has seen this year—here's what you are giving up to get him:

• Sammy Watkins and Dwayne Allen
• Julius Thomas and Terrance West
• Colin Kaepernick and Torrey Smith
• Jeremy Maclin and a defense

None of these deals are particularly cheap, but that's the price you pay for some stability at fantasy's least stable position this season. 

Certain players are bound to see their value take a hit in the coming weeks. The return of Ryan Mathews will hurt Branden Oliver. The situation in Minnesota remains fluid, but Jerick McKinnon's value could take a major hit (and may have already, with Matt Asiata getting a lot of touches last week). Ben Tate may be ceding the starting gig to Terrance West in Cleveland. Who knows what's happening in Tampa Bay in that muddled backfield?

Running back remains a tough position to analyze once you get past the RB2 options. Now is probably the time to nab a top option to ensure you don't have to play matchups with running backs stuck in committees. 

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	25
5	16	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals	25
6	17	Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	25
7	18	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions	25
8	19	Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons	25
9	29	Jeremy Maclin	Philadelphia Eagles	21
10	30	Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos	21
11	31	T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts	21
12	32	DeSean Jackson	Washington	21
13	35	Brandon Marshall	Chicago Bears	19
14	36	Kelvin Benjamin	Carolina Panthers	19
15	37	Alshon Jeffery	Chicago Bears	18
16	38	Steve Smith	Baltimore Ravens	18
17	39	Mike Wallace	Miami Dolphins	18
18	44	Golden Tate	Detroit Lions	16
19	45	Mohamed Sanu	Cincinnati Bengals	16
20	46	Sammy Watkins	Buffalo Bills	16
21	47	DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans	16
22	57	Torrey Smith	Baltimore Ravens	12
23	58	Julian Edelman	New England Patriots	12
24	59	Brandon LaFell	New England Patriots	12
25	60	Mike Evans	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	12
26	61	Percy Harvin	Seattle Seahawks	12
27	62	Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	12
28	70	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans	9
29	71	Vincent Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9
30	72	Pierre Garcon	Washington	8
31	73	Eric Decker	New York Jets	8
32	81	Terrance Williams	Dallas Cowboys	5
33	82	Michael Floyd	Arizona Cardinals	5
34	83	Michael Crabtree	San Francisco 49ers	5
35	84	Roddy White	Atlanta Falcons	5
36	87	Martavis Bryant	Pittsburgh Steelers	4
37	90	Reggie Wayne	Indianapolis Colts	3
38	91	Anquan Boldin	San Francisco 49ers	3

We already talked about Megatron's return a little, but the following tweets from Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com will have his owners downright giddy:

I'm not of the belief that Johnson's return will neuter Golden Tate's fantasy value, much like I don't believe A.J. Green's return will hurt Mohamed Sanu. Yes, their targets are likely to go down, so you have to be realistic about each player's value moving forward, but both have proved to be essential playmakers and should continue to produce.

While DeAndre Hopkins has been pretty solid for fantasy owners this season, Andre Johnson has been a bust. But that might be changing, per this tweet from the Houston Texans:

Rejoice, Johnson owners, for Ryan Mallett under center can't possibly be worse than having Ryan Fitzpatrick under center, right? Right? 

You might want to wait a week before jumping back on the Johnson bandwagon to see how he connects with Mallett. But it's possible that one of fantasy's more disappointing performers is about to blow up. 

I'm not sure you'll ever be able to buy lower on Brandon Marshall than right now. It's important to remember that Marshall has been beaten up and is coming off a bye, which presumably should have given him the chance to get healthy (or healthier).

Remember, folks, Marshall and Jay Cutler are boys and have always had an excellent connection in the past, suggesting they should be able to return to that type of production down the stretch. 

I have a feeling you can get Marshall for a steal in your league. Here are the types of deals you might have to offer:

• Denard Robinson and Ben Tate
• Shane Vereen and Delanie Walker
• Antonio Gates and Michael Floyd
• Jay Cutler and Vincent Jackson (Hey, why not trade one underachieving receiver for another?)

Coming into the season, if I told you the following trade packages could potentially get you Marshall, you'd have laughed me out of the room. Savvy owners in your league might still do that, but if you know Marshall's owner is fed up with the wide receiver, now is the time to pounce.

Tight Ends

Position Rank	Overall Rank	Player	Team	Trade Value
1	20	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	24
2	33	Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints	20
3	34	Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos	20
4	50	Antonio Gates	San Diego Chargers	14
5	51	Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers	14
6	52	Martellus Bennett	Chicago Bears	14
7	77	Dwayne Allen	Indianapolis Colts	6
8	78	Travis Kelce	Kansas City Chiefs	6
9	79	Delanie Walker	Tennessee Titans	6
10	80	Jason Witten	Dallas Cowboys	6
11	98	Jordan Reed	Washington	2
12	99	Jordan Cameron	Cleveland Browns	2
13	100	Vernon Davis	San Francisco 49ers	2

Three tight ends are really intriguing me this week. The first two are Jordan Cameron and Vernon Davis, each who have been huge flops this season. Their value will never be lower, so if you think either will rebound at some point this year, offer the Cameron or Davis owner in your league a ham sandwich and pray that these talented players turn things around.

The other is Jimmy Graham, who I believe could be one of fantasy's MVPs down the stretch. Julius Thomas dominated the early portion of the season and Rob Gronkowski can't be stopped right now, but after a slow start Jimmy Graham is starting to heat up, with 12 receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns in the past two weeks.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

This is probably the last week you'll be able to get any type of bargain on Graham. Fantasy owners generally can't be swayed to move a player after three big weeks. Here's what you might have to give up right now for Graham:

• Andre Johnson and Darren Sproles
• Philip Rivers and Terrance Williams
• Alshon Jeffery and Branden Oliver
• Ronnie Hillman and Anquan Boldin
• Justin Forsett and Bishop Sankey

Some of those deals are absolute steals, folks, and admittedly they represent the cheaper side of what you'll likely have to give up for Graham. But if you can go out and get him this week, do it—his value is going to return to sky-high levels soon enough.

All players not listed above, including defenses, have a trade value of one. Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes, too. It's more fun than sitting down and scoring touchdowns with Anthony Fasano.