5 Best Trade Targets for Fantasy Managers Facing Major NFL Injury Decisions

After a relatively mild start to the 2025 NFL season, the injury bug started biting in Week 3. A slew of big-name fantasy players exited their respective contests with various ailments, including a season-ending foot injury for Arizona Cardinals RB1 James Conner and a high ankle sprain that will keep top Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb out several weeks.

Managers who were relying on these now-injured players shouldn't lose hope. There are plenty of viable replacements such as Trey Benson to be found on the waiver wire, although it won't be easy to replicate that type of star-level production solely through free-agent pickups. While you'll still want to make your claims to secure depth and fringe starters for the upcoming bye weeks, trades are the best way to land league-winning pieces.

With several early-round fantasy draft picks off to tepid starts, now is a great time to buy low on underperforming talent.

These players may not be moving the needle over the first three weeks of the campaign, but it won't be long before they return to form and start putting up their usual stat lines. Capitalize on the frustrations of their fantasy managers by sending trade offers congruent with their recent production and benefit when they start meeting lofty projections in the coming weeks.

With that in mind, here's the best buy-low trade target at each fantasy position who can help you weather the recent injury storm.

Fantasy points and rankings courtesy of FantasyPros' PPR data.

QB Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Any concerns about Mayfield's ability to thrive without Liam Coen as his offensive coordinator should be put to rest by now. The veteran signal-caller has led the Bucs to a 3-0 record and held the line by putting up three consecutive top-15 fantasy finishes in the process.

While Mayfield has yet to finish above QB8, it's only a matter of time before he makes a leap and starts chaining together top-five weeks.

Mayfield is a great buy-low candidate coming off his worst fantasy outing (he tallied 17.7 points in a hard-fought 29-27 victory over the Jets) of the young season. While it also marked his best finish during a down week for quarterbacks, managers who drafted the Tampa star expecting better could be growing frustrated with his middling production.

It's rather impressive that Mayfield was able to get through Week 3 with 233 passing yards and a touchdown while adding 44 yards on four carries, as the Bucs were without three starting offensive linemen in the contest. The lineup has also lacked standout receiver Chris Godwin, who has missed the first three games of 2025 while recovering from ankle surgery.

With the o-line getting healthier and Godwin likely to make his debut in Week 4, the Bucs offense is on the cusp of exploding.

If you've been forced to stream the QB position due to injuries to the likes of Joe Burrow and Brock Purdy, don't hesitate to send trade offers for Mayfield. He's got a tough Week 4 clash with the Eagles on tap, but Mayfield will only gain steam from here on out and will quickly rejoin the upper echelon of fantasy quarterbacks.

RB TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots

The Patriots ground game was a complete disaster in Week 3. With Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson coughing up a combined three fumbles, it became painfully apparent that New England needs to promote TreVeyon Henderson to a lead back role.

The Pats had been hesitant to commit to Henderson despite the rookie's incredible preseason showing. Pass protection woes—a bit of a shock given he was considered a one of the best pass blocking RB prospects in years—have kept him limited to rotational work over the first three games, but it's now looking like head coach Mike Vrabel will allow him to work through these issues and improve on the job.

While Henderson only garnered 7.7 points in Week 3 and has just 24.8 on the year, he's trending towards a massive jump in production going forward. He finished Sunday's loss to the Steelers as the Pats' top back (leading the team with 11 totes and 14 touches) and should continue in that role for the foreseeable future due to his ability to secure the football.

With the touches finally starting to come, Henderson's production should soon follow.

Henderson has a juicy matchup with the Panthers in Week 4. Managers who lost James Conner, Najee Harris, Tyrone Tracy Jr. or any other critical piece of their fantasy RB platoon should make a hard run at Henderson. His slow start should lead to relatively cheap availability, but that price will skyrocket after he has a breakout performance in a feature role on Sunday.

WR Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

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It's been another disappointing season for the consensus top overall fantasy pick. After Christian McCaffrey's nightmarish 2024 campaign, No. 1 pick owners have been getting burned again in 2025 by Ja'Marr Chase's concerningly poor production.

Chase has avoided injury thus far but has been underwhelming while healthy. Chase caught just two of his five looks for 26 yards in the opener, and while he bounced back with a monster 14/165/1 line the following week, he regressed to catch just five balls for 50 yards this past Sunday.

Despite Chase's poor production in Jake Browning's first start, it's not time to give up on the All-Pro wideout. Instead, consider Chase a premium buy-low target who can likely be taken off the hands of panicking managers for pennies on the dollar.

It's worth noting that Chase posted a better Week 3 finish and stat line (WR41 with 8.9 points) with Browning under center than he did in the opener (WR77 with 4.6 points) with a healthy Joe Burrow. His target share was a meager 22.2 percent this past week, almost 10 percent lower than his Week 2 mark.

Better days are ahead for Chase and the Bengals. A 48-10 drubbing by the Vikings will likely be remembered as the low point of the club's 2025 campaign. Had Chase put up his abysmal stat line in a game the Bengals were far more competitive in, it might be more indicative of things to come.

The coaching staff is keenly aware that Chase must be far more involved to have any chance at staying afloat over the next three months. Head coach Zac Taylor confirmed as much in his post-game interview, crediting the Vikings for making it difficult to get his superstar the ball early in the contest.

For managers who will be without CeeDee Lamb, Chase could a season-saving trade target. Landing Chase now will help you remain competitive over the next few weeks, while pairing him with Lamb upon the Dallas star's return will give you one of the best wide receiving tandems possible for the back half of the season and subsequent playoffs.

TE Brock Bowers

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Bowers was the consensus No. 1 overall tight end this year, but he's off to a brutal start to his sophomore season. A major reason for this downward trend has been the knee injury Bowers suffered in the Raiders' opener.

Although Bowers didn't miss any time due to the PCL sprain, the issue is clearly limiting his athleticism and playmaking abilities. After a strong 15.3-point Week 1 performance, the pass-catcher has generated a meager 38 yards in each of the last two games and failed to record a top-12 finish at his position in either.

At his best, Bowers is a matchup nightmare who can blow past slower linebackers and use his 6'4", 235-pound frame to outmuscle smaller defensive backs. He paced the Raiders by a wide margin with 153 targets last year and smashed records by putting up an eye-popping 262.7 points as a rookie. He remains Vegas' best pass-catcher, but he currently only ranks second on the team in targets and receptions, third in receiving yards and is still seeking his first touchdown of 2025.

Considering Bowers finished outside the top-10 just six times—and only twice outside the top-20—all of last season, it won't be long before he's back to putting up elite stat lines. The Raiders know they need him to make plays as well, evidenced by the pair of double-digit losses they have suffered over the last two weeks.

While there is recent history of the top fantasy tight end from the previous season experiencing drastic fall-offs (Sam LaPorta scored 64 fewer points in 2024 than he did the prior season, while Travis Kelce dipped even more dramatically from 316 points to 219 points between 2022-23), Bowers should buck the trend and get back on track.

Managers who are dealing with injuries to tight ends such as George Kittle or Colston Loveland should take advantage of managers fearing a similar regression from the Raiders star. Buy Bowers at his lowest point this week and capitalize when he turns things around in the coming weeks.

Buffalo Bills D/ST

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The Bills may be 3-0 on the season, but their defense has largely underwhelmed in fantasy. The team has allowed a middling 23.7 points while recording just three takeaways and a meager six sacks on the year.

Buffalo failed to take advantage of some juicy matchups against the Jets (one fumble recovery, four sacks) and Dolphins (one interception, two sacks), but this veteran-laden unit is too talented to continue struggling.

The Bills get a chance to turn things around in Week 4 against a Saints offense that hasn't been able to find its footing in 2025. With Spencer Rattler at the helm, Buffalo should be able to keep the score low, record season-highs in sacks and interceptions while having a great chance at putting some defensive scores on the board.

The favorable scheduling continues for a long stretch, with the Patriots, Falcons and Panthers representing Buffalo's remaining opponents over the next month. With several key defenders set to return from injury in the near future, this unit should gel quickly and start living up to the hype surrounding it following a top-eight finish in 2024.

If you've been streaming defenses or relying on squads like the 49ers—who recently lost perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Nick Bosa for the season—to get by, swinging a cheap trade for Buffalo's D/ST will solidify the position for at least a month, if not the remainder of the campaign.