Fantasy Football Week 6: Updated Trade Value for Top 100 Players

"Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living," Dr. Seuss once said. Sure, he wasn't talking about fantasy football, but you try living without your weekly fantasy football routines.

The thought bums you out, right?

Yeah, me too. Not as much as a team that is slowly submerging in mediocrity, however. Of course, any season can be salvaged with a few savvy waiver-wire additions and a few timely trades. Below, we'll be focused on the latter, with our weekly trade value chart.

Remember, players not listed below have a value of one. And, as always, may the fantasy points be with you!

Trade Value: 11

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1. Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs 

2. Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

3. Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

4. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys 

5. Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams

6. Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

It's very likely that, for the duration of the fantasy season, this group will go unchanged. Perhaps a player or two will ascend to this top tier, like Melvin Gordon or Jordan Howard. But for the time being there aren't six more valuable players going forward, in my opinion, than these six running backs.

Trade Value: 10

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7. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

8. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

9. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons 

10. Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers

11. A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

12. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans

Hopkins has been red hot, and it doesn't seem coincidental that it corresponds with Deshaun Watson's emergence as a major playmaker at quarterback. 

Only Brown (64) has more targets on the season than Hopkins (61) among wide receivers. His five touchdowns are tied for second at the position with Chris Hogan, and his 35 receptions are second in the NFL. 

Hopkins was a force of nature in the 2015 season, catching 111 passes for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns, so his elite production this season has precedent. Hopkins won't catch three touchdown passes every week like he did against the Chiefs in Week 5, obviously, but he's reemerged as one of fantasy's elite wideouts.

Trade Value: 9

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13. Melvin Gordon, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

14. Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears 

15. Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers

16. LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills

17. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

18. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

Gordon has been excellent for fantasy owners once again this season, and he is coming off a massive Week 5 performance that saw him rush for 105 yards and catch six passes for 58 yards and two scores. Save a hiccup in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Gordon has been one of the most consistent players in fantasy.

Remember when there were questions if Tarik Cohen would eat into Howard's production? It's probably safe to put them to bed. Howard has registered 60 carries for 169 yards and three rushing touchdowns the past three weeks. 

Howard may not get the sheer quantity of touches as the elite options in fantasy, but he's continued to produce for fantasy players.

Trade Value: 8

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19. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

20. Doug Martin, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

21. C.J. Anderson, RB, Denver Broncos

22. Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans

23. Chris Hogan, WR, New England Patriots

24. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

25. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings

26. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

Martin is back after serving his suspension, and he didn't disappoint, opening his season by rushing 13 times for 74 yards and a score. His workload is only likely to increase, and his production should follow suit.

Any questions about Anderson's role on the Broncos with Jamaal Charles in town have been answered, as Anderson notched 20 or more carries in three of the first four weeks. Continue to roll him out as a high-end RB2. 

Gronkowski's value has trended down slightly given his injury woes. Still, his massive potential leaves him as a no-brainer top-20 value. 

Trade Value: 7

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27. Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys

28. T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts

29. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

30. Brandin Cooks, WR, New England Patriots

31. Michael Crabtree, WR, Oakland Raiders

32. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

33. Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

34. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints

35. Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys

36. Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers

37. Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

38. Deshaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans

Ertz has been the most consistent tight end in fantasy this season, scoring eight or more points every week in standard-scoring leagues. Given his obvious rapport with Carson Wentz, he is locked in as a top-five tight end this season.

Newton is playing like the guy who won the 2015 MVP, with 671 yards through the air and six passing touchdowns in the past two weeks. After a slow start to the season, it would appear Newton has hit his stride. While some folks may still be gun-shy after his first three games, Newton's recent success is likely closer to his production going forward.

And then there's Watson, who is out of his mind right now. It's pretty odd to have seven quarterbacks among the top-40 players in fantasy right now, but those seven have proved to be valuable. Watson's torrid form since starting the season has not only made him a must-start player, but also one who you'll be buying high on if you try to land him in a trade. 

It's more likely his production will plateau at some point and his value will take a slight dip, so now probably isn't the moment to strike a deal for him. Frankly, fantasy players who picked him up probably aren't going to want to give him up right now anyway. Sometimes, you've just got to play the hot hand. 

Trade Value: 6

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39. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers

40. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals

41. Alshon Jeffery, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

42. Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks

43. Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders

44. Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Carolina Panthers

45. Sammy Watkins, WR, Los Angeles Rams

46. Alex Smith, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

47. DeMarco Murray, RB, Tennessee Titans

48. Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami Dolphins

49. Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

Coming into the season, both Murray and Ajayi were players with RB1 potential. What the heck has happened? 

Murray's dip in production is harder to explain, though against Miami his offensive line didn't play well and Marcus Mariota didn't play, allowing the Dolphins to key in on the running back. And there's always the looming threat of Derrick Henry, though Murray continues to hold him off and remain the starter. 

Unless Murray has lost a step—and that's possible at 29, following a season where he logged 346 touches—he's due for a resurgence at some point. That makes him an intriguing buy-low candidate.

Ajayi, meanwhile, appears to be caught in the whirlwind of Miami's offensive mediocrity. Jay Cutler running an offense in 2017 just isn't ideal.

On the plus side, Ajayi is going to get plenty of touches. He's the feature back, and the Dolphins are plenty incentivized to establish a running game each week given the whole "starting Cutler in 2017" factor. Like Murray, there is the potential for resurgence here. But Ajayi feels riskier than Murray, if only because he finds himself toiling on what has been the NFL's worst offense thus far.

Trade Value: 5

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50. LeGarrette Blount, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

51. Frank Gore, RB, Indianapolis Colts

52. DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins

53. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos

54. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos

55. Golden Tate, WR, Detroit Lions

56. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Oakland Raiders

57. Mike Gillislee, RB, New England Patriots

58. Ameer Abdullah, RB, Detroit Lions

59. Jerick McKinnon, RB, Minnesota Vikings

60. Charles Clay, TE, Buffalo Bills

61. Jordan Reed, TE, Washington

62. Cameron Brate, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

63. Delanie Walker, TE, Tennessee Titans

McKinnon answered the question of who should emerge as Minnesota's lead back on Monday night against the Bears, accumulating 146 yards from scrimmage and a score on 22 touches. Latavius Murray, meanwhile, managed just 43 yards on 14 touches.

It's possible the Vikings will continue splitting the workload between the two players, which would mean McKinnon's value ultimately isn't this high. After his Week 5 performance, however, his perceived value is most certainly this high, meaning you could probably get a solid return for him if you have a surplus of running backs.

Or you could just hold onto him on the gamble that the Vikings give him more snaps and touches. If you added McKinnon to your team, you certainly have options.

If ever there was a buy-low option, meanwhile, it's Reed. He's once again battling injuries this year and hasn't produced at all for fantasy players. Perhaps an extra week of rest following Washington's bye sorted him out, however.

When healthy, he's a top-three talent at tight end, easily. Like Gronkowski, his value is almost always limited by injuries. Buy low or hold onto him and hope he regains his elite form—now is absolutely not the time to sell.

Trade Value: 4

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64. Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins

65. Martavis Bryant, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

66. Terrelle Pryor, WR, Washington

67. Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington

68. Jimmy Graham, TE, Seattle Seahawks

69. Pierre Garcon, WR, San Francisco 49ers

70. Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants

71. Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans

72. Devin Funchess, WR, Carolina Panthers

73. DeSean Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It's very possible that Fuller and Funchess' recent spike in production can be tied to the corresponding play of Watson and Newton, and that each is due for a letdown. Fuller has four touchdowns in the past two weeks; Funchess has three. Surely that isn't sustainable. 

Still, if Watson and Newton continue to ball out, Fuller and Funchess will benefit. Funchess, in particular, is required to play a larger role with Greg Olsen out of commission. So while a slight regression to the mean is possible for this pair, it seems likely that they are going to remain in the flex conversation for the rest of the season.

And may continue to gradually climb in value.

Trade Value: 3

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74. Duke Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns

75. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers

76. Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina Panthers

77. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

78. Javorius Allen, RB, Baltimore Ravens

79. Ty Montgomery, RB, Green Bay Packers

80. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

81. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

82. Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints

83. Andre Ellington, RB, Arizona Cardinals

84. Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Welcome to the Land of Running Back Committees. It's a scary place full of fluctuating value, alternating prominence depending on the game plan or opponent and a general lack of clarity for fantasy players.

If you're forced to spend too much time in the Land of the Running Back Committees, well, your team took a wrong turn somewhere. Of course, hope abounds here, as those running backs who can't seem to escape promise that they have the potential and upside to eventually ascend to the Ethereal Plane of the Feature Backs.

And yet, you can almost hear Hotel California playing in the background as you scroll through the stats of this group, and if any of them are on your team, the lyrics practically roll off your tongue.

"You can check out any time you like / But you can never leave!"

Run for your life. Escape this place if you can. If you can't, well, we've all been there. Just remember: 

"We are all just prisoners here, of our own device."

Trade Value: 2

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85. Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers

86. Mike Wallace, WR, Baltimore Ravens

87. Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

88. Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

89. Chris Thompson, RB, Washington

90. Allen Hurns, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

91. Jeremy Maclin, WR, Baltimore Ravens

92. Tyrell Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

93. Jermaine Kearse, WR, New York Jets

94. Wendell Smallwood, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

95. J.J. Nelson, WR, Arizona Cardinals

96. Adrian Peterson, RB, Arizona Cardinals 

97. Kyle Rudolph, TE, Minnesota Vikings

98. Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys

99. David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns

100. Evan Engram, TE, New York Giants 

Buy in on Njoku and Engram now. Especially in dynasty leagues.

Both are in pretty similar situations: bad offenses with a scarcity of other weapons in the passing game. In Njoku's case, that comes from being in a rebuilding situation with the Browns. In Engram's case, that comes from being on a Giants team that watched as almost all of its wide receivers suffered injuries last week.

Both offer similar games: Highly athletic targets who can make plays after the catch and offer significant matchup nightmares for defenses.

And yes, both are rookies, which caps their upsides. But don't be surprised when both finish the season as low-end TE1s or high-end TE2s.