Fantasy Football Week 3: Examining Trade Value for This Year's Top 100 Players

Let's just get something out of the way immediately: You won't find Ryan Fitzpatrick on this chart.

Should you ride him while he's hot? Absolutely. Should you expect him to remain one of the elite fantasy quarterbacks going forward? Absolutely not.

The trade value chart, after all, is about projecting value throughout the season. When you make trades, you can't afford to be a prisoner of the moment. And sorry, Fitzpatrick fans of the world, but overvaluing him now could cost you big time later.

As for the players on the trade chart, the top 100 players have been separated into 10 tiers, giving each tier a different value in a trade scenario. So if a player is in a tier with the value of 10, that means a fair trade package would be getting back a player from a tier with a trade value of seven and a player from a tier with a trade value of three. Any players not listed have a trade value of one.

And as always, may the fantasy points be with you!

Trade Value: 11

1. Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams

2. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

3. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

4. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

5. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

6. Melvin Gordon, RB, Los Angeles Rams

No surprises here outside of Melvin Gordon's ascension to the top tier in place of David Johnson—at least for now. One fascinating thing to watch over the past two years has been Gordon's continued evolution in the pass game. Just two games into the year, he's already registered 15 receptions for 140 yards and two scores.

No, Gordon probably won't keep up that pace. If he caught 120 passes for 1,120 yards and 16 touchdowns, it would be the most legendary receiving output for a running back in NFL history. But he's well on his way to smashing his previous highs, which he set last year (58 receptions for 476 yards and four touchdowns).

His continued rise as an elite option out of the backfield as a receiver makes Gordon incredibly valuable for fantasy players. With Johnson's struggles on the Arizona Cardinals' inept offense, Gordon was a logical choice to get bumped into the top tier.

Trade Value: 10

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7. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans

8. David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals

9. Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

10. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants

11. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons

12. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

What to make of Johnson? After two games, he's registered 22 carries for 85 yards and a score, adding six receptions for 33 yards. It's hardly an awful start, and it isn't time to start sounding the alarms. 

But it is a little concerning that Johnson is only averaging 11 carries per game. It is slightly worrying that Arizona is 31st in rushing (61 YPG) and 32nd in passing (114 YPG) thus far. And it's alarming that Sam Bradford is clearly struggling and that the Cardinals have only scored six points through two games.

To put that in perspective, the Buffalo Bills—a team that thought it was a good idea to start the season with Nathan Peterman under center—is 31st in scoring with 23 points. Yes, the inept Bills have still scored 17 more points than the Cardinals.

So it's fair to start worrying about Johnson based on the team around him. He may prove to be teammate-proof and still post top-five fantasy numbers at running back. But monitor this situation closely.

For rhetorical purposes, let's say you've decided to shop Johnson, worried he's going to be a dud (for the record, it's not recommended you do this at all, but some fantasy players are more impulsive and less patient). What kind of deals could you expect to get for him based on the trade value chart?

• Mike Evans and Jared Cook
• Stefon Diggs and Deshaun Watson
• Travis Kelce and Kenny Stills
• Patrick Mahomes and Emmanuel Sanders
• Evan Engram and Drew Brees

Solid deals, especially if you think Johnson is trending in the wrong direction. But show some patience with Johnson. He was electric in 2016. 

Speaking of electric, Thomas has an incredible 28 receptions on 30 targets already this season, turning them into 269 yards and three scores. It looks as though he's poised for a monster campaign.

Trade Value: 9

13. Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

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

15. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

16. Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears

17. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

A.J. Green is tearing it up to start the 2018 season, but 63 percent of his fantasy value has come from his four touchdowns. That obviously isn't sustainable, though his 17 targets is a decent enough mark. Green has always been pretty consistently great, so expect him to be among the top fantasy players again.

Just don't expect him to continue at this pace.

Trade Value: 8

18. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers

19. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

20. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

21. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

22. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

23. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers, essentially on one good leg, has thrown for 567 yards and four scores without an interception. Yes, his injury situation has the potential to severely limit his value, but it hasn't done so to this point. As long as he's on the field, he's one of the two most valuable quarterbacks in fantasy football. 

The elite numbers aren't quite there yet, though he's still a QB1 after two weeks. And Rodgers has faced a solid Chicago Bears defense and an elite Minnesota Vikings unit and still produced. It is definitely not time to sell on Rodgers.

Trade Value: 7

David Richard/Associated Press

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

25. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings

25. Josh Gordon, WR, New England Patriots

26. Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings

27. Brandin Cooks, WR, Los Angeles Rams

28. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

29. LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills

30. Jay Ajayi, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

31. Carlos Hyde, RB, Cleveland Browns

32. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers

33. Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers

So Josh Gordon now gets to play with arguably the greatest quarterback of all time on an offense that has been crying out for a field-stretching deep threat of his caliber? Oh yeah, his fantasy value is about to take a major jump. 

Still, there are always reason for caution with Gordon. Is his hamstring fully healed? Can he avoid the off-field concerns that have marred his career? How long will it take him to adjust to a new scheme and Bill Belichick's no-nonsense approach?

So no one should be ready to anoint Gordon as a WR1 just yet or consider him one of the elite players when it comes to fantasy value. But that is his ceiling with the New England Patriots, and if this experiment works out, the fantasy players who drafted him this year are about to get an enormous upgrade.

Trade Value: 6

34. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

35. Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

36. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

37. Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

38. Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns

39. Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders

40. Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears

41. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

42. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos

43. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals

Patrick Mahomes is the talk of the fantasy world, and there's a good reason for that: He's thrown 10 touchdown passes already. That pace obviously won't continue, but the question is obviously more about whether Mahomes will continue to be an elite option at the position.

There are reasons to believe this isn't a fluke. Mahomes has obvious talent, with one of the strongest arms in the league. He has an offense full of playmakers who will supplement his own ability. And quite frankly, he's looked more than ready to dissect the nuances and quirks of the NFL game:

Mahomes is legit. But without the benefit of past performances, it's hard to know whether he's the sort of legit that makes him a top-three quarterback or a top-10 one. It's pretty clear he's going to be a QB1 this season, and you shouldn't trade him unless you have another elite quarterback on your roster and you want to plug some other holes.

In keeper leagues, absolutely don't deal him. In redraft leagues, ride the hot hand unless you get blown away by a deal.

Trade Value: 5

44. Evan Engram, TE, New York Giants

45. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints

46. Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

47. Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

48. James Connor, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

49. Alshon Jeffery, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

50. Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Le'Veon Bell and James Connor remain locked in fantasy value purgatory. The moment we get more clarity on when Bell will return from his holdout is the moment we can lock both players into a solid value. When Bell returns, he will be in the top tier on this chart. If Bell announces he's sitting out until Week 10, Connor would sit around a trade value of seven or eight, and Bell would obviously get bumped down a tier or two.

But again, we just don't know. So Connor is in this tier because he has elite value in the short term, and Bell is in this tier because he will have elite value whenever he's available. It's frustrating. 

Alshon Jeffery and Doug Baldwin are in the same camp because of injuries, not holdouts. 

Trade Value: 4

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51. DeSean Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

52. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos

53. Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

54. Phillip Lindsay, RB, Denver Broncos

55. Matt Breida, RB, San Francisco 49ers

56. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Oakland Raiders

57. Adrian Peterson, RB, Washington

58. Alex Collins, RB, Baltimore Ravens

59. Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans

60. Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints

61. Golden Tate, WR, Detroit Lions

62. Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions

63. Marvin Jones Jr. WR, Detroit Lions

64. Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers

65. Devin Funchess, WR, Carolina Panthers

DeSean Jackson has been red-hot and the toast of his fantasy owners everywhere, but how real is this? 

Probably not very real. Since 2015, he has one season with 1,000 or more receiving yards. Since 2014, he hasn't caught more than six touchdowns in a season. Maybe if Fitzpatrick remains the starter, Jackson will continue producing like an elite fantasy player. But history suggests that Jackson—who has always been streaky for fantasy players given that his value generally comes from big plays—will cool off.

A player like Emmanuel Sanders, on the other hand, is probably producing the sort of numbers you should expect now that he has a competent quarterback in Case Keenum under center. Between 2014 and 2016, Sanders averaged 85 receptions, 1,190 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

Last year, he was stuck in quarterback hell. This year, he's set free.

Trade Value: 3

66. Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington

67. Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

68. Deshaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans

69. Jimmy Graham, TE, Green Bay Packers

70. Jordan Reed, TE, Washington

71. Chris Hogan, WR, New England Patriots

72. Kenny Stills, WR, Miami Dolphins

73. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

74. Nelson Agholor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

75. John Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens

76. Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans

77. Sammy Watkins, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

78. Quincy Enunwa, WR, New York Jets

79. Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks

80. Kenyan Drake, RB, Miami Dolphins

81. Dion Lewis, RB, Tennessee Titans

Carson Wentz missed the final three games of the year last year, and he was still a top-five quarterback in most formats. That's an indication of how good he was. But he's coming off an ACL tear on a Philadelphia Eagles team decimated by injury at wide receiver, so upon his return, it's fair to project some modest numbers, at least in the short term.

At some point, he should return to his status as one of the top options for fantasy owners. But temper your expectations somewhat for the first few games. And assume his fantasy value will only grow as the season continues.

Trade Value: 2

82. Chris Thompson, RB, Washington

83. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

84. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

85. Will Dissly, TE, Seattle Seahawks

86. Kyle Rudolph, TE, Minnesota Vikings

87. Jared Cook, TE, Oakland Raiders

88. Eric Ebron, TE, Indianapolis Colts

89. Philip Rivers, QB, Los Angeles Chargers

90. Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts 

91. James White, RB, New England Patriots

92. Royce Freeman, RB, Denver Broncos

93. Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks

94. Michael Crabtree, WR, Baltimore Ravens

95. Robby Anderson, WR, New York Jets

96. Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers

97. O.J. Howard, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

98. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

99. Trey Burton, TE, Chicago Bears

100. Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions

Austin Ekeler is a very fascinating player. The Los Angeles Chargers have been able to support the fantasy relevance of both Gordon and Ekeler, who has responded with 16 carries for 116 yards and eight receptions for 108 yards and a score.

He will likely regress at some point, with Gordon the clear top dog in L.A. And he's one of the elite handcuffs in all of fantasy. But his value probably won't get much higher unless Gordon suffers an injury, so he might be a player worth dangling to an RB-starved team. And he's a player Gordon owners should try to either keep or acquire.