Fantasy Football Week 7: Brandon Marshall and 5 Stars You're Better Off Trading

The NFL season is approaching the midpoint of the season, which means fantasy football owners are dealing with top players on byes, and making some trades right now could help push them into the playoffs. 

There are a number of players who have yet to be as good as we thought they'd be this year, and it's time to package a deal to rid yourself of some dead weight. 

However, in fantasy football trades you have to be smart and make sure you get value in return. In order to do that you need to pick big-name players on your team that will entice your opponents to strike a deal. 

Here are five players you'd be better off trading. 

Peyton Hillis

Peyton Hillis isn't playing anything like last year, and contract issues have been part of the reason why. 

However, he still can get you good value in return, especially if you pick an opponent that's in desperate need of a running back.

That's the key with fantasy football trades. Figure out what an opponent really needs, and work a deal from there. If you're unhappy with Hillis right now, chances are there's someone in your league that could use another running back, especially with news of other guys getting hurt. 

DeSean Jackson

The Philadelphia Eagles are up and down quite a bit this season, and if you have Jackson on your team you've been burned a few times by him this season.

Yes, he has some good weeks, but with only two touchdowns on the year you're better off trading him right now. 

Jackson will get you great value on his name alone, and it's clear he isn't going to be quite the guy he was last season, so go ahead and put him on the trade block and see what you can get in return. 

Pierre Garcon

Pierre Garcon was nothing at the beginning of the season, and then he exploded big time for two weeks when Curtis Painter took over. 

In Week 6 reality hit again, and Garcon didn't come close to double-digit points. Somebody in your league is in dire need of a receiver, and now is the time to sell high on Garcon. 

The Colts are still going to air it out a ton, but when they play a tough defense Garcon is not going to find the end zone, so trade him now while you can still get something great in return. 

Victor Cruz

Victor Cruz has been a big fantasy surprise this year, but with Mario Manningham back to full health for the New York Giants, you'll start to see Cruz get less targets.  

He's on a bye this week so it might be a little harder to trade him, but if you package him with something then you should be fine because he's shown he can catch the deep ball from time to time.  

Cruz has had a few big weeks, and those that don't know a ton about football won't realize that his production is about to decrease, especially since Eli Manning is starting to hook up with his tight end Jake Ballard much more. The time to trade him is now.

Brandon Marshall

Just like last year, Brandon Marshall is having a hard time finding the end zone. Had he been awful on Monday night against the Jets it would be much harder to trade him, but he managed to pull in over 100 receiving yards. 

However, that was only his second time with over 100-plus yards, and since he's only caught one touchdown pass this year it's time to trade him. 

People know that Marshall is very talented, which is why you'll get something good in return, but if you hang on to him you will be disappointed because he and Matt Moore aren't going to hook up for a ton of touchdowns.