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As we pass the midway point of the NFL season, we also come up upon a fantasy football yearly milestone…the trade deadline. Whether your league has a deadline of a week from now or a month from now, by this time in December your team will no longer be allowed to trade, so we all have that in common. For this column, we broke down recent trades from the “Yahoo Trade Market” and decided on whether you should be a buyer or a seller on five key players. In the end, we ended up with three players to buy and three players to sell as you look to hone your team into championship mode.
5 Fantasy Football trades you must make in Week 10
5. Buy: Christian McCaffrey for Davante Adams
This trade was a very interesting one to start off with, as the owners must seriously be confident in their current talent at the position they're dealing away. The McCaffrey dealer must be confident in his RB's and the Adams owner must be confident in their WR's. Given that is the case, we like the rest-of-season (ROS) outlook for McCaffrey better than that of Adams. While some might point out that Adams has yet to truly break out and is still a top-5 fantasy WR on most platforms, he is still not on McCaffrey's level as a consistent producer.
Christian has stood out as fantasy's top option in recent years and has the floor that is unmatched, even by Adams. When healthy in Joe Brady's offense, McCaffrey has produced over 30 fantasy points per game. Carolina is now on to their backup quarterback and is in the middle of the wild-card hunt. If they stay in the race, expect McCaffrey to put up numbers that will lead many teams to the fantasy championship. Buy him while you can.
4. Sell: Christian Kirk for Michael Carter
Preferably, you would want to sell Kirk at his highest point, and coming off of five straight weeks where he averaged only six targets per game, this might not be that point…but maybe it is? Deandre Hopkins is missing practice yet again this week and Kirk is looking like the team's “defacto” number one wide receiver in the meantime. He had the second-highest yardage total of his season last week and Hopkins' injury is not considered long-term.
If you are able to get Michael Carter, a potential three-down back come playoff time, you have to jump on in. Running back is the more scarce and therefore valuable position, and although this trade is meant as a flex option trade, you never know what happens with injuries. Having Carter in your back pocket in the case of potential lost time from guys like Dalvin Cook (personal), Josh Jacobs (always hurt) and Nick Chubb (COVID-19) can be the difference in advancing in the playoffs.
3. Buy: Ezekiel Elliott for Eli Mitchell
This one seems like a no-brainer, but at a second glance, you can see why both sides would approach the deal. The side getting Mitchell is a little worried about Elliot's knee injury from Sunday and his limited availability in practice. While we can certainly agree that a knee injury to a running back who has a very capable backup can usually be an extended one. But, if there are owners in your league that are selling him, rush to buy him…and here is why.
First off, Mitchell received his first extended passing game work of the season on Sunday, and the 49ers were getting blown out. Look for them to keep mixing in Jamychal Hasty and eventually, Jeff Wilson Jr into that backfield as they look to get some victories under their belt. That takes away a serious run for Mitchell. Also, Elliott and the Cowboys can scarcely afford for him to be missing any games, especially coming off of a loss. Elliott knows he is in danger of Tony Pollard taking the backfield over at any point. The Cowboys have an incentive to give him the ball, however, due to his contract being guaranteed for a couple more years. All of this adds up to a big fat “BUY.”
2. Sell: Adam Thielen for Josh Jacobs
This one was intriguing because it is another flex trade that is using top-tier players. Despite the injuries, Jacobs has averaged fantasy football RB1 numbers when healthy in his whole career and as mentioned earlier, the running back position is a little more valuable than the receiver position. Jacobs is also coming off of his best game of the season in terms of yards per carry and is at his healthiest after an injury gave him some rest.
Thielen is probably at the peak of his value and has shown earlier this season that he is capable of some duds. If you have the chance to jump on a trade like this, it could easily lead you to a championship. Las Vegas wants to give Jacobs the ball on the ground AND in the air, as he has averaged four and a half targets per game in his four full games this season.
1. Buy: Courtland Sutton for Odell Beckham Jr.
Sutton has had a few mediocre games in a row, a couple in which the Broncos have tried to work Jerry Jeudy into the lineup and tried to get Tim Patrick going after some very bad games. They have also had to deal with multiple tight-end injuries that have impacted their ability to run the ball. But, as the team turns the tide on defense (under 20 points allowed in four straight) the offense will also turn the tide on targets.
Patrick will have to be paid more attention after his past few games, opening up Sutton to have a few big games and get his season going. Sutton has fantasy football WR1 type of talent and opportunity (most importantly) and a team that is going to be competing down the stretch of most games. Sign me up for that, especially if all you have to give up is Beckham. That sounds weird to say, considering Beckham is also supremely talented.
Beckham, though, is rumored to be choosing between the Chiefs, Saints, and Packers. With the Saints, he will not have the great quarterback play that he desires and in the other two spots, he becomes an immediate third option. The third option on a high-powered attack like those might sound enticing, but in the end, the potential of WR1 status with Sutton is too much to pass up.
