Week 9 Fantasy Football Trade Targets
Week 9 Byes: Broncos, Lions, Jaguars, 49ers
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Trade For…
Quarterback: CJ Stroud
Stroud and the Texans came out flat after their bye and had their worst performance of the season with just 140 passing yards, no passing touchdowns and only 13 fantasy points for QB23. Prior to the bye, Stroud was a Top 12 QB in three of his first six career games. Tank Dell returned from concussion, and Nico Collins is due for a bounce back after three weeks WR31 or worse. If you lost Kirk Cousins, are concerned about Matthew Stafford or stream weekly already, go look to trade for Stroud, who was QB9 from weeks 2-4.
Running Back: Kenneth Walker III
KW3 is partially injured and losing touches to Zach Charbonnet, but he’s also the starting running back for Pete Carol’s Seahawks. Before last week’s eight carries, Walker had 12, 17, 18, 17, 19 and 26 carries. The Walker manager may be nervous about Charbonnet, but I feel like Walker just needed some rest and was limited. Walker has more intrigue for me in non and ½ PPR, but I love him in all formats. If you do have or trade for Walker, go pick up Charbonnet as well. You want the Seattle RB.
Wide Receiver: Diontae Johnson
Johnson came off IR two weeks ago for a modest 5/79 on six targets, but last week he regained WR1 in PIT. He had 14 targets for 8/85 – PPR WR20. Kenny Pickett is out, but Mitch Trubisky can dish 8-10-yard outs and slants. Johnson has TEN, GB, CLE and CIN coming up, with Pickens now earning double coverage from top cornerbacks. Johnson should be able to get loose and remain consistent for PPR leagues.
Tight End: Taysom Hill
Like it or not, Hill is the TE3 over the last three weeks, behind only Taylor’s boyfriend. As much as we want this to be a gimmick, it simply is not. Not only does Hill get carries, as we know, but he does have the occasional pass and also catches passes. All of that equals fantasy points. He’s a cheat code that has landed at TE6, TE6 and TE3 in the last three weeks. Two plus matchups against CHI and MIN before their bye are great chances to continue to ride Taysom. He could disappear, but so can any other streaming-level TE. Almost none of them have the ceiling that Hill does, though. If you’re streaming, it’s a no-brainer.
Trade Away…
Quarterback: Trevor Lawrence
T-Law is on bye this week but also faces SF, TEN, HOU, TEN, CLE and BAL coming out. There are at least four negative matchups in there. Lawrence’s best fantasy performance was QB10 in Week 7, but he’s been QB16 or worse in four of the last six games. He’s thrown for 300+ just once in Week 5 and multiple touchdowns in only two games. Lawrence is awesome in real life. He’s not what we want in fantasy. He has the allure and might be able to be moved for a more potent option like Dak Prescott, Jared Goff or Sam Howell (?!).
Running Back: Gus Edwards
Edwards is the RB1 overall over the past two weeks in non and ½ PPR. He’s the RB4 in PPR. I should love this, and I do… ish. This is a classic sell-high for me right now. He had a very uncharacteristic 80-yard reception (on which he didn’t score somehow) and last week scored three times. Neither of those is predictable. The Ravens have hit their stride, but mostly through Lamar Jackson. I’d love to upgrade on Gus-Bus’ two-week bender. Give me Gibbs on a bye, Walker (see above), Kareem Hunt or Joe Mixon.
Wide Receiver: Cooper Kupp / Puka Nacua
I’ll keep this short. This is strictly based on selling UP. Matthew Stafford is hurt and might land on IR. If so, Nacua takes a massive hit, and Kupp would too. They’ve both been phenomenal, but we play week-to-week and for the future. Puka’s last three games earned 6.6, 23.4 and 7.3 PPR points. Cooper’s last two games have been 6.9 and 6.1 PPR points. They’ve been struggling anyway. Now Stafford is hurt, plus a bye week in Week 10. Don’t give them away, but if you can upgrade or move for multiple pieces that make your team better, I would.
Tight End: Darren Waller
This is a bummer. I repped Waller all summer and drafted him everywhere. The Giants have been trash, and Waller is included in that. Now he’s hurt too. A great matchup against the Raiders coming up might give you one more week if he even plays. After that, though, it’s DAL, WAS and NE. decent matchups, but then a bye. I like Waller as a player and root for him as a person, but can’t trust him or the Giants moving forward. I’d rather have Taysom or Trey McBride.
For more from Sky and his Razzball content, find him on Twitter @skyguasco.
