There’s never been a time to make fantasy football trades quite like now. The best wide receivers in the game are dropping like flies, and teams are changing. Young players are getting their shots and proving to be valuable assets to NFL teams, but in many cases, that comes at the cost of our beloved fantasy stars. Here are some potential candidates to hit the trade block ahead of Week 8.
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Fantasy Football Week 8 Buy Trade Targets
Chris Olave (WR, NO)
Olave has been a mess for the last three weeks, potentially leaving fantasy managers hopeless. He caught just two of his targets for ten yards in Week 5 before going down with a concussion, scoring negative fantasy points in Week 6, and missing Week 7 to said concussion. Prior to this disaster of three weeks, he was playing well with three straight 80+ yard games.
Now Derek Carr is set to return in the next two weeks, and Rashid Shaheed is on IR, leaving Olave to be the main beneficiary and top target in this Saints offense. He has the talent to be a top-12 fantasy wide receiver, and the opportunity is arising as well. The Saints also have the seventh-easiest wide receiver schedule remaining, and this defense has been playing poorly. This should create a recipe for the passing game in New Orleans as Chris Olave leads the way in Derek Carr‘s return.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. (RB, NYG)
Tracy played 67-percent of snaps in Devin Singletary‘s return to action in Week 7. He handled 50-percent of the Giants’ runningback carries and 60-percent of the targets. Head coach Brian Daboll said Tracy earned more playing time ahead of Week 7, and he stuck with his word. Tracy impressed in two games without Singletary, racking up over 100 total yards in each game. He showcased his vision, patience, elusiveness, and pass-catching prowess impressively. Let this down game and Singletary’s return open up a buy window for Tracy as a top-30 running back with weekly upside.
Alvin Kamara (RB, NO)
Kamara has struggled on the ground recently, averaging just 2.5 yards per carry over his last three games. However, two of those three games have been against top-ten rushing defenses, and the Saints have been without Derek Carr for the last two weeks. The argument to buy Kamara is based on his receiving utilization, Carr’s return, and the strength of the schedule for the Saints. Kamara has seen at least seven targets in each of the last four games and has the seventh-easiest remaining strength of schedule according to FantasyPros. Derek Carr is possibly returning this week, but reports indicate that it’ll likely be Week 9 that he returns which is just one week away. With Rashid Shaheed on IR and Taysom Hill banged up, the Saints are going to have to rely on their veteran pass-catching back to carry a hefty load.
Fantasy Football Week 8 Sell Trade Targets
Rico Dowdle (RB, DAL)
Dowdle has served as the lead back for the Dallas Cowboys this season, but it hasn’t led to much production. He’s seen over 12 opportunities in three of his six games this season and accumulated over 60 scrimmage yards just twice (one of which was 61). Dowdle fails to impress when it comes to impressing and has been strictly a volume play (mostly receiving) with his minimal success thus far. He ranks 37th in true yards per carry and 39th in explosive rating with zero breakaway runs. If you can sell him on the back of his back-to-back weeks with receiving touchdowns and his outlier 22 opportunities in Week 5, I would.
James Cook (RB, BUF)
Cook started off the season strong, looking like a locked and loaded RB1. After missing Week 6, Cook returned to the tune of 12 carries for 32 yards and one touchdown on the ground with ZERO targets! Ray Davis looked great in his absence and again in his limited run in Week 7, averaging 5.52 yards per carry on 25 carries while adding 61 receiving yards on just four receptions. With Josh Allen still handling a lot of the goal line work and Ray Davis working in, we’re going to need Cook to see a lot of work in the passing game, but that doesn’t seem to be the game plan. If you can sell Cook as a high-end RB2 before he quickly plummets to a low-end RB2, you’ll probably be thanking yourself in a month.
Brian Robinson Jr. (RB, WAS)
After averaging nearly three targets a game through the first month of the season, Robinson’s receiving utilization has vanished. He’s kept his streak of double-digit points alive on the back of touchdowns. However, Robinson has seen just 19 carries over the last two weeks and not a single target in that span. Fortunately, he’s scored three times, and this Commanders’ offense looks very good. Still, that type of touchdown rate on limited volume and the disappearance of any involvement in the passing game is enough to be concerned. Look to package Robinson and tier up at running back or target a struggling wide receiver like Olave.
The Bottom Line
Remember that this advice is all relative; do not sell these players for pennies on the dollar. See where you can take advantage of struggling fantasy managers or people who have different outlooks on these players than you may have. One-for-one trades are extremely hard to execute, so I always suggest trying to get some sort of package deal done. Lastly, try not to come head-on when you’re making a trade and make it obvious which player you want. Start slow and inch closer to the guy you want once you gauge who your friend wants from your team. Happy trading!
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