Special to Yahoo Sports
This is the last week to make trades in most Yahoo Fantasy leagues, so I’ve added a few more players than usual to the end of this article to give you even more ideas for last-minute deals to swing. None of these are meant to be slam dunks, but more so starting points to negotiate with the members in your leagues. Good luck, and happy trading.
Trade for … Derrick Henry, RB, Titans
Henry currently sits as the RB3 in PPR scoring, second in the league in rushing yards and third in rushing touchdowns. As such, it may require a king’s ransom to acquire Henry. However, it could be worth it for contending teams when you look at Henry’s playoff schedule. Henry has a few tough matchups on the horizon, with dates against the Colts sandwiched around a matchup with the Ravens (both teams rank in the top five in fantasy points against running backs).
Yet, from Weeks 14 to 16 Henry is on literal easy street, with each of his opponents ranking in the bottom four of 4for4’s RB schedule-adjusted fantasy points rankings: Jaguars, Lions, Packers. When trading this late in the season, sometimes the best moves are aggressive moves with a focus on the postseason. Few running backs are in as good of a position to dominate during the fantasy playoffs as Henry. If you can, try to acquire him and ride the king to a championship.
The market: Henry was traded for Tyler Boyd and Miles Sanders. Henry and D.J. Chark were traded for DeAndre Hopkins and David Montgomery. Henry was traded for Todd Gurley and Terry McLaurin. Henry and Keenan Allen were swapped for Antonio Brown, David Johnson, and Patrick Mahomes.
Trade away … Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens
This one is purely a hunch, and playing off one of the biggest names in the fantasy business, but if you’ve been waiting for Lamar Jackson to rebound to his 2019 MVP levels, perhaps it’s time to stop waiting. See if you can swing a deal on Jackson’s big name and big promise … even if that promise has only netted Jackson three 20-plus point outings this season. Jackson has some favorable matchups ahead including against Cleveland (who Jackson scored 27.5 points against in Week 1), Dallas, and Jacksonville, so use those to your advantage in negotiations.
There are plenty of good quarterbacks to either get back in a trade, or find off waivers, especially in 10- or 12-team leagues. There is a chance Jackson catches fire, but if the same hiccups that have been plaguing the Ravens offense all season persist, you could come out ahead by parting ways with Jackson before the deadline.
The market: Across leagues, Lamar Jackson was paired with Latavius Murray for John Brown and Curtis Samuel; paired with D’Andre Swift for Mile Sanders; paired with Robert Woods for Kenny Golladay and Josh Allen, and traded solo for Matt Ryan and Christian Kirk.
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Trade away … Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Football Team
First off, I love McLaurin, but his recent run of success coupled with the quarterback change from Kyle Allen to Alex Smith could be a reason to depart with Scary Terry. McLaurin posted a solid 7-115-1 line on eight targets, with 5-92-1 of that coming from Smith on six targets. That is encouraging, but much of it came on a catch and run for a 68-yard touchdown.
What’s worrying, per Next Gen Stats, is the fact that Smith had the lowest intended air yards per throw of any quarterback in Week 9. Sure, McLaurin and Smith may connect on some deep shots the rest of the season, but that’s not in Smith’s nature these days. Case in point, 37% of Smith’s targets this season have gone to running back J.D. McKissic. McLaurin is good enough to still produce over the rest of the season, but there are causes for concern that make it justifiable to try and use him as trade bait before the deadline hits.
The market: McLaurin was traded straight up for Antonio Gibson and Aaron Rodgers straight up. He was swapped for Keenan Allen and Ezekiel Elliott in one league. He was paired with Justin Herbert for Davante Adams in one league, and paired with Jonathan Taylor for Alvin Kamara in another. McLaurin and Diontae Johnson brought back a return of Todd Gurley, Brandon Aiyuk, and Zack Moss.
[Week 10 Fantasy Rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | DST | Kickers]
Other players to consider:
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Cooper Kupp, WR, Rams: Kupp has only scored twice so far this season, and with the Rams operating such a run-heavy offense, Kupp’s manager may be frustrated with his production. Yet, the Rams have two dates with the Seahawks as well as matchups with the Jets and Cardinals, four teams that could either force the Rams into high-scoring games, or just be very vulnerable through the air (i.e. Jets).
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J.D. McKissic, RB, Football Team: Kyle Allen dislocated his ankle and will be out for the season. Alex Smith, his replacement, has targeted McKissic on 18 of his 49 attempts, good enough for a 37% share. McKissic could be a solid RB2 in PPR formats from here on out.
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Tee Higgins, WR, Bengals: Higgins is coming off his bye, but prior to that he’d crossed 70 yards in four of five games, but scored just one touchdown. He has a 24.37% air yards share on the season, and just under a 20% share over the last five weeks. He has a growing connection with Joe Burrow and could be prepared to dominate down the stretch.
This story was originally published on 4for4.com
Follow Alex on Twitter @AlexGelhar
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