Trade Hub – Week 2
Happy Monday and welcome back to my weekly trade HUB article! Mike Hubbard Jr here, ready to help you with trade suggestions that can help your chances of winning your fantasy league. Follow me on Twitter (@FantasyHubbard) and Instagram (@fantasyhubbard) for all things fantasy football. Feel free to tweet me or message me on either social media with any comments or questions you might have regarding fantasy football.
Week 1 is ending tonight following a MNF game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. Should be a great game for the Broncos but after a handful of upsets already in week 1, anything could happen. My expectations are a big game for Russ and the Denver defense. It will be key to see who Wilson targets and gels best with. Geno Smith will have to play very well to escape with a win and being in Seattle definitely helps. Broncos are favored by 7 at the time I’m writing this so will be interesting to see the final spread before kickoff. Will the new look Broncos win big or will Geno find a way to feed DK and Lockett and keep it close or even win it?
It’s time to get strategic and use your persuasion and negotiation skills out in the fantasy football trade market. Here are some players to buy and sell before week 2 begins. Like I always say, one trade could be the difference in winning or losing your fantasy football league.
PLAYERS TO BUY
Allen Robinson – LA Rams
Robinson made his debut Thursday night for the defending champs. Robinson and Rams fans have to be unhappy after a blowout loss at home to the Bills. Robinson finished the game with 1 reception for 12 yards on 2 targets. Yikes. Well, the good news is that Robinson was open quite a bit had Stafford looked his way. Robinson was also on the field most of the game. It doesn’t help being in Kupps shadow, but Robinson should adjust and get on the same page with Stafford moving forward. Robinson was 5th in targets and tied for 5th in receptions Thursday so this could be your best opportunity to pursue him. The Rams are defending champs and will not have to play the Bills defense every week. Go find that panicked Robinson owner and buy as low as you can.
Kyle Pitts – Atlanta Falcons
Pitts had a season opener to forget as well. The Falcons lost in dramatic fashion and Pitts finished with just 2 receptions for 19 yards. Pitts was a consensus top 3 TE in most people’s preseason TE rankings. Marcus Mariota used his rushing abilities a lot and distributed the ball to 8 different pass catchers including RBs. Pitts may have been 5th on the team in receptions, but he tied rookie WR Drake London for most targets with 7. Pitts got looks and that in itself is promising. Expect Pitts to turn all those targets into more receptions and prove why everyone has him ranked so high. If you can find a Pitts owner, especially if they are losing this week, try to send some offers that may look great to them after week 1 but will benefit your team season long. Buy low if you can.
CeeDee Lamb – Dallas Cowboys
CeeDee and the Cowboys scored a whopping 3 points on SNF when they lost to the Bucs at home. Lamb also has lost his QB to injury. Dak will be out 6-8 weeks as of now. Cooper Rush time? In the 1 game last year where Rush started (only start in his NFL career), the Cowboys beat the Vikings in primetime. Rush threw for 325 yards and Lamb had 112 of those yards to himself. Lamb finished that game last year with 6 receptions on 8 targets. Rush targeted Lamb and Amari Cooper a total of 21 times out of 41 attempted passes. No more Amari this season so Lamb should get the bulk of Coopers targets. Although the downgrade in QB and lack of week 1 promise, Lamb will be just fine and get plenty of opportunity. If a Lamb owner is willing to sell, go out and buy low.
Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings
Adam Thielen is WR2 in Minnesota. Kirk Cousins looked great and the offense was clicking. Justin Jefferson of course went off for 184 receiving yards and 2 TDs. Thielen had 3 receptions for 36 yards on 4 targets. He tied 3 other players for 3rd in team receptions with his 3. I’m not worried at all about Thielen, especially knowing he has scored 24 TDs in the past 2 seasons. The targets, receptions, and TDs are going to come. Buy Thielen low.
PLAYERS TO SELL
Antonio Gibson – Washington Commanders
Gibson played well on Sunday in a win over the Jags. He caught 7 of his 8 targets and turned them into 72 receiving yards. Gibson led the entire team in receiving yards and also rushed 14 times for 58 yards. I don’t see Gibson continuing a trend of so many targets. Gibson wasn’t a part of any 2-minute drills and McKissic seems to be the guy on the goal line. Commanders rookie RB Brian Robinson Jr should be coming back to play in a few weeks or so and that will cut into Gibson’s playing time as well. If I’m a Gibson owner I’m trying to unload him while his stats look great.
Isiah Pacheco – Kansas City Chiefs
Isiah Pacheco was drafted in the 7th round of the 2022 NFL draft out of Rutgers. The rookie led his team in rushes (12) and rushing yards (62). He also was the only player to score a rushing TD for KC. Most of those stats were a result of the score and took place late in the game. CEH is the clear RB1 and he found the end zone twice. I would sell Pacheco if you own him in hopes of a player who will see the field more and not just the 4th quarter in blowouts.
Jamaal Williams – Detroit Lions
Jamaal vultured 2 rushing TDs away from DeAndre Swift in the high scoring affair with the Eagles yesterday. Even with those vultured TDs, Swift stole the show with 144 rushing yards, 31 receiving yards, and a rushing TD as well. Williams did get 11 carries and the Lions put up 35 points staying competitive. Although it’s only week 1, Williams is feeling a little TD dependent. Had Williams not scored any TDs he probably wouldn’t be very talked about right now, but he did so try to take advantage of his 2 TD performance and unload him on someone who needs RB depth. Maybe an Eli Mitchell or JK Dobbins owner.
Tyler Higbee – LA Rams
Higbee caught 5 passes on Thursday and those resulted in 39 receiving yards. He was targeted 11 times which was 2nd to only Kupp. Use those targets as a selling point when trying to trade him. I can’t imagine Stafford trending towards targeting Higbee over 5 times more than Allen Robinson in any more games. Higbee and the Rams were playing from behind almost all of the 2nd half which is why Stafford had to throw a lot and that resulted in Higbee targets. The Rams won’t be down 21 points often this season. Sell Higbee for whatever you can get as long as it is an upgrade with better season long value.