It’s Monday yet again fantasy followers, which means it’s time for my weekly Trade HUB article. Mike Hubbard Jr here, ready to help you with trade suggestions that can help your chances of success. 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 7 is coming to a close tonight with a MNF matchup between the 3-2 New Orleans Saints and the 2-4 Seattle Seahawks. The current spread favors the Saints by 4 points this week and the over/under is 41.5 total points. Seattle is at home but is still without Russell Wilson which makes a huge difference. Geno Smith has yet to look great and will need to be in order to pull off the upset tonight. I am expecting a big Alvin Kamara game with the weather looking like a lot of potential rain. My prediction is a Saints win in Seattle 24-13.
It’s that 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 8 begins. Like I always say, one trade could be the difference in winning or losing your fantasy football league.
PLAYERS TO BUY
Nick Chubb – Cleveland Browns
Nick Chubb is no doubt RB1 in Cleveland when he is healthy. Toward the end of week 5 Chubb injured his calf and has since been unable to play. The plan is to have him return in week 8 to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cleveland. Kareem Hunt has been placed on IR and will not be seeing the field until at least week 10 at the earliest. Chubb and D’Ernest Johnson will be top of the depth chart in that order until Kareem Hunt returns to RB2 when healthy and ready to play. Chubb will get a good chunk of his workload back even if they are cautious and don’t over play him. Chubb’s injury status is still up in the air, but he should be good to go on Sunday and now is the time to try to trade for him. Take those 2 weeks of not playing and use them as leverage in your buy low offers. His health and upcoming week 13 BYE could give you an edge in trying to upgrade your starting lineup.
Joe Mixon – Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Mixon finished week 7 with 59 rushing yards on 12 carries and a rushing TD. The Bengals shocked a lot of people after beating the Ravens in Baltimore by 24 points. Samaje Perine finished the game with more fantasy points than Mixon but that is result of the game flow. After Burrow and company established a healthy lead in the 2nd half, the Bengals began to run the ball more. The game seemed out of reach for the Ravens so Cinci gave Perine a lot of late looks. Perine had a late TD run that accounted for 46 of his 52 rushing yards. Mixon and Perine basically split the amount of snaps and rushing attempts. Mixon is still RB1 and that won’t change as long as he is healthy. Buy low on Mixon this week before he has a nice outing against the Jets in week 8.
Darrel Williams – Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs were a head scratcher in week 7. They scored a season low 3 points in a blowout loss to the Titans. Tennessee led early and never looked back. Mahomes tried to throw often in attempts to cut the deficit which was not beneficial for Darrel Williams owners. Williams saw 5 rushing attempts for 20 rushing yards and had 3 receptions for 30 yards on 4 targets. Williams was the only RB for the Chiefs that had any carries Sunday. Although Chiefs fans should be worried about their team, I don’t expect a 3-point performance again again anytime soon. The Chiefs offense is too good, and Darrel Williams should benefit from it just like he did in week 6. I would buy as low as you can on Williams just in case CEH takes back the leading role at RB in Kansas City in week 8. Worth monitoring for sure.
DJ Moore – Carolina Panthers
Who would of thought DJ Moore would be on my buy low list 2 weeks in a row? Well, here we are again. DJ finished week 7 with 6 receptions for 73 yards on 10 targets. The Panthers only scored 3 points in a loss to the Giants who scored 25 points. Yes, you read that correctly. After starting 3-0, the Panthers have lost 4 straight games including losses to the Eagles and the Giants. Sam Darnold was benched in the 2nd half this past weekend which gave PJ Walker opportunity at QB. Even though the Panthers have been struggling lately, DJ Moore is still a top WR in the NFL this season and has the volume to prove it. DJ had 31 targets in their 3 wins and has had 42 targets in their 4 losses. Moore is tied with Davante Adams for 2nd place in targets this season with 73 which is behind only Cooper Kupps 81. Take advantage of the Panthers struggles and buy low on DJ Moore who has a favorable schedule in the coming weeks.
PLAYERS TO SELL
Myles Gaskin – Miami Dolphins
Gaskin seems to be alternating hot and cold performances over his last 4 games. In week 7 he finished with 67 rushing yards on 15 carries and also had 4 receptions for 10 receiving yards and a TD on 4 targets. The week prior he had 14 combined yards with no scores. The performances are inconsistent and aren’t ideal in a fantasy starting lineup. Also, Malcom Browns injury is worth monitoring as he will usually take snaps away from Gaskins. I would try to sell him high coming off a good game and relieve the stress of having to manage him.
Zach Ertz – Arizona Cardinals
Welcome to Arizona Zach Ertz! A TD in his first game for the Cardinals was special, not to mention it was on national TE day. Although I can easily see Ertz continuing to produce as a viable TE in fantasy, there are just too many pass catching weapons on the Cardinals to make Ertz a priority. Sell Zach Ertz high now while he is popular and coming off 2 straight games with a TD for 2 different teams. Ertz and the Cardinals take on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on TNF this week in what should be a high scoring contest.
D’Ernest Johnson – Cleveland Browns
D’Ernest Johnson had a great game on Thursday in a 17-14 win over the Broncos. He rushed for 146 rushing yards and a TD on 22 carries and had 2 receptions for 22 receiving yards on 2 targets. He was the top RB on the depth chart in a game that both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt were unable to play. He took advantage of his chances and is now another weapon the Browns have in their backfield. Hunt has been placed on IR and Chubb is expected back in week 8 but has yet to be confirmed. Johnson should have a role behind Chubb while Hunt is out, but if Chubb is playing, I would not want to start Johnson in my lineup unless I am desperate. Try to sell D’Ernest after his breakout game before Chubb is back and while Hunt is on IR. It won’t be easy but its definitely worth looking into.
CJ Uzomah – Cincinnati Bengals
CJ Uzomah continues to surprise after yet another solid game. He put up 91 receiving yards and 2 TDs on the Ravens in week 7. CJ now has 5 TDs in his last 4 games. Joe Burrow is on fire and Uzomah is benefiting from that quite a bit. Uzomah looks like he could be a fine TE moving forward. The only concerns I have about CJ are that he has only had over 3 receptions or 3 targets 1 time this season and Burrow has a lot of pass catchers at his disposal, like Ertz’s situation in Arizona. Note that in week 7, 201 of Burrows 416 passing yards were received by Ja’Marr chase and also that Tee Higgins had 15 targets. A lot of mouths to feed in Cinci when they air it out. Sell Uzomah very high to a team in need of a TE.