Capitalize on the fantasy football trade market in your leagues with these players to target or trade away ahead of Week 7.
Buy low on Aaron Jones
Jones is coming out of his bye week and is dealing with a hip injury. He’s considered week-to-week since leaving his Week 5 contest against the Jets. Whether he plays or not in Week 7, it’s a tough matchup against the Lions. This makes for an interesting spot to buy low on Jones.
Don’t let his injury blind you from the fact that across his four completed games, Jones has averaged 18.6 fantasy points and 20 touches per game. He’s also seen strong receiving game usage on his four catches per completed contest. Jones is averaging 5.9 yards per touch this season and he should continue to be put in favorable spots to win for a few reasons.
First, he’s in a quality offense behind a solid offensive line. Second, defenses must focus their attention on Justin Jefferson, which will leave softer boxes for Jones to run against. Trade for Jones before his soft schedule in Weeks 8-10 is here. He’ll take on the Rams’, Colts’ and Jaguars’ poor run defenses.
Try to trade someone like Zay Flowers or Tony Pollard for Jones if you can.
Trade for Isiah Pacheco
I think it’s time we begin to remember the name Isiah Pacheco.
His original timeline to return from injury was between weeks 9-12. We are now in Week 7, which means we are nearing the return of the Chiefs’ starting running back. Right now, Kareem Hunt is trending up. He posted over 100 yards in Week 5 before the Chiefs bye week. But this likely won’t last once Pacheco is back.
Pacheco is trusted by coach Andy Reid in all situations. Early downs, pass protection and the red zone are all areas where Pacheco sees playing time. Remember: in Week 1, Pacheco played 80% of the snaps and handled 88% of the Chiefs’ backfield carries. He could be nearing a return soon given his initial projected timeline of 6-8 weeks, and that makes him a potential league-winning running back through the fantasy playoffs. Trade someone like Tyrone Tracy Jr. for Pacheco if you can.
Send an offer for Tee Higgins
Higgins has been great since he returned from a hamstring injury in Week 3. Over the past four games, Higgins leads the Bengals with a 28% target share and has averaged 8.8 targets per game during this stretch. Higgins now ranks fourth in expected fantasy points per game this season, according to Player Profiler. That’s how good his role has been in this Bengals offense.
You won’t be able to buy low on Higgins due to his strong play, but you should still send an offer, even if it costs you more than it would have a few weeks back. Higgins’ upcoming schedule is strong. He’ll face teams like the Browns, Eagles and Ravens, who all rank in the top 12 in passing yards per play allowed according to NFL Pro.
One more thing: Joe Burrow has looked awesome the past four weeks. During this time, he ranks third in PFF quarterback grades and has completed 74% of his passes. Trade someone like Josh Jacobs or J.K. Dobbins for Higgins if you can.
Buy low on DeAndre Hopkins
This one won’t cost you much to get done, but I’m intrigued by Hopkins’ current usage. Hopkins started this season with a knee injury that limited him to just 27% of the Titans snaps in Week 1. But since this game, his usage has increased each week. Hopkins entered his Week 5 bye coming off back-to-back games where he led the Titans in targets ahead of Calvin Ridley.
The bye week was much needed for Hopkins. It appears to have helped his recovery process because in Week 6 we saw a full-time role for Hopkins for the first time this season. In Week 6, Hopkins ran a season-high 70% of the Titans routes and for the third straight week led the team in target share. Hopkins is trending in the right direction and likely won’t cost you much in a trade. Try to deal someone like Tucker Kraft or Tyler Lockett for him.
Trade for Rome Odunze
Odunze enters his bye week coming off a poor game. He earned just two catches for 40 yards in a game where the Bears scored 35 points. Not great. But the talented first-round rookie enters his bye week, and this is key. We often see rookies see their roles expanded when they come out of the bye. Odunze is already on the field often for the Bears, but perhaps we see a shift in his usage when he returns from his bye in Week 8.
So far this season, Odunze has earned an average depth of target of 15.2 yards. This means he’s seeing a lot of his usage downfield. This will lead to big plays, but it can also lead to some boom or bust performances like we’ve seen the past few weeks.
However, we started to see a change in Odunze’s usage in Week 5. He saw more short-area targets and middle-of-the-field usage. The goal would be to see more usage like this, mixed with his downfield targets, coming out of the bye week.
Overall, Caleb Williams has looked great, so you want pieces of this Bears offense. Try to trade Najee Harris or Bucky Irving for Odunze if you can.
