The waiver wire isn't the only place to change the course of your team. The right trade can make or break your season. The key is to buy low on cold players and sell overachieving players whose values have skyrocketed.

While this is a well-known method, some owners still tend to overreact to a small sample size, so it's important to take advantage of those opportunities.

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive our full season NFL (or NBA) Premium Pass for free, a $59.99 value. Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium pass.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Fantasy Football Buy Low Candidates

Jordan Howard (RB, CHI)

With Alshon Jeffery suspended for four games, all eyes have turned to Cameron Meredith and Eddie Royal to become more involved in the offense. However, Howard is by far the most talented offensive skill player on the Bears’ current roster, and could see an uptick in targets himself. Jeremy Langford is back from injury, but has seen just seven total touches in the last two games, and doesn’t appear to be a threat.

Howard churned out over 200 total yards in Week 8, but fantasy owners will see that that performance is surrounded by three sub-par showings— from a fantasy perspective, at least. The 22-year-old ran for 100 yards on just 15 carries in Week 10 against the Buccaneers, but his first career lost fumble hurt his overall numbers. As a result, his value can’t be all that high in redraft leagues.

Howard is a rookie with four 100-yard games in six starts, including two in a row heading into a Week 12 matchup with the Giants. If his role in the passing game increases at all, he should quickly return to the top of the fantasy leaderboards.

Devonta Freeman (RB, ATL)

Freeman has simply been pedestrian for most of the season, averaging 92.1 total yards over Atlanta’s first 10 games. His only 100-yard rushing game came back in Week 3 against the Saints, and he has found the end zone just five times after leading all backs with 14 total touchdowns a year ago.

Over the final six weeks of the season (including Week 17), the Falcons will face five teams that currently allow at least 100 yards rushing per game, with a Week 15 matchup against San Francisco, who has yielded 180.4 yards per game on the ground to date.

Given his lack of fantasy dominance and the fact that Tevin Coleman could return in Week 12, Freeman’s value might be at an all-time low. Owners who can afford to stash him during his Week 11 bye should try to buy low and hope he can pick up the pace down the stretch against some weaker teams. Even in the tougher matchups, he should at least be serviceable. That’s more than you can say for most running backs.

Jordan Matthews (WR, PHI)

Matthews has been, for the most part, incredibly consistent throughout 2016. He has posted at least 65 yards receiving in seven of nine games, averaging 64.4 yards on the season. However, the 24-year-old has just three touchdowns to date, with just one in his last six contests.

Matthews has seen double-digit targets in each of the last three games, but has not gotten a lot of work in the red zone. In 2015, he caught six touchdowns over the last six weeks, averaging 72 yards in the process. While last year’s success has no impact on how he will perform this season — especially considering he has a new quarterback — his ability to pick up the pace does offer up the potential for increased production later this year, as well. Even without the end zone trips, he is still a viable week-to-week option in PPR leagues.

Fantasy Football Sell High Candidates

C.J. Prosise (RB, SEA)

With Christine Michael no longer in town, Prosise has become one of the hottest waiver wire commodities. However, Thomas Rawls is expected to return from injury this week, and could quickly regain the role of lead back in Seattle. While Prosise might still see more touches this week, don’t be surprised if those numbers shift in Rawls’ favor by Week 12. Plus, throughout the fantasy playoffs, the Seahawks will face the Packers, Rams and Cardinals— all of whom currently allow under four yards per carry. If he is splitting the workload, he will have to make every carry count. Sell high if you can while the Prosise hype train is in motion.

Latavius Murray (RB, OAK)

Murray sprinted into a Bye with 114 yards rushing and three touchdowns against the Broncos in Week 9. However, while he now has eight touchdowns on the year, it was just his first game this season in which he totaled at least 60 yards on the ground. He is still sharing touches, and has seen just 49 of the 91 designed carries over his last three games. He also hasn’t been all that effective, with 4.51 yards per carry over that span compared to 5.29 for the rest of the group, which includes DeAndre Washington, Jalen Richard, Jamize Olawale and Johnny Holton. Murray remains the No. 1 back in Oakland, but his value is almost entirely dependent on finding the end zone. He can likely provide a solid return in a trade given his fantasy performances over the last few weeks.

Julius Thomas (TE, JAC)

Thomas is far removed from his first full season in 2013, when he caught 65 passes for 788 yards and 12 TD in Denver. Now with the Jaguars, he has managed just 269 yards on 27 receptions with four scores through eight games. Thomas hasn’t even reached 30 yards since Week 2 — he caught a season-high six passes for just 24 yards in Week 10 — but has stayed afloat in the fantasy world by hauling in a touchdown pass in three of the last four weeks. Outside of the elite tight ends, the next 20 or so are very interchangeable, so ship Thomas off for an upgrade elsewhere and pick someone up off the wire.