RADIO
The NFL trade deadline has officially passed, meaning there are only a few weeks left to trade in most fantasy football leagues. Player injuries have run rampant this season, so in all likelihood, a few areas of your team could use reinforcements or improvements before the fantasy playoffs begin.
Ahead of Week 9, I recommended buying low on Davante Adams, who went on to post 91 yards and a touchdown in his best game as a Jet thus far. I also suggested trading for Aaron Jones, who totaled 82 yards but was rather underwhelming for fantasy in Minnesota's win over the Colts. The silver lining is that Jones received 25 opportunities and has the Jaguars on tap for next week. I called out Chase Brown and J.K. Dobbins as players to trade away, and on the surface, this advice aged poorly. I acknowledged in last week's column, however, that Brown was set up nicely against the Raiders before his schedule took a turn for the worse. I missed entirely on Dobbins, though. The Chargers had a great offensive showing against a tough Browns defense, and Dobbins turned in his most efficient performance since Week 2.
I like to recap each week for the sake of transparency, but it's always important to remember that trades can't be completely evaluated in one week. Let's take a look at two players who you should trade for to help your team in Week 10 and beyond.
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Players to Target in Trades for Fantasy Football
James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
Make no mistake about it, James Conner has not been bad or even disappointing this season. He has been one of the most steady running backs in fantasy, averaging 13.2 points as the RB14 through nine weeks.
It may not feel like Conner is the RB14 right now because he just hasn't been dominant. Looking at his game log, something stands out. He has not eclipsed 20 fantasy points in any single contest this year, which cannot be said for any of the 13 running backs ahead of him.
Conner, Tony Pollard, and Najee Harris are the only top-24 fantasy backs who do not have a 20-point outing yet this season. This speaks to just how reliable Conner has been, considering he is a top-15 player at the position without any real spike weeks.
This should make him attainable, as should the fact that fantasy managers are understandably upset with what happened last week. Conner rushed for over 100 yards but was not responsible for any of Arizona's three scores on the ground.
Starting James Conner
Seeing Trey McBride score
Seeing Trey Benson score
Seeing Emari Demarcado score pic.twitter.com/2wptXOXoPe— Jake's Fantasy Football (@JakesFFootball) November 3, 2024
This week, Conner will face the New York Jets, who have been much more stout against the pass than the run. New York surrenders the 12th-most rushing yards to opposing offenses and has allowed a running back to find the end zone in three straight games.
The Cardinals have a bye in Week 12, which is something to keep in mind if you're fighting for a playoff spot. If you have a good chance of getting in, though, there aren't many players with a better stretch of matchups from Weeks 15 through 17 than Conner.
He gets the Patriots, Panthers, and Rams to round out the fantasy season. All three of those defenses rank in the bottom nine against the run, with the Patriots and Panthers allowing over 24 fantasy points per game to running backs. While the Rams have fared slightly better, Conner logged his best statistical output of the season against his division rival in Week 2.
Surprisingly, the Cardinals sit atop the NFC West at 5-4. We can expect Conner to lead the way for Arizona as it fights to win the division for the first time since 2015. If you can get him by trading away players such as J.K. Dobbins or Rhamondre Stevenson, even in a package, I'd do so.
George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers
Unlike Conner, George Pickens hasn't been the most consistent fantasy producer in 2024. Through the first eight weeks of the campaign, Pickens was a top-30 fantasy receiver just three times.
Despite this, just about every underlying metric tells us that Pickens is having a breakout season. His fantasy managers who have watched the Steelers know this. Pickens has suffered an incredible amount of misfortune this year.
Why do the Fantasy gods hate George Pickens? Just listen to this diatribe from @ScottBarrettDFB on the couch with @SigmundBloom 👇🏻
Even with all of these chunk plays nullified, Pickens is the WR5 in yards per route run (2.53) in 2024. Insane.
Now imagine if he gets TDs! pic.twitter.com/ZUUmWr2XAH
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) November 1, 2024
If you don't listen to the video above in full, the takeaway is that Pickens has had three touchdowns and at least three big gains overturned or nullified by penalties. At some point, luck is going to reverse its course.
Since Russell Wilson took over QB1 duties, Pickens has amassed a 26% team target share while averaging 92.5 receiving yards per contest. His skill set is a perfect match for a quarterback like Wilson, famous for his "moon balls" deep downfield. He scored his only actual touchdown of the season in Wilson's Pittsburgh debut two weeks ago.
The Steelers did make a move at Tuesday's trade deadline, acquiring veteran Mike Williams from the New York Jets. For months, Pittsburgh had been mentioned in trade rumors as an obvious destination for receivers. Williams should provide some much-needed playmaking on the outside, but this deal solidifies the team's belief in Pickens as its No. 1 option.
Had the Steelers pulled off a trade for Brandon Aiyuk in the offseason or brought in Davante Adams or DeAndre Hopkins a few weeks ago, there would be legitimate cause for concern about Pickens' target volume going forward. Williams is averaging fewer than three opportunities per game this season as he continues to work his way back from a torn ACL and should not be viewed as a real threat to Pickens.
Pickens has a difficult matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17, the fantasy championship. But to win the championship, you have to make it there. It should be smooth sailing for the 23-year-old over the next seven weeks. He'll face off against both the Ravens and Browns twice and the Bengals once in that span. His non-divisional opponents are the Commanders and Eagles.
No team has given up more fantasy points to wideouts this season than Baltimore, though Cleveland isn't far behind. Cincinnati, Washington, and Philadelphia have all improved from 2023 against the pass, but none boast secondaries that must be avoided.
Unless the Pickens manager in your league is a Steelers fan, they probably don't realize how many fantasy points have been taken away from him. Capitalize on this and get Pickens for your run at the title.
Players to Trade Away for Fantasy Football
Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans
Coming into the season, many believed that the Titans backfield would be close to a 50-50 split between newcomer Tony Pollard and second-year pro Tyjae Spears. Spears hasn't suited up since Week 6, but even when healthy, Pollard has run ahead of him.
Without Spears on the field, Pollard is an every-down workhorse getting 24 touches per contest. This is an incredible amount of volume, which reigns supreme in fantasy football. To his credit, Pollard has played well, but his lack of touchdowns has capped his ceiling.
Tony Pollard in 3 games without Tyjae Spears:
* 85% snaps
* 64 carries
* 13 tgts (11.7% tgt share)
* 337 total yards
* 0 TDs
* RB22 in half PPRTouchdowns hard to come by in this Titans offense, but Pollard's role is one of the best in the league without Spears.
— Mark Dankenbring (@MarkDank) November 5, 2024
RB22 isn't bad, and neither is Pollard's ranking of RB20 on the season. But given his weighty workload, this output is disheartening. It has much more to do with Tennessee's lowly offense than it does Pollard's play but it's bad news for fantasy nonetheless.
Pollard has three touchdowns on the season, all coming in plus matchups with Spears healthy. The Titans have been starting Mason Rudolph at quarterback for the past three weeks, but the possible return of Will Levis this week isn't likely to improve Tennessee's offense much, if at all.
With Levis at the helm this year, the Titans average 19.2 points and 1.4 interceptions thrown per game. Levis hasn't played since the team dealt DeAndre Hopkins, so we could see him struggle even more with limited options in the passing game.
Coming off a 31-touch, 154-yard showcase against a porous Patriots run defense, Pollard will have value on the trade market. If you have Pollard on your team, you should consider trading him ahead of a three-week gauntlet of matchups against the Chargers, Vikings, and Texans.
Los Angeles allows the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs, while Minnesota allows the fifth fewest and Houston allows the fourth fewest. You're not going to feel confident deploying Pollard again until Week 13 against the Commanders, and that's if the offense shows any signs of life with Levis.
With a spot in the fantasy playoffs on the line, I would not want to rely on Pollard, who will eventually cede some touches to Spears, on a Titans offense led by Levis with these terrifying matchups on the horizon. I'd love to trade him for the aforementioned Conner and I'd also rather have Kareem Hunt and Brian Robinson Jr.
Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns
Just four weeks ago, Cedric Tillman was comfortably sitting on waiver wires everywhere. The Browns moved on from Amari Cooper ahead of Week 7, and Tillman has been balling out ever since.
Cedric Tillman’s THE WR1 overall in fantasy points from weeks 7-9
➖1st in Targets (32)
➖5th in Yards (255)
➖2nd in TD’s (3)His 22.2 PPG in that span also ranks 1st in the NFL pic.twitter.com/HkOc7ht4ZJ
— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) November 5, 2024
It needs to be noted that Tillman's career-best performance in Week 8 came against the Ravens, who have been handing out fantasy points to receivers all season. This was the best possible matchup for Tillman and Cleveland's passing game to step up.
Of course, quarterback Deshaun Watson went down with a torn Achilles in Week 7, clearing the way for Jameis Winston to take over under center. In his two starts, Winston has attempted 41 and 46 passes while racking up 334 and 235 yards, respectively. Watson surpassed 40 pass attempts once this season but failed to throw for 200 yards in any of his six full games.
In summary, Cleveland is opening up its passing attack with Winston and it has been more effective than it was with Watson. Tillman has been the biggest beneficiary, though Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore, and David Njoku have all been productive. He looks like a player who can be started from now on, but fantasy managers might want to strike while the iron is hot and trade him at his peak.
The Browns have a bye in Week 10, so obviously he won't be helping you win this week. He should be fine in lineups against the reeling Saints in Week 11, but starting in Week 12, Tillman gets the Steelers, Broncos, Steelers again, and then the Chiefs.
Pittsburgh surrenders the 10th-fewest fantasy points to receivers and has been especially strong against WR1s, which Tillman is operating as. Denver and Kansas City are tied as the seventh-toughest matchup for fantasy wideouts.
Winston has been able to support Tillman to this point, but he threw three interceptions last week and had at least three picks dropped by Baltimore in Week 8. It will be difficult to trust Winston with this upcoming schedule.
Because Tillman seemingly came out of nowhere, he is not going to get you a proven, highly drafted stud in return. But he is the perfect player to sell high in a package deal if you need an upgrade at any position.
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