Trade deadlines are here, as most fantasy football dynasty leagues have their deadline this week or next. Where does your team stand? Are you a contender, or a pretender? Is your team in need of a rebuild?
Here are a few tips on how to determine where your team is at. First, look at your total points for, and against. This is a better way to determine where you stand, rather than your record. If you have a winning record, but are in the bottom half of points for and have one of the lowest points against, you might not be as close to competing as you think. Or, you might need to make a move or two to help out.
If you are a high scoring team who’s had tough matchups, you will need to determine whether you want to risk adding pieces to make a run. You don’t necessarily need to sell off either, but you will want to take the next point into consideration.
Second, look at your roster. Where are your points coming from? Are your top players consistent or all over the map? What is the age of your top producers? Some age thresholds to keep in mind when determining the age of your team:
- QB: 33
- RB: 26
- WR: 29
- TE: 29
If most of your top producers are at or past this age and you aren’t competing, you might want to consider selling. Can you package a top producer at peak age for a younger piece, plus assets, and still compete?
The following is a list of players at those peak ages. These players are still playing at an elite level and will give you a good return. Their value will go down after this year just because of age.
Matthew Stafford QB, Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford currently sits as the fantasy football QB7 this year. He is averaging 21.44 points a game. According to fulltimefanatasy.com, Stafford has the 15th easiest schedule to end the year. He is an attractive target for a contending team. Five of his next six games are against teams allowing more than 18 points per game to QBs.
Stafford is priced around an early first round pick in super flex leagues. If I were going for picks, I’d start at two firsts, but be ready to accept a first and a second.
Another option could be instead of the second round pick, go after Jordan Love whose price is low right now.
The last thing you could try is going for a younger QB who is discounted right now. Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, Tua Tagovailoa, and Zach Wilson come to mind. These are all players valued less than Stafford right now. With the exception of Tua, all could be had with pieces added on top.
Stafford’s last two games before the bye have been rough, but I expect this team to get back on track with a week off to recuperate.
Austin Ekeler RB, Los Angeles Chargers
It’s a great time to get a top price for Austin Ekeler! He is coming off a 41.5 point game (PPR) against a tough Steelers defense.
Although he has the 20th toughest ranked schedule for the rest of season, he proved on Sunday that he can succeed in tough matchups.
He is currently ranked as the RB2 in fantasy football, averaging 19.8 points per game. However, he is 26 and will be 27 when the 2022 season begins.
Ekeler doesn’t have the wear and tear of other elite backs and he has the pass-catching skills that could make him useful beyond his prime years. However, his top value will be right now, this week! It’s all downhill after this. Even if he comes out and does the same thing next year his price will go down because of his age.
He is priced a bit higher than an early 1st. Much like Stafford, I’d try for two firsts; but be ready to settle for a 1st and two 2nds.
You can always go the same route as mentioned earlier; go for a younger RB with a depleted price right now, plus something. Travis Eitenne, J.K. Dobbins, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and Josh Jacobs come to mind. Antonio Gibson could be a possibility, but his Week 10 game likely has his managers back on the bandwagon.
Davante Adams WR, Green Bay Packers
Davante Adams is currently sitting as the fantasy football WR4 on the year. He is averaging 16.4 points per game. Like Ekeler, he is coming off a great performance on Sunday, where he scored 27 points.
Adams will be 29 in December. He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. However, the price won’t get higher than it is right now. He has a very friendly schedule moving forward, the 8th easiest for WRs.
The future of the Green Bay Packers is up in the air right now. Is Aaron Rodgers coming back? Will both Adams and Rodgers leave in free agency at the end of the year? Will the Packers franchise tag Adams to stay and play with Love?
There is a lot of uncertainty regarding the future of Adams. He was targeted 14 times in his one game with Jordan Love, but only scored 7.2 points.
His price tag is higher than the last two names mentioned. I would be looking for multiple 1sts, plus a piece like Tyler Johsnon in return.
Darren Waller TE, Las Vegas Raiders
The obvious sell high TE is Travis Kelce; but to stay within the peak age mentioned in the opening paragraphs we will talk about Darren Waller.
Waller currently sits as the fantasy football TE3 on the year, averaging 10.9 points a game. He is coming off his second best performance of the year with 15.1 points on Sunday. Waller is the TE3, but only has two TDs on the year. He has the 11th best TE schedule to finish the year.
Waller is currently valued right around an early 1st. Look to get a 1st, plus a smaller piece. If you can get a 1st and a 2023 2nd that would be great!
You can also go the route of acquiring a younger player, plus other assets! Cole Kmet or Irv. Smith and a 1st; with potentially having to throw in a 3rd. Noah Fant or Pat Frierermuth with a second. These are a few options to explore if someone is looking to improve their TE spot before the playoffs.
I wish you all the best as you go about rebuilding your teams.
Sheldon Hand
Sheldon Hand is an elementary school teacher. He started writing in 2019, and started working with The League Winners in 2021. He has been playing fantasy football for fifteen years, got into dynasty seven years ago and have become a bit obsessed.