Fantasy Football Trade Market: Week 2

There were more than enough injuries at the running back position during Week 2 and those injuries will most certainly shape the trade market. The Chargers lost Danny Woodhead for the year, Adrian Peterson has a torn meniscus, and Jonathan Stewart has a hamstring injury for about the fifteenth time in his career. Some things never change. We’ve seen overproduction and underproduction through the first two weeks of the season and both angles will be discuss in this week’s Trade Market!

Quarterback

Russell Wilson, Seahawks

The Seahawks have scored a grand total of 15 points over their first two games—not exactly the start that many expected from a perennial playoff team. The entire offense is out of sync right now due mainly to Seattle’s inability to establish the run and their paltry red zone conversion percentage of 33 percent. On top of that, it was reported that Wilson played with a high ankle sprain against the Rams on Sunday.

Because Wilson is a dual threat with both him arm and his legs, he was drafted as a top five quarterback in most leagues. Patience is a virtue and should be put to practice in this case even if Wilson has to sit out this Sunday against the 49ers. If Thomas Rawls can emerge as the lead back in the Seahawks’ backfield and Wilson gets back to 100 percent, things should begin to fall into place quickly. Atlanta and New Orleans are on the horizon.

Verdict: HOLD. Wilson is one of the top quarterbacks in the league when his offense is running like a well-oiled machine. I have the utmost confidence that Pete Carroll and company will have things figured out as soon as this Sunday against San Francisco assuming that Wilson plays.

Running Back

Isaiah Crowell, Browns

As if the Browns weren’t bad enough, here I am to pile on with more negativity. First, let’s start with the positives. Crowell is third in the league with 195 rushing yards, he’s averaging 6.5 YPC, and he’s scored two touchdowns. Do you really expect this to continue? I sure don’t. So far, Crowell has been the feature back in Cleveland. He has 30 carries compared to Duke Johnson Jr.’s six. On the receiving end, Crowell has three receptions compared to Johnson’s seven.  Crowell has been a plodding runner over his first two seasons in the NFL and I’m just no convinced that he’s turned a corner based on one 85-yard run through a hole wider than the state of Ohio.

Verdict: SELL. We know the Browns are bad and will be overmatched in practically every game. If Crowell is used in a feature role, he will be much less effective going forward as I think a limited workload works in his favor.

Todd Gurley, Rams

This is downright laughable. Through two games, Gurley has carried the ball 36 averaging 2.7 yards per carry. This is a guy that was a top overall pick in many standard leagues and a top ten pick in the vast majority of PPR leagues. Now let’s take into account how god awful the Rams’ offense is outside of Gurley and this is truly a no brainer. Gurley is, quite literally, Los Angeles’ only weapon on offense. If they want to go .500 or better, Gurley needs to handle the rock at least 20 times per game. He is one 150 yard game away from seeing his price tag skyrocketing and that could happen as soon as this week against the Buccaneers. Now is the time to make your move to acquire Gurley.

Verdict: BUY. Seriously? No brainer here. The Rams’ offense has been nonexistent up to this point, but at least one facet of this underachieving unit is going to step up soon. Once Gurley has his first big game, he won’t look back.

Wide Receiver

Mike Wallace, Ravens

I gave a spoiler alert on Twitter (@askROTObaseball) that Wallace would be my sell pick and here he is. Through his first two games, Wallace has scored 20.1 and 22.2 points, respectively. On the surface, those numbers are fantastic. If you owned—and started him—you have to be ecstatic. The issue here is that Wallace only has seven receptions, 12 targets, and 132 yards, meaning that a good chunk of his points have come from his three touchdowns. That is virtually impossible to continue.

Verdict: SELL. Wallace hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season since leaving Pittsburgh following the 2011 season and it seems unlikely that he will reach that number with Baltimore this year. Now is the time to unload Wallace while he is at his highest value.

Allen Robinson, Jaguars

There are a couple of factors at play regarding Allen Robinson, but rest assured, this isn’t the time to panic. In fact, he makes for a great buy option. Through his first two games, Robinson has been targeted a team leading 20 times, putting him on pace for over 150 on the year. It also doesn’t help that Blake Bortles has yet to find a groove. He is ranked 20th in the NFL with a 61.8 completion percentage. We know that Jacksonville is going to throw the ball a lot; in fact, Bortles has attempted 89 passes through two games, which ties him with Kirk Cousins atop that category. Once Bortles finds his groove, Robinson’s will surely follow. It would be one hell of a feat for Robinson to match his 14 touchdowns from a season ago, but certainly the best is yet to come.

Verdict: BUY. Robinson was a first-round pick in the vast majority of fantasy drafts. If his owner has soured on him, make the pitch and acquire him. He’s going to be an extremely valuable asset going forward.

Tight End

Dennis Pitta, Ravens

Look, someone has to catch the ball in Baltimore, but can you put a ton of faith in Dennis Pitta? He has undergone major hip surgery twice in the last three years and has a terrible time staying on the field. Granted, his early season success has been impressive, but this is a great time to sell him at his highest value. With Rob Gronkowski still questionable, Tyler Eifert still out of action, and Zach Ertz dealing with a rib injury that will leave him as a game time decision this week against Pittsburgh, the tight end position has seen better days.

You have two options you can choose from regarding Pitta; either hold onto him if you waited too long to draft a tight end or sell him now and never look back. It’s worth noting that Pitta was targets 12 times against the Browns and hauled in nine receptions for 102 yards. While he certainly won’t do that every week, he does have a good rapport with Joe Flacco. Your decision will come down to your team depth. If your TE1 is Greg Olsen, Pitta should be sold. If you’ve trotted out Jared Cook the first two weeks, you’d probably better hang on to Pitta.

Verdict: HOLD or SELL. Because the tight end position is so shallow, a case can be made to hold onto Pitta, but he comes with serious injury risk. If you are comfortable with your depth, target a team that is desperate for a productive tight end. There is one in every league.