Making a trade in Week 7 is very different from making a trade early in the season. Fewer opportunities exist to spot breakouts everyone else is missing, and fewer ways to manipulate value because most players have already had their big games. Once we get a third of the way through the season, your trade strategy should start to change based on your record.
If you have a losing record, focus on bye weeks and the opponents you’ll face weeks in advance. If I know I need to win now to stay in the race, I would consider trading a player like Malik Nabers, Chris Olave, Mike Evans, or Nico Collins to my Week 8 opponent (their bye week) if it helps me win that matchup. Sometimes the best trade is the one that helps you survive the next week and puts you in a better position to make the playoffs.
If you have a winning record, start looking at managers who are struggling. Target players going on a bye and use two-for-one deals that give the other manager a starter they can use right now. You can even look for one-for-one deals where their situation allows you to upgrade at a position. Through the middle of the season, this is what I will be focusing on. Every trade is going to be situational now.
*It is important to note that this is being written before the Sunday night games and during the 4:00 p.m. games.
- Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Week 7 Early Trade Targets (2026)
Quarterback Target
Trevor Lawrence (QB – JAC)
I don’t encourage trading for quarterbacks in one-QB leagues, so this is for you superflex managers. Through the first five weeks, Trevor Lawrence has been QB16 on a points-per-game basis. T-Law is coming off his best fantasy performance of the season with four TDs against Houston, so it might not be an easy buy. But the Jaguars have a Week 7 bye, which gives you the perfect window to target a manager who needs a win now.
The benefit of being able to eat that bye week is getting a quarterback with one of the most favorable rest-of-season schedules at the position. The next six weeks are solid, but T-Law also has one of the most favorable playoff schedules among quarterbacks.
From Weeks 15 to 17, Jacksonville faces the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Commanders. Those three defenses, on average, are currently allowing over 21 fantasy points per game (4th) to quarterbacks. Even though his price tag went up after this week, Lawrence is a great buy for a team in position to handle the bye week.
Running Back & Wide Receiver Targets
Quinshon Judkins (RB – CLE)
While trading for a Browns running back never feels good, this is exactly why Quinshon Judkins appears on my list. He is a discounted RB2 who has underperformed his usage and missed Week 6 due to injury. The Browns are beat up at running back, with Dylan Sampson and Raheim Sanders both on IR. When Judkins returns, he should receive the lion’s share of the opportunities.
Leading into Week 6, Judkins was already seeing a 57% rushing attempt share (RB16) and 14% team target share (RB8). This usage should continue, if not grow. Any running back expected to receive potentially 20+ opportunities per game moving forward is a solid RB2 option for almost any team.
Before the bye, Judkins gets the Tennessee Titans, who are allowing 19 fantasy points per game to RBs (22nd), the Pittsburgh Steelers at 22 points per game (12th), and the New Orleans Saints at 32 points per game (1st).
For a team that needs to win now, this could be a great opportunity to buy the dip on his value, hope he is productive for at least two of the next three weeks, and then trade him to your Week 11 opponent (Browns bye week) after he should explode against the Saints in week nine. At this point in the season, every win matters, and this is another way to increase your chances of making a playoff push for a RB2-needy team.
Chase Brown (RB – CIN)
I wrote about Chase Brown as a trade target in Week 5, and I am not willing to give up on him yet. I would still be happy to trade for Brown at his current discount as managers continue to lose hope. In Week 5, he had one of his worst performances of the season and was benched after a fumble, with Samaje Perine taking over. Then the Bengals had their bye week, giving everyone another week to run with the negative narrative. The lack of fantasy production has only fueled the Chase Brown spiral.
I refuse to believe a 31-year-old Samaje Perine is going to drastically eat into Brown’s usage. Even in Week 5, Brown’s usage remained strong. He had a 13% team target share (RB14) and 60% snap share (RB17). The Bengals have a top-10 offense and should continue to find themselves in scoring situations. In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe this is a matter of “if” Chase Brown shows up for fantasy. It is a matter of “when”.
Tee Higgins (CIN – WR)
For those of you who need to win now, Tee Higgins is my top target. He is coming off his bye week, so you do not have to worry about that moving forward. Through the first five weeks, Higgins has a 23% team target share (WR19), 2.63 TPRR (WR13), 112 yards after the catch (WR18), and a 42% air-yard share (WR11).
Over the next five weeks, the Bengals face the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, and Washington Commanders. Those four teams are allowing an average of 37 fantasy points per game to WRs. Over this five-game stretch, Higgins has the third-easiest schedule at the position.
By the end of this stretch, I could see people talking about Higgins as a top-12 WR if his usage stays the same and the Bengals continue to score at a high rate. This might be the last opportunity to buy Higgins for a reasonable price this year.
DK Metcalf (WR – PIT)
Leading up to Week 6, DK Metcalf was averaging just 7.8 points per game (WR45), but he had run 191 routes (WR4) and was averaging over seven targets per game. He had simply been highly inefficient with those opportunities, averaging just 1.19 YPRR (WR78). This was the first week we saw the targets and efficiency come together. Metcalf finished against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 15 targets, 11 receptions, and 93 receiving yards.
Aaron Rodgers has been very vocal that Metcalf is his guy. That has been his stance since the season started, and he has followed through with what he said. A manager looking at this big game with Metcalf’s bye week coming up in two weeks might see this as a “sell high” opportunity on DK. This is your window to buy Metcalf as a volume play.
From Weeks 13 through 17, the Steelers have some of the best WR matchups, including the Texans, Jaguars, Ravens, and Titans. I much prefer DK in PPR leagues, where the reception volume can become a cheat code, but even in half-PPR, that volume brings plenty of value.
Tight End Trade Target
Isaiah Likely (TE – NYG)
Through the first six weeks, Isaiah Likely is averaging 9.5 targets, 6.5 receptions, 63 receiving yards, and almost a TD per game. He finished Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints with six receptions for 99 yards and one TD on 11 targets.
Likely should be treated as a consistent WR2 moving forward with weekly WR1 upside, but because he is a tight end, people are still undervaluing him. Through the first six weeks, Likely has been running routes and lining up more as a wide receiver than a traditional TE. This is the cheat-code usage we look for at the position. He has an 80% slot alignment, 16% outside alignment, and only 4% inline.
The Giants’ quarterback situation will be a concern all year long, and his next few weeks look concerning on paper for TEs. He gets Houston in Week 7 (26th PPG), a Week 8 bye, and Philadelphia in Week 9 (23rd PPG). But because Likely is mostly being used as a wide receiver, those matchups are better than they look. Most platforms won’t pick up on this because they use position filters for strength of schedule.
The Giants then face the Browns, Lions, and Cowboys during the fantasy playoffs. In PPR leagues, Likely is my main TE target and fits perfectly for a manager with a winning record who can afford to deal with the Week 8 bye.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
from FantasyPros https://ift.tt/C68ZlpN
0 comments:
Post a Comment