FANTASY FOOTBALL TRADING TIPS
Trading is a huge part of any fantasy sport. And in my short experience with Fantasy Football if you want to win you need to trade but trade SMART! This article is meant to help you think of some things that you might think of at the time of the trade. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to join our memberships and get 1 on 1 advice regarding every single trade you have!
WHY TRADE?
You trade to make your team better! There is no other reason you should be trading. Don’t trade because your 0-5, 0-6 etc. Don’t panic! Don’t trade for fun! The fun part is winning the league. Don’t trade because of a bye week (unless you’re making your overall team better) don’t trade because everyone else is. TRADE TO WIN!
INJURIES AND SUSPENSIONS
Injuries are a part of any sport but in Football you should know that you are going to have these on a weekly basis. Both Injuries and suspensions can contribute in trades and count as part of making your team better. Should you trade a player because he is injured? Well you could but know you are trading him when his stock is low (I will get into that later) the further a player is from getting back on the field the lower his stock is. On the flip side if your team is winning and you can afford to trade away a bench spot or two, always try and acquire players that are coming back from injuries without touching your weekly starters or the overall quality of your team. Understand what it is to have the Like of Josh Gordon return for your playoff matchups!
BUY LOW/SELL HIGH
Understand the risk of trading a player when his stock is low: Earlier this year Adrian Peterson got suspended and Josh Gordon got his suspension reduced to 10 games.
In my main league I was surprised to see a trade go down with Adrian Peterson and Josh Gordon, this all happened at the time the news of AP came in. (he wasn’t yet placed on Commish exempt list)
HAND traded Adrian Peterson, Min RB to BDAW
HAND traded Josh Gordon, Cle WR to BDAW
BDAW traded Danny Woodhead*, SD RB to HAND
BDAW traded Greg Jennings, Min WR to HAND
Obviously Danny Woodhead wasn’t injured at the time of the trade! But essentially without knowing the future, Team HAND took a big gamble and traded away two superstars for NOTHING a RB3 at best (this is a 0.5 PPR league) and a WR3 at best. Was it a smart decision? You decide.
In another league I was offered Rob Gronkowski after week 2 for Kyle Rudolph! Rob Gronkowski was underperforming (wasn’t playing all the snaps) and the owner panicked. Kyle Rudolph went down in week 3 and so far I am winning this trade because he decided to trade Rob Gronkowski when his value and stock was down.
So trading a player a player when his value is down is extremely risky and personally I don’t recommend it at all.
Buying LOW
Here is the flip side I was talking about. If you can always aim for players who haven’t performed, owners tend to panic, especially if their team is losing. Be careful not to overpay as this can backfire at times. For example, last year we had Ray Rice as one of the top picks in many drafts, he underperformed to begin the season was bought by many people and he never performed for them either, in most leagues the price paid was too high and buying low backfired.
Selling High
Understand the principle of SELLING HIGH: Understand your team Record and standings before SELLING a player HIGH!
What does understanding your team record and standings involve:
A) Check your record are you 4-0 or are you 0-4 (That’s pretty simple)
B) Check the points you are scoring on a weekly basis vs. the points that are being scored against you. I am in a league where I am 2-3 yet I have the 2nd highest points scored vs. the most points scored against me. (meaning I would have won my 2 matchups if I faced any other team that in those given weeks)
If you are 4-0 or 3-1 or have a winning record – don’t trade a player like DeMarco Murray as he is probably the reason you have that record! However, if you have a losing record and are not scoring many points and DeMarco is on your team, this is an obvious sign you are weak in other areas of your team! TRADE HIM DEMARCO for DEPTH and power at other positions.
TRADE FROM Strength
Always trade from a position of strength, if you are strong at RB and weak at WR. Trade a RB for a WR and vice versa. But more importantly understand that if you are strong at RB and you are trading a RB for a WR (it’s worth more, simply because RB are harder to come by)
BENCH POINTS ARE WORTHLESS: MAP OUT YOUR STARTERS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR & UNDERSTAND YOUR SCHEDULE:
At any point in time during the season I have a vague idea who my starters are going to be, I know when my Superstars have a bye week and I know who I would like to start in their place. Obviously this will change the week before but at least have a rough idea. This is very important because if you have a STARTER on your bench that is sitting for most of the year, you now have TRADE BAIT.
I will use another example here to demonstrate, in one of my leagues thanks to trades I have the following WR’s.
Antonio Brown, Demaryius Thomas, Brandon Marshall and Mike Wallace (I also have 2 bench WR which I won’t talk about now). In this league I only start 2 WR and 1 flex. Let’s see we are in week 6. Both Mike Wallace and Demaryius Thomas have played their bye weeks. Meaning I have Week 9 (Brandon Marshall) and Week 12 (Antonio Brown) to take care of. Is Mike Wallace worth the bench spot for the 2 weeks I am going to start him?
Immediately I realize that Mike Wallace can be traded for a RB where I am weak! This is what you need to do in your leagues. Don’t leave too many points on your Bench! This exercise in mapping out your starters will also help you overcome the bye weeks too.
Best of luck to all of you the rest of the way!
@LebaneseFF