My goal with this article is very simple: I’m trying to isolate players whose values — both perceived and in reality — will be shifting in the near future. I’m always looking ahead, always looking for opportunities to buy or sell every week after I watch all the games, scan all the data, and examine all the schedules.
It’s hard not to list some of the more obvious entries, but I try to think both outside and inside the box, so I’ll sometimes stray from my logical approach and come out of left field every once in a while with a recommendation. Whatever it takes to find an edge in the trade market.
PLAYERS TO TRADE FOR
Matthew Stafford (QB, LAR) — He looks very good, yet again, and he’s dealing to open the season and leaning heavily on his #2 WR, a future HOFer in Davante Adams, who’s still got it and looks capable of posting elite digits this year. I like the schedule for fantasy, even this week against a defense he had success against last year. They are: at Phi, vs. Ind, vs. SF, at Bal, at Jax, vs. NO, at SF, vs. Sea, vs. TB, at Car, at Ari, vs. Det, at Sea, at Atl, and vs. Ari through Week 17, which is a good-looking schedule with very few rough spots.
Chase Brown (RB, Cin) — As high as I’ve been on Brown the last two years, I’ve had to admit multiple times that his inside running/vision isn’t great, so he does need volume. He’s getting that volume — he’s 4th among RBs in XFP/G this year (18.5) — but his touch totals should climb a tad now with Joe Burrow out. Burrow isn’t much of a check-down guy, but backup Jake Browning is, and we saw that quickly in Week 2, as their screen usage went from zero to nearly tops in the league once Browning got in the game. Back in 2023, 19.6% of the Bengals’ targets came on designed/screen plays, which would rank 2nd-most among NFL teams in 2025. They should be in plenty high-scoring games, like at Min, at Den, vs. Det, and at GB in their next four games, so Brown’s looking like a lock for 6+ FP per game in the passing game.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt (RB, Was) — He’s not going to do anything on hurry-up and clear passing downs, but Croskey-Merritt has the speed and juice that Brian Robinson did not, and they need it in D.C. so it’s all there for him to soak up up to 70% of the carry share. The dude is second in YPC (7.07) and 4th in yards after contact per attempt (3.50) so far this year, and he should often get good looks due to the threat of Jayden Daniels’ rushing ability. He’ll be a little TD-dependent, but he should be over 12 FP in games he scores in with 20+ FP a legit possibility if he gets volume and/or breaks off a long run or scores multiple times.
Kaleb Johnson (RB, Pit) — I was not into Johnson as a pre-draft prospect, and I wasn’t particularly excited about him all summer. I was also into Jaylen Warren as a pick. However, while Warren has been fine, he’s not an ideal lead runner, and neither is Ken Gainwell. So with Johnson’s value plummeting already, I’d take a long view and bet on his solid pedigree, and the fact that they clearly drafted him because he’s a good fit for Arthur Smith’s offense. If Johnson can’t emerge and help out, I think it’s going to be a long season for the old man Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers.
