Trading Places: The Misdirection Trade

By Joe Levit, Special to SI.com

Misdirection plays are a staple of many strong offenses in the NFL. When a team executes a fine counter or reverse, it can really confuse a defense and collect chunks of yardage. The whole trick is that the defense is expecting one thing because all obvious signs point to that outcome, when in reality a different course of action is the goal. Similarly, a fantasy football owner can implement a misdirection trade, sometimes fooling the defense (rival owner) for a net gain.

A misdirection trade occurs when you make an offer to an owner regarding a player you like or can live with as a starter on your team, in the hopes of reeling in a few side players that really are your focus. To perform this type of trade, you must first have a stud or two who you start each week. This is necessary because you will be using one of those top-line scorers as bait. Don't make the mistake of assuming this is a bait-and-switch situation, though. It isn't. You will be giving up talent to make this trade happen.

As an example, let's look at the starting rosters of two fantasy teams below. For our purposes, place yourself in the position of owner A, trying to make a misdirection trade with owner B:

The true goal of Team A is to improve his overall roster. After Holmes and Ward, there isn't a lot of talent there. So, he starts out by asking to trade Thomas Jones for Ahman Green, straight up. Owner B doesn't laugh outright as would have been the case in years past, but is not willing to deal Green for Jones, and to make a point, he or she returns with the statement "Priest Holmes is the only player on your roster that I'm interested in," thinking that owner A is reluctant to part with the superstar.

But, team A instead counters with the offer of Priest Holmes, with some players thrown in. Team A asks for the Patriots defense, John Carney and Javon Walker in addition to Green. Team B is unwilling to part with Walker, so owner B switches in Brandon Stokley. Team B accepts the trade. Stokley, Carney and the Pats defense has been the goal of team A all along. The net gain outweighs the loss of Holmes.

Misdirection trades often signal that a fantasy owner is a talented one. This subtle trade takes more skill to pull off than other straightforward swaps because the stud player is the lure rather than the goal, and the throw-in players are the objective. This trade allows you to upgrade a number of undervalued starting positions, including third receiver, tight end, kicker or defense. Here are a few guys to target right now in misdirection trades.

WR

Michael Clayton: As Clayton develops into the team's No. 1 receiver, he will become more and more valuable.

Reche Caldwell: The Chargers have finally decided to use Caldwell's natural ability on the field.

David Givens: With Branch and Brown ailing, Givens will get plenty of red-zone looks from Brady.

TE

Eric Johnson: Johnson is hauling in everything coming his way, which is plenty because the quarterbacks are looking for any big target.

L.J. Smith: This weapon has McNabb in his corner.

K

John Carney: The Saints are struggling on offense in a lot of ways, but they have been able to set Carney up for a number of field goal attempts.

Kris Brown: Brown is getting a lot of opportunities to hit the big kick for the Texans, and distance is his strong suit.

DEF

Patriots: You almost come to expect defensive touchdowns from this bunch that wreaks havoc weekly.

Cardinals: The team's dismal record belies the fact that the Cardinals defense is creating turnovers and bringing the effort with every snap.

Joe Levit, based in Boston, writes fantasy football columns for SI.com, thehuddle.com, and fantasysportsjunkies.com. He has published articles in Grogan's, Fantasy Index, Fantasy Sports and Fantasy Football Pro Forecast magazines. He is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Fantasy Sports Writers of America, and a devoted Detroit Lions fan who can be reached at joelevit_writer@yahoo.com