Trading Places

Weekly techniques to change players and your fantasy fortunes

Deion Branch scored a touchdown and led the Patriots in receiving in his first NFL game. AP

By Joseph Leavitt, Special to CNNSI.com

Week 1: The Immediate Adds Trade

Since the objective of fantasy football is to put the best possible starting roster on the field each week, owners are always searching for an edge to do just that. After your draft, there are only three ways to reach that goal. You can pick and choose among your own players each week, hoping to start all of the ones who bust out that specific Sunday. Or, you can try to be a waiver-wire hero and land all of the sleepers that show up there for a short time every year. Or, you can make trades to acquire more talented players to increase your odds of better statistics.

Either of the first two options is legitimate, and they are essential skills for any serious fantasy owner. However, they both also require a lot of luck. For example, how many of you started Travis Henry this week who weren’t forced to by roster size or concern of injury to another starter? Fewer than would like to admit, I’ll wager. And, how many of you are truly in a position to add Shane Matthews or Quincy Morgan after their huge performances? A very small percentage in each league, for sure. Doing the best possible thing under circumstances that factor in large quantities of luck is a tenuous proposition at best. So, fantasy owners should concentrate more of their time on the third skill, a proficiency where they wield more control -- trading. That will be the focus of this column in the weeks to come, and I sincerely hope some of these trading tactics help you this season.

Making a trade is understandably a difficult task to complete. It isn’t a passive endeavor like typing in the name of the guy you want to add, or clicking a mouse to select the players you want to start. It is even more arduous early in the season, when the vast majority of owners are unwilling to take a risk. But trading can still happen at this early stage if you are willing to work at it. We all know the waiver wire is critical at this point in the season. There are a number of players who can help owners right now if the owners can acquire them. So, let’s examine how to use trading to make the waiver wire work for us in new ways.

One possibility is to trade future draft picks or extra waiver-wire picks for the right to a particular place in the waiver wire pecking order at the right time. This may at first seem strange or unfair. It is my experience however that every league has its loopholes, and it seems to me that types of trades not deemed illegal before the season are as good as sanctioned until further ruling. Without this possibility, if you scored the most points in your league the first week this season you would be out of luck because the majority of leagues base waiver-wire precedence upon record or points.

Another trading option as regards the waiver wire would be to trade players for the right to move up in the waiver order. Your solid benchwarmers might be just the thing a lesser team needs, and that team may be willing to give up potential for a sure thing. The reverse situation also exists. If your keeper-league team is suddenly very poor off, it may be worth it to you to pass on one potentially good player this season for the opportunity to acquire draft picks for a chance at better talent the next year.

And just who would all of this trading be for? By now you have surely read recommendations about the sagacity of securing these waiver-wire players...

Shane Matthews, Quincy Morgan, Kelly Holcomb, Donte’ Stallworth, Tom Brady, Randy McMichael, Corey Bradford, Eddie Kennison, Willie Jackson

... So, I’m not going to waste your time talking about them again. Instead I’d like to mention briefly a few other pigskin possibilities:

Primed to Produce

Az-Zahir Hakim, WR, Lions: He gained over 90 yards in a game on the road against a tough secondary with two young and inexperienced quarterbacks guiding the team. He could end up being a terrific third fantasy wide receiver this year. Good value.

Derrius Thompson, WR, Redskins: Thompson scored a lot in the preseason, and guess what? He scored again in the first real game. While Jacquez Green nestles into a place right below mediocrity, Thompson could become the second wideout on a high-scoring fantasy unit.

David Martin, TE, Packers: Did you notice he got the tight-end touchdown? Martin has been exciting the coaching staff for two offseasons now. Maybe it is beginning to pay off. If he keeps stealing stats from Franks, he’ll be a steal himself.

Ron Johnson, WR, Ravens: Travis Taylor hasn’t distinguished himself like the 10th pick in a draft should. Perhaps Johnson will become the No. 1 receiver as the year goes on. He’d only have to be better than Brandon Stokley. Johnson had the lone score for Baltimore in week one.

Mikhael Ricks, TE, Lions: It doesn’t matter who is lined up behind the center for the Lions this year. Both Mike McMahon and Joey Harrington will look to Ricks for big yardage as they try to close the point gaps they will experience all season.

Deion Branch, WR, Patriots: Branch is becoming a force in front of our very eyes. The Patriots brought in Donald Hayes to bolster the receiver position, and both Troy Brown and David Patten returned this year after a successful 2001. But so far, Branch is producing the fantasy points. Brady seems very comfortable tossing to him.

Thinking Ahead

Trent Dilfer, QB, Seahawks: He may still be available in some leagues, and he could really help an owner in need of a new gun for hire. He’ll have plenty of weapons at his disposal: Darrell Jackson, Koren Robinson, Bobby Engram, Jerramy Stevens and Itula Mili (who caught a TD last weekend).

Ricky Watters, RB, Free Agent: I still think Watters can be a fantasy factor this season. If a contending club loses its primary back for any length of time, Ricky is the type of sparkplug any general manager would be interested in signing.

Joseph Leavitt is a fantasy and professional football writer from Boston. He has been published in Grogan's Fantasy Football Analyst, Fantasy Sports Magazine, Tuff Stuff's Fantasy Football Guide and Fantasy Football Cheatsheets & Experts Poll Magazines. He will forever be a Lions fan and advocate of auction drafting. A member of the Pro Football Writers of America, he also writes for thehuddle.com and docstats.com. Please contact him with any questions, comments or suggestions at lavishjetpoet@aol.com.

 

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