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Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer: Players to trade for/away ahead of Week 4

sal vetri
Yahoo Fantasy Contributor
·5 min read

Capitalize on the fantasy football trade market in your leagues with these trade targets and players to trade away ahead of Week 4.

Tee Higgins returned from a hamstring injury in Week 3. There were some worries around if he’d been limited in his first game back from injury, but he wasn’t. Higgins immediately played 90% of the snaps and ran a route on 95% of Burrow’s dropbacks.

This was solid usage for his first game back, but it led to just three catches for 39 yards on six targets as Ja’Marr Chase stole the show with 118 yards and two touchdowns. This big game from Chase has created a buy-low window on Higgins.

Higgins spent most of 2023 battling injuries; his WR40 finish last season isn’t a fair representation of his talent and skillset. According to RotoViz, Higgins averages over 14 points per game in his career with Joe Burrow. Try to trade someone like Xavier Worthy or Devin Singletary for Higgins.

The Panthers offense looked much better with Andy Dalton as their QB. Carolina scored on 64% of their drives in Week 3, compared to just 12% of their drives the first two games with Bryce Young. Now is the time to buy low on Brooks.

There is optimism Brooks could return as soon as Week 5 off the PUP list. Deepak Chona, a Harvard-trained sports surgeon, estimates Brooks would be 85% healthy upon return based on his data analysis and back to a full workload by Week 9. This makes it the perfect time to buy low in him before he returns and starts producing.

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It will likely take a few weeks for Brooks to ramp up, but it’s worth the wait. He is a talented prospect who averaged over 155 yards per game in his final eight college starts. Brooks is a big back who can do it all — pass-protect, catch passes and run between the tackles. I’d look to trade Chuba Hubbard off his big game directly for Brooks. You can also deal Christian Kirk or Carson Steele for Brooks.

Through three games, Jones ranks fourth in EPA per rush attempt. He’s earned 60% of the Vikings' backfield snaps and 68% of the RB carries during this stretch. But it’s not just strong usage that's been encouraging; Jones is turning this great role into big fantasy days. In Week 3, Jones totaled 148 yards on 24 touches, finishing as a top-12 back for the second time this season.

He’s been great on the ground, but even more impressive is how he’s been used as a receiver. Jones has 12 targets over the past two weeks, and he’s been schemed into the passing game as the priority target. This is how he scored his receiving touchdown in Week 3, on a play designed for him to be the primary option.

The offensive line has been good, and the Vikings' defense should keep Minnesota in neutral or positive game scripts most weeks. I’m buying high on Jones who is currently healthy and producing in the league's No. 3 ranked offense according to PFF. I would trade someone like Jordan Mason or Puka Nacua for Jones.

The Dolphins' offense is a mess right now. Not only are they without their starting QB in Tua Tagovailoa, but they may have lost their backup QB Skylar Thompson in Week 3. Thompson left with a rib injury and his Week 4 status is uncertain. This likely has the fantasy managers in your league who have Dolphins players concerned. It’s the perfect time to buy low on Achane.

Achane is coming off a down week, but his role in the offense remained significant, earning 71% of the Dolphins' snaps and 15 opportunities. Not to mention, his pass-catching role continues to be strong, as he ran 24 routes and earned four targets in Week 4.

Achane remains one of the most explosive backs in the NFL. He was the RB2 in fantasy through his first two starts with Tagovailoa. Sports surgeon Deepak Chona projects a potential return for the QB in Week 8 based on the four-game IR minimum and Tagovailoa's previous recovery timeline. Try to trade someone like Kyren Williams or Derrick Henry for Achane.

It’s been a frustrating start to the season for Aiyuk. Through three games, he’s totaled just 11 catches for 119 scoreless yards. But the underlying usage has been ramping up for Aiyuk. In Week 3, without Deebo Samuel or George Kittle, Aiyuk earned a season-high 33% of the targets — more than double his 15.4% average over his previous two games.

Samuel and Kittle are both expected to miss at least one more game. There’s a good chance Aiyuk produces in Week 4 against the Patriots, and if that happens, you’ll lose your opportunity to buy low. We know Aiyuk is a talented player; this small three-game sample of poor play doesn’t change that. Buy low on Aiyuk, and try to trade someone like Stefon Diggs or J.K. Dobbins for him.

Goedert is coming off a monster game. He was the top-scoring tight end in Week 3, catching 10 of 11 targets for 170 yards and 27 fantasy points. Goedert earned a 31% target share in this game — his third-highest mark over the past three seasons.

This production came in a game where A.J. Brown didn’t play and both DeVonta Smith and Britain Covey left early with injuries. Goedert was all that was left in the passing game for the entire second half, and it showed based on his target volume.

He was great in this game, but we could be just one week away from Brown and Smith returning from their respective injuries. Now is the time to sell high on Goedert. If you can flip him for Brock Bowers off a down week, do it. If you can flip him across positions for someone like Zay Flowers, Tank Dell or Tee Higgins, you should.