Check your league’s settings for the trade deadline date. Most leagues will stop accepting trades after Week 12 or Week 13. This could be your last chance to make the crucial decisions required to bring home the championship trophy. This is the time to transform your team from competent to unstoppable.
Keeping this in mind, here are three fantasy players to buy low and sell high.
Pacheco has had a rough stretch of fantasy performance in recent weeks. He hasn’t scored since Week 7 and has only seen two targets in the Chiefs’ last two games combined. However, he has been very impressive as a runner, receiving 15-plus carries in six games this season, which is tied for third-most among all players. I’m willing to bet that the volume and talent of Pacheco will translate into significant fantasy points sooner rather than later, especially given how favorable the Chiefs’ upcoming schedule is for fantasy running backs. They play the Raiders (twice), Packers, Bills, and Bengals in five of their final six fantasy games, and all of those teams are very suspect at stopping the run this year.
Pittman had been a top-18 fantasy WR for five weeks prior to the Colts’ Week 11 bye. Pittman is currently the WR12 in fantasy points per game (minimum 6 games) this season. But, for some reason, he’s rarely mentioned as a top-tier fantasy asset. If his fantasy manager in your league undervalues him, you should take advantage, acquire him, and ride him to victory. His next four games, against the Buccaneers, Titans, Bengals, and Steelers, are all must-wins. This season, the Buccaneers and Titans allow the fourth- and sixth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers, respectively, while the Bengals and Steelers allow the most and third-most yards per reception in the NFL.
Johnson has only three receptions for 33 yards on 12 targets in the last two weeks. Johnson was understandably disappointed with the offense’s performance both during and after last week’s game.
Matt Canada, the offensive coordinator, seemed oddly determined to avoid using the middle of the field. However, Canada was fired this week, and with new voices (QB coach Mike Sullivan and RB coach Eddie Faulkner) taking over in that role, I expect Johnson to see more targets over the middle, where he has shown strong yards-after-catch ability in the past.
Furthermore, he still has several favorable matchups on the schedule. Johnson will face the Bengals twice in the next five weeks; they have allowed the most yards per reception to wide receivers in 2023 by far. He will also face the Cardinals, who have the highest catch rate for wide receivers this season.
Herbert has finished as a top-three fantasy quarterback in each of the last two weeks, and you can probably trade him for pretty much any QB who isn’t Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, or maybe Dak Prescott. Herbert’s remaining schedule is brutal for fantasy quarterbacks, with games against the Ravens, Patriots (in New England), Broncos, Raiders, and Bills. This season, the Ravens allow the fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, while the Bills allow the fourth-fewest. The Patriots and Raiders are both ranked in the top 11 against the position, while the Broncos have only allowed five passing touchdowns since Week 6.This week, I followed my own advice and traded Herbert for Brock Purdy, who has a very favorable rest of the season schedule and is on fire now that Deebo Samuel is back.
Barkley had a monster Week 11 performance, tallying 30 fantasy points against the Commanders. However, in the previous five weeks, he had averaged only 14 fantasy points per game. He’s stuck on a bad offense, which typically limits his upside, and I believe it’s best to take advantage of this opportunity to sell low before he faces a brutal schedule down the stretch.
Barkley will face the Eagles (twice), the Saints, and the Rams in his final four fantasy games. The Eagles have the best rush defense in the NFL right now. The Saints have given up the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs.And the Rams have given up the fewest receiving yards to running backs this season, which is the one area where Barkley can compensate for the Giants’ poor offense.
Ridley doubled his season touchdown total last Sunday, just as everyone was about to bench him. He came into the game with two on the season and scored two in Week 11 alone. Even though he was most likely on your bench, you can still benefit from his performance by trading him at his increased value. Ridley has been erratic this season, finishing outside the top-50 fantasy WRs in five different weeks in 2023.
Ridley’s final four fantasy games will be against the Browns, Ravens, and Panthers, all of whom rank in the top seven in terms of fantasy points per game allowed to wide receivers this season.
