Last week was a full on byeocalpse just in time for Halloween weekend in Week 8 . Some managers found themselves in desperate need of warm bodies while others faced zombie squads decimated by injuries and bye weeks.
The week began with a dreary Thursday night game in Cleveland where the Broncos' pass game ghosted everyone in primetime. Spooky season continued with a zero-touchdown performance by Patrick Mahomes, a 54-point evisceration by Mac Jones and the Patriots of the Jets defense, Robert Tonyan coming back from the dead to find the end zone, Sam Darnold seeing ghosts in the Meadowlands once again and a last-minute axing of Darren Waller.
Whether you’re 7-0 like the Cardinals or just trying to eke out the last playoff spot in your league, now is an excellent time to throw out some trade offers to level up your teams. As we approach Week 8, here are the trade targets who saw their value shift after the last seven weeks of games.
Buy-Low Week 8 Trade Targets
Below are eight Week 7 underperformers, or players whose value may increase over the next few weeks whom you should target via trades.
Darrel Williams, RB, Chiefs
Williams had an off week against Tennessee and finished as RB34 after a stellar two-touchdown Week 6 against Washington. He saw just five carries for 20 yards and caught three of four passes for 30 yards. I think his limited involvement had more to do with game script since the Chiefs were trailing for the entire game. Kansas City faces the Giants this week, who rank seventh-worst against opposing running backs. I also view Williams as more than just an injury rental while Clyde Edwards-Helaire is out; he's proven to be a solid runner and pass catcher and will likely have a role even when Edwards-Helaire returns.
Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington
Gibson has been somewhat of a disappointment over the last two weeks. He failed to capitalize on two easy matchups against Kansas City and Green Bay while dealing with a shin injury, finishing as RB45 and RB33 in half PPR. It's a bit of a frustrating situation, but I think Gibson will return to full strength soon and the workload is still there. He faces Denver, then has a bye, then Tampa — a tough next three weeks. Now would be a good time to buy low on him.
Darrell Henderson, RB, Rams
Henderson disappointed in Week 7 in what should have been a good matchup. He saw 15 carries for 45 yards and caught three of six targets for 19 yards, finishing as RB28 in half PPR. He still dominated the backfield with 18 of the 20 running back touches in the game as Sony Michel barely saw any work. Henderson and the Rams get another solid Week 8 matchup against the Texans, who are allowing the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this year.
D.J. Moore, WR, Panthers
Moore has had some less than stellar weeks coinciding with Sam Darnold's struggles. The good news is the targets are still there and the Panthers face Atlanta's defense, which has given up the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this year. This Carolina offense should improve once Christian McCaffrey returns, which should be sometime soon.
Julio Jones, WR, Titans
Jones' season has been largely a disappointment this year. He finished as WR16 in Week 2, but finished as WR78, WR61, WR45 and WR48 in the other four games he has played. He has also missed time with a lingering hamstring injury, from which I think he is on the mend. The talent and upside are there and this could be a solid game for him this week as the Titans take on the Colts, who are allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this year. Jones missed their first meeting this year in Week 3 when both Chester Rodgers and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine found the end zone.
Brandin Cooks, WR, Texans
Cooks was held to just five catches for 21 yards in Week 7 and finished as WR52 in half PPR. He has clearly been hampered by poor quarterback play from Davis Mills and has another tough matchup this week against Jalen Ramsey and the Rams. However, he should get a major boost once Tyrod Taylor returns. That could happen as soon as this week, making him an excellent buy-low candidate.
Calvin Ridley, WR, Falcons
The best time to buy low on Ridley was last week; the second best time to buy low is now. Ridley is on the upswing after returning from injury and the bye week and found the end zone in Week 7. He led the team with 10 targets and caught four passes for 26 yards. This Falcons team is probably going to find itself in a lot of pass-heavy game scripts given how poorly the defense has played. He should continue to see a significant target share, even competing with Kyle Pitts, Russell Gage and Cordarrelle Patterson.
Dallas Goedert, TE, Eagles
Goedert had a decent — not stellar — week for fantasy purposes in Week 7 and caught three of five targets for 70 yards. He should be considered a top play rest-of-season with Zach Ertz traded to the Cardinals and gets the Lions and Chargers on deck next.
Week 8 Trade Targets To Sell High On
Below are seven Week 7 overperformers, or players whose values may decrease over the next few weeks whom you should try to offload via trades.
Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Dolphins
Tagovailoa has looked strong in his two games since returning from injury, finishing as QB10 and QB1 for fantasy. That said, the Dolphins have faced the Jaguars and Falcons over the last two weeks — two teams that don't exactly have the most fearsome defenses. This week, the Dolphins face the Bills, whose defense is allowing the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks this year. I fully expect Tagovailoa to turn back into a pumpkin in this game.
J.J. Taylor, RB, Patriots
Taylor posted nine carries for 21 yards and two touchdowns and caught his lone target for five yards, finishing as RB13 in half PPR. last week. He was one of three Patriots running backs to finish top 13 for the week as New England tacked on 32 carries for 148 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. Much of that was game script, as the Patriots jumped out to a very early lead and tacked on a whopping 54 points on the Jets, who lost Zach Wilson during the game and had to turn to Mike White. I doubt this series of events will repeat again, and even in light of the stellar Week 7 performance, Taylor remains on a short leash. This was his first game since fumbling in Week 4 and he had previously tallied one total fantasy point over three games.
Khalil Herbert, RB, Bears
Herbert is looking matchup-proof after dominating the Packers and Buccaneers defenses in Weeks 6 and 7, respectively. That said, I do not expect him to be a long-term starter once David Montgomery returns. He'll likely siphon some carries away from Montgomery, but not enough to be fantasy-relevant on his own. Montgomery went on injured reserve three weeks ago and will be eligible to return as soon as he's healthy.
Myles Gaskin, RB, Dolphins
Gaskin had a solid game against Atlanta and posted 15 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown and caught four of four targets for 10 yards, finishing as RB10 for the week in half PPR. In theory, his stock should increase in wake of the Malcolm Brown going on injured reserve, though the team did just sign Duke Johnson. While I don't think Johnson necessarily poses a huge threat to Gaskin's workload, it's a sign that the team doesn't 100% trust Gaskin as the feature back. His usage is too inconsistent and I could definitely see this turning into an ugly committee situation with Gaskin, Johnson and Salvon Ahmed in a low-ceiling offense to start with. Sell him now before he posts a dud against Buffalo's tough run defense.
Cordarrelle Patterson, RB/WR, Falcons
Patterson has cooled off a bit since his jaw-dropping start to the season. He finished as RB1 in half PPR in Week 4, then RB21 in Week 5 and RB18 in Week 7 after the bye. He should continue to be a valuable fantasy asset rest-of-season, but with the passing game gaining some traction, I do worry about Calvin Ridley, Kyle Pitts and even Russell Gage taking away some of Patterson's work in the passing game. He tied a Week 1-low with just two catches and had a season-low one receiving yard all game last week. I consider him more of a mid- to low-end RB2 moving forward.
Mike Evans, WR, Buccaneers
Evans had a monster, three-touchdown game in Week 7 against the Bears and finished as a top-three receiver for the week. His significant uptick in targets came amid Antonio Brown's absence and Rob Gronkowski's continued absence. Both Brown and Gronkowski could return as soon as this week against the Saints, which will impact the upside of Evans and Chris Godwin.
C.J. Uzomah, TE, Bengals
Uzomah has been a bye-week godsend for many managers. He has scored five touchdowns in four weeks, two of which came on Sunday against the Ravens. The volume just isn't there for me to believe this is a sustainable pattern, however. He only has one game with more than three targets and feels like a touchdown regression candidate.
