Players to target

QB Matt Hasselbeck, SEA
The value of a trade should be measured in what you get in points, not name recognition. If you’re a team sniffing the playoff hunt, but need QB help, trading for Hasselbeck might be the move you need to get over the top. Make no mistake, there is risk, as he’s had injury issues and could get hurt again, particularly his back. Of course, that also means that Hasselbeck should come relatively cheap, especially when you consider his schedule down the stretch.

From now through the end of the season, Seattle has one of the easier schedules against the pass. He has the potential to produce numbers that will be equal to QBs that would cost you twice as much, if you could get them at all.

Again, understand that there is risk in trading for Hasselbeck, so don’t overpay. Ideally you could trade a decent QB, like David Garrard and another player to land Seattle’s signal caller. If you’re in a dog fight for a playoff spot and need QB help, Hasselbeck is a great guy to target right now.

RB Frank Gore, SF
This one was a classic case of expectations getting in the way of reality. Gore suffered a high ankle sprain and hadn’t taken a snap in close to a month. So when he returns to face the lowly Houston Texans run defense in Week 7, the numbers seem to be in his favor. There were plenty of projections that Gore was simply going to go off in his first week back and that certainly didn’t happen.

Now there are plenty of Gore owners who waited out the injury and started him based on weekly rankings that were in some cases, absurd. They can’t be at all happy with his performance, which means it’s a great time for you to step in and see what Gore would cost. If the 49ers can improve their passing game, it will actually help Gore, as the team was completely one-dimensional with QB Shaun Hill at the helm.

The RB picture across the league is pretty bleak and Gore still has promise. This can be a great buy-low moment.

RB LaDainian Tomlinson, SD
Tomlinson didn’t score in Week 7, but he looked a lot more like old Tomlinson that owners have come to expect. Although he looked better, he certainly didn’t go off, and that means that you might have a chance to talk to the Tomlinson owner and see if he hasn’t reached his breaking point. Less than two months ago, Tomlinson was considered a later RB1, and he was drafted as such in nearly every league out there.

With 20/20 hindsight, it’s pretty obvious that Tomlinson is no longer elite. Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s not serviceable. There are some massively disappointing RBs out there, like Matt Forte and Michael Turner, who are in worse shape and show no signs of getting better.

Tomlinson has some very nice matchups in the next few weeks, so if you’re going to deal for him, do it before he plays the Raiders on Sunday.

RB Chris Wells, ARZ
Wells is coming on, and the Cardinals schedule is looking pretty kind to the offense at this point. This might be the chance to grab Wells before he starts going off. Don’t expect him to carry your team. He’ll still have to share with Tim Hightower, but Wells is learning the offense, and he should be very fresh as the Cardinals head into the stretch run. There aren’t many RBs with upside who might be sitting on benches in your league. Wells may one of them, which makes him a good guy to target.

WR Greg Jennings, GB
Jennings has been a huge disappointment, which makes him a very good guy to target right now. Jennings is an excellent player with a proven track record. He has a very good QB and he’s in a system where they throw the ball. Green Bay’s QB protection issues have slowed the passing game, and Jennings had some issues with his wrist. Still, there’s a whole lot to like about Jennings, and he just hasn’t quite gone off yet. It makes all the sense in the world to target him right now.

WR Mike Sims-Walker, JAC
The Jaguars need Sims-Walker to make the passing game work. WR Torry Holt had a nice game against his former team, the St. Louis Rams, in Week 6, but he’s not the key to the passing game – Sims-Walker is. He’s somebody to target simply because he was a waiver wire pick up in 90 percent of leagues and he can deliver at a much lower cost than a “name” receiver, especially in a PPR league, if you need WR help.

WR Nate Burleson, SEA
We listed him before and we’re listing him again. He has a great shot to go off, and since he didn’t get drafted until late, if at all, in your league, there’s a good chance he can be had for cheap, especially when you compare his production to other WRs, like the ones who got drafted 10 rounds before Burleson did.

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Players to move

RB Thomas Jones, NYJ
Thomas Jones has accumulated 331 rushing yards in the last two weeks and that’s more than half of his total for the season. If this isn’t a sell-high moment, we don’t know what is. Jones completely went off on the Buffalo Bills two weeks ago, tagging them for 210 yards and TD. Last week, he hit the Raiders for 121 and a score. He’s produced against bad teams, and that means it’s the perfect time to deal him.

There are a couple issues that make this a good time to move Jones. The Jets schedule is noticeably more difficult from here on out. RB Leon Washington (leg) is lost for the year, so Jones may pick up some more carries, but the Jets offense will miss Washington’s versatility. Don’t bail on Jones, because he is playing well right now, but don’t expect the monster weeks to continue. If you can trade him to somebody who thinks he’ll keep pace with his current production, by all means do so.

RB Ricky Williams, MIA
Williams and the “Wildcat” formation had a monster day against the New Orleans Saints, and he’s clearly more than just a backup to Ronnie Brown. At this point, Williams has value to RB-desperate owners, and not just the Brown owner, so the market has increased dramatically. It’s also not clear how well Williams, 32, can stand up to the weekly pounding. With three TDs in a game by a part-time RB, it is a clearly a sell-high moment.

RB Tim Hightower, ARZ
As Chris Wells starts to come on, Hightower will be the player whose value suffers. He looks to have less upside as Wells starts to come on.


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Article first appeared Oct. 28, 2009