Fantasy football buy low, sell high Week 13: 10 players to trade this week

The fantasy football trade deadline is approaching fast. It may have even passed in some leagues. However, for those lucky among us with the deadline still a few days away, we’ve got some advice.

Whether you are looking to make a late season playoff push, solidify your chances at a championship, or looking to avoid your league’s brutal last-place punishment, making key trades with the deadline fast approaching is what makes or breaks the best managers. Here are ten players to target in trades for the next two days and whether or not to hold onto them, let them go, or snatch them up while their value is low.

Bargain hunting:Fantasy football waiver wire Week 13 adds: 5 players you need to consider picking up now

Buy low on these fantasy football players in Week 13:

Philadelphia Eagles RB D’Andre Swift

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In a game where the Philadelphia Eagles put up 37 points, D’Andre Swift could only manage 9.4 PPR points. He’s now put up less than 11 in three of his last five. That said, Swift has an incredibly easy schedule in the fantasy playoffs. In Weeks 16 and 17, he gets the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.

Swift is far-and-away the lead back in Philadelphia and despite putting up lackluster numbers the last five games, he’s still averaging over five yards a carry over the last two weeks. Swift may not have the best matchups the next two weeks, taking on the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, but come playoff time, your patience will pay off massively.

Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne Jr.

Etienne just had his best fantasy day in three weeks. He still only managed 12.6 PPR points. He could’ve had a much, much better day though.

Not only was Etienne stuffed at the goal line on the last play of the first half, but he was stopped at the 1-yard line later in the game as well. Etienne had the potential for two more touchdowns, which would have given him nearly 25 PPR points on the day.

Etienne may be a little more touchdown dependent than he was earlier in the season, but plenty of touchdowns should be in the books in the fantasy playoffs. The Jaguars are scheduled to take on both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers in Weeks 16 and 17, respectively.

Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua

Cooper Kupp is not healthy. While the Rams may not put Kupp back on the IR, they are definitely not involving him as heavily in their offensive gameplan as they usually do. We know what Nacua can do when Kupp isn’t healthy. While we would expect Nacua to have produced more than he has the last four weeks, he has still yet to have a game with fewer than seven targets.

Volume is king! And Nacua gets a ton of it.

Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase

The Cincinnati Bengals offense did not look good this past week and Tee Higgins could be back any time, meaning now is the perfect time to buy the former No. 5 overall pick.

Owners will likely be disillusioned with the Chase-Jake Browning connection, looking to get some value from Chase on name alone. However, as the Bengals’ offense struggles with Browning under center, the coaching staff will likely try to get creative and involve their star players more often. While Browning may not throw as many deep balls as Burrow did, he will throw far more screens. Chase is the best YAC receiver the Bengals have, so many of those screens will probably be drawn up for him.

Chase’s ceiling is obviously much lower than it used to be with Burrow under center, but Chase will still be a PPR monster with touchdown upside on an offense that will likely be passing a lot.

Houston Texans RB Devin Singletary

Although he averaged only three yards a carry, Singletary out-carried Dameon Pierce in Pierce’s first game back from injury, and that is absolutely massive. Singletary owners may not have realized just how big it was though as Singletary only managed 13.2 PPR points, a good day, but nothing massive.

Singletary was an enormous part of the Texans passing game as well. Pierce was not. In every aspect of the game, Singletary was the Texans lead back.

Houston may face Cleveland during the fantasy playoffs, but they also play Tennessee twice. The Titans have allowed at least 16 PPR fantasy points to opposing running backs in five straight games. Singletary could be a massive get for anyone with a questionable RB2 situation.

Sell high on these fantasy football players in Week 13:

Buffalo Bills RB James Cook

BYE. Dallas. Kansas City. That is a brutal, brutal stretch that includes a fantasy playoff game.

As great as Cook was against Philadelphia and involved as he was in the passing attack, Cook likely won’t get six receptions again for the rest of the season. Cook has been an inconsistent runner all season and now faces two of the best rushing defenses in the NFL. Yeah, he’s achieved double-digit points each of the last three weeks, but you can’t count on that for the next three weeks.

Los Angeles Rams TE Tyler Higbee

Everyone knows how bad Tyler Higbee has been this year. It might be hard to persuade someone to take a chance on a guy who was only averaging 7 PPR fantasy points per game coming into Week 12. That said, there is a way.

Step 1: Find an appropriate target

Isaiah Likely disappointed in his first game as the Ravens starting tight end. Consistency at the tight end position is hard to come by so if you can target someone who may be a little disillusioned with a guy like Jake Ferguson, who only had one catch on Thanksgiving, or Logan Thomas, who hasn’t put up 10 PPR fantasy points in four straight weeks, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Make your argument

As I said during my bit regarding Puka Nacua, anyone who watched the Rams this weekend knows that Cooper Kupp is not healthy right now. The Rams, despite Kupp’s health, are a reasonable 5-6 and in the hunt for the playoffs. They are going to compete and they are going to pass the ball, because not every game will be as great for Kyren Williams as this weekend was. They will need to pass more and Higbee could be the go-to redzone target with Kupp out.

Step 3: Disregard any of their concerns

“Yeah, I know the Rams play the Browns and Ravens the next two weeks, but who else is Stafford going to throw to? At least he’s not playing those teams in the playoffs.”

Any concerns your potential trade partner might have, and there are a lot of them, just deflect and get back on course. Higbee is a hard sell, but there has never been a better time to do so.

Miami Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle

One of the biggest disappointments of the fantasy season, Jaylen Waddle just had his second best game, recording 19.4 fantasy points. Waddle did so though while catching every single one of his eight targets. That kind of efficiency is not likely to replicate.

While Waddle and the Dolphins do have favorable matchups in Weeks 13 and 14, they face the New York Jets in the first week of the playoffs. While Waddle’s 19.4 point performance came against those same Jets, like I said earlier, it’s far likelier that Waddle falls back down to Earth, catching 50-70 percent of his targets against the Jets’ elite secondary in their next matchup. Furthermore, the final two weeks of the fantasy playoffs see the Dolphins square off against the Cowboys and Ravens. That’s not good.

Waddle still has some name value. Get some value for him while you still can.

Buffalo Bills WR Gabe Davis

We all know what Gabe Davis can do. He can both win you and lose you weeks. It’s astonishing the versatility this man can bring to a roster. Unless your personality in your league is that of a gambling addict, Davis’ volatility is not something you want in the playoffs. Someone who can score 30 or 0 any given week may be fun, but not practical.

Davis is coming off his second-best game of the season, matching his season high in targets (12) and setting a new season-high in receiving yards (105). So, why is it the right time to sell Davis?

1. It’s your last chance to do so.
2. He’s on a bye this week.
3. His next two games are against the Chiefs and Cowboys, two of the best defenses in the NFL.

If you have a very deep WR corps and can afford to keep Davis on your bench for each of those three weeks, Davis could pay off dividends in Weeks 16 and 17 as he faces the Chargers and Patriots. That said, the last time Davis played the Patriots, he was held to just 1.6 PPR fantasy points. So, even that favorable matchup may not actually be so favorable.

Dallas Cowboys RB Tony Pollard

Last week, I said Tony Pollard was a sell-high candidate after scoring his first rushing touchdown since Week 1 and putting up his most PPR fantasy points since Week 2. I did, however, also say that if you wanted to hold on to Pollard for another week, that was fine since he was lined up to play against the Washington Commanders on Thanksgiving. For those of you who took that risk, it paid off massively.

Pollard exploded for 22.3 PPR fantasy points, his highest total of the season. Just before the trade deadline, this was the perfect time for Pollard to dominate. However, time is running short. If you cannot trade Pollard away, the Cowboys may have a tough time finding the endzone the next few weeks as they will face the Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and Detroit Lions for the final five weeks of the fantasy football season.

The Lions have been a great fantasy defense against opposing running backs. The Dolphins have not allowed 100 total yards to opposing running backs in five straight games. The Eagles have not allowed a rushing touchdown since Week 6. The Seahawks and Bills…okay, those are decent matchups, but only one of those is in the playoffs and three-of-five matchups being unfavorable is not something you want from your RB1 come playoff time.

Fantasy football:5 players you need to consider picking up now