Midseason Madness: What Moves to Make with Half the Season Left
We officially have 7 weeks in the books and are halfway through the fantasy football regular
season. For some, you are in the driver’s seat, sitting at 6-1 or maybe even 7-0 watching your league mates flail through injuries and duds trying to get back to .500.
Others may be eyeing that last playoff spot hoping they can keep scraping by. Still, some of you may be in the basement at 2-5 looking up and wondering if you can climb back out and make a run.
I’m going to give each of you some advice about what to do with just 7 weeks remaining, so find your bracket on here and start making moves.
TEAMS IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT: 7-0, 6-1, 5-2
First off, congrats on your early success. You’re likely the envy of your league, having hit waiver wire gold or simply being lucky and avoiding the myriad injuries this year. Kudos to you, regardless. However, the work isn’t done. You can’t sit back and expect the past to be the future. You need to be thinking championship, not just playoffs. Here are some savvy moves to make now to get ahead of the season and set yourself up for victory.
1. Trade for Nico Collins
Just one week removed from injury and an IR stint, if there is a manager in your league who is 3-4 or 2-5, it’s time to hit the phones. Nico is the4 WR2 in PPG and has a good strength of schedule in the playoffs (vs. Miami and vs. Buffalo in weeks 15 and 17 should be phenomenal matchups. @KC in week 16 will be a downgrade, though). Find a way to get this man on your roster if you’re in a position to stash him on your bench for a few weeks.
2. Go get your handcuffs
You do not want to be 8-3 only to see the trade deadline pass and your star RB go down. The time to trade for players like Tyler Allgeier, Braelon Allen, even Zach Charbonnet is now or soon. If you have a stud RB with a good handcuff like the players above, make a move.
3. Trade for Jonathon Brooks
If a team has held onto a player this long, it might be tough to wrangle them away. But it might be a lot easier if that team is struggling. Brooks might come back week 9, but even then--will he immediately take over the lead role? He’s not going to be a day 1 workhorse. I personally believe Brooks will be on a lot of league winning rosters…but you have to get into the playoffs first. His playoff schedule is one of the softest in the NFL—vs. Dallas, vs. Arizona, @Tampa Bay.
4. Inquire about Alvin Kamara and James Conner
After their hot start, the Saints look absolutely terrible and Dennis Allen looks like he could be in the unemployment line by Black Monday. Regardless, the only mainstay about this offense is Alvin Kamara. I suspect he could have a few rough weeks ahead with such terrible QB play and no WR threats to take defensive attention off the run game, but you don’t care about that. What you do care about is his soft schedule down the stretch and juicy playoff slate: vs. Washington, at Green Bay, vs Las Vegas.
Conner is in a similar spot. He’s coming off a down game against GB but his playoff schedule, if he can stay healthy, is tantalizing: vs NE, at Carolina, at LAR. This is also a reminder to consider adding Trey Benson at some point off the wire (if he’s there).
5. Consider targeting Isaiah Pacheco
The Chiefs offense kind of sucks. But the one huge bright spot has been the RB position led by (checks notes) Kareem Hunt…? Hunt has been inefficient, but the Chiefs are finding ways to win with their defense and the ground game. As of this writing, Pacheco is projected to return at some point in November (my guess is mid-November, maybe week 11 against Buffalo). Regardless—any team that isn’t in a good position to make the playoffs should be looking to move him. His playoff slate isn’t great, but the Chiefs are committed to the run and that’s all that really matters.
TEAMS IN NO MAN’S LAND: 4-3, 3-4
You’re currently not in a position to make the playoffs, but you’re not out of this yet. With bye weeks and injured players returning, you can turn this around. You’re a short win streak away from being back in the top 5 in your league.
1. Swap a bye week
This is just good general advice, but for any team that’s had their bye week already (Detroit,
LAC, Philly, Tennessee, KC, LAR, Miami, Minnesota, Chicago, Dallas) should be a target for
you. It is a savvy move to swap out a player who has already had their bye for one who hasn’t. This could win you a week during the midpoint of the season and in the middle of the pack you might have to steal a W to make the playoffs.
2. Trade for Devonta Smith
Coming off an awful performance against the NYG, it’s time to inquire about Smith, who has
already passed his week 5 bye and has a great slate of games coming up: at Cincy, vs Jax, at Dallas, vs Washington. If you need a boost to the playoffs, this could be it.
3. Go after DJ Moore
Caleb Williams is going to be very good down the stretch. The Bears offense is humming and
Moore faces one of the easiest (if not the easiest) strength of schedules from here on out, with his worst matchups being at SF (week 14) and vs Seattle (week 17). He could launch middling teams into the playoffs with a couple big games but he’s probably being undervalued coming off a poor game against Jacksonville and a bye week.
4. Target Jayden Reed
It was an awful week for Reed owners (I’m one of them) and the Packers have a week 10 bye
coming up, but his next two weeks look like blow up spots (at Jacksonville, versus Detroit). He’s got 25+ point potential (we’ve seen it twice) and if you could buy him at a discount coming off two lackluster weeks and an owner’s fear about Watson/Doubs/Wicks taking too much of the target share away, I’d consider getting him now.
5. Ask about Dolphins
Tua might come back this week, so you could find owners disinterested in giving up a piece
they’ve held onto for weeks, especially Achane and Hill (who are probably going to cost a lot), but I’d bet Mostert and Waddle could be snagged at a discount. Mostert has averaged over 4 yards per carry the last two weeks and Waddle had 150 yards in the first two games with Tua under center. The Dolphins have plus matchups in 4 of their next 5 games.
TEAMS IN THE BASEMENT: 2-5, 1-6, 0-7
Look…if you’re 0-7 it might be over. You should be making weird trades and shaking things up. I don’t know if there’s much you can do but definitely do *something* and be competitive. Be annoying for your league mates at the very least.
For the others, it is imperative that you go on a run right now. There’s no secret formula or
player that will fix this. It’ll take luck. But there are some general things you should do and
maybe a couple hail Mary’s you should throw.
1. Trade away ANYONE not getting you a win right now
Most teams in 12-man leagues will need a 8-6 record or so to make the playoffs. That means as of today you need to 6-1 or at worst 5-2 to squeak in. You *cannot afford* to take a week off. Do you own CMC? Nico Collins? Jonathon Brooks? Puka Nacua? Stop what you’re doing and trade them. Whatever weakness you have in your lineup—strengthen it. At this point you would be better off moving them for an elite Defense than letting them sit on your bench or in an IR spot.
Same advice for anyone on a bye in the coming weeks.
2. Trade “elite” players for a package deal
This is *usually* bad advice and whoever gets “the best” player in the deal is typically the
winner, but if you own an elite player and they haven’t gotten you to victory, it means you’re
bleeding elsewhere. If you own a Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, or Bijan Robinson and are 2-5, you need to get a 2 or 3 for 1 swap with a top team and try to maximize your points for this week. Look for a player that’s past their bye and have the manager add an undervalued player like Jaylen Waddle to the mix.
3. Get weird: trade for Tank Dell
This is potentially a terrible idea. Maybe he’s already on your team and that’s why you’re in this spot. But if not, consider getting strange and acquiring Tank Dell in a package deal (or off waivers). The Texans offense looked awful against GB and Dell was flat out blanked by the Packers (4 targets, 0 catches). However, he dropped a TD pass in this one and is still in a position to garner a ton of looks moving ahead with Nico Collins’s injury. His next matchup is against Indy, a great blowup spot, and he has no byes until week 14. He could be dirt cheap or even on your wire. Remember that this is about the time last year that Pollard, who had a similar injury, started to show signs of life for Dallas last season, and Dell has proven he can go on a heater as he did his rookie year.
4. Get weird: trade for Rome Odunze
Like the Dell thing, this might not work out. Hell, it probably won’t. But rookies tend to get little boosts coming out of bye weeks when they get some downtime to digest the offense and catch up a bit to the NFL game, getting more reps and more prep time. The Bears come out of the bye against Washington. Not only could Rome explode against the Commanders, but there’s also a non-zero chance he goes bananas down the stretch with a soft strength of schedule and a young QB that’s heating up. If Moore were to miss any time, you could have a WR (DJ Moore is also a good target if you can get him, but there’s a cost difference).
5. Snag Jalen Tolbert?
He’s probably not on your wire (if he is—get him!) but maybe in one of those package deals you could get him tacked on? Tolbert is past his bye and has a great stretch of games coming up (at San Fran, at Atlanta, vs Philly, vs Houston, at Washington). He’s the type of flex player thatcould win you a week in your flex. I suspect the Cowboys have made a ton of changes in the bye, which was perfectly timed for them coming off that embarrassing game against Detroit, and Tolbert could have a few week-winning performances if Dak and the Cowboys rebound (or get behind and are forced to air it out a lot).
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