Assessing Fantasy Trade Value
I hope I don’t step on DeCon’s toes too much, but when I came across this article on CSB Sports’ Fantasy Football page I felt compelled to share it. Dave Richard put together a great article about understanding trade value and what the current market is for your players.
Trades are tough because I think we all tie a certain value to players we’ve drafted and can’t peel ourselves away from the name on the back of the jersey and the rankings that we’ve pored over all summer while doing our pre-draft homework. Richard assigns point values that you can use when evaluating a potential trade offer:
| Tier | Standard | PPR |
| Top 5 WR | 12 | 14 |
| Top 8 RB | 12 | 12 |
| Top 5 QB | 10 | 10 |
| Excellent QB | 8 | 8 |
| Very Good RB | 8 | 10 |
| Very Good WR | 8 | 10 |
| Top 5 TE | 8 | 10 |
| Very Good TE | 6 | 8 |
| Very Good QB | 4 | 4 |
| Good RB | 4 | 6 |
| Good WR | 4 | 8 |
| Good TE | 4 | 6 |
| Good QB | 2 | 2 |
| Average RB | 2 | 4 |
| Average WR | 2 | 4 |
| Average TE | 2 | 4 |
Click over to the other side of the jump to see how Richard currently values certain players and puts them into tiers.
Quarterbacks
Top 5ExcellentVery GoodGoodAaron RodgersMatthew StaffordBen RoethlisbergerPhilip RiversCam NewtonEli ManningTony RomoRyan FitzpatrickDrew BreesMatt SchaubMatt RyanMichael VickMark SanchezTom BradyJosh Freeman
Running backs
Top 8Very GoodGoodAverageArian FosterMichael TurnerDarren SprolesChris JohnsonFred JacksonSteven JacksonLeGarrette BlountPeyton HillisLeSean McCoyBeanie WellsRashard MendenhallFelix JonesMatt ForteAhmad BradshawCedric BensonMark IngramRay RiceMaurice Jones-DrewShonn GreeneJahvid BestAdrian PetersonRyan MathewsDeMarco MurrayJonathan StewartDarren McFaddenJackie BattleJames StarksFrank GoreWillis McGaheeBenJarvus Green-Ellis
Wide receivers
Top 5Very GoodGoodAverageCalvin JohnsonDwayne BoweDeSean JacksonBrandon MarshallWes WelkerA.J. GreenAndre JohnsonSidney RiceSteve SmithJeremy MaclinMiles AustinDeion BranchMike WallaceMarques ColstonBrandon LloydNate WashingtonGreg JenningsLarry FitzgeraldPierre GarconDarrius Heyward-BeyHakeem NicksVictor CruzMario ManninghamRoddy WhiteSteve JohnsonAntonio BrownAnquan BoldinDez BryantPercy HarvinVincent JacksonEric DeckerSantonio HolmesReggie WayneJordy NelsonPlaxico BurressJulio Jones
Tight ends
Top 5Very GoodGoodAverageJimmy GrahamFred DavisVernon DavisBrent CelekAaron HernandezTony GonzalezJermichael FinleyHeath MillerJason WittenGreg OlsenOwen DanielsDallas ClarkRob GronkowskiBrandon PettigrewJermaine GreshamDustin KellerAntonio GatesJake BallardScott Chandler
So suppose, hypothetically speaking, someone is trying to get Matt Forte (12 pts) and Eli Manning (8 pts) for instance and they give up Miles Austin (8), Steven Jackson (10) and Tim Tebow (0). One might say that the guy getting Forte got the better end of the deal. Purely hypothetical of course.
For me (and hopefully for you) the biggest eye opener in this article was the valuation of your players. Throw those pre-draft kits out the window and take a real hard look at what your players are really worth.