Fantasy Football Week 1: Examining Trade Market for Top 100 Flex Players (2024)

We've all seen it happen—that one person in your league can't make the draft, has to take their chances with the autodraft feature and ends up with five quarterbacks and an incredibly imbalanced roster. Hilarity ensues.

But that person also desperately needs to hit the trade market to address needs across their roster, and that's where you swoop in, hoping to pry some value deals from a desperate player. Trades are tough at the beginning of the season, but with the return of the trade value chart below, you'll be in business.

Trade Value: 20

1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Trade Value: 19

2. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

3. Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

4. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

Trade Value: 18

5. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

6. Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets

7. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions

8. A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Trade Value: 17

9. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

10. Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

11. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Trade Value: 16

12. Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets

13. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions

14. Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

15. Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams

Trade Value: 15

16. Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

17. Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders

18. Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints

19. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Trade Value: 14

20. Josh Jacobs, RB, Green Bay Packers

21. Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens

Trade Value: 13

22. Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts

23. Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons

24. Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers

25. DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Trade Value: 12

26. Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

27. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

28. Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

29. James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills

30. Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Trade Value: 11

31. Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions

32. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

33. Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

34. De'Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins

35. D.J. Moore, WR, Chicago Bears

36. Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Trade Value: 10

37. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals

38. Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans

39. Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants

40. Stefon Diggs, WR, Houston Texans

41. Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Trade Value: 9

42. DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

43. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins

44. Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

45. Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns

46. Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens

47. Evan Engram, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars

Trade Value: 8

48. C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans

49. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

50. Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys

51. Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

52. Zamir White, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

Trade Value: 7

53. Joe Mixon, RB, Houston Texans

54. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

55. Kenneth Walker II, RB, Seattle Seahawks

56. Raheem Mostert, RB, Miami Dolphins

57. Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots

58. Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons

59. Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals

Trade Value: 6

60. Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders

61. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

62. Christian Kirk, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

63. George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

64. Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts

65. Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers

Trade Value: 5

66. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers

67. Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills

68. Jake Ferguson, TE, Dallas Cowboys

Trade Value: 4

69. D'Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears

70. James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals

71. David Montgomery, RB, Detroit Lions

72. J.K. Dobbins, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

73. Brian Robinson Jr., RB, Washington Commanders

74. Tony Pollard, RB, Tennessee Titans

75. Calvin Ridley, WR, Tennessee Titans

76. Jayden Reed, WR, Green Bay Packers

77. Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos

78. Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

79. Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers

Trade Value: 3

80. Keenan Allen, WR, Chicago Bears

81. Devin Singletary, RB, New York Giants

82. Jerome Ford, RB, Cleveland Browns

83. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns

84. Aaron Jones, RB, Minnesota Vikings

85. Zack Moss, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

86. David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns

87. Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

88. Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals

Trade Value: 2

89. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

90. Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos

91. Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

92. Aaron Rodgers, QB, New York Jets

93. Kirk Cousins, QB, Atlanta Falcons

94. Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders

95. Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans

96. Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

97. Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers

98. Tank Dell, WR, Houston Texans

99. Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

100. Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders

Any players not listed have a trade value of one. Trade values determined using PPR scoring and projections.

The trade value chart before the start of the regular season is based purely on projections, so there might be a few players higher or lower than expected. Let's go through them.

Let's focus primarily on Anthony Richardson, arguably the most fascinating fantasy player heading into thi season. He has an average draft position of 57.5 in ESPN drafts and 47.4 in Yahoo drafts but comes in at No. 64 on the trade value chart. There are a few reasons for that.

To start, the trade value chart looks at value slightly different than standard projections, since there is a lot of depth at the position. In standard leagues last season, the difference between the No. 7 quarterback (Jared Goff) and the No. 19 quarterback (Geno Smith) was about 3.1 fantasy points per week. Once you get away from the elite options at the position, there is plenty of depth available, making those players less valuable in trades..

Now, the question is whether you think Richardson will be one of the elite options or more of a middle-of-the-road guy. In his four games last season, he averaged 18.2 fantasy points per contest. In a full 17-game season, that translates to 309.4 fantasy points, which last season would have ranked him sixth overall.

And the fantasy hype has followed:

A big chunk of that fantasy value, however, came from his 136 rushing yards and four scores. That playing style also contributed to a number of injuries that resulted in him appearing in just four games as a rookie. Taking the sort of big hits he endured last season, consistently, isn't sustainable going forward.

But has Richardson ever proven to be an elite passer only at either the college or professional level? As a passer last year, he threw for 577 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, which projects to 2,452 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.

His best season at Florida, meanwhile, came in 2022 when he threw for 2,549 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions, completing just 53.8 percent of his passes. He was excellent as a runner, of course, notching 654 yards on the ground and nine scores.

Now, there are plenty of dynamic running quarterbacks who stay healthy enough to be forces in fantasy football. Many of the top quarterbacks listed above make a major impact on the ground.

But Richardson feels a bit more feast-or-famine than all of them. He probably needs to run to make a huge impact as a fantasy quarterback, but his running style puts him in major risk of injury. We've never seen evidence that Richardson, despite his huge talent, can be the sort of passer to make a fantasy splash if he's putting a greater priority on hanging in the pocket.

If he rushes more responsibly, yes, the upside is still there. Just don't overpay in early-season trades for that possibility.

One player who could be about to pop off this season is Green Bay Packers wideout Jayden Reed. When quarterback Jordan Love went Super Saiyan down the stretch last season, Reed was a contributing factor, catching 36 passes for 376 yards and four touchdowns in his final seven games of the regular season.

Over the course of 17 games, that translates to 87 catches for 913 yards and nine touchdowns, and that's without accounting for the young receiver having another offseason of development and time to build additional rapport with Love.

There is a lot of depth at wide receiver, so don't overpay for Reed. There's also the matter of Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks soaking up targets in Green Bay too. But Reed is a player you can currently get for pretty cheap who might be in line for a big jump in year two.