We’ve all entered the trade bait portal only to find other owners’ leftovers. This region of the community is generally filled with aged and underperforming veterans who anyone would be willing to ditch for a few late-round picks or role players. We’re all guilty of this tactic, but every once in awhile we place useful assets out there and can’t seem to get any kind of value in return. This article highlights a few players who are worth much more on your roster than what you would receive back in a trade, and why.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB – MIA)
Fitzpatrick is a 15-year veteran who gave dynasty owners a reason to keep him on their roster for the 2020 season. He’s 37 years old and clearly doesn’t have too much time left in the NFL, but elevated his play late in the season and was the QB5 from Weeks 12 through 16. He was an extremely valuable asset on many 2019 fantasy championship teams in Superflex/2QB leagues. Fitzmagic averaged 24.26 FPPG over the last five games of the season, making anyone who took a chance on him a happy camper.
Here’s the thing, this is a quarterback that can provide serious fantasy production, but you couldn’t get fair value for him if you tried. It makes sense, he’s old as dirt and plays like a maniac, willing to take any hit to get the first down. Fear the beard, right? Fitzpatrick is the likely starter for the Dolphins in 2020. He built a good rapport with DeVante Parker and rookie Preston Williams after becoming the starter in place of Josh Rosen. Miami may draft a quarterback but will probably be redshirted his rookie season. The bottom line is Fitzpatrick is worth a whole lot more on your team than whatever 4th+ round pick someone is trying to pedal off on you. Take the fantasy production and ride him all the way into the grave.
Drew Brees (QB – NO)
Drew Brees is another ancient quarterback other owners would like to snatch off your roster for late-round picks or unproven talent. Brees suffered a thumb injury early in the year, but was still the QB6 when he returned from Week 8 onward. He averaged 23.05 FPPG and was insanely accurate, completing 74.3% of his pass attempts. That’s a .1 higher than he completed in 2018. So, you may ask yourself why he would be untradeable. Well, it turns out most dynasty owners fear age and assume older players are useless. I find they change their tune come playoff time when they want to trade for any productive player, regardless of age. That’s another story though.
Reports confirm Drew Brees is returning for the 2020 season and all signs indicate he’s going to be a top 10 fantasy quarterback.
There’s a ton of value in that, but you’d be lucky to get a late first if you tried to trade him today. That’s completely absurd, especially for contending teams. Hold on to the old man if you can’t get proper value for him, maybe you’ll have another chance to move on when the 2020 playoffs roll around.
James Conner (RB – PIT)
Unlike our first two subjects, this player doesn’t suffer from the age disease. Instead, James Conner is a victim of the injury-prone label. Conner has a history of concussions and lower leg injuries. He’s had multiple knee issues and injured his shoulder twice this past year, leaving him sidelined both times. His fragility makes him a difficult sell in any dynasty format. The problem you face as a Conner owner is that he’s quite productive. He was the RB7 in FPPG through the first 10 weeks of the season and much of that can be contributed to his work in the passing game. He caught 55 passes for 497 yards and one touchdown in 2018 and 34 of 38 targets for 251 yards and three touchdowns in just 10 games in 2019. That’s an 89.5% catch rate.
When healthy, James Conner is a very productive fantasy player but you never know when he’ll be available. He’s unreliable and that makes getting the fair value back for him virtually impossible. Good running backs are a scarce commodity and should be treated as such. Conner is only 24 years old and could very well have a lot of good football left in him, besides, we know how useful a running back behind the Steelers offensive line can be. Conner is untradable but it may not be the worst thing for your dynasty roster.
David Johnson (RB – ARI)
Another disappointing season for David Johnson dynasty owners. DJ was once again not healthy and his decreased playing time over the course of the year was no accident. He played 60% or more of the offensive snaps in the first six games and fewer than 50% every game after. He is not in the Cardinal’s future plans and the acquisition of Kenyan Drake made that entirely clear. That said, he’s still a valuable fantasy asset that many took in the first round. You couldn’t sell him for late 2020 first, or even early second-round pick right now.
Johnson’s fantasy production suffered mainly because he couldn’t get on the field. He was relatively useful in the first six games, especially in the passing game. He had 315 yards receiving and three touchdowns in the first six weeks. During the same time, DJ averaged 20.2 FPPG, good for RB5. Johnson only started nine games and still received 9.23% of the red zone targets, had a 100% red zone completion rate, and two touchdowns. He really should be an off-season buy but if you own him he’s untradable. He could easily end up starting on another team next season. He’ll likely be a much more productive fantasy player than whatever someone is willing to give you in return.
Julian Edelman (WR – NE)
Edelman just came off was arguably his best season yet. 100 receptions on 153 targets for 1,117 and six touchdowns is an incredible season for a 33-year-old wide receiver. The 2019 fantasy WR5 is untradeable. You can barely get a late-round rookie pick in return for Jules and that is just disrespectful.
Edleman’s value dip is due to both age and injury. He played through the majority of last season with an injured knee and AC joint. Even with that, he finished as one of the best fantasy receivers. He’s attached to a quarterback with one foot out the door and Edelman probably won’t play long after his current contract through 2021.
It’s understandable he wouldn’t be worth as much as a younger player. But, any contender would be happy to roster him. Sadly, you only have a year or two to get anything for him at all. Either way, don’t sell dirt cheap. Hold on tight and only sell close to the trade deadline when someone is desperate.
Julio Jones (WR – NE)
Julio Jones is only untradable due to age. That’s the only reasonable excuse to not give proper value for a receiver who consistently a top-five or 10 fantasy player in his position. Jones finished 2019 as the WR4 with 99 receptions for 1,394 yards and six touchdowns.
You could probably get a 2020 first-round pick plus a role player for him but is that really all he’s worth? Is 31 years old really THAT old these days? I don’t think so. He also has the luxury of being on a high volume passing offense. I truly don’t understand the Julio hate. Make sure you don’t get sucked into the negativity and sell too low.
Eric Ebron (TE – IND)
This selection probably makes the most sense of all. Ebron is a free agent after only starting two games last year and being placed on injured reserve due to an ankle injury. He had a disappointing year after finishing as the TE4 in 2018 with 66 receptions for 750 yards and a whopping 13 touchdowns.
Dynasty owners don’t like uncertainty. Not knowing where Ebron lands put a damper on his value, but he’s only 26 and has proven he can be extremely productive. I know people will try to convince you he’s only worth a third-round rookie pick but that’s doing your team a disservice. Wait until he finds a landing spot because you have a better asset than you think.
Thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts or would like to discuss, you can find me on Twitter @WillieBeamanDFF
