The first three weeks of the fantasy football regular season are in the books. Some managers are undoubtedly feeling great about their team and how they have started the season. For others, it has become apparent that a fair bit of work must be done. Luckily, there are still 11 weeks remaining before the start of the Fantasy Playoffs. While this gives managers plenty of time to transform their team into a contender, it does not mean that you should wait around to upgrade your roster. There have already been plenty of surprising developments and numerous injuries during the first three weeks of the season. As a result, managers have any number of buy-low fantasy football trade candidates to consider targeting.
Below, we break down some priority buy-low fantasy football trade targets, including Alvin Kamara, Brandin Cooks and Jeff Wilson Jr. The following breakdowns and analyses can be used to help guide your trade discussions and weigh fantasy football player values heading into Week 4.
Buy-Low Fantasy Football Trade Targets | Week 4
Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
Coming into the 2022 fantasy football season, there was some question as to whether Alvin Kamara would even be available for the entire year. Those preseason availability concerns stemmed from legal troubles off the field. While it appears as though Kamara won’t be reprimanded this season, he has already missed a game due to a rib injury. As for the two games in which he has taken the field, well, he has undoubtedly cost some fantasy managers their matchups.
Kamara has totaled only 14.90 PPR points to date. That’s more than three fewer than the 18.05 he averaged over the course of 13 games played a season ago. While he has averaged over four yards per carry, he has yet to find the end zone. As far as his role in the passing game, Jameis Winston targeted him seven times in Week 3. Unfortunately, only two of those targets actually turned into receptions. Kamara also coughed up a fumble in the Saints’ loss to Carolina last week.
Depending on where Kamara was taken in your league’s draft, there’s a good chance that his current owner has started the season out 1-2 or worse. Knowing that his fantasy football scoring output has basically been at his floor level through three weeks, it’s worth inquiring about his price tag in trade discussions. Assuming that his injury situation gets better, there is a whole lot more productivity on the horizon. It could come as soon as this Sunday against a Minnesota defense that is allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to the running back position.
Brandin Cooks, WR, Houston Texans
Last year, Brandin Cooks proved that he doesn’t need elite-level quarterback play to still be a valuable fantasy football asset. Despite the Texans’ dicey QB situation, Cooks still managed to put together a 1000-yard season. In doing so, he finished as the WR20 in PPR scoring. He and Davis Mills showed a tremendous rapport down the stretch of last season. In addition, some underlying numbers from the Texans’ first three games suggest that Cooks is primed for an uptick in fantasy scoring.
On the surface, Brandin Cooks fantasy football owners have every right to be frustrated with the lack of production thus far. After putting up 15.2 PPR points in Week 1, the 29-year-old has failed to crack double-digits in each of the last two games. In Weeks 2 and 3 combined, Cooks has only managed six receptions for 76 yards. Both of those tallies fall short of what he achieved in the first game of the year. Despite the lack of productivity, he is clearly still a focal point of the Texans’ middling offensive attack. For proof, look no further than his target totals of 12, 10 and seven in the first three games, respectively.
Cooks is currently sitting as the WR51 in fantasy football. Barring an unforeseen circumstance, he will no doubt finish the year as a top-25 player at the position. That estimate may be a conservative one at that. The Texans clearly want to prioritize running the football with promising rookie back Dameon Pierce. However, this team also figures to be trailing in the majority of games this season. Garbage time stats count the same as any other in fantasy. Managers might also be able to use Houston’s early bye week as a discussion point when engaging in trade talks to acquire Cooks at value.
Jeff Wilson Jr., RB, San Francisco 49ers
It sure didn’t take long for the world to yet again dismiss the 49ers with Jimmy Garoppolo as their quarterback. Yes, it was an ugly performance on Sunday night against Denver. However, let’s not forget that the Broncos are one of the best defensive teams in the entire league. Despite this, Jeff Wilson Jr. still ran for 75 yards in the Week 3 loss. He added another 31 yards receiving on a trio of receptions. Wilson has now turned 30 carries into 159 yards rushing and has scored double-digit PPR fantasy points in each of his two starts this season.
As Elijah Mitchell remains out with his knee injury, Wilson will be the focal point of the 49ers’ backfield. Aside from Deebo Samuel logging carries from time to time, there isn’t anyone else on the 49ers’ depth chart who seems likely to wrestle any sort of significant workload away from the former UDFA out of North Texas. In addition, the fact that Wilson has garnered at least two targets in the passing game in each of the first three weeks is a surprising but welcome development.
Of course, it was only a couple of weeks ago that Wilson was widely available on fantasy football waiver wires. Thus, managers must be careful not to overpay when trying to trade for him. Downplaying the 49ers’ current offensive situation could be key to obtaining a starting running back at a discount. San Francisco will likely wind up leaning on its ground game with Garoppolo under center. As the decisive lead back at this juncture, Wilson will see plenty of volume on a weekly basis.
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