The midway point of the fantasy football regular season has arrived. At this juncture, managers undoubtedly have a pretty good idea of whether their roster is a contender, pretender or just downright awful as currently constructed. No matter which of these categories your team falls into, incorporating some sell-high fantasy football trade targets into your roster transactions is a great way to set yourself up for success moving forward.
Below, we break down some priority sell-high fantasy football trade targets including Ezekiel Elliott, Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. The following breakdowns and analyses can be used to help guide your trade discussions and weigh fantasy football player values heading into Week 8.
Fantasy Football Sell High Players | Week 8
Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
This year more than ever before since Ezekiel Elliott came into the NFL, the Cowboys’ backfield is a two-man committee. From a fantasy football trade standpoint, managers may not get a better opportunity to sell high on Elliott than the present. The 27-year-old is coming off his best scoring performance of the season last week. The 17.7 PPR points Elliott managed in Week 7 surpassed his previous high of 15.6 from the game prior.
Despite being ranked as the RB19 in fantasy football scoring on the season overall, it’s tough to trust Elliott going forward. After all, he has yet to be on the field for 70% of Dallas’ offensive snaps in any game. While he may have had his best fantasy output last week, Elliott actually only played 49% of the team’s offensive snaps. It marked the first time all year that Tony Pollard played more than him.
Once again, Pollard was the far more productive Cowboys’ back with his touches in Week 7. He outgained Elliott on the ground 83-57 despite finishing with three fewer carries. Pollard also seems to have taken over the majority of the passing-down work. With his work as a receiver dwindling, Elliott’s week-to-week fantasy floor only figured to decline as time goes on.
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
Managers must remember that a sell-high fantasy football candidate could very well go on to produce solid numbers. The key when trying to maximize fantasy football trade returns is selling off players when their value reaches its peak. For second-year Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson, it’s hard to envision his stock climbing much higher than where it currently sits.
For the second week in a row, Stevenson finished as a top-5 PPR scorer at the running back position. His Week 7 performance in New England’s ugly loss to Chicago was highlighted by his work as a receiver. The former Oklahoma Sooner hauled in all eight of his targets for 59 yards. He also scored a rushing touchdown to finish as the RB5 in fantasy with 23.8 PPR points. This marked the fourth time in the last five weeks that Stevenson has scored more than 19 fantasy points.
Current Stevenson owners have to be thrilled with the results, but it could be tough for him to sustain these recent numbers long-term. The Patriots are notorious for using a committee approach in the backfield. Damien Harris is still in the mix. While he didn’t factor heavily into last week’s game plan, he figures to see more carries going forward as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
Related | Buy-Low Fantasy Football Trade Targets for Week 8
Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington Commanders
The sell-high fantasy football trade window for Commanders running back Antonio Gibson is closing quickly. Managers were fortunate that the third-year pro scored a receiving touchdown in Week 7 as it effectively extended the window to sell him off for a decent return. Gibson may have tallied 16.7 PPR points last week, but he only played 39% of the team’s offensive snaps.
The return of promising rookie Brian Robinson has cut into Gibson’s workload in a big way. In the three games since Robinson joined the Commanders’ backfield mix, he has totaled nine, 17 and 20 carries, respectively. In those same three games, Gibson has only recorded three, five and 10 carries. Although Robinson has yet to be on the field for more than 50% of Washington’s offensive snaps in any game himself, it’s clear that the Commanders view him as the primary ball carrier.
Gibson does figure to carry a fairly stable floor in PPR leagues thanks to a consistent target share. However, even that prevented him from reaching double-digit fantasy points in three straight games prior to last week. J.D. McKissic is still around and could steal some passing-down snaps as well. As such, it’s hard to tell when Gibson may score as many points as he did in Week 7. As such, owners should act now to explore potential sell-high returns in fantasy football trade talks.
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