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Tricks of the Trade (Fantasy Football)

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“[Fantasy] championships are not won at the draft.” – the Fantasy Footballers

While draft day is arguably the most exciting time of the fantasy season, we know for certain that this is simply the foundation of your team. More often than not, the champion of your league is putting in work all season long. They listen to podcasts, research the matchups, scour the waiver wire, study their opponents, and most importantly, pull off league-winning trades. 

Trading can be extremely difficult, but with most trade deadlines just a few weeks away, now is the time to take action and start making moves to set yourself up for the fantasy playoffs. With just a few “tricks of the trade,” you may be able to gain even the slightest competitive edge on your opponents, helping take you to the ‘ship this year and for many years to come. 

Identify Your Trade Partner’s Motivation

Every league and team is different, which is important to remember when identifying trade partners. A player that may be extremely valuable to you may not be nearly as valuable to another manager. A position that you need help with may not be one your partner is willing to help you with. There are endless variables as to why a trade may or may not be accepted, however understanding your partner’s motivation can help you establish a deal before your league-mates beat you to it.

On a weekly basis, you should be monitoring your league’s standings and rosters, and start identifying needs and weaknesses among them. As you look at each team, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Is their team almost out of playoff contention? 
  • Do they desperately need a win right now?
  • Did they suffer any recent injuries? 
  • What position(s) are they thin at?
  • Do they have a rough schedule with bye weeks?

Now ask yourself: “How can I help them (help me)?” 

When searching for a trade partner, I always start at the bottom of the standings and work my way up. This is because the teams at the bottom are typically more desperate than the teams at the top, and that desperation only increases as the trade deadline approaches. The walls are closing in on their season, and unless something miraculous happens, they are eventually going to need to make a move in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Oftentimes, these teams have been ravaged by injury, but are still holding out hope. They may be facing multiple bye weeks. They may have just lost a star player. They may have one stud, but the rest of their team is filled with scrubs. 

These are the perfect candidates to offer a two (or three) for one. 

Or – maybe those injuries are still sitting on their bench. Maybe they don’t have time to wait for their superstar to return, but you do.

Perhaps you can afford to send along a newly promoted Jauan Jennings and Xavier Worthy in exchange for Puka Nacua or Nico Collins. Perhaps you can send a healthy Jaylen Warren for Isiah Pacheco, in hopes of a late-season run. While these offers would likely never work under normal circumstances, they may appear more reasonable if their team needs to win now. In the meantime, you can afford to wait a few weeks for a potential difference-maker in the fantasy playoffs.

*Whatever you do, don’t be that guy (or girl) who just sends out blind offers. Do your research on both ends and make an offer that fits proper motivation on both sides. Every league has one. Don’t let it be you.

Use Bye Weeks (and Upcoming Schedule) to Your Advantage

Many fantasy managers ignore their upcoming bye weeks, leaving them at a disadvantage when the time comes to find a replacement.

Starting with your weekly waivers, keep an eye on your players with bye weeks on the horizon, and recognize when you will need to fill those spots in your starting roster. If you’ve got space on your bench, you may be able to grab that streaming TE, QB, or D a week before you actually need them, allowing you to avoid a last-minute scramble or huge FAAB overpay the following week. The earlier in the week you can do this, the better, but it’s always wise to check your roster and make final moves before kickoff on Sunday, leaving you prepared for the week to come.

If you’re extra savvy, you can also use this as a trade tactic to help avoid bye weeks entirely. For instance, in my hometown league, I am looking to move Nick Chubb immediately, for several reasons:

Chubb made a miraculous return in Week 7, receiving 12 touches (on just 30 snaps), but rushing for an extremely inefficient 22 yards on 11 carries. What saved Chubb’s fantasy value – and public perception – was a one-yard touchdown plunge, thanks to a pass interference call that set them up the play before. He ended the week with a reasonable 9.7 points in half-PPR scoring.

Now, looking ahead at Chubb’s schedule, he’s got the Ravens (12th in PPG) and Chargers (second in PPG) on deck, followed by a bye week in Week 10. Currently, the Browns are +9.5 underdogs in Baltimore and have a team-implied total of 16.5. This is not the game script you hope for with Chubb, who has averaged just 23.8 receptions/year before 2023.

In my humble opinion, now is the time to sell.

If I’m the Chubb owner, I’m doing everything in my power to flip him for a player like Tony Pollard, Aaron Jones, Rico Dowdle, or JK Dobbins, who have all seen encouraging recent usage and have all surpassed their bye weeks. This will likely result in some sort of two (or three) for one offer but would be well worth it to have a starting RB during that playoff-implicating bye week. Of course, this won’t work in every league, and as we mentioned above, the other manager has to be equally interested in your offer to get a deal done.

While we’re talking Chubb, I’m going to give a quick dynasty rant as well.

Cleveland currently boasts the league’s 28th-best offensive line (via PFF), just shipped off Amari Cooper, and will be playing some medley of Dorian Thompson-Robinson and/or Jameis Winston for the foreseeable future.

None of this bodes well for Chubb, who is coming off a major injury (to say the least) just to rejoin a team that has quickly become a tank candidate and will undoubtedly be facing mostly negative game scripts for the remainder of the year. Due to age and injury risk, he feels unlikely to be traded, which would leave him in a rough situation for the remainder of his age-29 season.

Chubb has been one of my favorite RBs to watch over the past few years, however, if you are not contending right now, it’s time to find someone who is and get some return in the form of youth and/or picks.

Know Thy Enemy

Admittedly, this will apply mostly in your hometown leagues, but let’s be real: Those are the most important ones.

Don’t come outright and ask, but time the conversation wisely and try to find out what podcasts and/or websites your friends use when searching for fantasy advice. 

If they strictly listen to the Ballers, then you’re probably already at an advantage. However, if you find out they are die-hard believers in any other podcasts it may be worth your time to look into those as well. This way, when you receive an offer, you can check the most recent episodes/articles to hear if/why they’re being swayed to sell someone, possibly for a reason you may be overlooking.

The next level of this would be to build a (mini) portfolio of the players in your league. Use a notebook (or Notes app) to create a document for each of your leagues, and keep tabs on any information that may be important in the future: 

  • What’s their favorite NFL team? Are they a bit of a homer?
  • Do they overvalue any specific position? 
  • Do they make erratic or desperate decisions around the trade deadline?
  • Are there any players that hold the key to their (fantasy) heart?

This is more of a dynasty tactic, however, if you’re truly committed to the fantasy football realm, this may be the final piece of the puzzle to pull off that trade.

“Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.” – Sun Tzu

Show Some Humility

You’re not going to win every trade. There are too many (out of your control) variables to do so.

What’s important to remember is that while we’re trading these “fantasy” assets, the deals we’re making are with human beings. Human beings with personalities and emotions, just like you.

So when you win, celebrate privately. But more importantly, when you lose, don’t be afraid to show some humility.

If you’ve won your league multiple times, you’re probably already the villain. If you rub it in your league-mates’ faces when you win a trade, nobody is going to want to trade with you. But if you’re public about your losses, you may help sway the perception of your league to show that you are in fact a safe trade partner, given your recent misses. 

Next time you’re in a negotiation, throw in something along the lines of: “I don’t know man. I’m not sure I can handle another loss after that CMC trade.” Show you can be humble. Acknowledge you can be wrong. Inflate their ego just slightly, and remind them that it wasn’t too long ago that it was them who took down Goliath. Give them that polite little nudge to help them ride that high, and double down. 

This applies even more if your league recognizes you as a savvy fantasy manager (which if you’re reading this, you are), so treat your opponents with respect and stay humble.

Bonus: The 3×3 Rule

This is admittedly more of a personal rule, but one that I have used for over 15 years.

As the trade deadline approaches, the depth on my bench begins to devalue (in my mind). I stop worrying about potential injuries or fill-ins and simply go for gold. I start looking ahead to the potential playoff run and do whatever it takes to field the best possible starting team. I call this the 3×3 Rule (not to be confused with the Wendy’s 4×4 [not a sponsor]).

At this point, I’m looking ahead to playoff matchups. I’m using tools like the Stream Finder to identify matchups, hidden gems, and buy low targets. I’m selling away depth pieces and replacing them with defenses stashed for each individual week. I’m sending out all the offers necessary to try and put together the best possible three RBs and three WRs, and simply hoping for the best.

*For reference: These numbers are being applied to a standard two RB, two WR, one flex league. Of course, you should modify based on your league settings.

Extra, Extra! Read All About It!

Thank you so much for being here. This website is chock-full of incredible trade articles, advice, and research, so if you enjoyed this article, I’ve compiled a list full of suggestions, tips, and tricks from our other outstanding authors:



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Tricks of the Trade (Fantasy Football) Tricks of the Trade (Fantasy Football) Reviewed by Admin on October 24, 2024 Rating: 5

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