Fantasy Football Trades Week 2: Kenneth Walker, D.J. Moore and More

It's often hard to make fantasy football trades in Week 1. Everyone still believes in their slow-starting studs, but managers also believe that their last-round pick who scored a TD on Sunday will keep scoring every week. With a small sample size, people stick to their priors, and most people's priors are that their players are good. However, certain players will always be more liquid, even at this traditionally slow time of year. 

That's where FantasySP's tools come in: We can use the FantasySP Fantasy Assistant to find players that have the most Expected Trade Interest (ETI). Players with high ETI are those who are likely to be on the trade block in your league. These are usually players who have something big going on, whether it's injury, unexpected usage, or just surprising production (good or bad).  

The top of this week's ETI chart features three running backs in shifting backfields, followed by a veteran wide receiver who just appeared on Monday Night Football. As always, every league will be different, so don't blindly take my suggestions without making sure you are getting a fair price. But here is what I would do (and will be doing) in the fantasy football trade market this week with Kenneth Walker, Travis Etienne, J.K. Dobbins, and D.J. Moore. 

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Buy Low On Kenneth Walker III

This is a true buy low. After he scored just 3.9 half-PPR points in Week 1 and recorded fewer snaps and carries than teammate Zach Charbonnet, you shouldn't pay anything close to draft day prices for Walker. If the manager in your league still values him as the Seahawks' undisputed RB1, walk away.

However, Walker's Week 1 showing was bad enough that I imagine some fantasy managers are truly panicking. And there are some, very slight, reasons to be optimistic about Walker going forward. For one, he missed most of training camp with a foot injury. That may have contributed to his smaller-than-usual share in the Seahawks' backfield. 

Additionally, the Seahawks seemed to rotate their backs mostly by drive. Charbonnet only touched the ball on the team's second, fifth, and seventh drives … those just happened to include the Seahawks' longest possessions out of 10 total. Walker, meanwhile, touched the ball on every other drive (except one in which no RB recorded a touch), and also saw a carry on “Charbonnet's” second drive. 

It's hard to know how much of this was a coincidence, how much was an attempt to keep the duo at roughly a 50/50 split in touches, or whether Walker truly just got unlucky in that, despite playing the clear majority of drives, he ended up with fewer snaps and touches. But if that is the case, this could be a unique buy-low opportunity on a talented young back … but only if the price is low enough to account for the risk that he is already the Seahawks' RB1B. 

Sell High On Travis Etienne Jr.

It's hard to imagine the last few days going much better for Etienne. He came out and dominated the Jaguars' backfield in Week 1, finishing with over 150 all-purpose yards on a 67% snap share and nearly 20 touches. Then, Tank Bigsby, his perceived top competition, was traded to the Eagles. 

I'm not going to deny that things look better for Etienne now than they did a week ago. However, I think considering him a locked-in fantasy RB2, which some managers might be at this point, would be an overreaction. For one, this game came against the Panthers, who had an outlier-level terrible run defense last year. For two, Etienne has a long history of starting seasons hot but declining in efficiency as the year goes on, and he picks up a small injury or two. 

More importantly, I'm not convinced Bigsby really was Etienne's biggest competition. With Bigsby gone, the Jaguars still have two intriguing rookies in their backfield: Seventh-round pick LeQuint Allen Jr., who already seems to have carved out a passing-down role, and fourth-rounder Bhayshul Tuten, who had an incredible prospect profile and could be moving into the Bucky Irving role in Liam Coen's offense. 

Could Etienne hold onto the RB1 job all year and provide solid fantasy stats? Definitely. But do I think that's the most likely outcome, with his history of wearing down and two rookies breathing down his neck? Not really. If you can move him for a more long-term option, I'd do it. 

Sell J.K. Dobbins

I wasn't sure whether this was a sell high or a sell low, so I'm going with just “Sell.” Dobbins was the Broncos' clear RB1 on Sunday, carrying the ball 16 times and also seeing two targets. He finished with a solid 13.8 half-PPR points. On the other hand, rookie RJ Harvey was also involved, and he looked good, racking up 70 yards on just six carries.

However, the sneakily terrible thing for Dobbins is that Harvey wasn't his only company in Denver's backfield. Tyler Badie also played 12 snaps, running 11 routes and seeing six (!!) targets. Harvey also ran 11 routes, while Dobbins ran just eight.

With Badie involved as a pass-catcher, Dobbins is not likely to see much receiving work. That means his value relies on rushing volume, and I don't think that's going to last with Harvey on his heels. If this were a two-man backfield, both the rookie and the vet could have value. With Badie involved, one of them is likely to lose out, and it's more likely to be the veteran than the second-round rookie. That's what makes Dobbins a sell candidate if you can get fair value in return. 

Hold D.J. Moore

Moore ranks fourth in ETI with an 18% number, but I don't recommend attempting to make a trade with him. His value has probably fallen slightly after Week 1 — he ran fewer routes and saw fewer targets than Rome Odunze, and the prevailing narrative is that Caleb Williams and the Bears' offense are both doomed. 

But things weren't all bad. DJM still saw five targets, led Chicago with a 37% air yards share, and ran 38 routes on 44 dropbacks, including 15 from the slot, one more than Odunze.

Those metrics aren't encouraging enough that I would recommend attempting to buy low on Moore (unless it's really low), but they are enough that panic-selling now would be a mistake.

At the end of the day, it's one week, and Moore's usage really wasn't that bad. If you drafted him, hold on tight and hope things turn around. 

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.