Week 3 Fantasy Buy/Sell Candidates: Kenyan Drake & More Trade Targets

With fantasy football players scrambling to the waiver wire after a plethora of Week 2 injuries, fantastic trade opportunities abound.

The biggest trade facilitator? The 0-2 pressure.

In a 13- or 14-game fantasy season, avoiding an 0-3 start is critical for maintaining fantasy playoff aspirations.

Here are my favorite buy-lows and sell-highs heading into the vitally important Week 3.

Fantasy Trade Targets

WR A.J. Green, Bengals

Quarterback Joe Burrow has impressed in his first two career games. He ranked seventh among all quarterbacks in Week 2 with 317 passing yards in Cincinnati’s 35-30 loss at Cleveland. His success has solidified the unknown preseason fantasy value for all Bengals receivers. 

A.J. Green has the fourth-most targets of all NFL wide receivers (22), but only ranks 59th in total receiving yards (80).  Per Rotoworld's John Daigle, only 10 of Green's 22 targets have been deemed "catchable" this year, the lowest rate (45.4%) among 38 WRs with 11-plus targets. As the lead wide receiver with heavy pass volume, Green will eventually see his production match his targets.

Take advantage of teams in desperate need of a win, buying low on Green with upcoming games at Philadelphia and Jacksonville at home. 

RB Kenyan Drake, Cardinals

Drake said it best himself on Twitter this week:

The Cardinals handled two difficult defenses in a 24-20 win at San Francisco, followed by a comfortable 30-15 home victory over Washington. Fantasy opportunities will now be opening up for Drake. 

Over the next three weeks, Arizona faces Detroit, Carolina on the road and a game on the East coast against the Jets. In Week 2, those teams allowed the overall RB1, RB2, and RB13 performances respectively.

RB, Mark Ingram, Ravens

Most fantasy owners label this backfield as one to avoid, but I will argue the opposite.

Two blowout wins over Cleveland (38-6) and Houston (33-16) have given a false sense of the backfield touch distribution.  In Week 2’s comfortable win over the Texans, Gus Edwards led the Ravens in both carries (10) and rushing yards (73). In Week 1, rookie J.K. Dobbins scored two touchdowns, but one in a meaningless fourth quarter. 

Ingram will not be the RB1 he was last year, but in closer games he should get the majority of touches. He is also the top choice for goal-line work due to his pedigree and reliability.  In 2019, Ingram tied for third among all running backs in rushing attempts inside the 5-yard line.  Baltimore also has the league's easiest schedule starting in Week 12 (Sharp Football Analysis).

Capitalize on the early knee-jerk reactions and secure this solid RB2 for a Week 3 discount.

WR, D.J. Chark, Jaguars

Through the first two weeks, D.J. Chark has totaled seven targets, seven receptions, 109 receiving yards and a touchdown. The volume isn't there, but the efficiency is certainly strong.

For a Jacksonville team that had the lowest NFL projected preseason win total (4.5), negative game scripts will continue to dominate on a weekly basis. Seven of the Jaguars final eight games are against teams with projected win totals over eight. Week 3 is the time to target Jacksonville's 6-foot-3 WR1 with 4.34 speed.

Fantasy Sell Candidates

TE Zach Ertz, Eagles

The Eagles currently have a bad offensive line, a quarterback with five turnovers and just two touchdown passes, and an future elite tight end in Dallas Goedert.

These are all bad signs for Zach Ertz.

Philadelphia favored 12 personnel last season, but have prioritized veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson and first-round pick Jalen Reagor. With the return of running back Miles Sanders, there aren't enough opportunities for Ertz to justify his early draft capital. Through two games, Ertz is only third on the team in targets with 14.

it is time to sell this reception mega-producer to a fellow competitor who isn't paying close attention to the Eagles target distribution.

RB Austin Ekeler, Chargers

Last week, I outlined why Chargers rookie running back Joshua Kelley was a buy-low. On Sunday, the former UCLA star carried the ball 23 times and tallied two receptions for an additional 49 yards. I would look to sell Ekeler to a team in need of a running back and grab Kelley off waivers for a complete team upgrade.

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RB Todd Gurley, Falcons

Through two games in which Atlanta has scored a combined 64 points, Todd Gurley ranks 33rd in running back fantasy points. In Sunday's 40-39 loss at Dallas, Gurley averaged 2.9 yards per rushing attempt with zero receptions.

Not good.

If the 26-year old back with a degenerative knee condition can't find fantasy value in those circumstances, when can he? Atlanta led the entire second half of the game until the final seconds. Despite positive game script, Gurley was a Week 2 bust.

Consider selling the former Rams star to the Barkley, Mostert or McCaffrey owner for a lesser back and wide-receiver upgrade.