NFL Week 8 Fantasy Buy/Sell Trade Targets: Broncos’ Gordon Has Plenty Of Upside

NFL Week 8 Fantasy Buy/Sell Trade Targets: Broncos’ Gordon Has Plenty Of Upside article feature image
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Dustin Bradford/Getty Images. Pictured: Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon and Kansas City Chiefs defender Chris Jones.

As we continue to work through NFL bye weeks, the buy-and-sell fantasy targets become crystal clear.

They key positions during the second half of the season are RB and WR spots.

The quarterback position in incredibly deep, allowing fantasy players to stream their favorite weekly choice. The tight-end position is so shallow that teams will not trade top players at the position that easily.

There are still great bargains available in the critical running back and wide receiver groups, though.

Here are three buys and one big sell, as we begin the second half of the fantasy football regular season:


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Fantasy Trade Targets

RB, Melvin Gordon, Broncos

If you are looking to trade for a running back, Melvin Gordon is the perfect candidate.

Gordon's fantasy potential has been hidden by a Week 6 illness and two lost fumbles in Denver's recent 43-16 shellacking at home against Kansas City.

However, in a year where the running back position has been decimated by injuries, Gordon is one of the few attainable backs with a dominant snap count.  Entering Week 7, Gordon's 69% snap count ranked fourth highest among all running backs with at least three games played.

In Sunday's loss to the Chiefs, Gordon still saw a 60% snap share, even with Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman getting a 32 combined snaps. Lindsay did lead Denver with 79 rushing yards, but left the game with a concussion in the second quarter.

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Gordon is a one of the rare bell cow backs, with four touchdowns and almost four targets per game. His schedule also features some fantastic matchups over the second half of the season. Over the next four weeks, Gordon does not face a team ranked better than 19th against opposing fantasy running backs.

Denver's opponents (and respective ranking) during that time look like this:

  • L.A. Chargers (19th)
  • at Atlanta (21st)
  • at Las Vegas (31st)
  • Miami (26th)

Gordon also travels to Carolina (30th against fantasy RBs) during the Week 14 portion of the schedule.

There are very few running backs that serve as dual-threat, goal-line backs who are actually available via trade.

Target Gordon from an owner who fails to realize his upside.

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RB Myles Gaskin, Dolphins

Making his last appearance in the Buy/Sell column for the season, Gaskin will simply not be available for trade after Week 8.

He is the current RB15 in PPR scoring (with only one touchdown), ranking eighth in running back targets and fifth in receptions coming off his bye week.

There is enough uncertainty with rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa now starting to take advantage of a player with fantastic second-half upside.

Gaskin has seen one of the most consistent snap counts of all running backs. He is averaging 67% of the Miami snaps per week, with a low of 63% and a high of 75%. Gaskin's consistency and dual usage make him an incredible, under-the-radar value.

Even against a tough Jets run defense in Week 6, Gaskin averaged 5.1 yards per carry and totaled 126 yards.

Meet Myles Gaskin, the Dolphins often overlooked yet overachieving lead RB. Following Miami’s failed pursuit of Le’Veon Bell, Gaskin turned up the best performance by a Dolphins RB since 2018. Here’s how he earned this role: https://t.co/R1RP4tgdF1

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) October 20, 2020

The Dolphins will enjoy three consecutive home games during the critical Week 13-15 stretch against Cincinnati, Kansas City and New England.

In fantasy championship Week 16, Gaskin faces a Las Vegas Raiders team currently allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing running backs.

Week 8 is your final chance to grab one of this year's fantasy league winners.

WR, Allen Robinson, Bears

Now is the time to buy Chicago's Allen Robinson, coming of a poor Bears' offensive performance on a stand-alone Monday Night Football game.

Robinson has faced the three toughest WR matchups of the season over the past four weeks. Against Indianapolis, Tampa Bay and the Los Angeles Rams, he still managed per game averages of seven receptions and 87 yards on 10 targets per game. The volume Robinson sees in this offense rivals top wide receivers like DeAndre Hopkins and Davante Adams.

The poor Chicago quarterback play has tempered expectations for fantasy owners, allowing the ideal buying opportunity. However, dealing with poor quarterback play is something Robinson is very accustomed to in Chicago.

Can we please get Allen Robinson one real QB before he retires

— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) October 27, 2020

With three fantasy performances outside the Top 20 wideouts, desperate teams will definitely be valuing Robinson lower than they should.

Facing the Lions, Texans and Vikings, who are ranked 26th, 27th and 30th, respectively, in fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers, Robinson provides the highest of fantasy floors, with a possible Top 5 weekly finish at the position.

Fantasy Sell Candidate

WR, Mike Evans, Buccaneers

Sometimes, one tweet says it all.

In the four games Chris Godwin has played this year, Mike Evans has seen a TOTAL of 12 targets.

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) October 26, 2020

Evans has struggled mightily to gain consistent targets in Tampa Bay's offense. The Buccaneers prefer attacking their opponents in the short-to-intermediate range of the field.

Quarterback Tom Brady ranks just 25th in yards per attempt (6.9), while Evans ranks just 42nd in average target distance (11.4). Never one to gain much space between himself and the defender, Evans even ranks outside the Top 40 in wide-receiver target separation. (PlayerProfiler)

With the upcoming addition of future Hall of Famer Antonio Brown, Evans' target share will shrink even more.

Week 7 represented his most frustrating performance yet. Evans actually led the Tampa Bay receivers with 62 snaps, yet managed just two receptions for 37 yards.

If may be difficult to trade Evans, but his spike weeks offer opportunity, as evidenced by two separate WR5 finishes this season. However, he can't be relied upon for even weekly WR2 production for the remainder of the season.

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