Fantasy Football Week 3: Examining Trade Value for This Year’s Top 100 Players

In fantasy football, I normally live by a pretty simple rule when ascribing value for players who seem to be blowing up all of the sudden:

One great (or terrible) game may be a fluke. Two great (or terrible) games in a row mean a player is worth further exploring and analyzing. Three great (or terrible) games in a row are a trend and likely indicative of that player’s future potential worth.

Of course, heading into Week 3, we are still on the second week of analysis with many players, so my trade values aren’t going to change too drastically from last week—or from my draft rankings from before the season.

But we will take a look at a few players trending up or down and try to establish whether their current forms will be the norm or if they’ll normalize going forward. 

Running back remains fantasy football’s most combustible position. And perhaps the most pressing question in all of fantasy at the moment is a big one: What to make of Todd Gurley?

The Los Angeles Rams’ second-year star running back was a top-five pick in most leagues, but he’s mustered just 98 rushing yards on 36 carries, adding two receptions for 14 yards. The workload is a positive—despite a floundering offense, the Rams aren’t shying away from getting him the ball, as he’s averaging 19 touches a game—but the horrendous quarterback play and the lack of many other dynamic weapons mean teams are keying on Gurley.

Indeed, the Rams have scored just nine points total in two games, and neither Case Keenum nor Jared Goff is striking fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators. In turn, teams can stack the box against the Rams, keeping Gurley from getting untracked.

That surely has fantasy owners worried, though the Rams aren’t as concerned, as Keenum told Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com:

Todd is going to get going. It’s Todd. Just continue to operate how we are. I think the passing game and running game are going to complement each other. I think we are doing a good job of marrying some of those plays. I’m excited to see him continue to go because I know he’s hungry. I thought he played well [Sunday]. We’re going to rely on him a lot moving forward.

I tend to side with Keenum on this one. Gurley is too talented to be held in check all season long, and he may get going against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team already allowing 19.5 fantasy points to opposing running backs per week (27th in the NFL). 

If Gurley can’t get it going against the Bucs, feel free to begin panicking.

I might be panicking when it comes to players like Eddie Lacy, Arian Foster, Devonta Freeman and Thomas Rawls, …

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