I like trying to turn several players into someone I think is better, then rebuilding the depth through waivers. Two early trades show what that has looked like for my team.
Three receivers for Bowers
On September 23, I sent Tee Higgins, Jameson Williams and Dontayvion Wicks for Brock Bowers. No FAAB was involved.
Goedert’s injury was another reason I wanted Bowers.
I thought the other roster really needed receivers. Bowers hadn’t played yet and was coming back from injury, so I thought it was a good time to buy.
My receiver depth was shallow too. Higgins and Jameson had started for me in the first two weeks, and Wicks had just scored 12.4 on my bench. Giving up all three left me with Flowers, Odunze, Concepcion and Mitchell. Tate and Keenan Allen came later.
I was comfortable making that trade because I trusted myself to find replacements through waivers. I wanted Bowers enough to accept having fewer receiver options afterward.
His return was still uncertain when I made the deal. Reports pointed toward a possible Week 3 appearance, rather than a guaranteed one. That uncertainty was part of why I thought there was an opportunity.
Bowers scored 27.6 in Week 3 and 20.6 in Week 4. Both counted in my lineup. Those are good early returns, but the trade also left other positions to fill. I lost Week 3 even with his big game.
Hampton and $50 for Hall and Tate
On September 28, I sent Omarion Hampton and $50 FAAB for Breece Hall and Carnell Tate.
I had taken Hampton 13th overall in my fantasy draft. I thought there was still value in his name and that early draft position, even though I was becoming less confident in his situation.
He had been decent and had just had a bad game. I didn’t like how the Chargers offense looked, and I expected the committee to limit his production going forward. When I say I thought I was selling high, I mean I thought his remaining reputation was worth more than the production I expected next. I wasn’t trading him immediately after some huge performance.
Hall had just been injured, which looked like another buying opportunity to me. I expected roughly the same underlying level of performance from him, with the possibility of a slow start after the injury. My expectation didn’t require an immediate jump in production.
I found a manager who believed in Hampton more than I did. The exchange wasn’t quite balanced, so I asked for another player in the package.
Tate looked to me like the receiver they valued least. I liked that he was already getting targets and still had room to develop. I expected more targets and better chemistry as he got further into his rookie year.
I didn’t think much of Tennessee’s offense, but I thought a struggling team could spend more time trailing and throwing. That was part of the volume opportunity I saw for Tate. It was an expectation about how his role could develop, not something I could count on every week.
The final price was Hampton and $50 FAAB for Hall and Tate. The FAAB balanced the package and left me with $50 from the original $100 budget.
All three players had already played their Week 3 games when the trade processed Monday evening. Hampton’s 5.6 stayed in my score. Hall and Tate’s earlier points didn’t become mine.
Tate’s first counted start for me came in Week 4, when he scored 21.5. That was a result after the trade. The reason I wanted him beforehand was the rookie development and target opportunity I saw.
Hall hasn’t contributed a starting score for me yet. Brown and Pollard have remained my other running-back options while that part of the deal is still pending.
The two trades have brought in 69.7 counted points so far: 48.2 from Bowers and 21.5 from Tate. That isn’t a net gain over keeping my previous roster, and it doesn’t settle the trades.
The first deal moved receiver depth into Bowers. The second moved Hampton and half my FAAB into Hall and Tate. Both came from trying to improve the players on my team, then trusting that I could rebuild the depth around them.