Fantasy Football 2024: How To Trade

So your league makes trades, and you want to make one? Every league has a guy who's always looking to trade and is the first one you go to to make a trade. In my leagues, I'm that guy. I know people who treat their fantasy teams like an actual roster. It isn't; it's stocks that you constantly want to buy low and sell high to maximize your roster weekly. But how do you become successful at making trades?

Here are a few concepts to keep in mind:

1. Make it fair for each side

This is simple. Hopefully, you aren't in a league with guys you can take advantage of, and you need to make a straight-up, honest deal. I usually check a few trade value charts before proposing any deal and find something reasonable that is 1-for-1 or 2-for-2. Those kinds of trades have a higher success rate of being pulled off. Trying to swindle someone on a 3-for-1 deal isn't realistic.

More importantly, put yourselves in the shoes of the person you're trading with. Be honest and ask why they would be willing to make this trade? How does this trade you're offering help them? If you can't answer that question without lying to yourself or selling yourself on what you're giving up, then you probably aren't a good trade match for each other. It should be simple and easy to explain why you're doing it and why it still makes sense for them; otherwise, you're probably trying to swindle the other guy into a bad deal.

2. Research who had more opportunity than their stats

As I said in the first point, keep it fair in terms of trade value. Run it through a few trade value charts. However, being fair regarding trade value doesn't mean you're not trying to win the deal. The hard work and research part is where you will win the deal. Some key stats you want to look at are red zone targets/attempts, snap count percentage, and overall targets/attempts. Even if it didn't translate to excellent fantasy production, you typically want to buy low on guys rated highly in those categories. So if you find a guy with good trade value, whereas a guy on your team had excellent fantasy production, but it was mostly from one big play or something that suggests it won't be repeated, those are the types of trades I look to make.

3. Decide who you're not trading

This is my favorite part of my post-draft process. Every year, I find 2 to 4 guys on my team and make a note not to trade them no matter what. Barring injuries or a very unexpected circumstance, you should have put yourself in a position where you have 2-4 guys you refuse to trade all season. The point here is that having elite players is such an advantage that if you let your guard down and exchange them for a package without a single elite player returning, you really hurt your team.

On the other hand, it also helps you know who you would trade in the right deal. You have to know this going into any negotiation. Who is absolutely off the table, and who can your arm be twisted into giving up. I go into every trade negotiation with 3 groupings. A group of guys I will openly be offering in a deal. A second group of guys is on the table for the right counteroffer. And that third group that I will not move on from no matter what is offered. Sometimes, when you're trading an elite-tier guy, I find you're trading to make a trade. You should continually trade to improve your team, not just because you're bored.

4. Find a team with 2 guys you love and offer the best player in the deal

I love this concept. I had to mention having a list of guys you will not trade first because you should never trade an elite player in this deal. However, those mid-range starters and high-end bench players are guys I love in this type of deal. Every fantasy analyst tells everyone to get the best player in the deal, so this strategy should make it easy to trade in your league.

The idea is you give up the best player in the deal and the worst player in the deal (the guy you were going to cut anyway) for two guys in between them. If you research enough, the downgrade from giving up a mid-range starter for a lesser mid-range starter isn't as significant as the upgrade of giving up the guy you would waive anyway for a legitimate upgrade that wouldn't otherwise be available on waivers. The key is that the leading player you are giving up must be the best in the deal for the other guy to bite. Again, I would find some trade value charts and look where a player is valued that you would like to give up, then look at what the player you would waive anyway is rated. Add up the total of those two, then find a team in your league with two players you like that equal about the same but are valued less than the best player you're giving up.

Overall, these are some strategies to keep in mind when seeking to make trades in your league. Remember that you're working with your opponent to improve your team, so always keep it optimistic about their team and be friendly with them in negotiations so they don't fall into a stubborn corner. Let's get ready to make some deals!