Fantasy Football Trader's Alley Week 12: Players to Buy, Hold, and Sell

Nov 22, 2023

Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports

Trading can be quite a frustrating task in fantasy football. It is seemingly impossible to put together an offer that makes both sides happy, and communicating with other league members can also be difficult. In the Trader’s Alley, I’m going to try and guide you through making trades in your league this season. Using 4for4’s powerful trade evaluator tool, I’ll highlight players to buy, sell, and hold each week, and also create some hypothetical trades based on what the tool tells us.

This article will assume the following starting roster settings: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX. Feel free to change the configurations to fit your league in the trade evaluator yourself.

We have made it. In most fantasy leagues, the deadline to make trades is this week, meaning it is your last big chance to improve your team before the home stretch of the fantasy season. In honor of the deadline, I’ll be letting the cornucopia flow with a special 11-player Trader’s Alley extravaganza this week. I will make heavy use of 4for4’s incredible aFPA tool to highlight players with optimal playoff schedules. This will also be the last edition of the column for this season, so I’d like to thank everyone who followed along and wish you the best of luck in the fantasy playoffs. Now, let’s get to the top buy, hold, and sell candidates for the rest of the 2023-24 NFL season.

Sell Travis Etienne

Etienne was one of the best picks you could have made in drafts this year. He has far outperformed his late third-round ADP and currently stands as the overall RB3 in fantasy football. However, as hard as it might be, I believe it is in your best interests to move on from Etienne ahead of the playoffs. Etienne’s production has dipped the last two weeks, as he has just 12.8 fantasy points total since the Jaguars came off their bye in Week 9.

Even at the beginning of the season when Etienne was great for fantasy, his efficiency numbers were never extraordinary—he’s averaging just 3.9 yards per carry this season. The bulk of his production came thanks to touchdown luck, as Etienne ran for six scores in a three-game stretch from Weeks 5-7. The Jaguars face a gauntlet of rushing defenses in the upcoming weeks, playing the Browns (3rd in aFPA to running backs), Buccaneers (2nd), and Ravens (9th). So, I’m worried that Etienne will devolve into a high-carry, low-yardage player to close the season as he will have a harder time finding the end zone against stingy defenses.

Thankfully, Etienne has quite the resumé of production this season and should net a lot of return in a trade. I would try to move him for an elite WR1 like Stefon Diggs or a returning Justin Jefferson, but wouldn’t mind getting a lower-end No. 1 like Brandon Aiyuk or Mike Evans along with another solid piece. I would also be open to moving Etienne for another running back like D'Andre Swift or Alvin Kamara.