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Fantasy Football Trade Targets: Buy a High-Ceiling WR Ahead of Week 2

Target That Panicky League Mate

When I wrote this article for Week 2 last season, it carried the subhead, “Good Time to Go WR Shopping?”

It was. And it is again.

And we’re actually recycling one of the buy targets from that article after his offense sucked in Week 1 of this season.

Before we get to the names, here are three principles you should try to apply as we speed toward Week 2:

1. Don’t overreact to those Week 1 results.
2. Try to glean what we might have learned from those results.
3. Take advantage of the overreactors in your league.

Buy These Fantasy Trade Targets

Let’s jump right to that recycled name to lead our trio of WRs …

Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants

Anyone who spent a Round 1 pick on Nabers wound up disappointed with a 5-catch opener that found him ranking just 29th among PPR wideouts. But you and I both know that comes with any WR. Just ask the folks who have Brian Thomas Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown, or A.J. Brown how last weekend treated them.

So why highlight Nabers? Two key reasons:

• His offense’s overall performance might add worry to the less emotionally stable.
• His role remains terrific.

Good Thing This Team Fixed QB

The Giants renovated their QB room in the offseason. We all knew … at the very least … that this year’s QB play had to improve over last season’s Daniel Jones-Tommy Devito-Drew Lock carousel of nightmares.

Yet there was NFL veteran Russell Wilson, completing just 45.9% of his passes for 168 yards in Sunday’s beatdown at Washington.

The Commanders, by the way, finished last season just 20th in pass-defense DVOA.

QB Barely Matters Here

Why did Nabers go in this year’s first round? Because he finished WR6 in PPR as a rookie, despite missing two games and playing with those crappy QBs. How? By occupying a dominant role and playing well.

Nabers led the league in target share in 2024 and ranked third in air-yards share. And Week 1 of this season continued the trend. 

Nabers’ 29.7% target share ranked 12th for the week and checked in just short of his 2024 rate. His 68.6% share of air yards ranked third blew away last year’s rate.

His 5-71 receiving line was fine for a relative down week. And the 12 targets portend better outings.

Multiple Paths to 2025 Improvement

Let’s start this section by affording a little fairness to Wilson. His 45.9% completion rate was his worst single-game mark since Week 2 of 2022. His 4.5 yards per pass attempt were his fewest since Week 6 of 2023. And it was his first game with a new team, behind an iffy O-line missing its best player.

LT Andrew Thomas -- coming off post-season foot surgery -- could return as soon as this week. Whether he does or the Giants must wait longer, Wilson’s probably not going to play that poorly again.

And even if he does, the team now sports two contingency plans better (arguably?) than last year’s group.

Rookie Jaxson Dart enjoyed an impressive preseason and looks ready to take over at some point this year. He excelled as a downfield passer at Ole Miss, which means upside for receivers who can get deep. (Not so much you, Wan’Dale Robinson.) And Jameis Winston’s still hanging around to crack jokes and sling footballs if pressed into duty.

Overall, the QB situation still should wind up better for WR efficiency this year than last.

Go ahead and see if you can pry Nabers from his drafter before the first big game hits.

George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys

You probably already know that Week 1 didn’t go well for Dallas’ newest wideout. He tied for 61st among WRs in receiving yards and ranked 62nd in PPR points. And his four targets showed it wasn’t a mere fluke.

But it also wasn’t unpredictable.

Pickens faced Philly’s top CB Quinyon Mitchell in primary coverage, managing just 2 receptions for 15 yards against him. His other catch doubled that averaging, claiming another 15 yards against CB Adoree’ Jackson (according to Pro Football Focus).

CeeDee Lamb spends much more of his time in the slot and thus drew better coverage matchups. He also hoarded QB Dak Prescott’s attention (13 targets), with TE Jake Ferguson claiming another six looks. It didn’t help that Dallas had a rough passing night overall (188 yards).

So What’s the Upside Case Here?

Let’s start with Pickens’ Week 1 participation. He ran a route on 91.4% of Dallas dropbacks. Only 15 players beat that rate. (And Lamb was not one of them.)

So we know Pickens will be on the field plenty. And in Week 2, that field will be back home, with a defense on the other side that PFF graded fifth-worst in Week 1 coverage.

Prescott’s lone meeting with the Giants last year proved hyper-efficient:

• 81.5% completion rate
• 8.2 yards per attempt
• 7.4% TD rate
• 125.5 passer rating

If Dallas enjoys a big rebound this week, then Pickens will likely be involved.

And if the 24-year-old WR whom the Cowboys traded a third-round pick for posts a big Week 2 fantasy line? His price will go way up.

Jameson Williams, WR, Detroit Lions

The Lions couldn’t have started their season much worse than losing by (essentially) three scores at Green Bay. (A TD with 55 seconds left produced the 14-point final gap.)

It was the kind of performance that makes you wonder about the whole offense. So we might as well take aim at the quietest big name.

Williams’ five targets ranked just fourth on the team and accounted for an ugly 12.8% of Jared Goff’s total pass attempts. Williams’ 4 receptions tallied only 23 yards. He posted just two worse fantasy outings all last season.

Remember That This is the 2025 Buzz Guy

The risk with betting on any single Lion is the crowd of contributors at play. It’s possible Williams winds up trailing Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, and Jahmyr Gibbs in targets for the season (as he did in the opener). It’s likely that he’ll have some more down weeks.

But you had to live in sensory deprivation to miss the offseason and summer buzz.

That included new OC John Morton calling him “unbelievable” in May. HC Dan Campbell said in July that he’s just “beginning to tap into what he really has.” And then, of course, the team extended him just before the season for up to $27.7 million a year.

The Lions clearly love the 24-year-old former first-round pick. And we’ve already seen what he can do.

There’s Upside Beyond Last Year’s Numbers

Williams finished 26th among WRs in PPR points per game last season, despite ranking just 50th at the position in target share.

Sure, his WR42 ranking in expected PPR points per game leaves room for regression. But the speedster has averaged 16.3 yards per catch for his NFL career and increased his receptions per game each season. He averaged 19.9 per catch and scored 15 TDs in his lone Alabama season.

Williams is built to score fantasy points efficiently, and his team has signaled it believes big production lies ahead.

Williams’ likely week-to-week volatility means he’s not a great fit for every fantasy lineup. If you start just two WRs, for example, his down weeks will hurt more.

But the more WR spots you have or the less your scoring gives for receptions, the easier -- and more lucrative -- it will be to fit Williams.

Sell These Players

These guys just might hurt your lineup as much -- or more -- as help it …

Aaron Jones, RB, Minnesota Vikings

You got a nice first week out of Jones if you decided to start him in Week 1: 15.7 PPR points to rank 12th among RBs for the week, ahead of Jahmyr Gibbs, Bucky Irving, Chase Brown, and plenty of others who got drafted earlier. So why sell?

How Jones Scored Will Be Tough to Sustain

Jones garnered just 30.6% of Minnesota’s carries in the opener. That ranked 36th at the position for the week, just ahead of DJ Giddens and Trey Benson, and behind Tyler Allgeier and Kenneth Gainwell, among others.

“Others” included new teammate Jordan Mason, who rushed 15 times to Jones’ eight. Jones led the receiving usage, but not by a wide margin:

• Nine routes to six, according to Fantasy Points Data
• 13-7, according to PFF

Either way, the total usage picture looked rough for Jones, who used a 27-yard, fourth-quarter TD catch to prop up his numbers.

That made him the RB12 in PPR points, RB33 in expected -- 0.1 behind Mason.

Jones will post other good fantasy outings, especially if J.J. McCarthy plays better than he did through the first three quarters Monday night. But the Minnesota backfield looks frustrating at best. Try to get out if you can find value.

Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

What? Who’s buying Dolphins right now?

Possibly no one. And you might need to wait for an actual good outing to unload this guy. But it’s worth seeing if you can sell on the name value and non-scary matchup this week.

Early ADP = Most to Lose

I’m with you, worried that the Miami offense will just stink this year. But you know which offense finished 70 yards behind the Dolphins, ranked 31st in Week 1? The Bengals. Do they also just stink now?

There’s your first selling point. It’s one week. Now those Dolphins head back home to welcome a Patriots defense that allowed 333 pass yards -- second-most in the league -- to the Raiders at their place last weekend. And those Pats look likely to continue missing top corner Christian Gonzalez.

Could be a bounce-back spot for Hill, especially as Jaylen Waddle deals with a shoulder issue (limited Wednesday and return to the game, so he’ll probably play).

But what will the bounce back look like?

Multiple Points of Concern with Hill

The team issues affect everyone, but Hill’s got his own beyond that. Let’s start with the injuries.

Last year it was the wrist trouble, which required a pair of offseason surgeries. That kept him out through offseason work. And then an oblique injury basically wiped out his August. Perhaps he’s back to 100% from both, but all the lost workout time -- in an offense that needs fixing -- at least adds some risk.

Then there’s the age: Hill turned 31 in March. That’s not yet to the alarming stage of a high-level WR’s career. But it’s close. The age-32 season holds historical cliff risk, according to our player-aging data. And depending on exactly which high-level archetype Hill fits now, even this season could land him at 85% of peak production as a reasonable expectation.

At the least, it’s a big name with a lowering ceiling.

And then there’s the domestic-violence allegations. It doesn’t sound like he’s in danger of getting arrested and formally charged, but the league’s investigating. That generally slow process isn’t likely to deliver a suspension this year, but it’s one more risk factor.

If Not Now, Then Soon

As I mentioned earlier, this might not be the right week to shop Hill. You might need to wait to see if a Pats-fueled rebound comes instead of selling that potential.

But whether it’s this week or next, getting out of your Hill stock looks like a good move.

Dylan Sampson, RB, Cleveland Browns

This rookie delivered a RB9 PPR line in his debut, dramatically outproducing veteran teammate Jerome Ford (17.9 points to 1.5). Now it’s time to sell him before the mirage reveals itself.

How You Gonna Keep Scoring Points Like That?

Let’s look at how Sampson scored his points first. Twelve carries for 29 yards? Nah, that’s not worth much. But those 8 catches for 64 yards, that’s 14.4 PPR points right there.

We love a receiving back, but there’s just no way Sampson keeps scoring that way. And here are some reasons:

1. The Browns aren’t going to throw 45 passes a game all season.
2. Even the Browns have enough options to not target a RB on 17.8% of pass attempts.
3. Sampson’s 20-7 touch edge over Jerome Ford belied the backfield playing time split. Ford played more snaps, including a 28-15 lead on pass plays.
4. Quinshon Judkins is about to enter the equation.

We liked Sampson as a prospect, and the Browns obviously did as well. But they also clearly liked Judkins more. That’s why they selected him high in Round 2, 90 spots ahead of Sampson’s draft position.

It would take a big upset for Judkins not to take over this backfield at some point soon.

A Couple Ways to Market the Rookie

Judkins, of course, just rejoined the team. We don’t know yet whether he’ll play at all in Week 2. And we don’t know how long it’ll take him to claim a meaningful role.

Start by trying to sell Sampson to any team in your league that got poor Week 1 RB production, especially any team that came away with questions about their immediate backfield future.

If that doesn’t work, try peddling him to the Judkins manager in your league. Even if that’s you, I’d still consider Sampson movable. But in that specific case, you could consider just holding both Browns backs if you don’t find a good return on Sampson.

This guy more than the previous two sell candidates, though, holds potential for the bubble to quickly burst.

How Should You Attack These Trade Targets?

The Trade Navigator will help you find what you want ... and the league mates who need what you got. And then it'll help you build that season-changing trade package.

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Top 10 Fantasy Football Takeaways from Week 1 Usage

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Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.