Everyone tells you not to panic after Week 1 of the fantasy football season. And you shouldn’t.

But that doesn’t mean you need to just sit on the team you drafted.

Making moves early in the year doesn’t mean you’re panicking. It means you’re proactive

• Grabbing a potential stud who started hotter than anyone expected
• Selling a player whose hot start might be a mirage
• And maybe even taking advantage of league mates who are panicking

Those last two should be your focus for any early-season trades, and they’ll power the targets below.

And you can get help specific to your team and league with our Trade Navigator and trade value charts.

Fantasy Trade Targets (Buy)

We’re starting the year with a trio of WRs in this section. And it makes sense, given how Week 1 went.

Our pass rate over expected numbers say the league didn’t boast a whole lot of passing success across opening weekend.

Unless you believe all the money and draft capital spent on WRs this offseason was a giant mistake, that means some talented dudes are primed for rebounds … 

D.J. Moore, WR, Chicago Bears

There are two levels at which a Moore drafter can potentially panic this week:

1. The whole Chicago offense looked terrible, netting just 148 total yards against Tennessee.
2. Keenan Allen out-targeted Moore in their first regular-season game together.

It was the first game with a new OC, a rookie QB, and plenty of imported offensive pieces. I was certainly shocked at just how poorly the offense performed (93 passing yards?!?).

But a sluggish start for the group wasn’t shocking. And things can almost literally only get better from there.

Week 1 also probably won’t be the last time that Allen beats Moore in targets. But you should go ahead and bet on the 27-year-old who just got a $110 million extension this summer over the 32-year-old the team acquired for a fourth-round pick.

WR Rome Odunze’s knee injury only increases the chances that Moore’s numbers rebound within the next couple of games.

Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants

The Giants challenged Chicago for worst Week 1 offense. That included Daniel Jones – without the “I’m a rookie” excuse – completing just 52.4% of his passes at 4.4 yards per attempt against a Vikings D that stunk last year.

It’s fair to wonder whether that QB can support this rookie wideout, who also trailed WR Wan’Dale Robinson by 5 for the team target lead.

Well, if the Giants finish the year with Robinson still ahead of Nabers in targets, then they will have played the season entirely wrong. And even within that Week 1 scenario, Nabers managed 5 receptions for a team-high 66 yards.

The rookie also easily led Giants non-QB skill players in playing time and ran 13 more routes than Robinson. Plus, we know that rookie WRs historically perform better later in the season.

So take a run at Nabers before he posts a big game.

Keon Coleman, WR, Buffalo Bills

We knew the Bills planned to spread targets around a renovated WR corps this season. And we knew we might need to be patient with this second-round rookie within that scenario.

But Coleman’s Week 1 usage suggests we might not need to be as patient as expected.

He led Bills wideouts in snaps, routes, targets, receptions and receiving yards in the opener, running a route on 90% of QB Josh Allen’s dropbacks.

That produced just a 4-51 receiving line on 5 targets, and two other teammates claimed the TD passes. But it was an encouraging start for the guy with the most corps-leading potential on the Buffalo roster.

And the Coleman drafter in your league probably didn’t select him in starter range, which can only help the potential price.

Fantasy Sells

The last section focused on WRs. This one features a trio of RBs.

If passing volume sagged in Week 1, then runners got a volume boost. We’ve got a pair of RBs whose values might be inflated … plus a guy to sell for kinda the opposite reason.

Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

We talked at various points through draft season about White’s potential to lose work to rookie teammate Bucky Irving. And that potential stood on display in Week 1.

Irving beat White in:

• Yards per carry (6.9 to 2.1)
• PFF rushing grade (65.6 to 56.7)
• Rush yards over expected per attempt (White ranked second-to-last among all qualifying Week 1 runners)

He also doubled White’s total ground yardage on 6 fewer carries. And that rushing inefficiency for White matched his first two NFL seasons.

Irving didn’t actually challenge White’s role in the opener. The incumbent …

• more than doubled the rookie’s playing time
• caught six balls for 75 yards
• and garnered 13 first-half touches to Irving’s 4

But Irving showed the rushing ability that HC Todd Bowles touted in summer – and indicated last year’s team was missing.

Consider moving White before he loses work.

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots

This one might seem crazy after Stevenson rewarded your choice to draft him but running for 120 yards and a TD on a dominant 25 carries in the upset win over the Bengals.

But here’s the thing: The surprise was that Cincinnati only managed 10 points. New England’s offense didn’t do anything special, outside of riding Stevenson.

They managed just 16 points and 290 total yards, against a Cincinnati defense that wasn’t very good last season. New England also ranked fourth-worst in yards before contact per attempt, according to Pro Football Reference.

That means Stevenson delivered his big game in spite of weak blocking and a mediocre-to-poor offense overall. And those are the two biggest concerns for his outlook.

Backup Remains a Potential Challenge

One more hurdle for Stevenson’s fantasy outlook is Antonio Gibson. He entered last Sunday questionable with a hip injury that popped up during the practice week. That issue – plus New England playing from ahead for the final three quarters – likely helped limit Gibson to the mere 14 snaps he played.

Patriots coaches talked about Gibson as a potential third-down back after signing him in April. That means passing-down work. And that’s where Stevenson has showed limited efficiency.

He averaged just 6.1 and 6.3 yards per catch the past two years and narrowly edged Ezekiel Elliott in receptions per game in 2023. Stevenson managed just 6 yards on 3 receptions vs. Cincinnati.

New England figures to spend plenty of time trailing in future games, and that could become prime Gibson time.

Zamir White, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

Selling a player often means taking advantage of some recent unsustainable positive performances. But that’s not the case here.

White ran 13 times for just 44 yards and caught two passes for only 2 more yards. So why try to sell him now?

Because Alexander Mattison played a surprising amount:

• 36 snaps to White’s 24
• 24 pass routes to White’s 10

Mattison delivered a 31-yard catch-and-run TD and beat White 52-46 in total yards.

If that’s possible, and White could muster only 13 carries in a game that found his team within a TD of the opponent for all but about 8 minutes, then there’s a chance the Raiders starter offers you very little fantasy value all season.

If you can’t sell that off now, try again after he scores his first TD of the year.

Fantasy Holds

These two players carry some concerns into Week 2, but they also still present upside.

The shaky balance between those factors makes it tough to recommend chasing or dumping either at the moment. And sometimes it’s best to just wait.

Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns

Cooper’s QB looked terrible in the opener – and has looked pretty bad when on the field over the past two years. But Cleveland’s lead WR still led the entire league with 178 air yards in Week 1. He managed just 2 receptions for 16 yards but saw a team-leading 9 targets.

Watson will have better passing days and face softer defenses than Dallas’. But it’s pretty clear he’s never going to regain his Houston form.

That didn’t stop Cooper from finishing 19th among WRs in PPR points per game last season, with Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, P.J. Walker, and finally Joe Flacco throwing passes.

You’re probably not finding a good “sell” price right now for Cooper – who finished the summer as just WR25 in PPR ADP. So you might as well see how his scoring rebounds.

Josh Jacobs, RB, Green Bay Packers

Jacobs started Week 1 slowly – 13 first-half yards on 7 touches – but wound up with a solid line in a backfield he dominated:

• 16 carries
• 84 yards
• 2 receptions (on 3 targets)
• 20 yards
• 76.2% carry share

Unfortunately, that game ended with starting QB Jordan Love going down.

Green Bay hasn’t put Love on IR, indicating they expect him to miss no more than three games.

Love’s absence figures to make the offense lean harder on the run – and perhaps short passes – to help Malik Willis (and/or Sean Clifford). That might be good for Jacobs’ touch volume.

But there’s no way the offense will be as good. And there’s no way your league mates are expecting it to be fine.

So let’s hang on to Green Bay’s lead back and see how things go.

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.

Check out this short video to learn more …

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.