Fantasy Football Trade Targets Week 7: Sell a Top-12 RB? In This Economy?!?

Hear Me Out ...

Everybody seems to need RB help right now. So if you’re in good shape at that position, you could profit handsomely.

That doesn’t mean those moves will be comfortable, though -- and they probably shouldn’t be. If every trade you make feels like you’re unloading a landmine and importing a gold bar, then you’re either delusional or playing in too easy a league.

If it’s the latter, and you’re happy there, then you probably don’t need this advice. Feel free to watch the latest episode of VisionQuest (or whatever your son wants to watch with you) instead of reading on.

But if you’re staring at your roster wanting to upgrade it but not sure how, then keep riding with me. That’s why we’re here.

(And it goes beyond just this week’s highlighted players.)

Week 7 Buys

• A.J. Brown
• Emeka Egbuka

Week 7 Sells

• Chuba Hubbard
• Ashton Jeanty

Buy These Fantasy Trade Targets

These wideouts are exciting absolutely no one right now, which is what makes them worth targeting.

A.J. Brown, WR, New England Patriots

I come to you as a manager of Brown in my FFPC main-event league, a team on which I have him stacked with QB Drake Maye.

I waited patiently through the IR stint. I carried hope into Sunday’s game against the Jets. And I watched Brown let me down with just 3 catches for 27 yards.

I can’t tell you what I’d trade Brown away for in that league because it’s a large-field contest with no trading. But I can certainly understand how a Brown manager elsewhere would be discouraged and alarmed that the veteran is simply a 2026 bust.

Time to see if that manager’s ready to alleviate the headache.

Look Past the Production to the Usage

Brown’s first game back from a five-week hiatus for a high-ankle sprain found him jumping right back into the lead-receiver role. He ran a route on 34 of Maye’s 35 dropbacks, leading his nearest teammate (WR DeMario Douglas) by eight routes.

Brown drew a team-high 10 targets, 33.3% of Maye’s targeted throws. That tied for seventh-highest among all WRs for Week 6.

But it’s just the second time we’ve seen Brown this year, and he has only caught three passes each time. Week 1 included a mere 14 targets before he went down.

So yes, we’re still learning exactly what Brown’s role and expected production look like with New England and Maye. But other factors could lower his price while enhancing his outlook.

Last Year’s Struggles Could Bring This Year’s Discount

Brown’s final season with the Eagles let down plenty of fantasy managers, though probably not as much as most people think it did.

He started horribly, finishing four of the first five weeks ranked 48th or worse among WRs in PPR scoring. But he rebounded for six top-20 finishes and just one week outside the top 29 the rest of the way. For the year, Brown ranked a solid 12th among WRs in PPR points per game.

There were signs of decline -- including career lows in yards per route and yards after catch per reception -- but that’s not shocking for an aging receiver with a history of knee surgeries. And we all expected the move to New England to mean improved QB play and potentially more target volume.

Combine the exaggerated perception of Brown’s 2025 struggles with an injury-interrupted start to 2026, and it’s easy to imagine his current managers being extra wary. Brown’s lack of assistance so far also might leave them even more desperate for immediate help.

QB Has Rebounded, and Volume Awaits

Maye faced his own rough start to 2026, compiling an ugly 58.6 passer rating over New England’s first three contests, with 1 total TD and just 195.0 passing yards per game. The past three weeks, however, have seen those numbers jump to:

• 119.3 passer rating
• 10 TD passes
• 292.7 yards per game

The final game in that span combined Brown’s return with the loss of WR Romeo Doubs to a right-shoulder injury. That removes an outside receiver tied for second on the team in targets.

Team target leader Douglas and TE Hunter Henry are each more complement than competitor to Brown in terms of roles. And Douglas ranks just 70th among WRs in target share for the season.

New England’s been waiting for its anointed leader to return.

Waiting Might Make You Too Late

I can understand if you want to wait another week on Brown. The short turnaround to a Thursday night clash with the Bears could prove especially challenging for his ankle. (Brown hs remained limited in practice this week.

But that game also holds the week’s third-highest projected game total. That means potential shootout conditions.

If Brown shows out in a spotlight shootout, with Miami, Green Bay, and Detroit as his next three matchups, you might be looking at a closed “buy” window.

Try to get out in front of that this week. Even if Brown lets you down against Chicago, that ensuing three-week stretch has the upside to alter your playoff hopes.

Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Market Value listing in our PPR trade value chart has Egbuka at WR39, based on actual fantasy football trades from multiple platforms.

That’s even lower than our modest current WR32 rest-of-season ranking for Egbuka. And there’s room for him to quickly prove that too pessimistic.

Opportunity is There, Production Just Needs to Catch Up

Egbuka has undeniably disappointed vs. a WR17 ADP from the summer. But guess what has lived up to the billing: his usage.

Egbuka sits 17th among WRs in expected PPR points per game so far. That’s based on the volume and location of his targets. But he ranks just 29th in actual PPR points per game, boosted to even that level by a season-best 7-48-1 receiving line in Sunday’s loss to the Steelers.

That he hasn’t posted a better real or fantasy outing through six weeks points to Egbuka’s biggest issue: QB play.

Baker Mayfield posted a solid Week 1, throwing for just 216 yards but completing 82% of his passes. And Egbuka fared pretty well: 5 catches for 63 yards on 6 targets.

Then Mayfield and the offense struggled against the Browns and Vikings, defenses now ranked seventh and first in pass DVOA, respectively. Egbuka didn’t kill your lineup in those weeks either. A TD saved a WR33 finish in Week 2, and Egbuka managed a solid 5-62 receiving line against Minnesota.

Here’s how he has fared with undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels since:

That Week 5 score against the Cowboys gets a big boost from Egbuka’s 14-yard rushing TD.

Through three games with each QB, here’s how Egbuka’s expected fantasy points line up with his actual production:

• Mayfield games: 33.7 expected PPR points, 32.8 actual
• Daniels games: 51.5 expected, 38.3 actual

And that rushing score against Dallas accounts for 19.3% of those actual points scored with Daniels. Take that away, and we’re looking at 30.9 total PPR points with Daniels, just 60% of the expected total.

Mayfield could return as soon as this week, and the team’s not likely to let him back into the huddle before the thumb’s ready.

Injury a Price-Lowering Blessing?

Egbuka, meanwhile, popped up on Wednesday's injury report with a surprise concussion plus a foot issue.

He lost no playing time against the Steelers on Sunday, so I'm guessing concussion symptoms arose after the game and stand as the real culprit. That's likely to keep Egbuka out of this week's contest. And that should make him even cheaper on the trade market.

Whoever’s throwing passes to Egbuka the rest of the way will support him through the ninth-best remaining WR schedule by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. That improves to fifth-best after Tampa Bay’s Week 10 bye.

Egbuka carries real potential to help your team the rest of the way.

How Do Last Week’s ‘Buys’ Look?

Let’s look back at our Trade Target recommendations from the past two weeks and see how we’d treat those players now …

Week 6 Report

• Colston Loveland enjoyed easily his best outing of the season in Caleb Williams' Week 6 return, scoring his first TD among 6 catches for 65 yards. A patient fantasy manager might feel like they're ready to reap the benefits from waiting through the early-season pain. Others, however, might view this as a "sell" opportunity off an outlier week. Check to see if you're dealing with the latter. I sit much closer to the former.
• Breece Hall remains in the same position as last week. I'm still buying.
• Rhamondre Stevenson initially joined this group before TreVeyon Henderson proved he has regenerative ankles. Then someone named Corey Kiner stomped them both out. Honestly, I'm in "do whatever you want with the Pats backfield" mode at this point.

Week 5 Report

• Dalton Kincaid almost closed the "buy" window with a TD catch in his hometown, but a penalty negated that and left him with a just decent 7-38 PPR line. The Week 7 bye adds price-lowering potential.
• Good luck buying Matthew Golden off two straight weeks of 6 catches and 100+ yards. But there might still be some doubters out there.
• Ian Miller points out in this week's start-sit article that Michael Wilson's one of just 15 WRs averaging 100+ air yards per game this season. Playing with QB Jacoby Brissett presents constant risk of not maximizing that scoring potential, but Wilson sits a decent 30th among WRs in PPR points per game with top-15 upside in any given week.

Sell These Players

Wait a second … two RBs among the top 13 in PPR scoring? Read the cases before you decide whether I’m being an idiot.

Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers

Now we’ve reached the truly discomforting portion of this week’s trade targets … so much so that I haven’t actually gotten anyone else on the staff to commit to being on board with me.

But that just means I need to build a stronger case. And that’s exactly why I’m here.

You’re in Good Shape at RB but Want to Upgrade Your Lineup for the Second Half

This is an important starting point. If you started, say, Chuba Hubbard and Rachaad White in Week 6 -- and you don’t have Jahmyr Gibbs returning from his bye -- then you should probably just ride it out with Hubbard.

But let’s say you drafted the Carolina back as your third or fourth guy at the position. He has helped carry your team so far, but you’re also sitting on a first-round RB and/or a guy or two among this group:

• Kenneth Walker
• Kyren Williams
• Derrick Henry
• Javonte Williams
• D’Andre Swift
• Bhayshul Tuten
• Bucky Irving

If that describes your team, and you’re wondering who to move to upgrade somewhere else, then you’re my audience.

Now here’s why you should look into trading away Hubbard.

The Vet Has Scored Beyond His Means

That’s not a judgment. It’s a simple fact.

Hubbard sits 16th in expected PPR points per game. He ranks seventh in actual PPR points per game. That combo also ranks him third among RBs in scoring over expectation.

That factor alone exposes Hubbard to sheer regression to the mean. He has been quite fortunate on the TD front, scoring on 4.5% of his carries. Compare that with his 2.6% career rushing-TD rate.

Even if we concede that the dramatically improved Carolina offense can continue to support that (fourth in scoring, second in yards per game), Hubbard has gotten even luckier with receiving TDs. He has scored twice on just 11 receptions. That 18.2% receiving-TD rate ties for ninth in the league this season among all players with 10+ receptions.

Hubbard sits one short of his career high for TD receptions in a season (set last year). He also ranks just 38th among RBs in target share.

So he’s not only due for less receiving production going forward, he trails players such as Justice Hill, Woody Marks, and Raheim Sanders in sheer opportunity to catch passes. And there’s a threat coming for those opportunities at some point.

Jonathon Brooks Still Exists (Probably)

Look, none of us can project big opportunity shares or production for Jonathon Brooks at this point. But here’s what we do know:

1. He’s coming back from his core-muscle injury at some point (allegedly).
2. HC Dave Canales was excited about Brooks this offseason.

Jokes aside, Brooks should return to the field soon. The team estimated a 6-8 week recovery timeline following his Sept. 23 surgery. Six weeks would return Brooks just ahead of the Week 9 home date with Denver; eight would put him on the field ahead of the Week 11 clash with Baltimore.

I can’t imagine Carolina giving Brooks anything close to an even split of touches upon his return. But he’ll likely get more than what other Panthers backs have commanded in his absence.

Since Week 3, Hubbard has commanded a league-high 79.8% of Carolina’s RB carries and 80% of the RB targets. Expect both of those shares to shrink at least some when Brooks returns.

And if Brooks gets all the way back to full strength, he certainly could siphon a bothersome amount of work. Here’s what Canales said about him back in June:

If You’re Gonna Try, Aim High

The final piece here is the return.

I didn’t lay out all that about Hubbard’s likely regression and upcoming workload challenge to indicate he’s about to crash. Unless his performance suddenly falls off, he should maintain the backfield lead in a good offense.

But there are reasons to expect he won’t keep scoring as many fantasy points as he has so far. Those points have landed him in the middle of RB1 territory, and that’s the kind of return you should be seeking in trade.

Get that, and you could juice your roster for a championship run. If you can’t find a worthwhile return, though, keep Hubbard.

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

I mentioned first-round RBs in the last section as though that’s a group to entirely cherish and trust going forward. But here’s a player from that range you should be willing to give up.

Ashton Jeanty does sit 12th in total PPR points through six weeks and 13th in points per game. That’s solid, though leaning a little disappointing for a guy commonly drafted in the second half of Round 1.

The real problem, though: Even that production looks a little fraudulent.

Jeanty Propped Up By Receiving Volume

Jeanty has seen workhorse usage as expected, but the team has leaned on him especially heavily in the passing game.

Jeanty’s 16.3% target share ranks third among RBs, trailing only Christian McCaffrey and Jahmyr Gibbs. He has done well in that area, averaging 4.3 receptions per game and 9.7 yards per catch, both up from last year’s numbers.

That beats a 62.4% rushing share that ranks 13th, behind players such as Aaron Jones, Jaylen Warren, Tony Pollard, and Chuba Hubbard.

That’d be enough if Jeanty were efficient with those carries, but he hasn’t been. Among 61 RBs with at least 20 carries this season, Jeanty ranks:

• 37th in success rate
• 45th in rush yards over expected per attempt
• 56th in yards before contact per attempt (pointing to O-line issues)
• 31st in yards after contact per attempt
• 50th in missed tackles forced per attempt
• 53rd in expected points added per rush

Wanna know what’s worse? Mike Washington leads him in all but success rate.

Is the Recent Downturn Just Injury?

Jeanty’s past three weeks have featured decreases in playing time as he has navigated a pair of lower-body injuries.

First, he seemed to aggravate the August ankle sprain in the Week 4 loss to Kansas City. But Jeanty left that game only briefly and played the following week. En route to that Week 5 contest, however, he had plantar fasciitis “flare up” on the same side (right).

Jeanty practiced in full all three days before Sunday’s loss to the Bills. But his playing time didn’t rebound.

Washington hit season highs in carry share (45%) and route share (22%) last week. He played a season-low five total snaps in the Week 5 blowout loss to New England, but Dylan Laube got a season-high 35% route share.

Jeanty’s off the injury report to open this week, so we’ll see if those down weeks were merely injury-driven. But neither way would be good news.

Plantar fasciitis doesn’t go away quickly, especially in the midst of an NFL season, and it can sometimes lead to a tear of the plantar fascia. So don’t take Jeanty avoiding the Week 7 injury report as a signal his foot’s totally fine now.

And Jeanty’s lack of efficiency is especially bothersome, because he was supposed to improve that area under a new coaching staff and behind an enhanced O-line. Instead, he’s averaging a half-yard less per carry (3.2) than he did as a rookie.

Make Him Someone Else’s Problem

You don’t need to figure out whether Jeanty’s key issue is combining right foot and ankle injuries or simply not being as good a runner as the Raiders thought.

His issues haven’t pushed him away from the fringe of RB1 territory, and that consistent receiving work will look good when a league mate checks his game log.

So try to sell the second-year back now before Vegas gives more work to Washington or Jeanty suffers another “flare-up.”

How Do Last Week’s ‘Sells’ Look?

Let’s look back at our sell recommendations from the past two weeks and how we’d treat those players now …

Week 6 Report

• Jacory Croskey-Merritt's IR status not only closed the window, it also made him a drop in plenty of cases. Oh well.
• Jameson Williams gains some sell value with his return from the Week 6 bye. The Packers matchup certainly doesn't hurt either. A Week 8 spot against the Vikings might if you try to wait.
• Jaylen Warren remained in control of the backfield in Rico Dowdle's return game, ranking 10th for the week among RBs in snap rate and 11th in carry share. As I said previously, he's certainly not a must-sell. Only move him if you get an RB1-level return and if the move doesn't screw your RB situation.

Week 5 Report

• Malik Nabers is coming off two straight games of 11+ catches and three straight of 110+ yards, despite his QB getting yanked for J.J. McCarthy. If you want to just roll with him, I can certainly understand. I'd still be willing to sell for a high-level return, though. That QB situation has the whole offense operating on top of a crate of dynamite.
• As I mentioned last week, Ollie Gordon has earned a little more credit than we gave him early. But he's still operating on tenuous usage in a tenuous situation. I'd still be selling, just not in full "fire sale" mode.
• The sell window's probably closed on Devaughn Vele after 4-26 and 3-42 lines the past two weeks. But might as well keep trying to pawn him off before Jordyn Tyson actually returns.