This week has seen a variety of players change teams before the Nov. 5 NFL trade deadline. These acquisitions will lead to various changes for players across the league, either getting more opportunities or improving from the new players brought to their teams. Here are some of the best available options to take advantage of the player movement that happened this week.
One of the biggest storylines this season has been following the trade request of former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams. Following a loss to the Carolina Panthers, Adams requested a trade from the organization, leading to him being traded to the New York Jets for a conditional third-round pick from the team.
By the Jets making this move, Adams reunites with his former quarterback Aaron Rodgers who will see a spike in fantasy production because of this. Rodgers is coming off one of his best performances against the Buffalo Bills in which he put up 294 passing yards and two touchdowns. One of Rodgers's biggest issues this season has been miscommunications with his receiving core, as seen in Rodger’s only interception of the Bills game when he had a miscommunication with Jets wide receiver Mike Williams.
Going back to their time with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers has had a passer rating of 103.5 with Adams on the same team as him. Rodgers and Adams were one of the most productive duos in the NFL in their time together putting up 68 touchdowns. Pair this with Rodgers having young stars like wide receiver Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall already on the roster and Rodgers could turn into a fantasy ace moving into the second half of the season.
A trade that might have gone under the radar this week is the Houston Texans sending backup running back Cam Akers to the Minnesota Vikings for a late-round selection in next year's draft. This move was made by the Texans because of the return of running back •Dameon Pierce who had his best game this year against the New England Patriots. Coming off a hamstring injury, Pierce ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on eight in his return to the field.
With the acquisition of running back Joe Mixon this offseason, Pierce has seen limited time on the field but when given an opportunity he has averaged 8.4 yards per rush. The Texans are facing the Packers this week who are allowing 110 rushing yards per game while the Texans have been putting up 118 rushing yards per game. If the Texans can get up early there is a strong possibility that Pierce could get some rushes which could give him major production.
The Cleveland Browns have not had the start to the season that they were hoping for. With only one victory on the year, it looks like the Browns are looking to start a rebuild and this becomes even more clear after the trade of Amari Cooper to the Bills. Cooper was the Browns' top wide receiver and now that he is gone it has left a power vacuum at the position.
The player who will slide into the role of top receiver is offseason acquisition Jerry Jeudy. The Browns offense has struggled to get things started which has hurt Jeudy’s production this season only putting up 20 receptions for 248 yards through six weeks. That being said, with the departure of Cooper, Jeudy should see a massive increase in the number of targets he will receive from quarterback Deshaun Watson as Cooper accounted for 53 targets this season which led the team. Jeudy has showcased his ability to make big plays with an average of 14.3 yards per reception throughout his career. Now that the Browns need a new top receiver, look for players like Jeudy to get more opportunities in the Browns' struggling offense.
With the trade deadline fast approaching, these moves will more than likely not be the only ones made for teams looking to compete in the NFL. For managers of fantasy teams, getting ahold of these players who weren’t getting great production this year is key to not only improving the roster but preventing other managers from taking advantage of these players who could break out.
Jasper Greuel is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the views expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Jasper about his column? email him at jg453620@ohio.edu.
