NFL Week 1 provided huge data points on performance, injury and player usage, as well as great opportunities to buy low and sell high in fantasy football trades. Analyzing a player's new fantasy trade value and taking inventory of your league’s roster needs is critical to fantasy football success.
Plus, fantasy trades are just fun. So, let's look at a few players you should be thinking about buying or selling after Week 1.
MORE: Best fantasy waiver wire pickups | Injury updates
Marcus Mariota's fantasy football outlook
The Titans' Marcus Mariota made one of the best rookie Week 1 debuts in recent memory and those four touchdowns should stand out to potential fantasy trade partners. Mariota is now the best Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate, but may struggle to be a weekly fantasy starter in Tennessee. Mariota's three incompletions are less impressive on 16 total attempts, as are the four touchdowns with just 209 yards passing against what looks like a horrendous Tampa secondary.
Fantasy trade advice: It's a promising start to an NFL career, but an opportunity for trade value, specifically in redraft. If you have Mariota and his Week 1 fantasy output can net close to QB1 value in a trade, pull that trigger.
Ameer Abdullah's fantasy trade value
Lions rookie Ameer Abdullah had already blasted GIFs into the Internet during preseason, so his Week 1 display won't be news to fantasy owners in a way that suddenly rockets his stock. Abdullah also bested his teammates on the ground, rushing seven times for 50 yards while the other Lions backs combined for just 20 yards on eight carries.
Ameer Abdullah with a ridiculous 24-yard TD and Eric Weddle has no idea if he just saw a blur or a human #DETvsSD http://t.co/3jQyfi2zDv
— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2015Fantasy trade advice: Those who wanted but failed to land Abdullah in their draft — and knew owners are reluctant to trade before Week 1 — will now begin sending those offers and may be willing to overpay, especially in PPR leagues. Unless the offer is too good to pass up, hold onto Abdullah for now.
Tony Romo's fantasy outlook
The Giants managed far more pressure than expected against Dallas’ offensive line and this did force Tony Romo into poor moments, including a throw behind Jason Witten that went for an interception. Romo’s not as comfortable on the move as his early days, yet did sustain his elite play as a pock passer from 2014 into Sunday night. Still, without Dez Bryant for 4-6 weeks and a running game that did not make anyone forget DeMarco Murray, Romo's value is falling.
Fantasy trade advice: It’s worth exploring whether adding Romo to a trade will increase the value you receive. With many QB performances that were hideous in reality and/or fantasy football in Week 1, there may be teams desperate for a quarterback and willing to wait on Dez to return. Deal Romo while you can.
Russell Wilson's fantasy value
After giving up 34 points to St. Louis it seems that Seattle could be forced to pass much more than previous seasons in Russell Wilson's career — years in which he was still a good bet for a top-five QB finish. Now add Jimmy Graham and Tyler Lockett while swapping Byron Maxwell and Cary Williams. Kam Chancellor's absence is the most important for Seattle's status as the top-10 defense and his status remains in air.
Fantasy trade advice: The Seahawks will still pound it on the ground and play good D but there could be a higher instance of pass-friendly game scripts for the Seattle offense, starting next week in Green Bay. Now's the time to buy on Russell Wilson.
C.J. Spiller injury update
Even with Jimmy Graham out of the picture, Drew Brees still racked up a nice pass total, and 154 of the Saints 355 receiving yards came from the backfield stable. Running backs Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson both impressed and there’s a ton of RB targets to go around in a Sean Payton offense — especially when lacking at TE. C.J. Spiller is one of the league’s best receiving backs and most electric open-field runners in football, and could be huge for fantasy owners in this offense.
Fantasy trade advice: There's obvious risk here, but Spiller could return Week 2 and could come at quite a discount.
A.J. Green's fantasy trade value
A.J. Green didn't ruin fantasy owners quite like some of the league’s other top receivers in Week 1, so his five catches for 63 yards should fend off a potential recency bias against his trade value. More importantly, there’s Green's established track record, save for the injury-marred 2014 season. However, his status as the lone red-zone target in Cincy’s offense has changed a bit since his early years. Despite Green missing a TD on a well-thrown ball, his red-zone share is clearly threatened by Jeremy Hill (two red-zone TDs) and Tyler Eifert (two RZ TDs), with now-healthy Marvin Jones having shown in the past to be a beneficiary of the attention drawn by Green.
Fantasy trade advice: Owners who have lost Dez Bryant or T.Y. Hilton and are desperate for an immediate answer at WR1 might deal value equivalent to a borderline top-five WR for Green. If you can get that kind of value for Green at another position, do it, because he could struggle for touchdowns in Cincy's new-look offense.