Week 7 Buy-Low, Sell-High Trade Targets: 2 Elite WRs Available at a Discount

The trade winds are blowing in the NFL. 

Within a matter of hours, the two teams that just finished going head-to-head on Monday Night Football swung deals for impact wide receivers: Davante Adams is now a Jet and Amari Cooper is now a Bill. If those real-life football teams can recognize opportunity and go for it, there’s no reason your fantasy teams can’t do the same.

Each week during the season, Sleeper takes a data-driven approach to identify the best buy-low and sell-high candidates around the NFL while explaining why these players are intriguing options. Let’s examine which players you should try to target and offload entering Week 7, with trade fever starting to spike.

Buy-Low Targets

WR Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers

Prior to the start of this season, the 49ers made Aiyuk one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL. Over the first six weeks of the campaign, though, Aiyuk hasn’t looked like an elite wideout. 

In five of his six games, Aiyuk has failed to top 50 receiving yards, and he has yet to score a touchdown. In half of his games, he’s recorded just two catches, including in Week 6.

The manager who drafted Aiyuk in your league is likely frustrated. After all, Aiyuk went from being a top-15 WR in all formats over the last two seasons to ranking outside the top 40. Aiyuk is extremely talented, and he’s still only 26, so it’s not like he’s washed up. 

It’s possible that this slow start is the result of missing OTAs, minicamp, training camp, practices and the preseason. This buy-low recommendation is based almost entirely on Aiyuk’s talent and the fact that he’s still earning nearly seven targets per game. He’s due for some positive regression. 

WR CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

Like Aiyuk, Lamb held out while he waited for his new contract. So, is it a coincidence that both Aiyuk and Lamb have gotten off to slow starts (by their lofty standards) after dealing with similar offseason drama? Lamb has seen 55 targets — the third-most in the NFL — but he's currently the WR17 in PPR when it comes to average points per game (15.4). 

It's worth noting that Lamb's stats in Weeks 1-6 this season (32 receptions for 467 yards and two receiving touchdowns) are very similar to what he did through the first six games last year (34 receptions for 475 yards and one receiving touchdown). Then, he proceeded to bust out for 101 catches, 1,274 yards, and 13 total touchdowns over the final 11 games. Don't be surprised if Lamb has a similar second-half explosion this year. 

Lamb still boasts an elite place in consensus rest-of-season rankings, so he’s “buy low” in the sense that you may come across a manager who is not seeing expectations met and is willing to listen to offers. It will still likely take plenty to acquire Lamb given how high he was drafted. Even so, it’s not often that you can land a player of his caliber, and perhaps his — and the Cowboys’ — early-season struggles have created a unique opportunity.

Sell-High Candidates

TE Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

Sell, sell, sell! Fantasy managers who wasted an early-round pick on Andrews have been waiting for him to have a solid game so they could place him on the block and pepper their league mates with sell-high trade offers. 

Andrews delivered with his best game of the season against the Commanders on Sunday, finishing with three receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown; however, nothing changed in terms of Andrews' role or competition. He still only played 50% of Baltimore's snaps, with Isaiah Likely seeing the field more than him (67.6% of snaps) and Charlie Kolar continuing to mix in (32.5% of snaps). Andrews and Likely had the same number of routes run (18) and targets (four). Unless one of Andrews or Likely goes away, the other won’t be able to realize his full fantasy potential on a consistent basis. 

Andrews is a household name among fantasy players, so the hope is that the combination of name recognition and a strong performance allows you to flip him for something of value. Don’t wait too long, as Baltimore plays on Monday night in Week 7. If Andrews busts again during that primetime showdown, then the window to find a trade partner willing to take the veteran tight end will close again.

RB Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers

Through the first six weeks of the season, Harris has the fifth-most carries in the NFL (96). He’s had every opportunity to get off to an elite start with both Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson dealing with injuries that sidelined them for multiple weeks. 

Even so, Harris has struggled on the whole, ranking as the overall PPR RB23 and RB27 in average points per game. His only competition for touches in recent weeks has been Aaron Shampklin, who was literally a substitute teacher around this time last year. 

While the volume is great, Harris hasn’t been able to do much with his touches. He's averaging just 3.9 yards per carry, and he has only scored one touchdown in six games. Even when he's faced awful run defenses, he hasn’t been able to fully take advantage of the matchup. The Colts were allowing the most rushing yards per game (179) entering Week 4, yet Harris rushed 13 times for just 19 yards against them. 

The following week, he faced the Cowboys, who were allowing the sixth-most rushing yards per game and playing without their top two defensive linemen (Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence). Once again, he failed to impress, rushing 14 times for 42 yards. 

With that said, Harris is coming off his best game of the season, so this is the perfect time to try to sell. In the Steelers' 32-13 win over the Raiders, Harris rushed 14 times for 106 yards (7.6 yards per carry) and a touchdown while also adding two receptions for 16 yards. As the season goes on, Warren will significantly cut into Harris’ workload once he’s healthy and so could Patterson (an Arthur Smith favorite). Move Najee while you can.

Hit the Trade Market

Trade values can change rapidly, so pounce on these opportunities while you can. Proactive dealing can often make the difference for your squad, and the window to acquire (or sell) these players may close if you wait too long. 

Check back each week for our buy-low and sell-high targets, so you can continue to improve your roster throughout the season until the fantasy trade deadline hits. For more fantasy tips, trade tools and community discussions, be sure to play around on the Sleeper app.