Fantasy Football Trade Targets Ahead of Week 3: A.J. Brown, Tony Pollard, and More

In the first two editions of this article, I suggested players to target in dynasty league trades. Starting this week and moving forward (until the final few weeks of the season), I am switching to redraft trade targets. The general approach is similar; I am looking for players whose performances should improve, but I am no longer concerned about the player's age/ability to hold value after this season.

With two weeks in the books, these trade targets tend to fall into one of two buckets: positive regression candidates and breakout candidates. Some players have started the season slowly but are proven fantasy producers who we can expect to bounce back. Others have a clear pathway to a larger role.

Week 3 Trade Targets For Fantasy Football

Here are the players to target in trades heading into Week 3.

A.J. Brown - WR, Eagles

Most fantasy managers were probably willing to overlook A.J. Brown's dismal Week 1 performance, but the panic starts to set in after back-to-back disappointments, especially if they started 0-2 in your league.

Two games is still a very small sample size and shouldn't be a reason to panic on an elite player like A.J. Brown. We also have to remember that he was dealing with a hamstring injury for a large chunk of August. Brown has always been a boom-or-bust fantasy option in the Eagles' low-volume passing attack, but he is a proven elite player with six consecutive seasons of 2.5 YPRR or better.

Brown was more involved in Week 2, leading the team with 8 targets and recording 5 catches for 27 yards. That isn't a great fantasy result, but he still looks like the top receiver with a 36% target share. The context of the offense is also important, as Jalen Hurts has thrown for just 253 passing yards and no passing TDs through two games. Philadelphia had the fewest pass attempts in the NFL last year, and Brown was still able to go for 1,079 yards and 7 TDs, so I'm not panicking yet.

There will be better games ahead as Brown gets back to full strength and the Eagles' passing game finds its footing. Now is a great time to buy low on AJB. If you can trade away someone from a tier or two below him in our rest-of-season rankings, I think that will look like a good move in a few weeks. Particularly, players like James Conner, Chris Olave, and Jaylen Waddle, who have been solid through two weeks but have long-term concerns, would be ideal candidates to trade away.

Bhayshul Tuten - RB, Jaguars

The Jaguars traded Tank Bigsby to the Eagles on Monday of last week, which could only be interpreted as a major vote of confidence in their other two RBs, Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten.

Etienne has been the clear lead back through two games, but Tuten did see his opportunities increase from just three in Week 1 to 10 in Week 2. He looked great in the expanded role and is making the case for a true 50/50 split with Etienne. As a fourth-round rookie, some of the managers in your league may not even know who Tuten is or how strong his prospect profile was.

In smaller leagues, you might still be able to add Tuten on waivers, but for leagues where he is rostered, he is the perfect trade target. There haven't been many injuries yet, so whichever team has him likely views him as a depth piece and may view his performance this week as a sell-high opportunity rather than a sign of things to come. I want Tuten on as many of my teams as possible and would recommend making a trade offer before he has a true breakout game.

It will probably be difficult to do an RB-for-RB trade for Tuten without overpaying, so I would try to target whichever position the Tuten manager is weakest at and send them an offer with someone who is startable but doesn't have league-winning upside. Someone like Cooper Kupp, who is coming off a good game and has name value, would be the ideal trade-away candidate.

Tony Pollard - RB, Titans

The Titans had two of the toughest possible matchups in their first two games, going up against the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams. Rookie QB Cam Ward has understandably struggled in those outings, but he has flashed some playmaking ability that gives me hope for the future of this offense.

Pollard hasn't been a disaster through two games; he has turned 39 touches into 181 scrimmage yards. The issue is that he hasn't had many high-value touches, with just two targets and no goal-line attempts so far. As Ward settles in and the matchups get easier, I expect that to change. That may happen as early as this week with the Titans facing the Colts, who appear to have a good offense but a middling defense.

The Titans do have a difficult matchup again in Week 4 against the Texans, but after that they face the Cardinals, Raiders, Patriots, and then the Colts again. That is a nice run of games where Pollard should comfortably project as an RB2 with multi-TD upside on a weekly basis.

When Tyjae Spears eventually returns, he will cut into Pollard's workload a bit, but that is still a ways off and there will be a ramp-up period for Spears coming off of an ankle injury. If you can swap someone like Rhamondre Stevenson, who just had a big receiving day that he is unlikely to repeat, for Pollard, you should come out ahead by a decent margin over the course of the full season.

Honorable Mention: Rashee Rice - WR, Chiefs

If you have gotten off to a 2-0 start but aren't super deep at the WR position, it is worth making an offer to the Rashee Rice manager. Rice has now served two games of his six-game suspension, and when he returns I expect him to be the engine of the Kansas City offense.

Their rushing attack has been stagnant, and the Chiefs are now 0-2 with a number of tough matchups remaining before their bye. By the time Rice returns, it may be an uphill battle for the Chiefs to make the playoffs, which should put their offense in a more aggressive mindset. With Xavier Worthy unlikely to be fully healthy even if he does return to the lineup, Rice should be a borderline top-12 WR once he is back. He has a good chance to be a league-winning piece for fantasy managers who make the playoffs with him on the roster, but his price will only go up as he gets closer to returning.