Week 9 Fantasy Football Trade Targets

We are officially halfway through the Fantasy season! We are also only a week away from the NFL trade deadline! Now is typically the point where we need to plant our player outlook flags in the sand and ratchet up our rosters to make a playoff push.

For our Week 9 Trade Targets, we’re going to take a look at players who could see a major jump in value that you’ll want to acquire before their price changes.

More Week 9 Fantasy Football Fun!: | Sneaky Starts | Fantasy Football Waiver Wire | Weekly Sleepers & Streamers | Starts & Sits | Skrip’s Week Winners | NFL DFS | NFL Player Props | IDP Analysis | Bold Predictions | Survivor Picks | NFL Injury Report | Dynasty Trade Targets | Weekly Rankings | Dynasty Risers and Fallers

Week 9 Trade Targets

Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints RB

Before Kendre Miller went down for the season, I thought Kamara was a near guarantee to get traded at the deadline. I actually advocated for him as a trade target last week based on Miller’s increased usage. Now, it’s a little murkier with the lack of depth behind him, but I think it’s still a good possibility. The team is in full rebuild mode. While there have been rumors surrounding Chris Olave, I think he is the only offensive player they are keen to keep for the future.

So why trade for Kamara? Because he could potentially be on a contending team by this time next week.

And if he’s not traded? Worst-case scenario, he’ll have the same value that he does now.

The Saints are about to start Tyler Shough to get a proper look at him before next year’s draft. I don’t expect them to like what they see, and they will probably be picking near the top of the draft and taking a new franchise QB. For Fantasy purposes, this season, though, I think Shough provides Kamara a bit more value than Rattler did, if Kamara stays in NOLA.

Rattler is much more mobile and prone to scrambling. Shough will be more of a traditional pocket passer and should check down to Kamara more as a safety net. It probably won’t be quite the PPR scam of old, but it will be a nice baseline boost for the RB.

If Kamara does get traded, it likely won’t be to a timeshare situation. He fits great with many contenders in need of RB help: Chiefs, Commanders, and Chargers are at the top of my list.

The only certainty we have is that if he does get moved, his asking price in Fantasy is going to skyrocket, so go get him now.

Check out all of our Week 9 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings

Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints WR

Let’s just knock out the other Saint while we’re at it. Shaheed has been one of the more popular names floated as a potential deadline deal.

He’s still only 27, which is a prime age for wide receivers. Shaheed’s also exhibited some of the better downfield, big-play ability in the league the past few years. What’s even more impressive is the motley crew of quarterbacks he’s done it with.

So, what if he goes to a high-powered offense with a good quarterback… like the Bills or Bucs? When you take a player who can make your week on just one play, and match them with a quarterback who can actually make that play come to fruition, good things happen for Fantasy.

Shaheed is a riskier acquisition than Kamara, because he won’t have a locked-in workload anywhere. The good news, however, is that he should be very cheap to obtain. There’s a good chance he’s even on your waiver wire.

I don’t foresee him suddenly becoming a league winner, but he’s sort of like an underperforming stock right now. You can get him on the cheap, bet on him gaining value, and then sell him for a profit before the bubble bursts.

If he goes to a good team and has a good game early on, you’ll be able to entertain offers. Just like playing him, it’s a bit risky, but it could be a big payoff.

If no trade happens, his value probably dips a bit with Shough, but likely not by much. Shough should be able to at least replicate Rattler’s numbers.

Devonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles WR

Smith was probably much more obtainable three weeks ago, before he started finding his stride, but I still think you can get him at a discount based on the early-season struggles.

Unlike the others on this list, Smith isn’t in danger of getting traded at the deadline, but his running mate, A.J. Brown, is. The Eagles are on a bye in Week 9, so they will have plenty of time to work out any potential trades.

If Brown does change teams, Smith is going to become the top target in the Philly offense. He’s always had the talent to be a #1 in the NFL; he’s just lacked the opportunity because he shares the field with another superstar. Even with the Eagles’ low passing volume, Smith would instantly be a Top-10 receiver if he were the only show in town.

If the team doesn’t make any moves, then Smith will just find himself in his normal situation: the 1b on a very good offense.

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs TE

Normally, I don’t recommend trying to trade for someone with as much name value as Kelce. I also don’t normally recommend acquiring a player coming off their best game of the season. So, to be clear, I would probably pursue Kelce at the end of Week 9 as the Chiefs head into their bye. That is assuming he doesn’t have another big game against the Bills, of course.

Kelce gets a lot of flak for not quite being the player he once was, and his outside-of-football activities. I’ll never satisfy people on the latter complaint, but in terms of him slowing down, what players don’t age?

Kelce’s value has always come from his ability to mind-meld with Mahomes when plays break down. We’ve still seen a number of touchdowns this year where he finds an opening in the defense while Mahomes is scrambling, and essentially walks in for a score. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have quite the same speed if there’s nobody within 20 yards of him.

And sure, he’s not getting as many designed reads as he once did. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s an afterthought. He only has two games this season with fewer than 5 targets, and in one of those, he scored. The return of Rashee Rice is also a positive. You might fear him taking targets away from Kelce over the middle, but he’s taking the defensive focus away from Kelce as well.

The Chiefs’ schedule will be a mixed bag after the Week 10 bye. They have a matchup with Dallas on the books, and he gets the Titans in the Fantasy semi-finals. While they have to play Denver twice, as well as Houston, Rice will draw the top coverage in those, making Kelce more needed.

Kelce’s still in KC, and he’s still an important piece. He can be one for your team, too.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!