Eric Karabell is a senior writer for fantasy baseball, football and basketball at ESPN. Eric is a charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame and author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments".
Not surprisingly, those aforementioned names all moved up in the end-of-season rankings, though only one of them usurps the top spot at his position. Check below and you will see. Still, there is ample movement, as always, and we continue to add our positional trade index to spice things up. Make those trades now and do not wait until it is too late!
Trade for: As expected, Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen is back on track. May be too late to reasonably trade for him. Same with Chargers star Justin Herbert. He is already a dominant player. The price would be sky high.
Be cautious trading for: Consider backing off trading for any of the rookie passers, including Lawrence and Fields. It may not be their fault, but we may not see nice numbers for a while. Roethlisberger looks done. Jameis Winston averaging 130 passing yards per game does not excite. It would be something if he falls short of 2,500 passing yards, or more than half his 2019 total. Wow.
Running back
Rankings changes: We have a new No. 1! Derrick Henry was already a star but now, even in PPR formats, his newfound use in the passing game pushes him to the top. Henry also boasts 80 rushing attempts! Joe Mixon is the only other RB with more than 52! Anyway, the latest Christian McCaffrey injury played a role in Henry moving up, too. The Carolina Panthers are without him again, perhaps only for a few weeks. Chuba Hubbard rises to relevant flex territory. The Giants' Saquon Barkley gets back into the top 10. Clyde Edwards-Helaire and James Robinson rebounded. Darrell Henderson Jr. and Elijah Mitchell did not play. Miles Sanders did, but it was tough to tell.
Trade for:Denver Broncos rookie Javonte Williams has RB2 status in is future. Do not wait. As for the other North Carolina rookie running back, the Jets' offense is so ineffective it may be tough for Michael Carter break out. Touted Steelers rookie Najee Harris is a major factor in the passing game. If the Lions' D'Andre Swift gets more touches, he may be a RB1 option.
Be cautious trading for: Many of us scoffed at the notion of McCaffrey having a durability problem, but perhaps that was a premature reaction. His talent is ridiculous, but we cannot go through what we did a season ago, when he played in a mere three games. We like the Robinson Week 3 workload for the Jaguars, but still, it is the Jaguars, and who knows what they do moving ahead. It is risky to trade for backups Hubbard and Alexander Mattison on the premise the starters keep getting hurt.
Wide receiver
Rankings changes: Chargers veteran Mike Williams and Bengals rookie Ja'Marr Chase left us no choice with their play. Welcome to WR2 territory, fellows. Titans star A.J. Brown is off to a rough start, but he remains ahead of them, for now. What is going on with Steelers wide receivers and have the Panthers forgotten about Robby Anderson? By the way, we barely resisted adding new Chief Josh Gordon to the rankings. Perhaps next week.
Trade for: Chase may not get to Justin Jefferson numbers from a season ago, but he looks relatively safe, as rookies go. The Titans' Brown is going to be fine, assuming reasonable health. Speedy Baltimore Raven Marquise Brown just needs to drop fewer passes to flirt with WR2 status.
Be cautious trading for: Giants options. Jaguars options. Steelers options. It was nice to see Odell Beckham Jr. returning to the lineup but do not confuse him with a WR2 option. We are getting closer to Saints star Michael Thomas returning to his lineup, but do not assume he is a safe WR2 option, either.
Tight end
Rankings changes: Perhaps we were too hasty in exalting Atlanta Falcons rookie Kyle Pitts to star status. So far, no star. Next drop may be out of the top 100, but they do have a Jets game approaching. Miami's Mike Gesicki saw volume. It may have nothing to do with the QB change. Travis Kelce opens up a larger lead and his own tier at the top, as Darren Waller and George Kittle are fine, but not statistically special lately. The Jaguars traded for Dan Arnold, so one presumes he will play a key role in the offense.
Trade for: Waller and Kittle will return to special statistics soon. Not sure trading for any tight end outside of the top three is wise.
Be cautious trading for: Certainly when Rob Gronkowski left Sunday's game after a hard hit his detractors wondered if he would miss games. He did not. Still, he is not 25. Pitts is 20. He may need a year or two.
