It's one thing to make a trade to help your team get better, but when you can pick a player up off waivers and turn him into a piece for your starting lineup, you're winning.
Such is the case for people who swiped Bobby Rainey off waivers last week (or can still land him this week). His big game in Week 11 gave him instant cred in the Fantasy community and owners desperate for help at running back will gravitate toward him in trade.
With scores in each of his last two games, Rainey has displayed good speed, hands and a really impressive ability to follow his blocks to big gains. The Bucs offensive line looks better than it did in the first half of the season and Rainey especially rocked an overmatched Falcons defense for a three-score game. That'll get attention.
Obviously if you need a running back and have Rainey on your roster, then it's a problem solved. But if you've diligently played the waiver wire game and don't need Rainey then you should upgrade at another position using him as a trade piece. While Rainey definitely has fresh legs and enough talent to play at the pro level, matchups against the Lions and Panthers in the next two weeks could make things tough on him before the schedule eases up again. There appears to be some games where he might not quite get three scores and over 160 rush yards.
Here are some legit trades involving Rainey in CBSSports.com leagues:
Bobby Rainey and Ray Rice for Jamaal Charles and Andre Ellington: A lopsided trade for sure -- Rainey and Rice aren't enough in a deal for Charles by himself. The deal is an example of just how overvalued Rainey is by some after five quarters of kicking butt. I'm not so sure we should be convinced Rainey should be treated as a No. 1 rusher after burning through the Dolphins and Falcons.
Bobby Rainey for Julius Thomas: Are you doubting the value of running backs in Fantasy Football? Someone out there though so much of Rainey that they moved a full-fledged stud tight end for him. Now maybe Thomas was one of two tight ends on someone's team and Rainey was the best they could get for him. But it still doesn't seem like enough.
Bobby Rainey for Russell Wilson: Just like the previous trade, an owner fleeced another team for a great player at another position. But this time it's more feasible that a team "gave away" Wilson because he was a backup for them. Remember, at this stage of the game it doesn't necessarily pay to have two great quarterbacks on your team, especially if you can trade one of them for help at another position. That's what I think happened here.
Bobby Rainey and Tony Romo for Pierre Thomas and Matthew Stafford: This one is relatively close to even, though it's not perfect according to the trade chart. But it certainly paints the picture that Rainey has more value than Thomas, even though Thomas has been productive in his last four games. Rainey's workload should consistently be larger.
Our Trade Value Chart is designed to assist you in making fair trades in your standard-scoring or PPR league. The values assigned to the players below are a long-term measurement of their Fantasy value. By adding two players' values you could determine what one player you might be able to get in return. This list should also work as a "Rest of Season" Rankings.
This is our final Trade Value Chart of the season.
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