Week 7 Fantasy Trade Value Chart
Our Trade Value Chart is designed to assist you in making fair trades in your standard-scoring league. The values assigned to the players below are strictly a measurement of their Fantasy value heading into the current week. By adding two players' values you could determine what one player you might be able to get in return. This list should also provide a glimpse into how we feel about a player for the remainder of the season.
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Some people gravitate to Patriots running backs because of their cupcake role in a dynamic offense. Others scramble away from them because of their head coach. Bill Belichick has been known to lean on a running back one week and not use him the next because his skills aren't what they look for in their game plan. The Patriots tailor their offense to the weaknesses of their opponent; sometimes that means a betweeen-the-tackles runner like Stevan Ridley just doesn't get a lot of use.
But for Ridley, a lightened load is less than 18 carries. Through six weeks, Ridley has matched or exceeded that number four times. Last week he took on a Seahawks defense loaded with talented run stuffers and the Patriots still gave him 16 attempts, partially because they didn't want to risk an extensive injury to Brandon Bolden, who left with a knee problem. Despite fumbles in each of his previous two games (one lost), Ridley is far and away the Patriots' leader in carries and has a good rushing average to go with it. If it keeps up, he'll be a wrecking ball for lesser defenses to contend with because they can't stack the box to contain him (obviously).
What Fantasy owners have to determine is whether they're cool with a back who might not get a ton of work from week to week, depending on how Belichick deciphers his opponent. But in the case of Ridley, he'll still get some carries, even in the face of a tough opponent like the Seahawks in their home nest. That makes him appealing and coming off of his worst game of the season against those Seahawks, perhaps now is the time for a confident Fantasy owner to make a play for Ridley, especially if Ridley's owned by a jittery person who can't handle the purported uncertainty surrounding his rusher.
Here are some actual trades that have gone down on CBSSports.com involving Ridley:
Stevan Ridley and Sidney Rice for Percy Harvin and Jake Locker: As much as I like Harvin as a reliable Fantasy receiver, this seems like too much to give for him. If I owned Harvin and was offered a capable running back and decent receiver for him, I'd make the move if I wanted running back depth -- and who doesn't need running back depth?
Stevan Ridley and Dennis Pitta for Tony Gonzalez: This reeks of an owner freaking out over Ridley's coach and dumping him for an upgrade at tight end. Despite Gonzalez's incredible start to the season and Pitta's poor numbers over the last three weeks, the owner basically chucked Ridley. It's OK to not be in love with Ridley's situation but it doesn't mean you should give him away.
Stevan Ridley for Andre Johnson: Even this trade doesn't work because Johnson's value seems to be in name only. Johnson's disappointing season (25 catches for 358 yards and two touchdowns) isn't reflective of his abilities but rather his role in the Texans' balanced offense and defenses doing what they can to take him away. It's a great idea to trade for Johnson now, but giving Ridley seems like too much given Ridley's performance and potential.
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