You cannot trade for players with name value without giving some recognizable names in return. So if you want any of the players I profiled in my "trade for" column, you'll need to give up something good in return. However, you want to be calculated with the players you select to trade away to make sure you won't miss out on any big scores.
The best candidates to dump before they slump are players who might have already played through all their good matchups, and have a difficult slate the rest of the way.
In these cases, your trading partners will be buying players from you at the top of their market value. This strategy allows you to enjoy the best production of the season from these players while having the confidence to know you will not miss any big fantasy games after you trade them away. Below are my top trade away candidates, determined by using the fantasyomatic algorithm and the "Defense Rating" it produces for each matchup. The lower the rating, the tougher the matchup. You'll see plenty of low ratings ahead for these players.
Quarterbacks - Worst remaining schedules, Week 10-16
1) Jay Cutler, CHI
2) Matt Ryan, ATL
3) Carson Palmer, ARI
4) Jameis Winston, TB
5) Matthew Stafford, DET
Quarterbacks - Worst fantasy playoff schedules, Week 14-16
1) Tyrod Taylor, BUF
2) Peyton Manning, DEN
3) Aaron Rodgers, GB
4) Carson Palmer, ARI
5) Matt Ryan, ATL
Matt Ryan is an excellent example of a player you can trade away. His name value and current top-12 ranking in weekly scoring give him excellent trade value.
Other owners in your league may not know that Ryan has already faced every one of his positive rated matchups for the season. In fact, eight of his first nine opponents were either "good" or "great" rated matchups when he faced them.
After he returns from his bye week, he faces six straight negative matchup to end the season. The most concerning part of Ryan's second half are two games against Carolina during the fantasy playoffs. Josh Norman is the Carolina version of Revis Island, and should be avoided.
You do not want your stud quarterback or wide receiver having to face this season's elite shutdown corner in the fantasy playoffs, let alone twice. Trade Ryan over his Week 10 bye week before he comes back to nothing but negative matchups.
Running backs - Worst remaining schedules, Week 10-16
1) Todd Gurley, STL
2) Broncos RBs
3) Carlos Hyde, SF
4) Browns RBs
5) LeSean McCoy, BUF
Running backs - Worst fantasy playoff schedules, Week 14-16
1) Washington RBs
2) Adrian Peterson, MIN
3) Broncos RBs
4) Eagles RBs
5) Justin Forsett, BAL
Very few players have a higher "name" value than Adrian Peterson. If you own Peterson and your team is in a tough spot, you should strongly consider trading him.
Peterson has one of the top five most difficult remaining schedules of any fantasy running back combined with the second-toughest fantasy playoff schedule.
Peterson has only two positive matchups between Week 10 and Week 16. If you are already planning for the fantasy playoffs then you should really consider Peterson's Week 13 matchup against Seattle followed by his Week 14 matchup against Arizona. These are two of the most difficult matchups a running back can face in two of fantasy's most important weeks.
If you do decide to trade Peterson, make sure you are getting back at least two weekly starters in return. Do not trade him for the sake of trading. You should be able to fix multiple spots in your starting roster in exchange for Peterson.
Wide receivers - Worst remaining schedules, Week 10-16
1) Jeremy Maclin, KC
2) Ravens WRs
3) A.J. Green, CIN
4) Jets WRs
5) Julian Edelman, NE
Wide receivers - Worst fantasy playoff schedules, Week 14-16
1) Julio Jones, ATL
2) Amari Cooper, OAK
3) Titans WRs
4) Jets WRs
5) Julian Edelman, NE
Jets wide receivers have one of the top five most difficult remaining schedules with five out of seven remaining games coming against negative matchups.
Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker are both top 25 fantasy receivers and combine to make up over 45 percent of the Jets' targets. Decker's player rating is the lowest of the two, making him the more likely candidate to be effected by a negative matchup.
Decker's trade value is very high considering he has scored a touchdown in six of his seven active games this season. Keep in mind that all but two of those touchdowns came against positive matchups.
Decker has already faced more positive matchups this season than he will see for the rest of the year, and his fantasy playoff schedule consists of matchups against defenses rated in the toughest half of the league against fantasy receivers. Trade Decker and ask for low-end WR1 value in return.
Tight ends - Worst remaining schedules, Week 10-16
1) Vernon Davis, DEN
2) Charles Clay, BUF
3) Larry Donnell, NYG
4) Jimmy Graham, SEA
5) Jordan Reed, WAS
Tight ends - Worst fantasy playoff schedules, Week 14-16
1) Jimmy Graham, SEA
2) Jordan Reed, WAS
3) Charles Clay, BUF
4) Jacob Tamme, ATL
5) Travis Kelce, KC
Charles Clay is the perfect example of a player with a schedule you would want to trade out of.
Clay's early season fantasy numbers were inflated by having five out of six positive matchups to start the season. Clay was able to take advantage of those positive matchups and rose to top-12 fantasy tight end value. What may appear to be a hot start is likely just the result of a lack of stiff competition.
Clay failed to take advantage of four of his "good" rated matchups in Weeks 1, 5, 7 and 9. His two highest producing games came against his two "great" rated matchups. His matchup-dependency does not bode well for his chances of overcoming six of seven negative matchups to end his season, including two negative matchups in the fantasy playoffs.
-- Chris Anthony is a guest contributor to NFL.com, hailing from Fantasy Omatic. You can follow him on Twitter @FantasyOmatic. Be sure to check back each week for more analytics-based analysis as the algorithm will only get more accurate over time!
