Week 3 Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Buy Low, Sell High & Live Trade Questions (Ep. 2215)

This episode of the FantasyPros trade show is a live mailbag built around Week 3 trade offers, with Chris Welsh and Andrew Erickson evaluating dozens of viewer-submitted deals in real time. The through-line that emerges across nearly every question is that running back depth is the scarcest asset in fantasy right now, which is reshaping how the hosts value buy-low and sell-high candidates at every other position.

The arguments

Rhamondre Hampton is now a sell-high, not a building block. Welsh said he's concerned about Hampton's rest-of-season outlook, including this week's matchup, because Buffalo's run defense has improved under its new scheme. Both hosts repeatedly steered callers toward moving Hampton for proven starters (Jaylen Warren, D'Andre Swift) rather than holding him, and later argued he's a fine centerpiece in a package if you're getting depth back, since he's "not a total zero" but no longer a lock-and-load RB1.

Buying Colston Loveland is the buy-low call of the week, and you don't even have to start him. Erickson pushed this in multiple questions, arguing you can acquire Loveland before the Bears' matchup with Philadelphia and simply bench him, since the acquiring manager likely hasn't "felt the pain" of starting him yet. Welsh agreed it's a plausible, gettable deal and suggested pairing the trade with a Marcedes Lewis-tier or Gunnar Helm-style streamer (Gadsden) if you don't want Loveland's Eagles matchup this week.

Chase Brown and Bhayshul Tuten are the running back buy-lows the hosts kept circling back to. Erickson cited Brown's strong underlying efficiency despite tough Bengals matchups (Texans, Buccaneers) and an easier schedule ahead as reasons the value gap will close. He also flagged Tuten as a similar buy, noting he ranks second in forced missed tackles per attempt and top-five in success rate despite not yet having a signature box score.

Marshawn Lloyd should be cut now, not stashed. Both hosts agreed to drop Lloyd for Jordan James Coleman or Emanuel Wilson-type Green Bay backs if you have any other stash options (Barkley, Hunter Henry-type comfort at other positions), with Welsh noting nothing from Thursday night suggested Lloyd's role is trending upward, and Erickson adding Coleman is a better claim than Marcus Mariota-adjacent bench flotsam even with Coleman's ankle scare.

Wide receiver depth is now trade fuel for running back scarcity, and hosts told multiple callers to accept the downgrade. On repeated rosters (Amon-Ra/CeeDee Lamb-type builds, Rachaad/Rice-Egbuka-Watson stacks), Welsh and Erickson both said the correct move is trading a WR2/3 you can't start anyway for any startable running back, even down a tier — Rice specifically was flagged as more valuable to trade than Egbuka since Egbuka "hasn't popped yet."

Nico Collins should be held through the hamstring injury, not sold. Welsh said it's a bad time to trade an injured player and to wait for him to return; Erickson floated Bowers as a target return but immediately walked it back after Schefter's report cast doubt on Bowers' Week 3 workload given the Raiders are 2-0.

Injured/inconsistent quarterbacks (Jayden Daniels, Trevor Lawrence, Baker Mayfield) warrant decisive action, not fence-sitting. Welsh argued that once you're weighing whether to drop a hurt or underperforming QB every single week, that indecision itself is the signal to cut bait immediately rather than hold two more weeks, using Daniels' re-dislocated elbow and Washington's offensive line as the example.

What it means for your roster

• Shop Rhamondre Hampton now while name value is still attached; the hosts see him as a solid piece in a two-for-two package (e.g., paired with a receiver) rather than a standalone RB1 hold.
• Make a play for Colston Loveland in any deal involving a struggling skill player on your bench-fodder trade partner's roster — you can roster him through the Eagles matchup without starting him.
• Target Chase Brown or Bhayshul Tuten as buy-low running backs if you're shipping out receiver depth; both were named repeatedly as undervalued relative to workload/efficiency.
• Drop Marshawn Lloyd immediately for Jordan Coleman or a comparable Packers back if you have any other stash flexibility.
• Trade your third or fourth wide receiver, even at a value discount, for any startable running back — the hosts treat WR surplus as the primary currency for fixing an RB-starved roster this year.
• Hold Nico Collins through his hamstring issue rather than selling into the injury discount; don't chase Bowers as the return given his usage is not guaranteed.